Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“Cat! Cat! Where are ye?!” Ivar had been searching about the clearing for several minutes, a horrible feeling of unease growing inside him before he finally accepted she was not there. His while body was vibrating with panic as he ran back to the camp, the flask of mead still clutched in his hand. Arne woke up from his sleep by the fire when his brother ran into the camp.

“Help! All of ye, wake up,” he was shouting, his hair flying.

Arne got up, rubbing his eyes groggily. “What is it, Ivar?” he croaked. “What’s happened?”

“’Tis Cat! She’s gone. Someone’s taken her!” Ivar shouted, running about frantically. “Wake up! We need tae look for her at once.”

With the clamor he was making, the others sleeping by the fire were already stirring, while others were coming from their tents to see what the commotion was, looking half asleep.

Arne grabbed hold of Ivar and stopped him running about. “All right, Ivar, the whole camp’s awake,” he told him. “Now, calm down and tell me what’s happened.”

“Me and Catalina, we were lying out there in a clearing, looking at the sky,” Ivar heard himself gabbling, wracked with guilt and terror as never before. “She wanted a drink, so I came back tae get it, and when I went back, she’d vanished. There’s nay sight of her, Arne. ’Tis Chisholm, he’s taken her!” He simply could not control the sheer panic that had taken hold of him. “I should never have left her alone.

“’Tis all me fault. If I had nae left her, she’d still be safe here with me. We have tae find her, now!” As if noticing the flask of mead for the first time, he flung it away from him with an expression of hate, as though it were Chisholm himself.

“All right, calm down. We’ll get nay where if ye keep on like this,” Arne told him. “Let’s get a search organized.” He barked out a few brief instructions to the men who had gathered around to help. Taking lanterns and torches, they scattered in pairs to look for Cat. “Come on,” Arne told Ivar, grabbing a lantern. “Show me this clearin’. We’ll search there just in case she’s wandered off in the dark. If someone has taken her, there may be some clues.”

“Aye, this way,” Ivar agreed, heading off at a run, feeling as though he was going insane. He knew it was a Chisholm who was responsible, and he feared what the madman would do to Cat now he had her in his power.

He and Arne had just reached the outskirts of the camp when he heard a woman scream out his name. They halted and tuned abruptly, and Anastasia came running up to them, waving a piece of paper in her hand. Her face was tear-stained and she was shaking all over.

“What is it?” Ivar demanded.

“’Tis Chisholm,” she cried hysterically. “He’s taken Catalina, and he left this.” She thrust the note at him. He grabbed it, seeing a lock of hair had been pinned to it. He recognized it instantly. It was Catalina’s. He wanted to throw up. He tried to read the writing on the note, but the lines danced before his eyes. He shoved it at his brother.

Dunstan appeared and took the trembling Anastasia in his arms, while Arne

scanned the note quickly. “Aye, ’tis from Chisholm all right. He has Catalina, and he wants tae exchange her fer Anastasia. He’s written a place for us tae meet him in three days’ time, and we’re tae bring Anastasia, tae make the exchange. Otherwise, he says he’ll kill Cat,” he summarized.

“There’s nay way he’s havin’ Ana!” Dunstan held her protectively to his chest. “Ove me dead body.”

“Of course, he’s nae havin’ her,” Arne assured him. “There’s nae question of that. But we need tae come up with an idea for gettin’ Catalina back safe and puttin’ an end to Chisholm once and for all.”

Dunstan looked relieved, but Anastasia was crying bitterly. “I cannae just let him kill her. Ye have tae let me go,” she sobbed.

“Absolutely nae,” Arne told her decisively.

“Jaysus! Why did I leave her on her own like that?” Ivar raged, tearing at his hair. “I’m going tae kill him, I’m going tae tear him limb from limb when I get me hands on the bastard. If he harms so much as a hair on her head, I’ll?—”

“All right, all right,” Arne told him. “I understand how ye must be feelin’, but that’s gettin’ us naywhere. Come on, lets’ go back tae the camp and discuss what can be done. We need tae find where this place of exchange is and make a plan. We have three days tae dae it, and it has tae work!”

As they hurried back, Dunstan said, “We’d have a better chance of overcoming Chisholm and gettin’ Catalina back safe if we had more men. Matheson Castle is only about fifteen miles away. If I leave now, I could be there in a few hours. I can get Laird Matheson tae give us reinforcements.”

“’Tis a good idea. If we have tae wait three days, we may as well put the time tae good use,” Ivar said, pouncing on the idea gratefully as he tried to get control of himself. “Ye could take Anastasia back with ye, so she’ll be out of harm’s way,” he told Dunstan.

“If ye tell me where this meetin’ place is, we can leave within minutes and be back tae meet ye there at the appointed time fer the exchange.”

“But, Dunstan—” Anastasia started to protest, but Dunstan cut her off.

“There’s nay argument about it, Ana. ’Tis what must be done, and there’s an

end tae it. We’ll bring Cat home safe, ye’ll see. I couldnae dae anythin’ if I thought ye were in danger too.”

“Dunstan’s right, lassie. Ye’ll be safe with yer faither. More men could make all the difference between success and failure, and we cannae afford failure,” Arne said. “I vote we let Dunstan leave now with Anastasia.”

They quickly agreed it amongst themselves, and shortly after they got back to the camp, Dunstan and Anastasia set off on horseback to her father’s castle, with a few men to guard them in case of attack.

For Ivar, the following three days were tortuous. He tried to keep busy, making plans, honing them, trying to reassure himself that they would work, and he would get Catalina back safe. But all the time, a terrible agitation was churning inside him as he continually imagined her suffering at Chisholm’s hands, and he could neither eat, nor sleep, nor properly focus.

“What if Matheson’s men dinnae get here in time, if at all?” he asked Arne as the appointed time for the supposed exchange drew closer.

“There’s nae guarantee they will,” Arne agreed, his brows beetling. “I’ve been worryin’ about that mesel’. But what can we dae but hope they get here in time? We have nay choice but tae go along with Chisholm’s instructions, so we cannae change the odds tae suit ourselves. We have a plan in place without them that may work but it will work much better with them fer sure.”

This did nothing to reassure Ivar, and when he and Arne finally rode out to the spot Chisholm had pinpointed the following evening, despite his determination to retrieve Catalina and kill Chisholm, it was tinged by despair.

The place of exchange was an abandoned chapel out in the remote countryside about three miles away from the camp. The brothers had already been out there to search the area. The ruined church stood in a clearing, in a small, secluded valley between wooded bluffs ideal for concealing troops. That was part of their plan. Chisholm had instructed them that Ivar should come alone. Arne was going to split off from Ivar beforehand. In the intervening days, they had hidden as many men armed men as they could in the surrounding woods overlooking the chapel, many of them skilled archers. Scouts had also been scouring the area for any sign of Chisholm’s men, but so far, none had been found. Ivar was not sure if that was bad or good, and at the same time, if a fight broke out, he was terrified a lack of manpower could be fatal to his love.

They were not far from the chapel and were about to part company when they spotted a column of riders in the far distance. Ivar and Arne pulled up their horses and watched as two riders broke away and came galloping towards them.

“’Tis Dunstan and… Anastasia,” Arne said with some surprise when they got close enough to make them out.

“Why have they brought her with them?” Ivar asked, confused. “I thought we planned for her tae stay at her faither’s, out of danger.”

“Well, we’ll soon find out,” his brother said as the pair galloped up to them and reined in.

Dunstan greeted them. He gestured behind him at the approaching column. “I’m sorry we cut it a bit fine,” he said. “We had some delays on the way with the weather, but the laird himself has come, with fifty of his troops.”

“Fifty?” Ivar said, impressed despite his anxiety. “That’s likely more than enough tae beat the limited force Chisholm will bring with him. But if we cannae get Cat away from him without him hurtin’ her,”—he could not bring himself to say “killing her”—“then if it was a thousand men it would be just as useless.”

Dunstan said nothing to that. Probably, Ivar thought, because he kens I’m right. Such exchanges required finesse not hammer blows. The thought only made him think of what Catalina had taught him about power and control. He wondered if her lessons would be of more use to him in getting her back alive than all the troops in the world.

“Ye’ve done well, Dunstan, and I’m grateful. But why is Anastasia here?” Ivar asked.

“I’m the bait,” she answered for herself, her voice shaky. “Faither says if Chisholm cannae see me there, then he’ll think ’tis a ruse, and he’ll likely just kill Catalina.”

“So, we have a slight change of plan, then,” he put in. “I’ll accompany ye with Anastasia tae meet with Chisholm. But make sure he never gets close enough tae her tae get his hands on her.”

“All right, but it’ll be tricky,” Ivar said, nodding.

“I’ll nae be far away,” Dunstan reassured her. “I’ll be out of sight, but I’ll still be protectin’ ye.” Anastasia gave him a tremulous smile.

Her father arrived then with the column of armed men bringing up the rear.

The brothers greeted him with the greatest respect, especially Ivar, who was honored to meet Catalina’s father. The man seemed delighted to meet Ivar too, greeting him as his future son-in-law. Matheson was in his fifties with steely gray hair beneath his helmet and a strong-looking, stocky body that looked used to battle.

He had a patrician face, still handsome, but he looked nothing like his daughters. However, in the course of the conversation, it soon dawned on him that Bertram Matheson had no idea of his feelings for Catalina. He believed Ivar was still betrothed to Anastasia.

While the Laird was talking with Arne about the plans for the exchange, Anastasia managed to quietly approach Ivar.

“I’m sorry, Ivar, but in the circumstances, I didnae feel it was the right time

tae tell Faither about ye and Catalina and me and Dunstan. I thought it would just complicate things, and I could fill him in later, when we have Catalina back.” There was a small catch in her voice that hinted at the tension beneath the surface. He felt sorry for her and admired her bravery. She reminded him of her sister.

“That’s understandable,” Ivar replied. “The important thing is tae get her back. Everythin’ else can be sorted out later.”

She gave him a wavering smile. “That’s what I thought.”