April Holthaus - The MacKinnon Clan 01 (8 page)

“No, we do not believe so.”

“Where is the prisoner now?”

“We have detained him in the upper bailey.”

“Is he alone? Did you see anyone else with him?”

“No, Sir. We searched the area and found only him. He claims that he traveled here alone and is seeking out the woman we are holding captive.”

The Earl had known the Scots to be full of treachery and was surprised that only one would dare come alone. He must be an idiot or plain foolish. He sat up from his chair and strapped his sword to his side.

“Does Stewart know of this man? Perhaps he is kin.”

“Stewart is in the great hall, I am unaware if he knows of the situation.”

“I will get him and meet you in the bailey. Bring the girl.”

“Yes sir,” the guard said and walked out of the room and headed towards the tower to retrieve Annella.

Slamming the door against the stone wall, the guard yelled, “Get up.” He pulled onto her arms to try to get her to stand but her knees buckled underneath her and she fell back down to the ground.

“Damn it,” the guard murmured. “The Earl wants to see you, now.” He called out to one of the other guards outside the door to help him drag her out of there.

Annella was unable to speak. With no strength or will to care, she had no choice but to allow the men to grab her from under her arms and haul her out the door. This was it, she thought.
Why God did ye no’ take me in my sleep?
These men were off to take her to the gallows. She tried to cry out but no sound came out. Tears spilled down her face. She tried so hard to be brave but she had no will left; Stewart had taken everything away from her.

The Earl walked down the passageway to the great hall and spotted Stewart drinking ale with his men.

“Stewart,” the Earl hollered to get his attention. “We have company.”

Laird Stewart set his drink down and stood up. He was uncertain who would have come but he enjoyed a good intrigue. The Earl explained the situation and both men walked out to the bailey together to see the Scot apprehended by the guards. The guards had removed his weapons and tied his hands together in front of him with ropes. He was down on his knees waiting for the Earl to present himself.

“Who are you and what do you want?” The Earl demanded and glared down at Rory.

Rory looked at the two men standing in front of him. The older man he assumed was the Earl of Lancaster and the other man he figured was the traitor Laird Stewart. “I am Laird MacKinnon of Dunakin and who are ye?”

“I am the Earl of Lancaster, personal sheriff of King Edward. I have been sent here to reprimand all those who support the Scottish rebellion against our king. Where do you stand, Scot?”

“My laird, if I may, this is the mon who I saw enter into Dunstan with his men. He follows and fights with Wallace; I am sure of it,” Stewart whispered in his ear. The Earl nodded his head in acknowledgement keeping his blazing eyes on Rory.

“I am no’ here to discuss my loyalty. Where is the lass?” Rory’s nose flared with anger.

“What concern is she to you? She has been wed off to Laird Stewart and has been tried for treason and crimes against our king. She is to be hanged.” The Earl replied.

Married?
Rory looked at Stewart. His eyes full of rage. He felt his breath heavily labored and his muscles grew tense. Balling his fists together, he was about to jump up from the ground and kill the man standing before him with that smug look upon his face, until he noticed the two guards from the corner of his eye. They rushed over dragging Annella under her arms and dropped her on the ground before the Earl.

She slowly lifted her head and felt her heart sink deep inside her chest. With a crackled voice, she tried to cry out “nay” as she saw Rory bound up and kneeling on the ground, held up by two guards. She shook her head not wanting to believe that he had been caught. Knowing that he too, would die in the gallows made her heart break.
This is all my fault
, she told herself.
Oh Rory, I am so sorry.
She couldn’t speak the words but the sadness in her eyes expressed the remorse and blame she felt.

Fueled with anger, Rory looked down at the dirt in front of him before he fixed his eyes back onto Annella. Her hair was matted. The chemise she wore was torn and exposed much of her bare skin. Her bruised, tear-stained face made her almost unrecognizable. She looked fragile, like nothing remained but skin and bones.

His stomach churned. How could they have beaten this wee lass? What was once a fiery-spirited lass now appeared to be a scared, dying creature. He wanted so badly to cradle her in his arms, to let her know that he was there and would never leave her side again.  With sympathy in his eyes he looked at her, letting her sense his compassion; hoping she could draw some amount of strength from him.

The Earl looked between the two of them and said, “Is the whore really worth risking your own life for? Is that why you are here? Do you honestly think you can save her?” The Earl laughed while his men joined in.

Rory did not take his eyes off of her. He said in a grim voice, “Aye. I would die for her.”

Looking back at the Earl and Stewart, he had to hold his anger in. If he lashed out now, his plan would fail and he needed to get Annella out of here first.

“Good. Guards, prepare the gallows…for two,” the Earl sneered and kicked dirt up into Rory’s face.

The guards walked them both onto the wooden platform of the gallows while they began to string up the ropes. With all the commotion in the bailey, the guards walking along the curtain wall of the castle had been distracted watching the scene below.

One of the guards standing by the tower began to retreat to his post when he was speared in the chest with an arrow. Quietly he fell without notice.

One by one the arrows flew up overhead hitting the men on top of the wall with precision. Hooks swung over the great wall and Rory’s men began to climb. Once on top, they swiftly removed the bodies of the fallen men and casted them into the moat below.

Just as expected, Rory looked up and saw Ewan, Angus and Colin just above him with their swords in hand. He nodded and Ewan let out a blaring battle cry. The men jumped down from the wall ready to attack. Unprepared, the Earl’s men scattered to find their weapons. Ewan cut down the guard standing over Rory and cut the bindings from his wrists and gave him his sword.

The sound of metal clashing, blood spilling and cries of pain occupied Rory’s thoughts as he held his ground. Trying not to fall or trip over the dead or wounded, he continued his assault.

Metal to metal, his men fought valiantly. One by one, they slashed Stewart’s men and the English down. Rory looked around and saw many fallen men. Men with blades and arrows protruding out of their chests, ones with severed limbs, and men so young they look to have never seen their eighteenth year.

Covered in blood, dirt and sweat, he called out to Ewan, “Stay here wit the men, I’ll get Annella.”

He came upon the two men guarding Annella. They did not have any weapon on them but a mere eating knife and a small dagger. They attempted to block Rory’s advances but failed miserably as Rory slashed each man. One in the chest and the other in the arm. With rapid speed, he picked Annella up into his arms and hurried towards the gates. 

“Rory?” she whimpered.

“Hush now, I’m here. Nay more harm will come to ye.”

With Ewan in front of him clearing his path, they ran back to one of the boats hiding in the brush just as Rory and Ewan had planned. He gently set Annella down quickly, covering her in his plaid as they pushed the boat off into the moat towards dry land where the horses were tied up. He would have stayed and fought. He yearned for nothing more than to take down the Earl and Stewart but his first priority was to get Annella out of harm’s way.

Soon Rory’s men were trailing behind them. As fast as they could before the English caught up to them, they mounted their horses. Rory had set Annella on his horse and jumped up behind her. Lifting her onto his lap, he held her in his arms and raced off.

“My laird, the bastards ran scared,” Angus called out.

“What of the Earl and Stewart?” Rory asked.

“They’re gone too; ran out as soon as we entered the gates.”

“Damn. We’ll get some distance between us in case they grow some balls and come after us,” Ewan said.

“Aye,” Rory replied.

He looked down at Annella. She appeared asleep with her head resting on his chest. Her skin felt feverish. He laid a kiss upon the top of her head and pulled her up closer to him hoping that the bumpy ride was not causing her further pain.

After a half day’s ride, he found an opening in the trees with a nearby creek and decided to stop and make camp.

“Ewan, get me some water, bandages and salve for Lady Annella,” he said as he slid off the back of his horse with Annella still in his arms. Gently laying her down on his plaid, he turned to her and said, “I need to look at ye, lass. I need to see yer cuts and bruises.”

He unraveled the plaid from around her as best as he could. When he moved her, she moaned out in pain. His heart was breaking watching her in so much agony. He examined her injuries to see if there was anything that he could do but he did not know the trade of a healer. He was scared. Her fever was bad and he was not sure she was even going to make it through the night. The rope burns on her wrists were now blistered and her face and arms were covered in bruises. Ewan came back and handed him a flask of water.

“Drink this,” he said as he held it up to her lips. She was only able to take small sips.

“Here, my laird. Ye can use my plaid as well for the lass,” Angus offered with sympathy.

“Thank ye.”

Rory took the plaid from his hand and wrapped it around Annella. Keeping her in his arms, he planned on holding onto her the entire night if he had to. The men around them kept still and watched as Rory attended to her. They too felt bad for the lass. 

“Ewan, I need ye to do me a favor. I dinna trust any other mon. I need ye to get to Dunakin as fast as ye can travel. I need ye to have my mother meet us at Dunstan. Annella is no’ good, and I fear that my mother’s healing skills may be the only thing that may help.”

“Aye, my laird. I will leave at once.”

“Thank ye, Ewan.” Rory offered him an appreciative smile.

While the men set up tents and hunted for food, Rory gathered Annella in his arms and brought her inside one of the tents. Taking a wet cloth, he wiped her face down trying to keep her cool and comfortable as she slept. He raked his hand through his hair and placed his head in his hands. He had never felt so helpless before. With tears in his eyes, he lifted up one of her hands and held it in his. He leaned forward and placed soft kisses on the back of her hand and whispered, “Dinna leave me, lass.”

Chapter 8

             
Annella woke from a shot of pain searing from her chest. She looked around and saw Rory looking down at her and could see the tenderness in his eyes. She had been laying her head on his lap like a pillow. Knowing that this was completely inappropriate, she tried to move away.

“Nay dinna move. It will only hurt worse.”

He took his hand and placed it on the top of her head and gently glided his thumb across her forehead. 

“Ye had me worried, lass. I was no’ sure ye would make it through the night. I ken ye are in pain. I’m no’ sure what I can do for ye out here. We dinna have a healer or maid here to help ye. We will ride back to Dunstan as quickly as we can. My mother will be there to help ye. She is a healer.” He bent over and picked up a small jug. “I have brought ye some water to drink.” He held the container up to her lips to allow her to drink. Spilling some water down her chin, he used the sleeve of this
leine
shirt and patted her face and neck dry.

She took a few more sips and looked away so that Rory could not see the tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt humiliated and angry. She did not want Rory to see her like this and she did not know how to tell him that Stewart forced her to marry him.

What made matters worse was she needed some private time and she knew that he was going to have to help her. For a man to help a woman to the privy was unheard of but she had to swallow her pride and ask for the assistance she needed.

With a shallow breath she opened her mouth but nothing came out. Rory gave her a puzzled look.

“What is it, my lady?”

“I need some privacy,” she faintly said.

“Ah.” Rory looked around not sure what else to say. Normally a maid would help a lady in these matters but there was no one around. “I can bring ye, my lady.” He stood up from the makeshift pallet and as gently as he could he picked her up.

She coughed several times, moaned out and grabbed her chest. “I think my rib is broken. The coughing makes the pain worse.”

“We will have to bandage it up. It will feel better once it is.”

They walked out of the tent to see the men breaking their fast.

“Good morning, my laird. I have a plate of cheese and bread for ye and some warm broth for Lady Annella,” Angus said.

“Thank ye, Angus. I am taking Lady Annella out for some privacy. Make sure nay one of ye leaves the camp.”

“Aye, my laird.”

In Rory’s arms, he carried her over to a small brook and carefully sat her down on a rock. “I can turn around if ye like but I will no’ be leaving ye here alone. I dinna ken this area and dinna want to take my chances of someone coming upon ye.”

Not wanting to argue because Rory did have a sound point, she nodded with agreement. She slowly unraveled the plaid from around her shoulders and tried to lift up the skirt from her torn chemise but she was too sore. “My laird, I can no’…”

Rory turned around and saw her struggling.

“Here my lady, I will help ye but I promise I will look away.” He turned his head and felt for the seam of the bottom of her skirt. He held it up so that she could relieve herself.

This has to be the most embarrassing thing e’er.
“I am finished,” she said feeling completely humiliated.