Thistle and Flame - Her Highland Hero (14 page)

“That seems to be a running theme, does it not?”
Ben leaned back on his chair legs. They creaked again. “You got caught then?”

“Aye,” Lynne swallowed hard. “I got caught. And in
the worst way. I broke into a house – the very one into which I invited you,
John, when I heard about the little plan of which I told you. The people who
own that house have inroads to banks and to vast wealth on the continent. So I
thought what better people to rob blind?”

“Unfortunately,” John said, “those types are also
quite cautious.”

“And now I know it, that lesson.” She said. “I
broke in through a third floor window, snuck about gathering jewels and notes
of credit – for what I dinna know – and coin and anything else I could get my
hands on. Then when my pouches were full, and God above were they ever full, I
moved to leave by the same window, and felt a hand on my neck. I went for me
dagger, slashed at whoever was holding me, and delivered a cut right to the
face of that sheriff.”

“I wondered where he got that from.” John laughed.
“It looks good on him.”

“Aye, it does. He needs another to match it, but
right across his throat.” Lynne said. “But he had that Spaniard who won’t talk
with him, and that was that. I was blindfolded, and paraded through the streets
of Edinburgh until I found myself thrown in the back of a carriage and taken
off to jail. They never put me in a cell, but they did...well, the sheriff has
a taste for women who have none for him.”

At that, John ground his teeth and clenched his
fist. “I’ll string his guts out along a floor, both for you and for Gavin. I
don’t care if it kills me.”

“Easy now, John,” She said. “Rodrigo stopped him
from going all the way with it, though he didn’t show up in time to keep Alan’s
grimy fingers off my breasts, or in time to keep him from ripping my clothes
asunder. I’m not sure what to think of him.”

“Rodrigo? He split my shoulder, and for that I owe
him the same.”

“He was just doing his job. I think there’s far
more behind those brown eyes than he lets on. Ach, he can’t stand the sheriff
from what I’ve seen. Makes you wonder why he stays around. But to finish my
tale, the sheriff kept me chained for a fortnight. And every day he’d come in,
I presume after he’d finish whatever work it is that he did, and he’d torment
me. Never defiling me, but he’d always strip me naked and touch me, as though
he meant to. And each day he went at me harder, with more vigor. It was like he
was just angry. I can’t say it was necessarily at me, but it was plain to see
in his face. When I was near him, I could feel it bubbling up. He’d hit me, and
tie things to my hands and twist my skin so it burned and I’d cry and cry but
he wouldn’t stop.”

“I’ll murder him. If it’s the last thing I do,”
John said, “I’m going to murder him.”

“No, John, you’re not. Because that’s quick. You
kill him, that’s it. He hurts for a moment and you go off to prison or to be
hanged. You’ll do nothing of the sort because I like you too much to let you do
that. But we are going to hurt him. We’re going to give him another of those
cuts on his cheeks. We’re going to take away his money and whatever tiny shreds
of power he’s got. Make his life the same Hell that he’s made so many others.”

“Where did you find this girl, John?”

“She found me.” John said. “Though I know not why,
if I’m honest, she found me back and Macdonald’s party.”

“I was sent here by the sheriff. Somehow – and I’m
not trying to play you for a fool – he knew that you three were going to show
up. Although at the time he thought there were only two of you. He might’ve
just expected you to try and rob the place while a party was on.” She shrugged.
“But whatever the reason, he sent me and I went. I was to find you and seduce you.”

“But why you? And why not Gavin?”

“That I canna tell you. Well the second part,
anyway. As to the first, he found out, through beating me, that I had a wee
grudge against our ghost. He tricked me into it. Tricked isn’t the right word.
He played with my emotions and convinced me that it was the right thing to do.
But to get to him, he figured that I should get to you. Make you do the work
for him.”

“So the whole thing was a ruse? That noble whose
purse I tried to steal and all?”

“No, he was quite surprised at that. It almost
ruined his plan. When you had me bent over in that broom closet, with your
fingernails playing at my dress, I thought I might just let you have me then
and there and give up with the plan. There was something about you, John
Two-Fingers, which I’ve never felt before.” Her hand went across the table to
his and she pulled it back. “When you moved in me, I don’t know how to describe
it except that I’ve not been so secure, so safe in all my life. I dinna know
how you did it, but you did.”

“And yet, here we are having this conversation, so
I mustna have been
that
good.”

“He threatened my family, he threatened
me
.
I was frightened. That’s all. But, there is one good thing that came from all
that.”

That got Ben’s attention. “Tell me you heard him
talk about a secret passage through the jail by which we can get Gavin. That’s
it, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes and no. Each time I go back, there’s a
guard who has a particular taste for me, although it may just be that I’m a
woman. My thinking is this – since I know the labyrinth of the jail, I’ll need
to be with you when you look for him, aye?”

“Aye, but then-”

“Hush! We’d need another woman, that much is
obvious, is it not, John?” She cracked a grin.

Silently, he nodded for her to continue.

“That’s why I had you set up the meeting with
Kenna.”

“Why her? I mean, what if she gets caught?”

“She will not.”

“Not this again, this insanity is what got us pinned
now!” Red Ben stood up and bent over so that his hands were on the table top.
“Why are we listening to this? How do we know it’s not another trap? How do we
know we’re not just about to waltz head-long into a jail with the woman Gavin
loves, traipsin’ about like fools running an errand, and then walk straight
into our
own
jail cells?”

“For one thing,” Lynne said, “they wouldn’t keep
all of you in the same cell.”

Ben scowled.

“I know,” she said. “I know what I’ve done and I
know how it looks for me to be giving you another plan with no reason for you
to trust me. I know. But why would I be here with you, making all these plans
and talking to you and telling you about the sheriff and this and that...why
would I do that if it was just another trap?”

Ben looked back and forth from Lynne to John, who
shrugged.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way, but I canna
think of anything else. You get back Gavin, and I can atone for what I’ve
done.”

“Alright,” Ben said. “You’re right on one count.
We’ve got no choice.”

“One more thing, Ben,” Lynne said.

“Aye?”

“Pour me another drink.”

––––––––

“N
o means no, Kenna. You won’t be leaving. Not at
any cost.” Macdonald stuck his finger in the end of his pipe, tamping down the
burnt tobacco and taking another puff. “I’m to be your husband, and you’ll obey
me. I don’t care what sort of wild blood you’ve got flowing through your veins,
you’ll bow to my will or feel the back of my hand until you do.”

Kenna balled her fists and squeezed until her
fingernails dug into her palms. Her jaws clenched so hard that her whole body
trembled as she looked at her bridegroom with his hands draped casually across
his belly, leaned back in his chair.

“No. It’s not happening. And if you try to talk
anyone into helping you, I’ll know about it. They’re all under my thumb, same
as you.”

“If you mean to keep me as a prisoner, why are you
even bothering to marry me? Why not just chain me up and keep me in your
cellar?” As soon as she spoke, she clamped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t
mean to let that out.”

“Kenna,” he said, “I think somewhere in you,
there’s a good girl trying to come out. I like your father, and so I took you
in. I’ll not do him the dishonor of sending you back, but if you keep this up,
I may well considering chaining you up in the basement and letting Alan do
whatever comes to his filthy mind.”

“Why are you threatening me? What have I done to
you?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Not yet anyway. And I mean to
keep it that way. A man can’t threaten his wife. He can only tell her how to
improve in her womanly duties.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kenna said.

“Well you are to be my wife, yes?” A smile played
across his lips. “You’ve to be trained. You know nothing of mending clothes, or
teething babies. Your knowledge of cattle and sheep will do you no good here.”

“But-”

“No, I’m not interested in temper tantrums. As you
can see from the quill that I’m holding, I’m writing something. When I’m
writing something, dear, that means I’m busy. And when I’m busy, I don’t want
to be disturbed. Especially not when I’m writing something that brings me so
much joy as this.”

“What is it? A bill to someone who can’t pay it?”
Kenna bit her lip again, but too late.

“Oh no, not at all. I suppose it is a bill of
sorts, but not to any renters. No, no, this is a bill for damage done to my
estate.”

Kenna’s throat cinched up tight.

“You found the men who did the damage, then? So
there’s no need for us to be wed straight away?”

“Of
course
they were found. No one does
anything as unabashed as that and gets away with it. No one I know, at any
rate. To shoot a hole in my roof and steal from the pocket of your superior,
that’s one thing. But, kissing my bride at her wedding party?” Macdonald made
three sinister clicking sounds with his tongue. “But that doesn’t matter now
because I’ve just signed the bastard’s death warrant.”

Kenna stared at him, her jaw half open, eyes
slacked and chin sunk into her neck.

“Is something the matter? Why would you care about
the execution of some ragamuffin street tough? Wait right there. You
are
upset, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”

“I...no! I’m not upset. Of course not. He was just
some riffraff who passed for a noble who invaded your home. Our home,” she
said.

Ramsay Macdonald scribbled something on his little
paper and then looked back up at Kenna.

“Why are you still here? Go on, I’m sure you’ve
got more things to do for the wedding, which is still on, by the way. Five days
now. Scurry on, little mouse, scurry back to your den.”

He looked down, brushed his hand across what he
was writing, and blew over it, then smiled. “Go!”

After she came down from the rafters at his
shouting, Kenna slipped silently out of the room, then trekked back to the
stairs, dutifully returning to her room as she was told when she had another
thought.

She looked left, and then right, but saw no one.
The servants were all busy clattering away in the kitchen, except for the three
of them still picking up from Macdonald’s incredibly large luncheon. Kenna took
a step toward the front door, expecting something to stop her, but then she
took another.

Three steps later, her hand was on the door latch,
and Kenna could hardly believe how lucky she was. What seemed impossible a
moment past was now about to happen. She tugged on the latch, and much to her
surprise, it turned easily.

“Good day to you, Miss Kenna. Going out for a
walk?” Lachlam, one of the servants who worked in the grounds and lived nearby,
said as he pushed open the door and Kenna bumped into him. “Careful of the
grass in that dress of yours, it’s freshly hewn, so it could color your fringe
green.”

“No, I’m well, maybe – yes. I’m going for a walk,”
she said. “What is the best way to walk?”

“Oh I suppose the rose garden is rather nice, you
can see that from your window. That’s where I spend a good deal of my time.
Something about the flowers is relaxing. Especially this time of year, when the
weather is cool but not cold and not yet humid.” Lachlam patted Kenna on the
shoulder, smiled, and began to whistle as he strode off.

“Right, thanks!” Kenna called after him a moment
later.

Again she went to the door, tried the latch, and
it slid open. No one was outside to catch her, no one was chasing or running
about to find her. She just went outside and took a deep breath of the fresh
air. It was cool, but like the gardener said, not at all cold. The Scottish
chill that filled her lungs gave Kenna a deep sense of home, and her thoughts
drifted there, back to Fort Mary.

I wonder what Ma is doing, and Pa? They seemed
so happy that I was going off to be married and get all grown up, but what if
they knew? What if everything they found out about Macdonald and everything
else? What if they found out about Gavin? I just don’t know
.

Her thoughts carried her far away and long ago, or
at least it felt like it was long ago even though, it terrified her to realize,
she had been home in Fort Mary not a week and a half in the past.

“Hey! Hey you! What are you doing?” A voice broke
her repose. “You there! You’re not supposed to be out here!”

“Damn, damn, damn!” Kenna said under her breath.
“Think, Kenna, think!”

She turned and looked behind her to see one of the
younger house servants. She thought it was the one who Macdonald had tend his
chamber pots. Why he needed more than one, she hadn’t a clue, but she was
almost sure that was who this was. She cursed her bare feet and her
form-fitting dress, and then started to run.

A step after she started, her dress split down the
left side, but she kept right on.

Gavin,
I
must get
to Gavin
was the only thing running through her mind, not the stones biting
into the bottoms of her feet or the binding, squeezing ache of her arms where
the cloth on her sleeves dug deeper with every passing moment.

Where are you? What am I doing?

She stopped in her tracks. Behind her, the young
steward came running, the hard clomping of his feet on the cobblestones made
Kenna cringe, but she didn’t bother to turn, nor fight him. Standing still with
her shoulders slouched she felt a hand on the back of her neck, and then a
squeeze. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it too hard to be comfortable,
pulling her arm behind him.

Numbly, she followed him back to the house,
watching the tips of her toes one after the other, touch the cracks between the
stones.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To where you belong.”

––––––––

S
eated on her bed, staring into the fireplace in
the corner of her chamber, and watching the gentle orange light bouncing off
the floor, Kenna briefly considered diving into the fire and letting it burn
her, then decided that would be quite painful and instead thought about using
one of the logs to burn down the castle before she remembered it was made of
stone.

Might burn a tapestry
, she thought.
I’d
hate that though. The tapestries are the only parts of this place that aren’t
ugly and dirty and...

“No, no, no! You are trying very hard Louis, but
this is just not how you should be making a bed! The corner goes under the
mattress like so, and then you fold, and, yes, yes this is very good!”

“Olga! Olga, I need you for a second,” Kenna said,
sticking her head out of her chamber door and calling down the hall. “Very
important.”

“Give me one second, dear. Louis is learning to
make beds!”

Kenna couldn’t help but laugh even with her dire
circumstances. Olga was prattling on for another few seconds, complimenting the
young man about his bed-making abilities and then insulting him for not having
the sheets quite tight enough. A moment later, she looked into Kenna’s room.
Never had a big, round, smiling face ever been so welcome.

“What is it you need, Miss Kenna? Very important
lesson being taught.”

“It’s...it’s Gavin. The man I told you about?”

“Oh, ho ho! Yes, the one from the party with the
big, round shoulders and the thick-”

“Right, yes, that one. Well it seems as though the
sheriff and Macdonald have somehow caught him and he’s been thrown in jail.
Gavin had promised to visit me last night, but when he appeared outside of the
window, he seemed to be acting preoccupied. He was very strange.”

“Must be a strange thing to be in two places at
once, no?”

“I don’t think he was in two places at once. I’m
fairly sure the man who came to see me was not actually Gavin, but was the other
man with him.”

“Ooh! Was it the one with the big beard and those
big, strong arms?”

“No, the slighter one, I think. It was hard to
tell from so great a distance.”

“Normally visitors in the night are
very
close to one another, how-”

“Olga!”

“I'm sorry, Miss Kenna.”

“But anyway, the man who came, he gave me an
address and told me to go there tomorrow...well that’d be tonight right at
sunset.”

“Do you have the address? I run so many errands in
town that I’m well versed.”

“Aye, here,” Kenna handed it over.

“Oh! Why are you going here?”

“Is something the matter? I’ve no idea where that
is, except that it’s on Queen’s.”

“This is the apartment of the Earl and Lady of
Dorchester. They’ve been in talks with Lord Macdonald for a time. He’s working
on some sort of business deal with them. But why there?”

“I’ve no idea, that’s only the address I was
given. It might just be a place for meeting up.”

“Must be, no other reason for... unless...”

“Unless what?”

“No, it cannot be that – I was thinking maybe your
dashing friend was to steal from those crooked persons, but he wouldn’t involve
you in danger.”

“How do you know?”

“I know his type. They are brave and strong and
protect a woman. I’ve known men like that before. What can I do for you? You
had better be of a hurry if you’re to get there in time, even by carriage.”

“That’s the problem. I can’t leave.”

“No certainly not in that dress, it’s torn.”

“Olga,” Kenna laughed. “No, it’s not that. Ramsay
is convinced that if I step foot outside the house I’ll be immediately whisked
away by a roving spirit or brigands or something and so he has people making
sure I don’t go anywhere.”

“Oh, that
is
a problem.”

Olga walked with her heel deliberately touching
her toe all the way along the inner wall of Kenna’s chamber, then turned around
and went back. When she arrived where Kenna stood, a revelation struck.

“I know! You are in much luck, Miss Kenna.”

“You can help me? Are you sure?”

“Oh yes, Miss Kenna, certainly.”

“But how?”

“It’s the laundry. After a party, Mr. Macdonald is
not the sort to want the noise required of laundering so much linen, so he has
it sent to a place in town to do it instead. I always told him that was a silly
waste of money, but he just stared at me down that pointed little nose of his.
Gott
im Himmel
but he’s a stubborn man.”

“Yes, well, about the carriage...”

“Of course, it departs in a half hour or so. It
goes down Queen’s on the way to the launderer’s. But you’ll have to pay mind to
where you are because you’ll be in the back, buried in linen.”

“I’ll what? Why can I not ride up front with the
driver?”

Olga chuckled, her round face turning pink.

“Aren’t you like a prisoner here? Wouldn’t you
need to be leaving in a way other than by the front door else you could just go
and do it? Forgive if I am not understanding, dear.”

“No, no you’re right. Of course. I’m a fool, I’m
sorry.”

“You are addled by love and captivity. Come with
me, I’ll introduce you to your traveling companions. But first let’s get you
into some clothes that will be less constricting.”

“How do you mean?”

“I think you’re going to need to wiggle some, no?”

Olga’s devilish laugh brought a smile to Kenna’s
lips, and then a heavy crimson flush when she realized what Olga was talking
about.

––––––––

T
he linens in which Kenna found herself nestled
were dirty, but soft. There was a table cloth directly underneath her head, and
a number of bed sheets that seemed to have never been used. Olga had packed her
in with a couple of pillows directly under where she sat to cushion her from
the blows that she was assured the road would deliver to her backside, and then
she was draped over with other cloth to hide her on the way to town.

“Remember, Miss Kenna that you must watch where
you’re going. The carriage will not stop.”

Kenna nodded and thanked Olga for her kindness
with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.