The guards might remain in the hall, yet they were trusting Addison, a young man a little more than a grown lad, alone with him.
These fools.
Addison once again managed to secrete extra food in addition to the porridge. A bannock but this one with a bit of honey. How had Addison managed to procure honey on the bannock? Under the sweet treat were several pieces of dried persimmon, and Sawny noticed the bowl of porridge appeared a bit fuller.
Quite the treat after starving the night before.
Evidently, the guards might be keeping an eye on Sawny, but not the food that Addison was bringing him.
The extra effort and amount of food that Addison took for Sawny had finally convinced him that he could probably trust the lad, perchance even engage him in an effort to escape. It was a weak piece of logic, but it was all Sawny had. And he was growing desperate. But he was not going to breach the topic this morning with the guard right outside.
Not so soon after attacking the guards.
He did, however, want to learn if Addison knew why Kelso was still keeping him, still feeding him, and not killing him to send a message to the MacDonalds. When Addison set the tray down, Sawny leaned close to speak quietly into the lad's ear.
“Do ye know of Kelso’s plans for me? He keeps feeding me and naught has happened since shortly after I arrived.”
Addison flipped a cautious glance to the chamber door, then shifted so his lips were close to Sawny’s other ear, the one farthest from the door.
“The chieftain has had some visitors. Campbells to be sure. And others. They keep fighting over a letter. I heard one man say that what the MacDonalds knew did not matter, but a deeper voice, one that held much more authority than my chieftain’s, kept telling him it did not matter who had the letter if the MacDonalds knew what was in it.”
Addison moved, quickly taking the bowl off the platter, clicking them loudly against the stones. Sawny's gaze drifted to the door, understanding that the lad was making noise so the guard would hear he was moving the food and not dawdling.
Sawny was grateful. The last thing he wanted was for a guard to enter the cell and another fight to ensue. The fight the day before had taken much out of Sawny, and he had not eaten last night. He lacked the energy for another encounter.
“Do ye know why the chieftain believes I know anything about what the MacDonalds think with this letter?”
Addison shook his head. “Nay, but right now I believe ye are the only chance they have. And I think my chieftain Kelso is a bit piqued because one of the lads ye assaulted several weeks ago was a relation to him somehow.”
Sawny pursed his lips and leaned back against the stones. In addition to using Sawny as an opportunity to discern political secrets, Kelso had a bit of his own vendetta. At least he had not somehow attacked Kelso’s son, but as Sawny thought about it, he did not know if Kelso had any bairns. Perchance distant kin were the only children he had, and he felt some sort of obligatory attachment, or mayhap he saw the lads like his own children.
That was an unfortunate bit of news. Regardless, all he could do was apologize, which was ridiculous because why should he apologize for chasing trespassers off his own lands? And try to convince Kelso that he knew nothing about a letter.
In fact, the only information he could share was that the letter was not in Mungo Gordon's box. Yet Sawny had the sense that the MacIntoshes and Campbells already knew that.
“Do ye know what he will do when he realizes I dinna have any information? He picked the wrong person to kidnap.”
Addison's shoulders sagged slightly, and he gave Sawny a sad half-smile.
“That I dinna know. He has no real cause to harm ye directly, since ye did not kill his nephew, nor did ye stray onto his land, nor are ye hiding any information. If he does kill ye, he shall have to be held accountable for it.”
He let the final words drift off and Sawny understood his meaning. With the conflict in the Highlands, no one other than Sawny’s kin could hold him accountable. And with the larger concerns of the letter and dealing with the pretender king and the Oaths of Allegiance, the death of another Highland son would not garner much attention.
Sawny exhaled and watched as Addison picked up the platter. The lad paused briefly, giving Sawny an almost indiscernible bow before exiting the cell.
And thatfeckingdoor slammed again.
Sawny wondered if Addison knew that he had given Sawny much more information than he should have. Essentially, Addison told him that if he did not escape, his death was almost certain.
Feckin’ MacIntoshes.
Chapter Twenty
Ittookmuchlongerthan Sawny had anticipated before the guards returned. Addison was not with them, so he knew what was to come.
The shorter one had a scab on his nose and Sawny grinned when he saw it.
“Nice to see ye back on your feet,” Sawny quipped, looking up at the grimacing man.
