Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

S he was on her way home when she was stopped by a group of yellow-kilted men. She recalled struggling before everything went dark around her.

She was in an unfamiliarplace. The smell of dust and fire made her stomach turn, but she couldn't pinpoint the source of the odor. She took a look around the bare stone walls of what appeared to be a prison. It smelt like a pig's pen. A small crack in the roof allowed light to enter.

She then realized she was shackled to a chair. She tried in vain to break free from the rope that was roughly tying her to the backrest. Cold shivers crept up her spine as she realized she'd been kidnapped. She wanted to scream, but she discovered she had been gagged.

Suddenly, she heard the door opening, but she was faced away from it.

"I see ye've awoken," a deep male voice said behind her. He stepped toward her and undid the fabric around her mouth.

"Who are ye?" she asked nervously as soon as she could speak. "Why did ye bring me here?"

The man made his way in front of her. She could see his scarred, heavy legs and yellow kilt. As she started to lift her head up, she could make out his huge frame, until finally, she was staring at his face.

He looked no older than her father. He had a large, crescent-shaped scar at the corner of his left eye. In the almost dim room, she could not quite see the color of his eyes, but she could feel the fire that burned behind them.

Fear enveloped her. "Who are ye?" she asked again in a whisper.

The man lowered himself so that he was staring into her eyes. "Ye're even more beautiful than I had heard," he commented, ignoring her question. "Ye've such pale skin, lass," he added, trailing his finger down her neck.

Sophia leaned away in disgust. "Where am I?"

"Ach!" he exclaimed. "Pardon my manners. Perhaps I was too caught up in yer beauty. I am a friend of yer Laird—or should I say, yer lover?" He let out a dark laugh. "Ye see, he and I have some unfinished business, and I thought having ye here would make our alliance form all the quicker."

Sophia scoffed. "If that is what ye aim for, then ye are mistaken." She breathed in, trying to steady her breath. "The Laird and I have naething in common anymore."

"Is that so?" the man said in a taunting voice. He proceeded to reveal a piece of paper from the pouch fastened around his waist. "Then I suppose this was nae written by him…"

Sophia tried to read the note on the paper, but he quickly folded it back up. "I mean ye nae harm." His words sounded more like a threat. "Yer lover betrayed me, attacked me, and killed my men. All I want is his life, and I'll spare ye."

He straightened himself and started walking towards the door.

A thought crossed Sophia's mind.

Munro… he must be the Laird of the Munro clan!

"Munro!" She stopped him from walking out of the door. "Yer Laird Munro, aren't ye?"

She heard the door close as he returned to her.

"Aye, I am Laird Munro."

Sophia stared up at him. "Ah, but I should have ken sooner. Only a coward like ye would be shameless enough to do something like this."

"A coward?" he asked with a crooked smile.

"Aye, a coward." Sophia spit at him. "Ye dinnae have the courage to face Kendrick, do ye? That's why ye result to using a woman against him." She leaned against the rope that was keeping her still. "Yer a fool, nae a laird."

Laird Munro struck her so quickly she hadn't the time to dodge his blow.

"I'll nae take insults from a wench like ye!" he roared at her. "If ye dinnae want him to find yer corpse when he comes, ye shall do well to control that tongue of yers, lassie."

Sophia's cheek burned where he had hit her.

She had heard of Laird Munro and his wickedness. She was certain there was no way he would let her leave alive. So she would poke at his pride if that was the last thing she could do.

"I heard," she continued, "two hundred of yer men lost against far fewer MacNeil men." She cackled. "Tell me how weak ye feel next to a laird young enough to be yer own son?"

"I said shut yer gutter of a mouth!" Munro cried, and he grabbed Sophia by the hair. "Dinnae tempt me to kill ye—or worse."

"Even as a woman, Laird Munro, I dinnae fear ye. I'd rather be dead than become a chicken like ye are." She gasped from the pain of his hold.

"Aye," he whispered into her ear, "Ye may nae fear death, but how about I let ye watch yer Laird die slowly and painfully instead?" He pushed her head away and called, "Is anyone out there?"

One of his warriors entered the room with a torch. "Aye, milaird."

"Send a letter to the bastard Laird of clan MacNeil," he commanded the soldier. "Tell him we meet at dawn. If he tries anything foolish, the whore dies."

"Aye, milaird," the soldier answered. He placed his torch on a holder before leaving the room.

In the glaring fire from the torch, Sophia could see Laird Munro's dark eyes; she could see herself, too, losing handle on her own terror. "Ye bastard," she spat. "Ye really are an animal."

Munro ran his finger where her spit had landed and licked it off. Sophia's stomach churned.

He pressed his face against hers. "Animal, am I?" He tore off the top of her gown, revealing her stays. "I am worse than an animal, lass," he said, reaching down to choke her. "I will make ye regret yer words before I bury my knife into yer bosom." He jerked away. "A friend of mine will pay ye a visit shortly," he growled, and he laughed wildly before leaving the room.

Alone, Sophia shivered. She thought of her parents and siblings, how terrified they must be for her abduction. Tears flowed freely down her face.

Kendrick, I should've told him I loved him. I should've said it at least once.

At that moment, Sophia could only find comfort in her memories of him. As if her emotions had just woken from a long slumber, memories of the time they spent together started to flood through her.

If we had more time , she wondered, would we have chosen a different path?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door, making her wonder whether Munro had returned for more. From the softness of the footsteps, she knew it could not be him.

It could only be a woman.

"Sophia…" She recognized the voice. How could she not? It was the same, mocking voice she had heard before leaving the keep.

"Poor little darling," Catherine said. "It sounds wrong from me, I ken, but I feel sad to see ye end up like this."

Sophia shot Catherine a firm glare from head to toe. Her hair was roughly braided, and she was wearing a yellow plaid, just like Munro.

"Ye must feel sad," Sophia responded, "after betraying yer Laird."

"Nae, nae !" Catherine argued, wagging a finger. "I love the Laird too much to betray him." She put her hands on Sophia's legs and crouched before her. "I am just helping him make the right decision, ye see."

Catherine had a certain type of madness in her eyes that scared Sophia even more than Laird Munro. She seemed more desperate than she ever had before. Unbridled. Still, not even a traitor like Catherine could frighten her into succumbing to her fear.

"Catherine." Sophia forced a grin. "Ye ken, I've always thought ye were miserable… but foolish? That one thing I never ken ye were."

"Aye, I am foolish. If only fools can be happy, Sophia, I will keep playing the part."

"And what would make ye happy?" Sophia asked. "Becoming Lady MacNeil? Is that what this is all about?"

"Partly," Catherine answered, twisting her face into a smile.

"That's why ye did something as stupid as lying to the Laird that ye were carrying his bairn." Sophia snorted. "Did ye think that would make him love ye?"

"It did nae matter if he loved me or nae." Catherine rolled her eyes. "Tis nae my fault ye were foolish enough to doubt him. Ye ken, that day ye came to the stables instead of Lorena, I thought ye were smart enough to challenge me." She laughed under her breath. "But ye were even more stupid than I thought."

Sophia's heart burned with anger. "Ye mixed us up to provoke my sister—to get the Laird to leave us alone."

"Aye," Catherine hissed. "When I heard he was betrothed to her, I thought he loved her. I must admit, ye'd fooled me, then."

"Stupid lass," Sophia spat before she could hold herself back. "Ye dinnae love the Laird! Ye love the idea of power! Yer mad."

"Oh, I do love the Laird. I love him very much, and I believe he'll come to love me one day," she continued. "Either way, my revenge is still more important to me."

"Ye betrayed him because ye wanted revenge? For what, exactly?"

Catherine folded her skirt and sat on the cold ground. "I was only a wee girl. I cannae remember much from that time, but there is something I do remember. My father was dragged out from our cottage first, and then my mother and I followed. When we reached him, he was already dead on the ground." Her eyes sparked with tears, but she was smiling. "I still remember the blood pouring out of his neck, his head rolling down the hill. My mother… ach, her wails still ring in my ears from time to time. Every now and then, I see the tears in her eyes in my sleep."

Sophia was not supposed to feel even the slightest pity for Catherine, not after what she had done to her and Kendrick. However, she could not help but understand what had driven the girl to madness. She imagined how painful it must have been for a girl to witness the death of her own father.

"How about yer mother? Where is she?"

Catherine eased into a grin again. "We were exiled, I remember. Since my father was a traitor, I suppose they couldn't let us stay."

"So, ye're nae from the Mackenzie clan?"

"Nae from birth."

"Can ye remember what clan it was ye were from?"

"Nae, I cannae…" Catherine looked toward the torch, unblinking. "I try, but it never comes to mind. I cannae remember the face of the Laird who ruined me." Catherine dragged her nails across the ground.

Sophia felt even more horrified by Catherine's behavior. "Catherine, ye've still nae told me where yer mother is," Sophia said in a gentle voice. She had to tread lightly. "Is she well?"

"That night," Catherine recounted further, "after we left the clan, we had nowhere to go. I remember we were headed somewhere safe but darkness had fallen so my mother decided we would camp in the woods for the night." She sighed. "I remember waking up to her screams. I could hear laughter— men laughing—then I heard them say something about the Laird putting an end to my father's folly. The sound of a sword came next, and my mother's wailing stopped. That was when I knew. She had died. They had killed her like my father."

Sophia saw the genuine sadness in Catherine's eyes as she talked about her past. She thought, perhaps, if she made Catherine know she could understand her pain, she might get her to choose a different path for herself. Even if she deserved to be punished for her crimes. Maybe a pardon from Kendrick would not be so terrible.

"Catherine," Sophia whispered, "I can understand what ye've been—"

"Ye cannae, Sophia," Catherine barked back as she flew to her feet. "How can ye? Yer father and mother have always been there for ye. Ye've lived safely under their protection while I lived a nightmare." She pressed a hand to Sophia's face, and Sophia could feel her nails digging into her skin. "Tis all yer fault that everything was ruined. I could have married a laird . I could have used my position to get revenge at last! It's all yer fault!" Her hand dropped from Sophia's face to her neck.

"Catherine…" Sophia panted, out of breath. "Catherine… stop ."

"Why?" Catherine asked, tightening her hold around Sophia's neck. "I should kill ye… that way naething can come between the Laird and me. Just die ! I'll make sure a priest prays over yer grave so ye can rest peacefully."

Sophia eyes clouded over as she struggled for air. She tried to break her hands free from the rope, but it only drained her further.

"C-Catherine," she stammered.

"Hush, Sophia," Catherine whispered menacingly. Her lips were wide in a smile while tears ran down her face. "Calm now, Sophia. Sleep..."

And slowly, Sophia drifted into darkness once again.

This time wondering if she would ever wake up.