Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

J ust after sunrise the following morning, Knox, Liam, Ivy, and Evander rode out to the crossroads and surveyed the surroundings. The point where the four roads met was shielded from the flat moorland by high bushes of gorse and elder. Other clumps of cover were scattered about the area, making good hiding places. If one concealed oneself amid the bushes, anyone riding towards the spot would see nothing.

“This is the place,” Knox declared, and the others agreed. “Which direction d’ye think they’ll come from, Evander?” he asked.

Evander considered the question. “That way, I should think,” he replied, pointing to the road leading east across the moors. “I suggest ye deploy yer men in a pincer movement, tae trap them inside. Ye dinnae want anyone gettin’ away.”

“What about me? Where will I be?” Ivy wanted to know.

“We’ll be together on the road, with a few guards with us,” Liam explained. “Then, as soon as they walk intae the trap, Knox will give a prearranged signal, and the men will close in. They’ll fight of course, but we’ll outnumber them, so it should be over quickly.”

“So, if we’re all agreed, let’s go back tae the castle and thrash out the final details. We can find out what Magnus has been doin’ as well,” Knox said. They turned their horses and made the two-mile ride back to the Castle Stewart.

When they got to the main road leading to the castle, Evander drew his horse to halt. The others reigned in too, listing while Evander addressed Knox.

“If ye’ll excuse me fer a while, melaird, I’m gonnae go and scatter a few breadcrumbs among some of me old contacts, just tae make sure the message gets through tae Carson and Gael as soon as possible. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and I’ll fill ye in on anything I find out.”

Knox nodded. “Aye, all right. Come and find me as soon as ye get back.”

They watched Evander ride away before resuming their journey back to the castle.

“I still dinnae trust him any further than I can throw him,” Liam murmured.

“Me neither,” Knox agreed, “but if he gonnae betrays us, he’ll die with the rest of them.”

“I dinnae understand why ye dinnae trust Evander,” Ivy protested, “when ’tis obvious tae me that he’s tryin’ his best tae help us. I mean, he came up with this plan.”

“Aye, that’s what worries me,” Liam replied.

“Well, I think ye’re both bein’ very unfair.”

“I truly hope ye’re right about him, Ivy,” Knox said placatingly. “I’d like naethin’ better than tae be proved wrong. But I suppose it’ll nae be long before we find out either way.”

Ivy was just pouring a cup of steamy tea, when she heard a soft knock on her door and a few seconds later, she heard Evander’s soft tember. “Ivy, are ye in there?” There was a short pause before she reached the door and opened it.

“Evander, ye’re back.”

“I’ve been back fer some time,” he told her, “but I’ve been with the laird and Liam, discussin’ the plans fer the morrow. The laird sent me up tae fetch ye. He and Liam have gone out tae check a few things out at the crossroads. He wants us tae meet them there as soon as possible.”

“Oh,” she said, raising her brows in surprise. “Right now, ye mean?”

“Aye, that’s what he said. They wanted to leave immediately, and as I had tae come up here tae get a few things, I volunteered tae fetch ye,” he said. “I’ve got two horses waitin’ by the gate, so let’s go…” He made an urgent gesture.

“All right. Can ye wait there fer a few moments while I get me things?”

“Of course, but we need ate leave quickly before it gets too dark. That is why the others went ahead.”

After a quarter of an hour, Evander and Ivy were riding out of the castle gates and turning their horses in the direction of the moors and the crossroads where she believed they were to meet Liam and Knox.

“The moon is already starting tae turn red,” Ivy observed, looking at the great disc hanging in the sky above them with respect. “D’ye nae find it eerie, Evander?”

He shook his head. “Nay. ’Tis naethin’ tae fear. ‘Tis supposed tae herald change.” He smiled over at her. “And there’s a big change comin’ fer ye with yer weddin’ comin’ up, so it cannae be all bad, can it, eh?”

“I suppose nae. But it still feels rather magical and strange, like the air is charged with some mystical power.”

The red-tinged darkness clotted around them as they rode into the wood bordering the moorlands, where the crossroads lay. They came to a fork in the track when Evander turned his horse to the left.

“Wait a minute, are ye sure this the right way?” Ivy asked, reining in her mare and looking confused. “I thought ’tis the other way, down there” She gestured to the right-hand track.

“This way’s quicker,” he told her, continuing on his way.

“Well, if ye’re sure.” With reluctance, she followed him, casting glances back over her shoulder as they left the fork in the track behind in the darkness. The moonlight filtering through the canopy above was turning everything around them a dark pinkish shade.

She was starting to get skittish. They were well away from the road, and the trees thickened around them and the track began to grow narrow. This didn’t seem like a path Ivy wanted to ride on and definitely not without Liam.

“I dinnae like this, Evander,” she finally said, not able to hide the edge of fear to her voice. “I think ye’ve taken a wrong turn. We should go back tae the fork and take the other way.”

“Hmm, maybe ye’re right,” he agreed somewhat distracted. At that moment, his horse began whining and shaking its head in discomfort, and Ivy felt bad for the poor steed. “Ach, what’s the matter with the beast? I hope it’s nae goin’ lame,” Evander murmured worriedly, slipping from the saddle and examining the horse’s front leg. He gripped the horse’s leg tightly and it protested loudly, trying to pull away from him.

“Ivy, can ye come and hold the beast fer me while I see what’s wrong with it?”

“Aye, all right.” She slid from her saddle and went over to him, taking the reins from his hand, worried about the poor animal. He bent down and inspected the leg. “I cannae see anythin’’ but perhaps he’s strained a muscle or somethin’. Would ye mind just lookin’ in me saddlebag, Ivy? I have some cloth there and some rub I can put on fer him.”

“Aye, I’ll get them,” she said, but as she turned away, she felt Evander grabbing her, placing his arm across her throat, and pulling her down to the floor.

“What the hell are ye doin’?!” Ivy shouted, spooking his horse. It ran some way ahead, snorting in panic. Her mare stayed put. “Evander, let me go! Get off of me, what are ye playin’ at?!” She screamed, kicking and trying to fight him, but he was heavier than her and managed to hold her down and relieve her of her sword, tossing it to one side. Ivy felt herself getting dizzy.

He roughly turned her on her belly and sat on top of her with all his weight, pinning her arms and legs so she could barely move “I’m takin’ ye back tae yer braither and yer rightful bridegroom,” he told her through gritted teeth, wrenching the bag from his back and emptying the contents onto the ground next to her.

Nay!

“I’ll nae let ye take me,” she cried, thrashing helplessly beneath him as he grabbed the lengths of rope he had prepared and began to bind her hands behind her back.

“Ye bastard! I trusted ye,” she spat, wriggling and thrashing beneath him, but to no avail. Liam was right about him all along.

“Ye’re far too trustin’, Ivy. That’s yer downfall. I never kenned yer parents and all the information I have about ye I got from yer braither.

“When I moved tae Scotland I fell on hard times. I found mesel’ having to take on work, recoverin’ unpaid debts fer people, trackin’ down thieves on the run, dolin’ out a bit of punishment here and there to those who had slighted others. I’m nae proud of it but I had tae dae it tae survive,” Evander explained, seemingly unperturbed by Ivy’s kicking and screaming.

“One day, I found mesel’ sittin’ in a tavern when a stranger sat next tae me and offered tae buy me an ale. He offered me a job as well, workin’ fer the local laird, Carson MacAlister. He needed a man with certain skills, a man who ken how tae be discreet, tae keep his mouth shut. And he’d make it worth me while. He offered me a proper place in his household. I’d have a home and a position, and in time, if I proved mesel’, I could rise. So, I accepted.

“Aye, ye should have trusted yer man. Now, stop fightin’ me, or I’ll be forced tae hurt ye,” he warned her, ignoring her hiss of pain as he pulled the ropes tight around her wrists. He pivoted and tied her legs and ankles, and when he finally stood up and brushed off his hands, she lay helpless before him, wriggling like a landed trout. “Ye filthy yellow-bellied coward,” she shrieked.

“That’s enough of that,” he said, shoving a pad of cotton material into her mouth and binding it in place with a strip of cloth. She continued to shout abuse at him, but her words were now muffled by the gag.

Damn him!

Evander went and retrieved his horse, which had now calmed down, but in the meantime she put all her effort into sliding off her ring and leave it as a clue. The chance someone would find it was small but still better than nothing. He tied the mare to his saddle with a lead line before picking Ivy up and slinging her belly down over the mare’s saddle. “Ye’ll soon be home and will see yer braither. Willnae that be nice, eh? He’s missed ye, and so has Gael. They’re gonnae give ye a warm welcome, I’ll wager,” he said with a chuckle.

Then, he mounted his own horse, kicked it up gently, and moved off down the track amid the deepening red light of the blood moon.