Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

T hat evening, as usual, Alana and Tadgh joined Blaine and his coterie of guests at the absent laird's table for dinner.

"Why is he eatin' so slowly," Alana complained to him quietly. She had been surreptitiously watching Blaine throughout the meal, wishing it would end so they could put their plan in motion. "It'll be midnight before he finishes at this rate."

"Patience, me bonny lass. He'll finish soon enough. Now, let's rile him a little," Tadhg replied.

"How? More kissing? Or shall I sit on yer lap this time?"

"Dinnae be like that. I told ye, the more we provoke him by showin' him how happily married we are, the more he'll hate me, and the more likely it is that he'll slip up and show his true colors."

"All right. What d'ye want me tae dae this time, Husband ?"

"Cut me up a little of that beef on yer plate and feed it tae me with yer fork," he told her with a mischievous grin. "That'll drive him crazy. Just watch his face, eh?"

"Ye're terrible, Tadhg MacTavish, d'ye ken that?" she said, laughing loudly.

"Quick, he's lookin' over this way. Dae it now. And make a fuss of me too, just tae be extra convincin'," he urged her.

"Me darlin' husband," she said loud enough for Blaine to hear every word, "will ye nae try a wee bit of this beef. 'Tis really very good. Ye have tae keep yer strength up, ye ken." She gave a girlish giggle for good measure as she leaned over and fed him the beef from her own fork.

"Mmm, thank ye, me bonny lass, that's tasty indeed." He ate the meat with such lascivious relish, it was hard for her not to simply dissolve into genuine giggles. She fed him another forkful and stroked his hair, watching Blaine from the corner of her eye, just as she knew Tadhg was doing.

"Did ye see the way he looked then? It was like a thunder cloud passing across the sun," she whispered.

"Aye, I saw it. He hates me guts all right. But see how quickly that false smile of his comes back. Och, he's riled all right."

"Well, I hope it makes him eat a bit bloody faster then," Alana observed. "And dinnae think ye're gonnae eat all me beef. Get yer own."

"Ye ken, sometimes ye can be awful hard on a man," he retorted mildly, spearing a chunk of chicken with his knife and lifting it to his mouth. "I hope I'm nae gonnae turn intae one of those henpecked husbands."

"Nay, just one of those husbands whose wife sticks her fork in his arse," she replied casually, flicking him a challenging glance.

"Nae need fer such violence. I obey yer every command, me goddess, ye ken that," he told her with a cheeky smile.

"Good. That's as it should be then."

It was over an hour later when dinner finally ended, by which time, Alana was champing at the bit. They watched Blaine's movements covertly, and as soon as he drained his goblet of wine and got up from the table, excusing himself on business, they too got up. As Blaine exited the great hall, they followed him at a discreet distance to his study.

"Bugger," Tadhg exclaimed softly. "How can we follow him when he's goin' nowhere but his study? We cannae wait around here all night waiting fer him tae come out."

"Hang on a minute, I have an idea," she told him, looking up and down the hallway. No one was about, but that would not last long, so she acted quickly. "Keep a lookout fer me. I'm gonane take a look inside and see what he's doing." She bent down and squinted through the keyhole.

"D'ye see him?" he asked, scanning the ends of the corridor.

"Nay, nae yet."

"Well, hurry up. Someone could come along at any moment," he urged her in a low voice.

"I'm lookin'. Nay, I cannae see him, oh, hold on, yes. I can! He's by the hearth, and he's… Lord above, Tadhg," she exclaimed softly, straightening up.

"What is it?"

"He has a secret door in there, and he's just vanished intae it!"

"Damn me, a secret passage, eh? I bet he can go from one end of the bloody castle tae the other without anyone seein' him," he breathed in amazement.

"Come on, let's go after him before anyone sees us," she said, opening the door and pulling him inside behind her. "'Tis nae such a surprise. These old castles are riddled with secret passages, so folks say. I've just never seen one before."

They hurried over to the paneling next to the hearth. She stuck a hand under the mantel. "There must be a switch or a handle here tae open it." She groped around. "Ah, I think I have it, a wooden peg of sorts. I think if I press it like?—"

Inches away from where they were standing, a small door in the paneling clicked softly open. "'Tis pitch black in there," Tadhg said, peering inside. "We need a light."

"Hold on, I'll find one," she said, snatching a box of matches from the mantel and looking about for a lamp. She spotted a glass chimney lamp on a nearby console table and hurried over to it. Striking a match, she lit it. "Here ye are," she said, returning to Tadhg and handing him the light before tossing the matches back on the mantel.

"Keep a hold of me," he told her as he entered the passage and found himself on a tiny landing, with a narrow staircase of stone leading up and down.

"Which way?" she asked, frowning.

"I dinnae ken." He thought for a moment. "Let's toss a coin fer it."

"All right," she agreed. He rummaged in his trews and brought out a penny. "Ye'll have tae dae it, I'm holdin' the lamp."

"Give it here." She held out her hand for the coin. "Heads fer down, and tails fer up?"

"Aye, whatever. Just hurry up. He could come back at any time."

She flipped the coin and then inspected it. "Heads. We go down."

"Down it is. Come on. Hold me coat. And give me that penny back, will ye? I'll nae have ye robbin' me blind, woman."

"Shhh." She shoved him in the back as she grabbed his coat, and down they went, stealthily, in single file, speaking in whispers.

"Bloody hell, how far does this thing go down, d'ye think," Tadhg asked in exasperation after several long minutes of navigating the narrow steps. "Right down tae the dungeons, I suppose. The old lairds probably crept down here tae dae despicable things tae their poor prisoners."

"Ugh! That's horrible," Alana replied with a shudder. "Ach, what is that awful reek?" she asked, covering her nose with her hand as a dreadful stench hit her.

"Jaysus, it stinks right enough. 'Tis the dungeons fer sure. Hey, I think we're almost at the bottom."

He was correct, for the staircase soon ran out, and they found themselves standing in a small area, with the passage bending away to their right, and in front of them, a stout oak door full of studded ironwork. Tadhg tried the handle. "'Tis locked."

"Ew, the stench is even worse here," Alana said, trying hard not to breathe it in.

"Ach, me eyes are waterin', 'tis so strong," Tadhg said, trying to cough quietly. "Here, hold this up so I can see." He handed her the lamp, covering his nose with his arm as best he could to avoid breathing in, while he bent to inspect the lock. He pulled his finger away and looked at it. "Oil. Someone's been through here recently, someone with a key."

"Blaine?" Alana ventured, her voice muffled by her hand.

"Possibly, but there's nae way tae tell fer sure. It makes me wonder what's on the other side though," he replied, giving up on the door for the moment.

"Aye, me too," she agreed. "So, what dae we dae now?"

"Well, first, let's get away from this foul stink. Then, I suggest we keep goin'. We may find out where else he goes."

"All right." He took the lamp back from her, and they followed the passage around to the right, mercifully leaving the odor of dungeon behind.

"We must have walked miles, Tadhg," Alana whispered after they had been walking for a while. "How much further?"

"I dinnae ken, but we have tae keep goin' now we've come all this way. And nae sign of Blaine." They kept walking, encountering a locked door now and then, the locks usually rusty with lack of use. "Those doors probably give access tae other secret openings," he said, holding up the lamp. "But whoever oiled the lock back there daesnae seem interested in them. Look, I think we're comin' tae the end. There's another door. I hope this one's nae locked or we'll be walking all the way back."

But the door was not locked. "This has been oiled as well," Tadhg said, scrutinizing the lock. "Someone's been using this part of the secret highway regularly." Let's find out where it goes."

"Be careful," she whispered as he opened the door. They found themselves emerging into a small copse of trees. The moon was high, casting down its silvery illumination, so Tadhg blew out the lamp. They looked around, trying to get their bearings. "Where are we?" Alana asked.

"I'm nae sure exactly, but somewhere outside the castle walls. Look." He pointed through the trees, and Alana saw the curtain wall of the castle looming up in front of them a few hundred yards away. "Blaine can come and go as he pleases from here. He could be anywhere. We've lost him, but at least we've learned somethin'," he said.

"Come on, let's go back inside." He took her arm, and they walked to the gates, where they were let in through the small side gate, saying in passing to the guards that they had been for an evening stroll.

"What dae we dae now?" she asked as they made their way back to their chamber for the second time that evening.

"It daesnae look like we'll have much success with me plan. So, I suppose we have tae try yers."

"Well, thank goodness fer that. At least it daesnae entail walking ten miles fer nae reason," she said and gave a weary sigh as they finally reached their door. "Me feet are killin' me."

He smiled. She squeaked as he suddenly picked her up and put her over his shoulder. "Dinnae fash yersel'," he told her, opening the door and going inside. "I've got just the thing tae take yer mind off that."

The door slammed, and anyone passing by at that moment would have heard her girlish giggling coming from inside.

The following morning, Tadhg went exploring, to find a suitable venue for Alana's meeting later that day with the laird's adopted son.

"The guest parlor is ideal," he told Alana after returning to their chambers. "It has another small sitting room leading off it. Ye can meet him in the main parlor. Leave the door between the two rooms open, and I'll be able tae hear every word ye say."

They agreed it could work, and Alana sent a note via Angus, asking Blaine to meet with her at six in the guest parlor. Before long, his reply came back. Yes, he would be delighted to meet her.

"But dinnae encourage him too much," Tadhg warned her. "If he tries anythin', I'll be in there like a shot and?—"

"Ye'll dae nae such thing. Ye'll stay in the other room and listen, otherwise we'll learn naethin', just like with yer brilliant plan."

So, in the hour before dinner that evening, with Tadhg stationed out of sight in the adjoining room, she paced nervously in the guest parlor, waiting for the arrival of Blaine.