Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

S ince Alana had sent him away three days ago, Tadhg had been lurking about the environs of the castle, with no intention of leaving her alone and unprotected with Blaine. During the intervening time, he'd hardly slept thinking about what might be happening to her. This evening, he had positioned himself in the tree line of some woods near the castle. He had chosen his place of concealment carefully, so he would have a clear view of the gate at all times.

He was sitting observing the comings and goings when he suddenly heard someone coming up behind him. Constantly alert, expecting it to be one of Blaine's guards on patrol, he sprang upright, snatching his dirk from his belt as he whirled to face the interloper.

"Hey, dinnae get excited. 'Tis only me," Knox said, emerging from some bushes and brushing at his coat.

"Ach, I am glad tae see ye," Tadhg told him, sheathing the dirk and embracing his friend with relief.

"Likewise. I heard about what happened in the council meeting and Alana sendin' ye away like that. I was very sorry tae hear about it. Ye seem so well suited."

"'Tis a long story, Knox. I'll tell ye about it one day, when there's more time," Tadhg said and left it at that. His heart was not yet in a state where he could speak about Alana without a great deal of pain.

"What is it exactly that ye're doin' out here?" Knox asked, taking a silver flask from his pocket and offering Tadhg a drink.

"Thanks," he said, taking a hefty swig of the whisky, feeling instantly energized as the warmth spread through his tired limbs. "Never mind what I'm doin', what are ye doin'? How did ye even find me?"

Knox chuckled. "I'm nae quite as stupid as ye might think, ye ken. I was just leavin' tae head home, and I wanted tae see if ye needed a place tae stay fer a while. I had an idea ye'd nae be far off, so I took a wee walk about the place, thinkin' I might bump intae ye. And lo and behold, here ye are."

"I'm nae goin' anywhere while Alana's inside there with Blaine. But 'tis worryin'. If ye can find me, then so can his men," Tadhg said, troubled by the ease with which Knox had tracked him down.

But Knox shook his head. "I dinnae think anyone's lookin' fer ye, with the laird still missin' and all."

"Well, that's somethin'. I'll have the element of surprise on me side, at least."

"What d'ye mean?" Knox asked, his handsome brow creasing into a frown. "Surely, ye're nae thinkin' of breakin' intae the place, are ye?"

"I surely am. I've nae intention of leavin' Alana in there, whether she likes it or nae. I dinnae trust Blaine as far as I can spit, and I can just feel it in me bones that he's got somethin' planned fer her. Somehow, I've got tae get her out of there. The trouble is, on me own like this, I'm nae sure I can dae much."

Knox slapped him on the back. "I'm here, and I have six of me best men with me too. We're at yer disposal," he said, cheerful once more.

"That's very good of ye, but why should ye get involved?" Tadhg asked, moved by the man's generosity, nonetheless.

"Well, fer one, I owe ye fer savin' me life that time. Second, ye're me friend, and friends help each other. Third, I dinnae trust Blaine one bit either, and if ye think he's plannin' tae harm Alana, then I want tae help."

Tadhg smiled for what felt like the first time in days. "Ye're a grand man fer a laird, Knox. Let's talk about a plan."

They squatted down, and Tadhg told him about how he and Alana had been so suspicious of Blaine that they had followed him and discovered the secret passages that allowed him to move secretly about the castle and come and go unseen. He told him about the door he thought must lead directly into the dungeons from the secret passageway.

"It had been freshly oiled. I cannae help thinkin' that Blaine's been usin' it regularly fer some reason, and that he has somethin' stashed down there he daesnae want anyone else tae find."

"Ye say we can we get intae these passages from outside the castle?" Knox asked.

"Aye," Tadhg told him with a nod. "Let's go and fetch yer men, and I'll show ye the way in."

Less than an hour after that, Tadhg led Knox and his men into the concealed outside entrance of the passageway leading to the mysterious door. As before, this section of the passage was lit by a few torches, probably for Blaine's benefit, he figured. At any rate, it enabled them to see where they were going, and before long, they assembled outside the heavily studded door, all of them covering their noses and mouths to bear the stench.

Tadhg tried the handle and was unsurprised to find it locked. But that was not going to deter him this time because he and Knox had discussed what to do and come up with a plan that might work. If it was unsuccessful, then he would break the door down if he had to. "Stand back in the shadows, lads," he told the others. "Let's find out if anyone's home."

Knox and his men moved back and pressed themselves against the walls, their swords unsheathed. Tadhg raised his fist and pounded on the door. Nothing happened at first, so he tried again, putting more force into it this time. He and Knox had figured that if anyone was in there, then eventually they would come to see who was making such a racket. Tadhg was hoping they might expect it to be Blaine opening up to let him in. That was, unless he was on the other side of the door already.

Tadhg hammered on the door a few more times. Finally, they heard a noise from beyond, what sounded like the jingle of keys. A key was put in the lock, it turned, and Tadhg wrenched the door open, coming face to face with a startled guard.

"What the h—" the man cried just before Tadhg's fist crunched into his face. He slammed into the wall behind and slid down like a sack of turnips, knocked stone cold senseless. The blood spurting from his nose formed a spreading puddle on the flagstones. Tadhg calmly stepped over it while unsheathing his sword in a smooth motion, making his way into the main area of the dungeons, followed by Knox and his men. The last man through relieved the unconscious guard of his weapons, closed the door, and stationed himself next to it, a small welcoming party, should anyone else should try to enter.

Knox and Tadhg went into the area ahead and saw the cells in front of them. A guard dozing on a chair nearby suddenly came awake when he saw them.

"Who the bloody hell are ye?" he roared, shooting out of his seat and going for his sword. Knox engaged with him immediately, leaving Tadhg free to press on. But a split second later, another guard, clearly alerted by his colleague's exclamation, burst from one of the cells, his weapon already in his hand. Tadhg went for him, and their blades clashed noisily.

He pressed forward against the guard's spirited resistance, their swords ringing like bells in the confined space as they parried and thrust in a deadly dance. As they fought, a hoarse, deep voice came from inside the cell whence the guard had come, taking Tadhg by surprise. "Who's out there?" it asked.

"John? Is that ye?" Knox called, coming up behind Tadhg, having left the other guard lying on the floor groaning and clutching at the hole in his chest.

"Aye! 'Tis me, Knox, in here!" the answer came back, the voice booming with renewed strength now.

"Hold on, me laird, we're comin'," Knox shouted back.

But the stubborn guard, though outnumbered, did not seem eager to cease fighting. He stood on the threshold, stopping them from entering, putting up a determined fight. Tadhg was growing impatient and suddenly paused his attack. The guard appeared taken aback and stopped as well, staring at him, panting and red-faced.

"Does Blaine pay ye enough tae die fer him?" Tadhg asked. "Because it daesnae matter how hard ye fight, sooner or later, I'm gonnae kill ye."

The guard's eyes flicked to the now still body of his companion and the crimson pool surrounding him. He seemed to make a decision.

"I dinnae get paid enough fer this," the man said, letting his sword clatter to the floor followed by his dirk. He stood aside.

"Sensible man," Tadhg muttered as he entered the cell.

"Are ye here tae stop Blaine?" the guard asked, his expression changing to one of alarm as Knox backed him up against the open cell door, holding the tip of his blade to his throat.

"Just in case ye change yer mind and decide tae fight us again," Knox explained.

"Nay, I'm out," the guard protested, holding up his palms.

"All right, then," Knox replied. "Get in that cell." The guard obeyed, backing into the cell where Tadhg was already untying the badly beaten Laird MacIver from the chair.

"Help me," Tadhg commanded the guard, who rushed to assist him with freeing Laird MacIver. Within a few minutes, they had John on his feet.

"Knox, how did ye find me? And who's this man?" He clapped Tadhg on the back with gratitude.

"I'm Tadhg MacTavish, me laird," Tadhg supplied. "I'm a friend of yer daughter's."

Laird MacIver looked him up and down through his swollen eyes, then put a hand on his arm. "Then ye'd better hurry up and come with me, lad. Blaine's got her captive, and he's forcin' her tae marry him so he can take over the lairdship. The ceremony's probably started by now. Come on, follow me, there's nay time tae waste."

Tadhg's blood turned to ice as he followed the laird from the cell. "I knew this was what he planned all along, the bastard! He's been after her from the very first. I didnae bargain on it happenin' quite so soon though," he muttered, pausing while the laird snatched up the guard's dropped weapons. Then, they ran straight out into the passageway. "Bring some torches, lads, we might need them," the laird shouted over his shoulder, moving rapidly down the passage with a purposeful vigor that belied his pitiful physical condition.

Full of admiration for the man, Tadhg snatched a torch from a wall sconce as he passed, as did Knox and a couple of his men.

"There's a short cut from here that'll take us right to the great hall," Laird John said as he led them hastily along the passage to the winding staircase. "Just follow me."

Tadhg mounted the steps behind him, staying close, praying silently they would be in time to save Alana from being wed to Blaine. Knox and his men brought up the rear as they all hurried up after Laird MacIver, who was surprisingly fast for his bad state.

The climb felt interminable to Tadhg, who had to curb the urge to push past MacIver and race ahead. However, as they began to make their way down another long, dark passageway interspersed with doors, a strident male voice could be heard pompously intoning, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

"Hurry, the ceremony's already begun," Tadgh whispered urgently, starting to feel panic rising in him.

"Dinnae fash, lad, that's only the beginnin'," the old laird assured him, showing no sign of slowing down himself.

The voice of the minister grew steadily louder, and eventually, they came to a door where it sounded to Tadhg as if the man was standing a few feet away from them. There, the laird halted them, whispering to them to keep quiet. Then, he eased open the door a crack.

Tadgh peered over his head to see that the hidden doorway was partially concealed by a tapestry and looked out from behind the makeshift altar into the body of the great hall. His heart leaped into his throat to see Alana dressed in a pale gown, standing next to Blaine in front of the black-clad minister.

Her face looked greenish, as though she was about to vomit, and her eyes were red with tears. She wavered on her feet, her wrist tied to Blaine's by the strips of fabric used to unite the bride and groom in the traditional handfasting part of the ceremony.

Please, Lord, I've never asked much of ye, but just let me get tae her in time.