But no…
Drostan wasn’t apt to let a Keith tell him what to do, even if it was a good idea. Shaking his head, he rose from the bench.
“I’d rather have it vacant than tae have Keith living on it,” he said flatly. “Lindsay land is for our clan; ’tis not for gypsy clans with no claim tae it. And there’s the small matter of the silver mine. Did ye think I dinna know of it?”
Isadora lifted her shoulders in a weak gesture. “Everyone knows of it,” she said. “It doesna produce much, ye know. ’Tis a hard task tae mine for it.”
Drostan’s eyes narrowed. “It’smine,” he hissed. “Ye dunna seem tae understand, lass. Everything ye have is mine. The very air ye breathe is mine. I want it back and I shall have it, or I’ll set The Beast loose on Auchnacree and ye’ll lose more than yer lands. Is yer father’s life worth a bit of dirt?”
Isadora could see that there was no reasoning with him. Drostan was not even a man in control, but a man who was verging on a tantrum if he didn’t have his way in all things.
Realizing that, Isadora knew it was imperative that she return to Auchnacree as soon as possible. Her father had toknow that The Beast from the Ludus Caledonia was now serving Drostan. He was more of a threat than any Lindsay warrior. But she found it more than ironic that Drostan had the same idea as her father had—going to the Ludus Caledonia for the best warrior money could buy.
She had to make sure Drostan released her so she could return home.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t worry about the other Keith women at the moment, or even Nikolaus, because if she insisted that they be released with her and Drostan refused, she could very well find herself back in the vault along with them.
She had to think of the greater good of her village.
“Release me and I promise I’ll return tae tell my father everything,” she said. “But the people ye hold in the vault… Will ye promise me that they’ll remain unmolested until we can come tae an agreement?”
“I’ll hold them until Niall Keith and his clan leaves my lands.”
Isadora couldn’t help it; her eyes widened. “But why? They’re of no use tae ye.”
“They’ll be of great use if I send them back tae ye in pieces for every delay in leaving my lands.”
It was a horrific thing to say. “Ye canna do such a thing! They’ve done nothing tae hurt or offend ye!”
“They squat on my land like vermin,” he snarled. “Like vermin, they must be destroyed!”
He was starting to get a crazed look about him and Isadora forced herself to back away from the confrontation. She’d already pushed the man more than she should have. She wanted to make it home safely.
Please, God, let me leave here alive!
To be truthful, she had some doubt. As she struggled to come up with a reply that wouldn’t set him off again, a man in a dirty, long tunic appeared in the hall entry.
“M’laird,” he said to Drostan. “Ye have a man tae see ye. He says it is important.”
Drostan turned away from Isadora, greatly perturbed. “Tell him tae go away!”
The man didn’t move. “He wants tae know if ye have the Keith wench here.”
That had Drostan’s interest. “He does?” he said, greatly confused. “Who would ask such a thing?”
“Me,” came another voice behind the man in the dirty tunic. “I hear ye have Keith women here, m’laird. I want them.”
Isadora’s head shot up at the sound. She knew that voice.
God, she knew that voice!
Turning her head as much as she was able, she could see a figure moving in the shadows of the entry. It didn’t take long before the figure moved into the light of the hall and when it did, it was all Isadora could do to keep from crying out. Every fear she’d been trying to control had just been released, for the moment she saw that handsome, familiar face, she wanted to run into the safety of his arms and never let him go.
Her salvation had arrived.
*
“God’s Bones,” Drostangasped at the sight in his entry. “Is it really ye, Cam?”
