Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

S he couldn't remember when she had last had it, but upon waking that morning, Evelyn discovered her necklace was gone. She had pulled the covers and pillows off her bed, but to no avail. It wasn't there.

"Did ye still have it in the tavern?" Yvaine asked, helping her sister search the bedchamber.

"I dinnae ken," Evelyn replied in a panic. "Och, Yvaine. What am I tae dae? What if I cannae find it?"

"All right. Try nae tae fret. I'm going tae help ye look."

The sisters searched the bedroom, but after a half hour of tearing the room apart, they were still empty-handed.

"What am I tae dae?" Evelyn cried.

A frown of concern danced on Yvaine's brow. "Where are all the places ye went?"

"We went tae the tavern, and then we came back tae the castle. That's it."

Of course, it wasn't it, but Evelyn could not bring herself to tell her sister about last night. What she and Benedict had done was wrong, even though it had felt so very right. In fact, she had never felt sensations like it in her life.

"Then we'll retrace yer steps through the castle," Yvaine said calmly. "We'll nae be able tae go tae the tavern. Faither will want tae ken our reason fer doing so, and he cannae discover what happened last night."

"All right. But first, I want tae go and find Benedict. Perhaps he might remember when I last had it. Ye go down fer breakfast. I dinnae want Faither getting suspicious. Tell him I'm still sleeping or something. I'll join ye as soon as I can."

Evelyn then spent the next hour searching the castle high and low, being careful to watch out for where her father might be. She knocked on Benedict's bedchamber, but got no answer. She ran to the great hall. He wasn't there either. She went to the library, the laird's study, she even went down to the kitchen, but there was no sign of either Benedict or Killian anywhere.

Where the devil is he?

Eventually, Evelyn gave up looking, and instead, went out to the stables. From there, she retraced the exact steps she and Benedict had taken last night. With her eyes peeled, and concentrating hard, she covered every inch of the courtyard, and then, the corridors of the castle.

In desperation, she asked passing maids if they had heard of anyone finding a necklace with two pendants, but the answer was always the same.

"I'm afraid nae, me lady."

It was nearly lunchtime when Evelyn met up with Yvaine again.

"Well?" Yvaine said, asking a question she already knew the answer to.

Evelyn shook her head. "I cannae find it anywhere. I've walked the exact steps we took last night from the stable to the castle. I've asked the maids. And I've searched high and low for Benedict, but I cannae find him."

"Ye mean, Audor," Yvaine said knowingly.

"Nae, Yvaine. I mean Benedict. I told him last night that I kent who he was."

Yvaine's face dropped. "Och, me God. What did he say? Where ye drunk? Did ye forget what ye were doing?"

Evelyn shook her head, but minded her words. "Actually, I wasnae drunk."

"And what did he say?"

Evelyn lifted her shoulders. "He was surprised, as ye can imagine. And then he wanted tae ken how long I'd kent, so I told him."

Yvaine smiled. "And dae ye nae feel better now that he kens?"

"I'll feel better when I find me necklace," Evelyn replied bluntly. "I need ye tae dae something fer me, Yvaine."

"Anything. Ye ken I'll always dae anything fer ye," Yvaine said, gazing at her sister intently.

"I need ye tae distract Faither this afternoon. I'm going tae take a couple o' guards and return tae the tavern. I willnae be able tae rest until I've found me necklace."

Her younger sister now looked doubtful. "Are ye sure that is a good idea, Evelyn? Why dinnae ye wait until ye can find Benedict?"

"Because I dinnae ken where he is. Nor have I seen him for the entirety o' the day. I cannae wait ‘til night falls. I need tae go now."

Yvaine relented eventually, and, safe in the knowledge that her sister would keep their father busy while she was away, Evelyn gathered a couple of guards and left through the castle gates.

While the guards slowly rode their horses, following closely behind, Evelyn walked beside her mare, her eyes scanning the ground as they went. Her job was to find her necklace. Their job was to keep her safe.

It was a long and slow process, and the further they went, the more worried Evelyn became. She didn't know what she would do if she couldn't find her necklace. Benedict's pendant was indeed beautiful, but more importantly, the necklace was the only thing she had left of her mother. She couldn't lose it. She just couldn't.

They had been walking for nearly an hour, when Evelyn felt a strange shiver tingle up her spine. Immediately, she looked up and around her.

"Something feels wrong," she said. "I think we're being followed."

Jared, the older of the two guards nodded. "Aye. I feel it too, me lady. There's someone nearby. I think we're being watched."

"Maybe we should head back, me lady," Peter said warily.

"I think Peter's right, me lady," Jared agreed.

"But the village is just?—"

But before Evelyn was able to finish her sentence, manic screams came from the trees at either side of them, and six men thundered out onto the track, all of whom, wore Clan Keith colors, their swords high in the air,.

"Argh!" Evelyn screamed, scrambling to climb onto her mare. But the horse was spooked with the sudden appearance of the men, and trotting in panic, the beast wouldn't stay still for her to get a grip on the reins.

Laird Keith's men advanced, but jumping from their horses, Peter and Jared positioned themselves protectively in front of Evelyn. After a moment's hesitation, the battle began, the clash of metal deafening as the guards fought valiantly to protect her.

"Get the lass," one of the attackers bellowed, while continuing to fight.

Terrified, Evelyn turned and began to run. She darted into the trees, not caring the direction she was heading. She just had to get away. If they caught her, she had no doubt she would suffer her mother's fate.

Crashing blindly on, branches slashed at her arms and face, but she did not stop. She could not stop. Even as her heart pounded, and it hurt to breathe, she had to continue. She could hear the men panting behind her. They were getting closer and closer, and to avoid them, she darted to her right and tried to change direction.

It did little to slow them down, however, for when she turned to look over her shoulder, there they were, not twenty feet behind. Turning back in the direction she was going, Evelyn felt something catch her feet, and a second later, she screamed as she flew in the air and landed heavily on the moss-covered ground.

Her leg was cut, but she didn't care. She scrambled to her feet and turned to run, but tripping over that branch had lost her precious time and they were now almost upon her.

Run, Evelyn. Ye must run faster.

A second later, she felt a firm hand on her back, and suddenly, she felt herself launched forward once again having received a heavy shove from behind. Tumbling head over heels, she rolled to a final stop, but immediately tried to get back on her feet. The men towered over her, snarling angrily down at her.

"Leave me be," she screamed. "Leave me be."

They each grabbed one of her arms and yanked her to her feet, but Evelyn was not giving up. She thrashed them as hard as she could, punching with her fists, and kicking her legs, but it was no use. They were too strong. In one swift movement, the larger of the two grabbed her by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. The other one grabbed her wrists and bound them tightly with rope.

"Let me go. Let me go," Evelyn screamed, thumping the man's back with her balled fists. But it was useless. Without even flinching, he continued walking back the way they had all ran.

"Help me," she yelled. "Somebody help me."

But her cries floated out into the forest, lost in the branches that swayed back and forth in the soft breeze.

I am going tae die, just like me maither.

Once they reached the horses, Evelyn was even more disheartened upon noticing Peter and Jared lying unconscious on the floor. At least, she hoped they were unconscious. Now, there was no hope. No doubt they had battled bravely, but there had just been too many of Laird Keith's men.

"Grab the horse," the man carrying her yelled at the others.

"Nay Nay! Let me go!" Evelyn screamed kicking her legs wildly.

She felt someone grabbing her legs, but still she battled. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to do it quietly.

"Get off me, ye beast," she yelled, pummeling the man's back again.

"Someone get hold of this witch ‘afore I kill her," he growled.

She then felt hands all over her body. "Dinnae touch me," she screamed, still fighting against them.

Eventually, it took three of them to haul her to the horse, and with another holding it steady, they threw her over the horse's back.

"Tie her down, and gag her while ye're at it," the man who had carried her ordered. "I'm nae listening tae that all the way back."

As the men continued to struggle to tie her to the horse, Evelyn heard thundering hooves approaching. Clearly, there were more of them coming. How many did they need to capture one woman? Laird Keith was taking no chances, but Evelyn couldn't escape from the men he had sent. He hardly needed to send reinforcements.

What did it matter? Her life was over.

She would never see her father or Yvaine ever again. She would never again lay her eyes on Benedict again either. Her sweet, Benedict. The affection between them had only just started to grow, but whatever could have been was to come to an abrupt end, and there was not a damn thing she could do about it.