“How dare you treat me like this!” shehissed, pulling away from him. “But it doesn’t make one bit ofdifference, does it? She was better off on that island. But nowthat she is here, she mustneverleave. And we both knowwhy.”
David looked closely into her face. “Nothingcan happen to her while she is under my protection.”
“What do you mean?” Evelyn seethed throughclenched teeth. “Would you like me to send for her now? Do you haveany doubt that she will recognize the face of her father’smurderer?”
Tess ceased her pacing when she heard thefootsteps coming up the stairwell. A moment later the latchlifted.
Jenny slipped inside, carrying a clean chamber pot.Immediately, Tess knew that something was wrong when the old womanmotioned for them to get away from the door.
“He’s here, mistress. He and his menreturned an hour ago.”
“Sir David?” Tess asked, and the servantnodded nervously. She had so many questions, but she knew this wasnot the time to ask them. Things like, how could possibly SirDavid’s treatment of her be any worse than her mother’s?
“Ye had better leave tonight. There’s notelling where he’ll move ye from here or who he’ll put to keepwatch.” Her voice hushed even more, and the old woman’s eyes showedher genuine fear. “He is a devil in ways ye don’t know, mistress.Tomorrow could be too late.”
“You said Colin will meet me at dawn. Can Ileave the castle, get through the gates tonight?”
“Aye…if ye hurry. I don’t know if yer man’llbe there now or meet ye there in the morn, but spending a night inthe woods would be far safer than waiting here.”
Jenny’s nervousness was rubbing off on Tess.While the servant rattled off the layout of the castle, the two ofthem hurriedly exchanged their clothes.
“Are you sure they won’t do anything toyou?” Tess asked as Jenny pushed the full chamber pot into her armsand pulled the kerchief lower on Tess’s forehead.
“Nay, miss.” She picked up the wash basin.“By the time they come in, I’ll have a fine welt where ye dinged mewith this. ‘Twas all yer doing.”
Jenny tapped on the door and pulled quicklyback. Tess’s heart was lodged in her throat when the door opened acrack and a tall warrior peered down at her. She held the chamberpot up and looked back at Jenny as the man let her through.
She didn’t even pause to take a breath onthe landing.Peering through the darkness pastthe single torch on the wall, she brushed past the guard and movedsilently down the narrow set of stairs. A few steps down, she heardvoices at the bottom of stairs and nearly tripped, but she caughtthe pot at the last minute and continued on.
Reaching an arched doorway at the bottom,she saw a door that she remembered Jenny said led outside. As shewas ready to run for it, though, she leaped back, flatteningherself against the wall when a portly servant walked in, carryinga tray heaped with food.
“About bloody time ye showed up!” the man complainedloudly. “Ye take up this food with the others. Now ye give that tome and take this. And look sharp, hussy.”
Two other servants walked in carrying wineand more food, and there was a jam in the narrow landing. A momentlater, though, Tess found the tray in her hands.
“Hurry now. He doesn’t like waiting.”
A feeling of dread washed through her,settling like ice in her middle. The servant carrying the pitcherof wine walked before her. The other pushed her from behind withthe tray she was carrying.
At that moment, Tess knew exactly how itfelt to walk to the gallows.
CHAPTER 18
“Nothingcan happen to her while sheis under my protection,” David repeated, his tone conveying thedanger of his position. “The Macphersons would bring the verylegions of hell to my gate. They’d accuse me of murder…and succeedin holding me responsible. We’ll not take that chance.”
“This is the fault of that foul Highlander.We could have claimed that she never arrived here, if it weren’tfor him.” Evelyn glared accusingly at him. “Your men should havedone away with her when they were on the road.”
“Theytried, but the accursed lassescaped the burning cottage.”
They stopped speaking at the sound of aknock.
“Yer supper, Sir David,” one of the servants called,pushing the door open.
Evelyn glided across the room to the window.It was already dark outside. She shivered as a cool breeze waftedin and chilled her. They had to get rid of Theresa. They had tofind a way and do it soon.
It was bad enough receiving the letter thatTheresa was alive. Coming face to face with her daughter lastnight, though, had completely unnerved her. She felt her worldcrumbling around her once more. Aye, it was all happening again.Eighteen years ago she had loved David Burnett, but no one hadlistened to her begging and crying that he was the only man thatshe could love. That he was the only man that she could spend therest of her life with. It didn’t matter to her that he had nowealth. He was a warrior and would earn his place in the world.Even her own sisters had sided with their father and betrayedher.
So Evelyn had gone to the Highlands bitterand resolute on the course her life would take. If she had beenforced to live a life of misery, then by God there would be nopeace around her. She would never be happy, and she would makecertain no one around her would be happy, either.
