Chapter 8
So let me be alone tonight
I was too uncomfortable to doze long. The scenery was monotonous consisting of scrubby grass, rocks, more rocks and fog that hung low over the mountains so I passed the time studying the men I traveled with. Aside from Sam there were nine other men in the party.
I tried to decide which among them might be a weak link willing to help me escape, but even the less dangerous looking among them sported swords, dirks and pistols. Any hope I might have harbored about the pleasant looking partridge of a man with the ready smile or the smooth faced boy being less dangerous than the others faded when I saw the way their hands instinctively found their weapons when a passing stranger's eyes raised to us curiously.
These were hard men used to traveling rough. They were comfortable in their saddles despite the long ride and seemed quite capable of sleeping in them when the terrain was smooth enough to permit it. None but me ever asked to stop, but when we did stop they made use of their time checking their horse's gear, honing their weapons or in one case catching our dinner. When I returned from a trip to the bushes the wiry man with auburn hair and a very long nose that I had secretly labeled "the fox" was showing off a fish he'd caught in the nearby stream.
I'd spent hours in silent contemplation of them when Sam said, "If you keep staring at other men I will grow jealous, leannan. I thought you had eyes only for me."
"Ha! Well I must find some way to pass the time and fortunately when I ride in front of you you're out of my sight."
"Are the men so interesting to you then?"
"Well I haven't many choices for entertainment. You should tell me about them."
"Oh, you want a story?"
"Yes, if you want to put it that way."
"Aren't you a little old for stories, leannan?"
I knew he meant to taunt me by calling me leannan, but I refused to be baited. I forced a smile. "Yes, but I've nothing else to pass the time."
"Well, I suppose I might tell a tale for I need a little entertaining myself. If I tell you about these men will you tell me about yourself?"
I narrowed my eyes fearing his motives. "It depends. What do you want to know?"
"Don't worry, leannan, I've just a few questions to help me get to know you better."
"For example?"
"How old are ye?"
"Seventeen."
"Ahh," he nodded and his too young to be an uncle Fergus gave him a victorious smile, "you looked a bit older to me."
"Now it's my turn. Tell me about him." I said pointing to a beefy blond man going a little soft in the middle despite his youth.
"That's Alpin. He's a good man with a sword and quick with a joke, but you'll want to stay away from him when he drinks, puts him in a nasty temper. Now it' my turn again. Who is Finn?"
"I told you, he's my brother." Sam gave me a suspicious, squint eyed look but I brazened it out. "Now me," I pointed at the two men who looked so alike, "who are they?"
"Hugh and Henry Mackenzie. They're twins but Hugh is the elder by a few minutes even though he's the smaller one. They're both left handed and in a fight they'll stand back to back protecting each other's weak side."
I examined Hugh and Henry. It was difficult to see any difference in their size on horseback. Both men were huge and bearlike of body with low boney brows and dark deep set eyes. They had matching cowlicks that sent their stringy brown hair looping up on the right side of their foreheads in an arch and I wondered if anyone could really tell them apart.
"Now it's my turn. Why were you meeting your brother in a graveyard at midnight?"
I flinched. The question both startled and alarmed me. I cast around in my mind for a suitable answer and came up with, "We needed to meet in private."
Sam made a skeptical noise at the back of his throat but didn't protest my short answer.
"What about him?" I said pointing at the plump little partridge of a man, "He doesn't look like the warrior type to me."
"Doesn't he?" Sam snorted. "That's Gordon and a better man with a knife I've never seen. Most people are fooled by his looks and aren't ever scared till he's got his blade sunk six inches deep in their chest."
Gordon saw me staring at him and tipped his bonnet with a friendly smile. Looks really could be deceiving, so much for his as a candidate to help me escape.
"Why were you and your brother in need of privacy?" Sam asked.
Damn! I should have seen that one coming and planned my answer!
I hesitated then decided to stick as close to the truth as I could. "Because uncle wouldn't have approved of me speaking to him," I hurried on in hopes of distracting Sam from his next question, "Tell me about the thin man with the sharp nose who always rides next to Conrad."
"That's Lachlan, Conrad's right hand man. Saying something to Lachlan or in his hearing is as good as saying it to Conrad and you'd do best to remember that, leannan. Now why didn't your Uncle want you speaking to your brother?"
I struggled for a response and blurted out the first thing that came to me. "They've had a falling out. My brother wanted to marry a lass with hair like flame but my uncle forbid it because he'd already made a match for him."
I looked at Sam from the corner of my eye to see if he believed me but his face was an unreadable mask.
" Tell me about the lad!" I pointed to the smooth chinned youth.
"That's Rory, Conrad's nephew. He's been with us this past year. His mother's a widow and the boy needed a stronger hand than hers to guide him. Got in a bit of a stramash you see."
I would have asked what sort of stramash but Sam asked, "So did he marry his flame haired lass, your brother?"
I wouldn't want to play chess with Sam. He wasn't easily distracted from his goal. "Not yet, but he hasn't given up hope. Tell me about Conrad."
"He is cousin to the Laird Mackenzie and commander of all his men including the group you travel with." Sam opened his hand and gestured at the men in front of and behind us. "Now, who are you betrothed to?"
I thought of Angus and a shiver went down my spine. A black hearted monster with a foul temper who rapes young lasses! Struggling to keep my tone light I said, "I am not betrothed to anyone. Tell me about the red headed man who looks like a fox."
"That's Mungo. He is a bit of a fox in a way. He's our tracker and our best hunter, though he's quite as good at stealing his dinner as he is at hunting it. Tell me, why didn't you meet your brother somewhere in daylight? Surely he worried about your safety out on your own so late at night?"
"Not at all, we live quite near." I smiled proud of the speed at which I'd produced this lie. I was getting quite good at this really. "Tell me about your uncle."
"Fergus is my mother's youngest brother and a more honest man you'll never find. You can place your trust in him."
Something about the warning tone Sam used with his head tilted to one side and his eyes narrowed let me know he knew I was lying to him.
His next words came soft but accusing. "If you were so close to home why didn't you run for it instead of coming with me?"
Mo creach, Sam had caught me up in my web of lies! There was nothing for it but to retreat. "I don't want to play this game anymore."
"But you haven't asked me about myself, leannan. Don't you want to know more about me?" He smiled devilishly.
"I already know more about you than I wish to."
"I wish I could say the same of you, leannan."
We lapsed into silence and I contemplated the men again trying to use the information Sam told me to help me commit their names to memory. We rode on for hours more until I was so tired I thought I would drop from the saddle with weariness and take no notice when the horses trampled me to death. Only Sam's arms were keeping me upright when the sun rose high in the sky and we finally reached a tiny village. A two story wooden tavern dominated the place. The nearby stable yard was mostly deserted and there was a tiny stone kirk at the other end of the street from the tavern. In between were a dozen non-descript small huts that could have been homes, or businesses, or both. Only one sported a crude sign that read "Blacksmith".
The men seemed to visibly relax and I sensed that we had reached our destination long before Conrad finally called a halt to our party just outside the stable yard. "Take care of your horses men then I'll stand a pint for each of you at the tavern." With that he dismounted and threw his reigns at the knife faced Lachlan before striding purposefully toward the tavern.
Sam bent his head to my ear saying "Looks like you're sampling the luxuries of traveling with the Mackenzies, leannan. It's to be a hot meal and sleeping with a roof over our heads tonight."
Luxurious or not I was desperate to get out of the saddle. My backside had gone numb, my legs were cramped and I was so hungry it seemed that my stomach was trying to eat my backbone. When Sam swung himself out of the saddle and stood next to the horse I held my arms out to him like a toddler eager to be picked up. He grabbed me by the waist and swung me out of the saddle.
Sam set me carefully on my feet but did not let go my waist. When the blood began to flow into my numb legs again I felt the pain of pins and needles almost unbearably. My discomfort must have shown on my face for Sam hesitated a moment longer before dropping his hands from my waist. To my dismay I found my legs were still so weak from the long ride that they gave out beneath me. Before I could fall, Sam caught me up in his arms and lifted me.
"Take care, leannan. This is no time to swoon."
"I wasn't swooning." I managed to say into his chest.
"Oh, weren't you then? If I hadn't caught you would have been rolling in the dust."
"I suppose you think I'll should thank you for your kindness." I mumbled then turned my head up to look at him.
"Twas no kindness." He smirked. " I didn't want you knocking into my horse, but tis no matter. Such a long ride is more than can be expected of a fragile, wee lass like you."
"I am not fragile." I pushed against his chest. "And you can put me down now."
"I think not." Sam gave his horse's reigns to Fergus with a grimace before carrying me into the tavern.
It was dim inside with only a few oil cloth covered windows to let in the light. The beams in the low ceiling were blackened with age and the place smelled of ale, smoke and unwashed bodies.
Conrad seemed to be bargaining with the owner, a short, stocky, balding man with an apron tied around his paunchy middle.
Sam made no bones about interrupting their conversation. "Conrad, the lass is peckish. She fairly swooned in the street."
"I'm fine now, really." I interjected, but Conrad ignored me as if I hadn't spoken and looked me over seeming to find reason for alarm.
Sam pressed his case saying urgently, "She needs to lie down before she swoons again."
I wanted to protest but I felt a wave of nausea and found my vision was going black except for an ever shrinking tunnel of light in the center.
"Flora, Flora wake up!"
I felt someone jostling my shoulder. Why were they calling me Flora?
"You must wake up. I have some food for you," a feminine voice said.
My nose told me the statement was true. I could the savory smell of stew and yeasty bread nearby. Slowly I pried my eyes open to see a pretty young girl with a tray in her hands.
"Sit up and we'll see if you can keep this down."
I opened both eyes, disoriented and stared at a low, beamed ceiling.
"Where am I?" I managed to croak out. I hastily sat up and felt a wave of lightheadedness assail me.
"You're just over the border into Mackenzie lands at the Snorting Horse Tavern. Don't you remember being brought here?"
My mind spun with images of my ride here and Sam. "Yes, I remember arriving and then …"
"You swooned. The lads wanted to throw cold water in your face to rouse you, but I told them you'd be less trouble if we let you sleep. Here let me get a pillow behind you." She put down her tray on a nearby table and pulled the pillow that had been beneath my head up behind me. "There now."
I sagged gratefully against it.
"You must wake up now and eat for I know it has been a great while since you've eaten last."
She handed me a tankard and I sipped at it gratefully. It turned out to be a very decent ale that went down smoothly.
"Thank you," I said after several long swallows. "It's good and I'm very thirsty."
She smiled and I noticed what a pretty lass she was, all peaches and cream cheeks and mahogany curls peeping out from beneath her mob cap. "I'm Nora."
"Nice to meet you, Nora."
"Do you want to feed yourself or shall I do it for you."
"Oh no, I think I can feed myself."
Nora laid a tray with a bowl of stew and a crusty piece of bread on it across my lap.
"It smells heavenly," I said before picking up the spoon and tucking into the stew. It was warm but not too hot, rich and thick with meat and chunks of potatoes and carrots. Between mouthfuls I said, "Thank you, this is delicious." Even if I hadn't been after two days without a proper meal I would have enjoyed it.
"Your leannan had me save it for you and bade me wake you to eat it if you hadn't wakened yourself by nightfall."
She must be speaking of Sam. "He's not my leannan."
"But he calls you so."
"It's his idea of a joke because of … of the way we met."
"Oh!" she smiled making her apple cheeks go round and dimpled. "Is he a bachelor then?"
A bachelor! What business was it of hers? And of course he was a bachelor… or was he? I found myself wishing I'd asked him some questions about himself today even though it would have made him insufferably cocky. "You'll have to ask him yourself. We're not that well acquainted.
I cast my eyes about the room for Sam wondering where he was. I wasn't like him to give me so much blessed privacy. "Where is he, by the way?"
"He's gone on an errand for Master Conrad. He told me to tell you he'd likely be back in the morning but if he wasn't he'd l catch up with your party by noon."
I felt a sudden jolt of panic. "He's gone?"
"Aye, he left not long after ye arrived. They stayed long enough to have a meal and feed and water their horses but then they left again. Would you like some more." She gestured at my now empty bowl.
"No, that was plenty. Thank you. You don't happen to know where they went, the men?"
She raised an eyebrow at me and one corner of her rosebud pink mouth turned up. "I thought you said you didn't know him that well."
I shrugged, "I don't, just curious is all. I'm just wondering who they'll have me riding with tomorrow."
"I couldn't say, but you're to sleep with me and my sisters tonight that's our bed you're lying in."
"Oh," I blushed feeling like an interloper. "Thank you again."
"The chamber pots in the little cabinet over there by the window. Should I bring it to ye?"
"No, thank you. I can do it myself. You've been very kind indeed."
She smiled dimpling again and curtsied. "Thank you, miss. Now you stay tucked up in bed while you can. You'll be riding out early in the morning from what I gather."
With that she picked up the tray from my lap and departed through a door so low her head barely cleared the jam and shut it softly behind her.
Suddenly I felt very alone. Sam had deserted me! Then I realized how absurd I was being. Sam was my captor not my keeper. Perhaps his absence was for the best. This might be my last chance to escape these Mackenzies before I was deep inside their lands.
I pulled back the blanket and placed my feet on the floor. Then standing up cautiously I found my legs had become quite sturdy again. I availed myself of the chamber pot and the water in the basin and began to feel quite myself. I found my earasaid and belted it around me, but my bundle was nowhere to be found. I patted my skirt pocket and was reassured that at least I still had my mother's pearl ear drop for currency to trade. Then I opened the chamber door.
In the dimly lit hall I pulled the door softly closed beside me. There was light at one end of the hall and I could hear the sounds of conversation and laughter from that direction. Not wanting to meet the Mackenzie men I turned toward the other end of the hall. There was a door at that end and I hoped it would lead to a way out. I crept slowly along for the light grew dimmer with each step. Just as I was about to reach the door it flew open.
Alpin stood there just inches away from me.
"Nice to see you up and about, lass!" His words were slightly slurred and his breath smelled of ale.
"Good evening, Master Alpin."
"Good evening to you lass, are you feeling fortified from you rest." He seemed to sway a little as he stood there and I wondered how much he'd had to drink. Hadn't Sam warned me that Alpin could be mean when he drank?
"Indeed, I'm feeling much recovered." I smiled at him hoping my nerves weren't showing.
"Where are you off to, lass?" As he said it he put one brawny arm up casually up against the wall blocking my way.
"I thought to get a breath of fresh air. It's a bit stuffy up here." I fanned my face with my hand and looked up at him widening my eyes in hopes of appearing innocent.
"Well now, I don't think Conrad would want you out wandering about on your own in the dark even if that is the way we came across you in the first place." He turned and placed his other arm against the wall effectively trapping me between them. "Mayhap we could stay and get to know each other, Flora."
"Flora what are you doing out here?"
Alpin dropped his hands from the wall and we both turned to the voice.
Fergus stood framed in the stairwell shadowed by the light shining behind him. "I thought you'd be abed, lass. Conrad sent me to find you." He held out his hand, "Come on, hurry now."
I took the hand of my erstwhile savior and he led me to the stairwell.
Half way down I asked, "What does Conrad want with me?"
"Conrad don't want you at all. It just seemed the best way to get ye away from Alpin without making trouble."
"Oh… well, thank you. Things were getting very … awkward."
"Keep your distance from him. He can't be trusted when he's had a few pints."
"Why were you looking for me then?"
"That little barmaid said you were awake and I promised Sam I wouldn't let you out of my sight while he's gone. He said you'd find trouble but he didn't know how right he was."
"I'm sorry."
Fergus softened. "Never mind, but after you say a word to Conrad it'd be best if you let me take you back up to your room. The tavern's full of rough customers tonight that won't be put off as easily as Alpin."
I was suddenly overcome with weariness again and the thought of spending the night in a real bed was a great deal more appealing than the prospect of scrambling alone through the darkness on mountain trails. I followed meekly behind Fergus down the stairs. "Do you still have my bundle. I'd very much like to get out of these dirty clothes and I had a night dress."
Fergus looked down and gave me a smile. "I'll see what I can do."
The tavern's main room was filled with men. Only about half of them were from our party but most were sitting around one long table. Almost all had a pint in front of them and a few had the remains of their dinner. Many tales were being told in loud voices with the laughter that followed the remarks even louder, but as I approached the table they grew quiet and stared at me.
"Are you better then, lass?" Conrad asked more civilly than usual.
"I am, thank you."
"Good, because we ride again at dawn and I want to be half way to Eilean Donan by night fall."
"Do you think Sam will be back before we leave?" I asked curious to know what Sam was up to.
"Don't trouble yourself about Sam. He can take care of himself." This remark brought a knowing chuckle from the men. "You'll ride with Fergus if he isn't back on the morrow. Now get you to bed, lass. I want no more swooning from ye."
Fergus shepherded me back up to my room to a chorus of laughter from the men. When we got back to the bedchamber I was to share with Nora and her sisters I asked, "Do you know where Sam's gone."
"I do."
I waited for more information but none was forth coming as he opened the door to the chamber. "Well, are you going to tell me where he is?"
"No, but I'll be back in a few minutes with your bundle and if you aren't here it won't go easy for you when I catch up to you."
I nodded and sat myself back down on the bed.
Fergus returned in a few minutes with my bundle and I was fast asleep in my night gown by the time Nora and her sister came to bed. The two girls were full of questions about Sam and dissolved into giggles at my answers. When I'd finally admitted to a leannan in hopes of sparing myself anymore interrogation about Sam I found myself no less under siege. Was Finn taller than Sam? Was he more handsome than Sam? Did he sit a horse as well as Sam? Was he as strong as Sam? They insisted I describe Finn to them then made comparisons between him and Sam that mostly favored Sam. When I finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion they were still giggling to each other.
What do you think? Still like Sam? What about my absence makes the heart grow fonder chapter? Do you think it develops Cat's feelings for Sam? Does it deserve to be in the book?
