Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

“ A ye, ye’re right,” she replied through gritted teeth, glaring over at him. “Ye’re as bad as all the others. I looked on ye as me only friend in this place, but now I see I was a fool. Ye’re nae really any different tae me braither, prepared tae use innocent women tae further yer own causes.”

She turned away from him to gaze into the flames. But it seemed she had not finished berating him, for just as suddenly she turned back, her eyes blazing. “I suppose ye’d like me tae beg ye and play the weak little woman. Is that what ye like?” She made her eyes large and sad and put on a high falsetto as she said, “Och, Liam, I’m just a defenseless woman at yer mercy, I’m beggin’ ye fer yer help!” The pantomime abruptly ceased, and she went back to staring at the fire.

He went over to the hearth and stood near her to watch the show, leaning his arm on the mantel.

“But really, I’m worried about bein’ sent back tae Carson and Gael, I think I’m goin’ mad. I hardly ken what I’m doin’. It stings tae ken I was so close tae gettin’ away from them, only tae be caught and sent back.”

“Aye, I can imagine it must be soul destroyin’,” he put in.

“Aye, it is. I cannae sleep, I cannae eat because of the worry goin’ around and around in me mind.”

“It sounds awful.”

“Ye cannae imagine how awful.” She suddenly raised her head and looked at him beseechingly. Her incredible beauty cut him to his soul.

He sighed and sat down in the chair opposite her, stretching out his long legs.

“Well, that was a fine performance, if I may say so. That was worthy of the finest playhouse,” he said, shaking his head at her and smiling.

Her eyebrows met in a sweet little frown. “What d’ye ye mean by that exactly?”

“I mean that ye’ve been tryin’ tae play me for a fool since I walked in here.”

To his amusement, she pretended to be shocked, her eyes flying wide. “I have nae!”

“Aye, ye have. Ye reckoned that when I saw ye in that dress, ye’d be able tae win me over by the power of attraction.”

“And are ye attracted?” She leaned forward, letting the shawl slip a little.

“Ach, stop yer messin’, Ivy. Ye look lovely in the dress, all right? Ye look beautiful. But tryin’ tae get round me like that willnae work. I’m nay fool. Ye didnae think I’d notice how nice ye were bein’ tae me all of a sudden? Did ye nae think the change would make me a wee bit suspicious? And when ye kissed me like that, well, that’s when ye really gave yersel’ away.”

She slumped in the chair and sighed, not bothering to deny any of what he had said.

“Damn ye, Liam.”

“There’s nay plan ye could come up with that could outfox me,” he told her. “If ye think a few fine feminine curves in a pretty dress is all it takes tae make me betray me friends, then ye dinnae ken me at all.”

She jumped up out of her chair, letting the shawl fall to the floor, her eyes blazing. “Ach, ye think ye’re so clever!” she shouted, her hands clenched at her sides. “The big man with the wee defenseless lassie all locked up, tae use as he sees fit. Mock me all ye like, but if ye were in the same boat as me, ye’d try anythin’ tae get free as well. D’ye really think I like bein’ nice tae ye? I hate ye and yer friend fer what ye’re trying tae dae. I had tae force mesel’ tae dae all this. When I kissed ye, I had tae stop mesel’ from feelin’ sick.”

Liam stared at her, fascinated by how her fury made her even more desirable, lighting up her eyes and cheeks. He felt bad for mocking her attempt to play him, strangely excited by her courage in facing him down and telling him exactly what she thought of him. He admired her more than ever. But regrettably, it did not change a thing.

“I’m sorry for laughin’ at ye, Ivy. Just dinnae think me so easily fooled, eh? Ye ken I’m sorry for what’s happenin’ tae ye. I ken ye must feel powerless?—”

“I am powerless, ye brute!”

“Aye, that’s what I meant. But ye must see that if Knox daesnae make this deal with yer braither, then a lot of innocent folks are gonnae get killed when him and his ally Hamilton decide tae launch an attack on us. He wants tae kill Knox and take his lairdship. Now, I dinnae expect ye tae be happy about it, but I’m sure ye can understand that Knox is prepared tae dae just about anythin’ to avoid that.”

“Of course I understand! I dinnae want innocent folks tae die. But that disnae make it any easier fer me. I never asked fer any of this, yet here I am, stuck in the middle of it all, a game played by men fer men. Nay one’s interested in what I think or want.”

Liam saw her point, but his argument still stood as far as he was concerned. “I’m interested, but I cannae dae anythin’ tae change things fer ye. I wish I could.”

“Aye, of course ye dae,” she said, her anger starting to subside, to be replaced

with bitterness. “I can see yer heart bleedin’ fer me from here.”

“Ivy, please try tae understand, I dinnae like this anymore than ye dae?—”

“Are ye gonane have tae wed that pig Gael? Are ye gonnae havetae have him slobberin’ all over ye every night and give him the bairns he wants so badly? Are ye? Nay, Liam, nae one’s forcin’ ye tae live yer life that way, are they? Ye and yer friend have decided what should happen tae me, and naethin’ I say will make ye change yer minds. That’s the truth of it.”

“Aye, if ye like.”

“Well, if that’s the way it is, then I’d be obliged if ye’d leave me alone,” she said, staring into the flames of the fire, a faraway look on her face.

“Ivy,” he said, unwilling to leave her once again in a such a despairing mood.

“Liam,” she snapped back. “Why are ye still here?”

Liam left quickly after that, and as soon as the door was shut, Ivy burst into tears of frustration. She paced the floor, her fists clenched at her sides as tears poured down her face. Twice I’ve tried tae get away from men who wantae condemn me tae a life of misery, and both times I’ve failed! I’m right back at square one. Damn them, damn them all!

She was especially angry with Liam. All right, maybe he had seen through her attempts to manipulate him and laughed at her. But what else was she supposed to do? She could not fight her way out of her situation—he had taken her sword off her when he had captured her, and she had no chance of getting it back. She was defenseless, powerless, the plaything of men. She let out a scream of frustration.

She paced and paced until she exhausted herself and there were no more tears to cry. Then she sat crouched by the fire, staring into the flames, thinking of her plan to escape via the window. She went over to it and looked out. The weather was typical for a Highland February, cold, windy, and wet.

Perfect cover. But there’s nae much time. I havetae go before they hand me over tae Carson, so it might as well be now.

Filled with a new sense of determination, she went and listened at the door for a few minutes, her ear pressed against it. Silence. Knowing she had to work fast, aware that Liam could come in at any moment, she hurried to the bed and pulled out from beneath it the rope she had already made from the sheets she had stripped from the bed and found in the cedar chest.

She had about fifteen feet of rope, and since she did not have time to finish it, that left about five feet lacking to get her all the way to the courtyard cobbles below the window. There was no time for delay. I can jump the rest of the way , she told herself as she ran to the window and opened it. A chill wind assaulted her, and rain dashed in her face. She ignored them as she tied the makeshift rope to the stone casement before hanging on it with all her weight. It held her easily. She leaned over the sill and cast it out of the window.

It dangled against the wall, tossed about by the wind. As she had estimated, she saw she would have to jump the last few feet. But she was confident that being so fit from her training as a fighter, she would make it safely. After that, she was resolved to find some way out of the castle without being seen.

And then I’ll get as far away from here as fast as I can. See how ye like that, Mr. Clever Boots Liam MacTavish!

The last thing she did was to hastily strip off her confining gown and stuff it into a pillowcase along with her petticoat, shoes, shift, and stockings. Then, she reached under the bed again and pulled out the secret stash of food she had been hoarding for just this occasion, dried bread, stale bannocks, and some cheese. It was meager fare but enough to survive until she could find something better.

She smiled to herself as she thrust the small bundle into the pillowcase, thinking how she had at least successfully fooled Liam into believing she was starving herself, to try to soften him up and let her go. He had no clue that from each uneaten tray of food, she had filched a little something and hidden it away like a squirrel hoarding nuts.

Also into the pillow case went a tinder box and some candles, and the boots she had worn when disguised as a boy. Satisfied she had all she needed, she tied off the pillow case and placed it by the window. At that moment, a huge peal of thunder roared overhead, and a crack of lightning lit up the sky.

A storm! That’s exactly what I need fer cover, she thought, hoping it meant the angels were on her side.

The last thing she did was to pull on her boy’s outfit and stuff her hair beneath the woolen cap like before. As she dressed, she bitterly regretted the loss of her sword, again. I’ll just havetae dae without it until I can steal another weapon, she told herself. Terrified of discovery now, she wasted no time in running to the window and throwing the pillowcase down to the cobbles beneath.

She took hold of the end of the rope and clambered gingerly out on to the rain-slick stone, gripping the material tightly. If she fell, that would be the end of all her worries. But she was hell bent on getting through this awful situation.

Gritting her teeth she lowered herself over the edge and began the painstaking climb downwards, lashed by rain and wind, with thunder rolling in the heavens, and lightening crackling around her. At one point, a huge gust of wind caught her and pulled her feet away from the wall. Drenched by fear as well as rain, she swung wildly in midair for a few moments, clinging desperately to the rope until it let her go and her feet met the reassuringly solid stone once more.

It seemed to take forever to reach the end of the rope. Cold and soaked as she was by a combination of perspiration and rain, she did not once falter in her determination to get there. She craned her neck to see how much rope she had left and calculated the right moment to take her leap to the ground. She launched herself into the air and landed with bent knees and a whoosh of breath, in one piece.

Exultant, Ivy grabbed her bundle. As she turned to race away, a crack of lightening like canon shot lit the sky. It split the sky and illuminated the whole scene for just a second, and in that second, she saw who was standing just in front of her, and her heart stopped.

Liam was standing there, with rain running off him, his arms folded. “Very clever. But nae quite clever enough,” he growled. A huge peal of thunder rumbled overhead.

“Damn ye, MacTavish, get out of me way,” she shouted at him in desperation, darting left and right to evade him. But each time he moved to block her path. “Just let me go! Nae one will blame ye fer me escape. Please, I beg ye, just let me go!” Tears of rage, of crushing disappointment mingled with the rain as they ran down her face as she tried to convince him to set her free.

Once more, she tried to slip past him but soon learned it was a big mistake. His arm snaked out and grabbed her, and before she knew what was happening, he slung her over his shoulder like a sack of turnips and stalked off, clearly taking her back into the castle.

“Let me down, ye bastard, let go of me! Get yer hands off of me!” She screamed and yelled, kicking at him and pounding at his back with the one fist she had free—she was still gripping the pillowcase with the other.

But it did no good. Before long, he was carrying her back into the chamber she had just made her daring escape from. To her horror, she saw two men by the windows, carpenters she made out. They were busy nailing boards up over the lower part of the windows.

“I hate ye, Liam Tavish!” she screamed at him, her voice filled with venom. “With all me heart and soul, I hate ye, I hate, oof!” Her breath rush from her lungs as she landed on the bed. He stood over her as she lay there, continuing to hurl curses at him in between panting and screaming.

He said nothing, just glowered at her and went to lock the door, putting the key in his pocket as always. He stood there, arms folded, a face like stone. Water dripped off him, making a small puddle on the floor while he waited for the carpenters to finish their job.

Meanwhile, Ivy turned on her belly and beat at the pillows in defeat, giving herself over to swearing under her breath words no lady should know. She heard the carpenters packing up and tell him, “All done, Sir,” before he let them out. Then came the sound of his boots striding over to the bed, and Ivy felt a large hand on her shoulder before she was flipped on her back, coming face to face with him.

“Ye could have let me get away,” she murmured thickly, treacherous tears streaming down her cheeks, as she looked up into his stormy gray eyes. “It would have cost ye naethin’.”