Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

M inna was relieved that her task had gone well that night. As well as the grain, she had managed to steal some extra meat, and some jars of preserved fruit, which was why she had needed the big draught horse. Now, as she stabled Benny, she kissed his velvet nose and filled his manger with oats, then did the same for Caesar.

"You have done well tonight, my boys," she said happily. She sighed as she went upstairs to her bedroom. It had been a productive night, but exhausting, and she was more than ready for bed.

Suddenly she froze as she heard a sound that filled her with dread and alarm. It was the muffled scream of a woman and the furious grunting of a man, as well as the noise of frantic scuffling. A fight was obviously going on, and she knew the voice of the man at once. It was Jamie, her drunken wastrel of a brother. She rounded a bend in the staircase, then her eyes met a scene that made her recoil in horror.

Unlike previous nights, Jamie's drinking spree had not rendered him unconscious as soon as he arrived home. In fact, he was feeling rather lively, just in the right mood for grabbing a woman and doing what came naturally. Whether she consented or not, was immaterial to him. He was the Laird, and his word was law. Anyway, he was much bigger and stronger, and it was a woman's duty to submit, was it not?

He had seen a new chambermaid that morning and had been immediately smitten by her obvious charms. She had all the right womanly assets that made him harden instantly and he immediately wanted to drag her into his bedroom and have his way with her. Generous breasts gave way to a small waist and curving hips, and although a pretty face did not matter much to him, she was attractive in a cute, elfin way, with big blue eyes and long fair hair. He liked the look of her, and wondered what she would look like underneath her rather shabby maid's uniform.

He had approached her and smiled. "I see that you are new here," he observed looking up and down every inch of her as he circled around her.

The young woman took a step back, startled at having been approached by the Laird himself. "Aye, m'Laird," she said nervously. "I only came here yesterday."

"What is your name?" Jamie asked pleasantly.

"It is Katrina, M'Laird, but everybody calls me Katie." She looked at the floor, blushing, but suddenly the housekeeper, Rose Mackintyre, came to take her by the elbow and usher her away.

"Excuse me, M'Laird," the woman said, her voice respectful but firm, "but Katie has an awful lot tae dae today. She has tae learn everything fae the beginning, an' it is hard work. Come wi' me, hen."

Jamie stared at her frostily, trying to intimidate her, but Rose had out-stared better men than Jamie Darroch, and at last he turned away.

Katie looked at Rose, expecting to be reprimanded. "Sorry, Mistress," she said, her voice trembling, "but the Laird - there is somethin' about him that scares me. I am probably just bein' stupid."

The housekeeper squeezed Katie's shoulders, then shook her head. "No, ye arenae, hen," she said grimly. "He does the same tae a' the new lassies, especially the bonny ones. It is the way he looks at ye. Try tae keep out o' his sight if ye can, an' after a while ye will get used tae him an' he will get used tae you. He is a nasty bit o' work an' ye must be careful, but."

Katie nodded. She was scared to death.

"If ye have any trouble wi' him, go tae see Mistress Minna," the housekeeper advised. "They are like chalk an' cheese. She is kind an' considerate, an' he is selfish an' spiteful. Remember what I said, hen. Stay out o' his way."

Katie nodded. "Aye, Missus Mackintyre, I will."

Now, as Jamie stumbled from the parlor up to his bedroom that night, he thought of the new chambermaid, and a surge of desire shot through him. She was so luscious! Why not go and fetch her now and relieve himself of this unsatisfied lust? Yes. The servants' quarters were only a few steps away. Why not?

Accordingly, he staggered along to the end of the corridor with the passage that went downstairs to where the servants slept and opened the door of each chamber to see who was there. Two women slept in each tiny chamber, but fortunately for him, Jamie found the maid he was seeking almost at once, in the second room. Conveniently, her bed was just beside the door. He almost laughed with glee.

He leaned over and dragged her out of her bed, then pulled her onto the floor and hauled her to her feet.

Katie had been sleeping soundly, but when she felt the sudden rough grasp of two hands on her shoulders, she screamed, but Jamie thrust his face into hers and hissed: "Be silent, or I will make you wish you had never been born."

"What - what are ye goin' tae dae to me?" Katie asked desperately. "Dinnae hurt me, please. I will dae whatever you want, I swear, M'Laird."

"I will not hurt you as long as you are a good lass." Jamie told her, his voice as harsh as broken glass. "But don't disobey me or you will be very sorry!"

However, he did not notice that the maid who shared a room with Katie had woken up too. She was too scared to cry out, but she followed them upstairs as silently as she could, wearing nothing but her nightgown, and ran to fetch the nearest guard on duty.

Jamie was on fire with lust as he pushed the young woman up the stairs before him, so much so that he found himself unable to wait any longer to have his way with her. He pushed her onto a step and frantically began to unbutton his breeches.

Katie, terrified, began to scream again, then she tried to push him backwards down the stairs, but she did not have the strength.

Now that she was fighting him, Jamie was enjoying himself even more. He loved to see fear in a woman's eyes. Then suddenly he realized that despite all the temptation and stimulation, in spite of the fact that he had rendered this woman absolutely helpless and completely submissive, his body would not cooperate. He looked down at his shaft, which lay flaccid and limp in his hand. He growled, just as his sister's hand landed on his shoulder and shoved him sideways away from Katie.

Jamie felt a jolt of agony as his shoulder hit the wall behind him with enough force to ensure a great purple bruise in the morning. He had no time to worry about it, however, as two of the biggest of the guards came to stand over him. Neither of them laid a hand on him, but their looming presence was enough to sober him up almost instantly, as was the hard slap that his sister administered as he turned to look at her.

"Are you all right, Katie?" she asked fearfully, noting the welts on the girl's wrists where her brother had gripped her.

Katie nodded, quite unable to speak. Tears were coursing down her cheeks, and she was trembling uncontrollably. Minna took off her cloak and put it over the young woman's shoulders. At last Katie got to her feet, assisted by Minna, who put her arm around her waist and led her carefully downstairs to her room, followed by the guards.

By this time the corridor to the servants' quarters was filled with curious staff members, all eager to find out what had happened. When she saw Katie, the housekeeper rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the young woman, holding her close and rocking her like a baby. Her gaze met Minna's over Katie's shoulder, and Minna thought she had never seen such anger in anyone's face in her life.

"Come and see me in the morning," she told Missus Mackintyre. "Will she be all right tonight?"

"She can sleep in my room," the housekeeper answered. "I will take care o' her."

Minna nodded. "I will place two guards at the end of the corridor and give them my authority to prevent anyone from coming in here. I am sorry about all this."

"It is no' your fault, Mistress," the housekeeper answered angrily. "If ye don't mind my sayin' so, your brother is a bad man."

"I agree with you," Minna said grimly. "I will send down a little whisky to calm Katie down. Goodnight, Katie. Once again, I am sorry."

Katie shook her head. "No, Mistress. It was no' your doin'. Thank ye for savin' me."

Minna patted her shoulder, then sighed and went upstairs, after telling one of the guards to fetch the whisky, and stationing another two at the entrance to the servants' quarters. She knew from bitter experience that there was absolutely no point in trying to speak any sense to Jamie now. She stumbled up to her room and flopped onto her bed. She was unable to sleep, however, since she was replaying the incident she had just witnessed over and over again in her mind.

Her brother had deliberately embarked on a campaign of intimidation against everyone in the castle. No-one would cross him because he would burst into flames at the slightest provocation, and the reason why he had victimized the newest staff member in the castle was simply because he could. He liked having power over people, and was proud of the fact that he could do it. He was mean-spirited and vicious, and although he was her brother, Minna found it very hard to love him.

She fell asleep shortly after the first gray streaks of dawn began to paint the night sky, having tossed and turned for the remaining few hours of the night.

It was only when Lorna drew the curtains and shook her awake that Minna opened her eyes and moaned.

"Time ye were awake, sleepyhead!" Lorna chided her. "'Tis halfway tae noon!"

Minna sat bolt upright at once. She had only meant to put her head down for a few hours, but as she looked outside she saw that the sun was high in the sky. She screwed her eyes up against the bright daylight and accepted the cup of warm tea that Lorna handed her.

"I can't believe I slept so long," Minna said, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

Lorna sat down on her bed, scowling. "I heard what happened last night," she remarked grimly. "Your brother is a menace, Mistress."

"I can't disagree with you," Minna replied. "He is letting the estate go to rack and ruin and the staff are all terrified of him, especially the young women." She sighed. "We have to do something about him - but what?"

"I fear there is an evil spirit in him, Mistress, an' I fear he got it from your father." Lorna's face was grim as she spoke. "He is drunk most o' the time, an' even when he is no', his temper is foul. Do ye know what young Katie said this mornin'? She said she would never trust another man again in her life, an' I dinnae blame her. Poor wee soul. She will likely have nightmares for years."

"Neither do I," Minna said, sighing. "He has all the female staff on edge. No-one wants to go anywhere alone in case he catches them and overpowers them. Rape is a disgusting crime, and as well as being dangerous to their minds and bodies, women that age are in danger of becoming pregnant. Then what do you think Jamie would do? He would likely throw them out, even if they could prove the baby was his, and I can't think of any way of doing that. As you say, Lorna, he is a menace, but I have no idea what to do about him."

"There are potions, Mistress," Lorna suggested slyly.

Minna stared at her friend in disbelief. "Are you suggesting that I poison him, Lorna?" She was horrified.

Lorna shook her head, laughing. "No, mistress, but maybe ye could give him somethin' tae calm him down. A sleepin' draught in his whisky, like."

If the situation had not been quite so serious Minna might have laughed, but now was not the time. "Calm him down?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Nothing will ever calm him down, Lorna. I am beginning to despair of him."