Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

K atherine had little to take with her, and thus, under the watchful eye of one of the guards, for Domhnall had stormed out of her bedchamber, Katherine was packed and on her horse within an hour.

Heartbroken, and with the weight of her choices crushing her, her heart was now shattered into a million pieces, for as she and the men who had accompanied her when she had first arrived at Dunvegan were being escorted out of the castle, the dreadful fact that she would never lay her eyes on Domhnall again was tearing her apart.

How had she been so stupid? Why had she not told him the truth from the very beginning? The first attack on Domhnall had been bad enough, but the second ought to have motivated her to spill her heart out. She knew she loved him, even then, and yet, she had selfishly kept what she knew to herself. She had been too afraid of what he would think of her and what she would lose to think of warning him of her brother’s intentions.

You were selfish, and now, you are reaping what you have sown.

She had wept once Domhnall had left her in the bedchamber, and now, her throat painfully tightened again as the distance between herself and the man she loved grew by the minute.

About half an hour had passed, when her eyes widened at the sight up ahead, for there was Reginald with the men he had left, now only three, waiting on her, surrounded by five more of the laird’s men.

Domhnall had evidently sent even more scouts out after discovering her brother’s letter, and, with a greater force searching, and knowing that he could not be far from the castle, Reginald and his men had been discovered.

As they neared them, Reginald glowered at her. He was fuming with rage, no doubt blaming her for being found out, as well as seething with the knowledge that he would no longer be able to implement his cruel plan.

“Are you satisfied now, sister?” he hissed, when she reached him. “Look at what your feelings have caused. I should never have sent a woman to do a man’s work. Because of you, we have failed. You have failed me, and you have failed Father. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

Katherine did not reply. There was nothing she could say that would appease his anger. Even if there had been, she would have remained silent. While she had been on board with his plan at the beginning, she now realized that her brother’s vendetta had little to do with their father. There was something else that had driven her brother in this task. Something that she would now never likely discover.

Besides, Reginald’s feelings were really the least of her worries. She had her own cross to bear. She was only grateful that, for the hours that followed, he did not speak to her again.

They travelled for a lot longer, stopping only to rest the horses and to eat the food Domhnall had arranged to have prepared for them. Even in his anger, the laird had cared for their needs, when really, he had no obligation to do so. But then, she had come to know that his abrasive nature was part of the wall he had built to protect himself. The wall she had broken down, brick by brick, only to stab him so viciously once she had him at his most vulnerable.

She was no better than her brother. Beneath the laird’s anger, that morning, she had seen his pain, and she had quickly realized that it was she alone who had destroyed the man she pertained to love. Reginald had planned to kill the man physically, but Katherine knew she had ruined him in a different way altogether. Maybe a worse way, for if he were dead, at least he would no longer have to suffer. But he was very much alive, and so suffer he now would.

They continued on, Katherine silently weeping at the thought of her life without Domhnall in it. Her pain, too, was immense, but she deserved every second of it. No doubt, when they returned to England, there would be consequences to face, but she didn’t even care. Nothing could be worse than what she currently felt. In fact, if she died that very day, it would be a relief.

When they arrived at Drynoch, the guards led them through the village, ordered them to dismount outside a tavern, and huddled them inside.

“By the laird’s order,” one of them said to the inn-keeper, “we need all o’ yer rooms tonight.”

The inn-keeper looked worried, and checking his ledger, he looked back at the guard. “I only have three rooms available.”

The guard looked back at the others, clearly figuring out what he was going to do, and then turned back to the innkeeper. “That’s fine. We’ll tak’ them.”

Soon after that, Katherine found herself in a room of her own, while Reginald and his men were forced to share one of the other two.

“There’s a floor there,” he growled, jerking his head towards the room. “Mak’ good use o’ it.”

In the evening, the guards brought her food and wine. But Katherine wasn’t hungry and instead, curled herself up on the bed. More tears trickled down her cheeks as sadness continued to overwhelm her, and at some point, she closed her eyes and fell sound asleep.

“Katherine! Katherine!”

Katherine woke up with a start, her heart pounding, her eyes still blurry.

Blinking to clear her vision, she saw Reginald standing over the top of her, his brow furrowed and an urgency on his face.

“Get up. Hurry. We are leaving.”

“What?”

“Do it. Do it now!” he ordered.

Scrambling to a sitting position, her heart still thumping against her chest, she watched as Reginald hurried towards the door. Opening it, he seemed to look out, before turning back towards her. “Move!” he hissed.

Once Katherine had gathered her bag, she hurried towards him while still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“We need to be quiet,” Reginald whispered.

Walking out of her room, Katherine gasped at the sight of the guard lying dead outside her door, blood oozing from his body. It was the same guard who had organized their rooms. Reginald glared at her, and then, grabbing her hand, he led her down the narrow staircase.

Outside, Reginald’s men where already mounted upon their horses and clearly waiting for them. Noting the moon glaring against a black sky, the bright stars its only company, Katherine deduced that it was the middle of the night. The silence of the street and lack of people backed up her conclusion.

Reginald helped her onto one of the two remaining horses, and then, heading to the front of the group, he flicked his reins, forcing his horse into a gallop. Seconds later, Katherine and the other men did the same, following Reginald out of the village at great speed.

They travelled for several hours, stopping only to rest the horses. Katherine had no idea what direction they were going in, and at one point, she asked Reginald if they were heading back to the coastal town to catch the boat back home.

“You think I am going to trust you with my plans after everything you’ve done,” he snapped. “You are the reason my plan did not work, Katherine. You alone, sabotaged my efforts here in this god forsaken place.”

Once more, her brother seethed with anger, but beneath that, there was something more. She could see it in his eyes. Something evil. It was a side to her brother she had never before seen, for even as angry as he was the last time they had met, he now seemed to be even more driven, as though the man was possessed.

A terrifying feeling rose within her at what he could be capable of, and she concluded that they were not returning at all. Why would they be running in the middle of the night, if that were the case? With that realization, even more regret began gnawing at her soul. If she had only told Domhnall the truth. But she had not, and now she worried deeply that her brother’s plan was even darker than she could ever have imagined.

Another hour of travel passed, when the man who led them, the man who had clearly been looking for something, called behind him.

“There it is,” he yelled.

Katherine looked up and followed the direction in which he was pointing. There, surrounded by trees that had not been tended to in many years, was an old and clearly abandoned house. It was large and looked badly neglected. The wall surrounding it had long fallen, and by the old ivy that crawled up the walls and into the windows, she could tell the house had not been occupied for many years.

“What is this place?” Katherine asked.

“This is where we hid out when we first arrived. We came upon it by chance, but it is the perfect place to enact my plan,” Reginald growled, an evil smile thinning his lips so much they practically disappeared.

Once inside, Katherine saw evidence of their last stay. There were water skins sitting on a table with chairs around it. A pile of newly collected logs sat beside the large fire in the living room, and bones from the animals they had clearly caught and eaten were strewn in one corner of the floor.

“Take her upstairs,” Reginald ordered one of his men. “I don’t want her causing any more trouble.”

“Yes, my lord,” the guard replied.

“No. Wait,” Katherine cried as the guard grabbed her by the arm.

“You will obey me, Katherine, or so help me, you will never see the light of another day.”

Katherine gasped at her brother’s words, and feeling suddenly stunned, she stared at Reginald in utter astonishment, even as the guard pulled her from out of his sight.

Once upstairs, he shoved her roughly into the room, stepped back into the corridor beyond, and slammed the door shut. Katherine’s eyes darted about her, taking in her new living quarters. The floor was filthy, covered in dust and leaves that had blown in through the holes in the wall where windows might once have been. Against the far wall was a wooden dresser, and on the opposite wall, a mattress lay on the floor. Other than that, the room was empty.

Exhausted from the journey, Katherine dropped onto the mattress. It was laden with only a blanket, and pulling it round herself, she curled into a ball.

I should warn Domhnall that Reginald is coming for him.

How can you do that when you don’t even know where you are? Besides, Reginald will never be able to get into the castle. It is now too well guarded after Domhnall discovered your betrayal.

Both of those points were valid, and thus, Katherine could not argue with them, even though she sensed her brother was far sneakier than she had ever thought possible. Even if she wanted to warn Domhnall, she would never manage to escape from that house without one of her brother’s men coming after her. And again, even if she did escape, what direction was she supposed to go?

Katherine was still puzzling that conundrum when her eyes began to droop. She just needed to rest a while. Perhaps after a small nap, her mind would work better and she would be able to figure it out.