Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

F ive days had passed since the first torture session. Laird MacTavish had not returned the following day, which had given Edan a reprieve. There was not much time to recuperate, but one day was better than nothing. The laird, however, returned the day after that, and the torture commenced as before.

Edan held his ground, though the second time was far harder. Not only because he knew what was coming, but for the fact he was already injured to begin with. Before he had been dragged into that room again, he had told Caitlyn he was fine, though he was certain there was damage to his ribs. He couldn't really examine his body, being bound all day and all night and when Caitlyn had offered to look, he had refused.

She was worried to death as it was. The damage to his face had distraught her enough. She didn't need to see any more bruises, swelling, or cuts. Even though he had tried to keep them from her, however, he had struggled to stop small winces escaping his lips whenever he moved.

"Ye are more hurt than ye're telling me," Caitlyn had deduced.

She had always been a clever lass.

"I'll be fine," Edan had replied. "There's naething he can dae tae me that will break me, Caitlyn. Ye dinnae have tae worry about that."

"What?" she had balked. "Ye think I care if ye break or nae? What kind o' person dae ye take me fer? If I thought ye would listen tae me, I'd tell ye tae spill yer guts tae the laird. If it would make him stop hurting ye, I'd tell ye tae dae it."

Her words had surprised him a little. He could not have imagined that was what she had been thinking. And while he understood why she would say such a thing, he had shaken his head firmly. "I cannae dae that tae yer family."

"Exactly," she had countered. "That's exactly why I havenae said anything. I ken ye well enough, Edan MacLachlan. I ken ye're brave and courageous and loyal. I ken ye will suffer anything tae protect me faither and me clan."

"It's the right thing tae dae."

"Even if it kills ye?" Caitlyn had cried.

Edan had dropped his head. "I cannae bear such a responsibility on me shoulders. If I talk, everyone dies. It would be me fault, and I cannae live with that."

"And what if everyone dies even if ye dinnae talk?" she had asked. "What if we die, even if ye dinnae talk?"

"Then, I'll die with me pride intact," Edan had said solemnly. "I'll leave this life kenning I did all I could dae tae prevent it."

The second day of torture was as bad as the first, and then he was dragged back to the room where Caitlyn sobbed at the state he was in. She demanded water that time, too, and nursed his wounds with her tender touch.

When Edan regained consciousness again, it was daylight outside. Blinking his eyes open, the first sight he saw was Caitlyn. With his head in her lap, he gazed up at her and noticed that her eyes were closed and her head had fallen forward. It took another second to realize that she had fallen asleep sitting upright against the wall.

Clearly, she had not wanted to disturb him. As painful as it was, he smiled warmly up at her. Captivity teaches you a lot about a person, and he was certainly learning a lot about Caitlyn.

He was about to wake her when he stopped himself. She had taken care of him the night before in his delirium. Clearly, she was exhausted and needed the rest. Besides, he couldn't imagine she would have got much sleep in that awful position. Instead of disturbing her, he gazed up at her, watching the soft rise and fall of her bosom.

His eyes scanned the long, brown hair that hung beside her sunken, grubby cheeks. Neither of them had been given an opportunity to wash since they had been taken captive, and one meal a day was hardly filling their bellies. Against his wishes, Caitlyn had been giving him more porridge, telling him he needed the strength for what he was being forced to endure. Edan had tried to argue with her, but she had argued back. Seeing she had been the one wielding the spoon, there was little he could do about it.

He took in the rest of her face, her delicate tiny nose and her soft, relaxed lips. She really was a beautiful woman. A woman who did not deserve to be here. A woman who was being punished for the ‘sins of her faither', how Laird MacTavish had described it, at any rate. It wasn't right, nor was it fair, but right and fair did not seem to be in Laird MacTavish's vocabulary.

A dull ache in his ribs eventually forced him to move, and when he did so, a slight wince left his lips. Immediately, Caitlyn took a steep breath in and opened her eyes.

Damn it!

As annoyed as he was at himself for waking her, he still gave her a lopsided grin, mainly because his lips were too swollen to smile properly without causing him pain. "Morning, sleepy head."

Caitlyn yawned and looked toward the window. "Is it morning?"

It was a good question. Edan had no idea. But the guards had not yet come in and woken them up to take them to the privy or give them breakfast, so it must be.

"I'm guessing so."

Caitlyn took a long look at him, her eyes scanning over his wounds. After a moment of thorough examination, she said, "Yer eyes and lips are less swollen today."

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Aye. Course ye are." She took in a big breath and sighed heavily.

Something about that sigh felt more ominous than usual.

"Are ye all right?" he asked, still looking up at her.

She half-grinned mirthlessly. "Ye mean apart from the fact we're living on borrowed time and are soon tae be killed fer MacTavish's pleasure?"

Edan smirked. "Aye. Apart from that."

"Well, there is something else," she said, her tone laden with something Edan couldn't quite put his finger on.

"What?"

"Ye dinnae remember?" Her eyebrows lifted.

He shook his head, and immediately winced. "Nay," he breathed through the pain.

"Today is the day ye're meant tae be marrying me sister," she said carefully.

Edan's eyes flew wide at her remark. "Me god!"

Caitlyn nodded. "I was thinking about it last night, when ye were moaning in yer sleep."

"Is it a dreadful thing that I have forgotten all about it?" Edan said, feeling guilt well up within him.

"Och, ye cannae be blamed, Edan. Ye've been fighting fer yer life. But I suppose the wedding will never take place. We're never getting out o' here."

With agony as he moved, Edan struggled with much grunting and panting to sit himself upright. It took far longer than he would have liked, and he knew the damage to his ribs was now worse than before. When he finally righted himself, he inched closer to Caitlyn, taking her fingers in his own.

"Dinnae think like that, Caitlyn," he said, a little breathless from all his efforts. "We're going tae escape. I promise."

"How?" she balked. "I mean, look at ye. That bastard has all but killed ye. Now we ken why he only has four guards here. He kent he was going tae pummel ye so badly, ye wouldnae have the strength tae escape."

He couldn't argue with that, but nor was he willing to give up. Not now. In fact, Caitlyn was right. His survival depended on them getting out, for he didn't know how much more brutality he could endure.

"Listen tae me," Edan began. He was about to continue, when the sound of the sliding bolt on their door silenced them, making them both sit up a little straighter.

When the morning routine was over, and the guard retrieved the empty bowl, Edan felt his eyelids grow heavy again. The lack of sustenance, along with the torture, was weakening him day by day.

"Ye need tae rest. Lay ye head upon me shoulder," Caitlyn said.

"I should stay awake in case MacTavish comes back."

"Ye ken he'll wake ye at any rate. Ye might as well try and get some rest while ye can."

Edan nodded, and positioning himself a little lower, he leaned against Caitlyn and rested his head. As his eyes closed, he thought of Effie. He wondered what she might be thinking at that moment, given it was supposed to be their wedding day. As his body relaxed, and his breathing slowed, a final thought ran through his mind before sleep overtook him.

If we get out o' here, I need tae call the wedding off. I cannae marry Effie. Nae now. Nae after all we've been through.

Caitlyn's trembling body roused Edan from his sleep. The room was dark, and clearly, the day had passed with no sign of MacTavish. Maybe he needed as much rest as Edan.

"What's the matter?" he asked, pushing himself up from Caitlyn's shoulder.

The room was cold, but Edan was certain that wasn't the reason for her trembling. They had acclimatized to the temperature to a degree, and for the last few nights, their body heat had kept them as comfortable as they could make it.

"Can ye nae hear it?" she whispered, a tremor in her voice.

Edan listened then, and heard a howling wind blowing against the window. The boards rattled with the strength of it, and Edan deduced that a storm was coming.

"Ye dinnae like storms?" he asked, sounding a little surprised.

"The wind terrifies me. It has done since I was a little girl."

Edan instructed her to lie down, and as he had done every night, he tucked himself closely in behind her. "'Tis all right, Caitlyn. I'm right here with ye."

She still trembled for a while, and trying to give her more comfort, Edan blew his hot breath softly against her neck in an effort to calm her and keep her warm.

The wind thrashed against the window, and the rattling boards made it difficult to sleep, but Edan did not feel tired anyway, having slept for most of the day. He could hear a frenetic rushing sound as the wild wind blew through, what he imagined to be, trees close by.

Perhaps we are being kept in a dense wood, or forest.

"Can I ask ye something?" Caitlyn said sometime later.

Edan thought she was sleeping, and the fact that she was still awake surprised him.

"Anything," he replied.

"Why did ye force Aengus Lamont tae break off our betrothal?"

Edan sighed. He couldn't have imagined that would have been her question. Had he known, he might have been a little less open in his reply. He was willing to answer most things, but not that. She was suffering enough. He just couldn't cause her such hurt now.

"'Tis best ye dinnae ken," he said plainly.

"But I want tae ken," she said.

"Well, I willnae answer ye, Caitlyn. Now try and sleep."