"Nay. I wish he was gone from here," he said with vehemence.
"Well, I can help you with that. Can you get into the castle?"
"Of course," he said as if 'twas the easiest thing on earth.
"Good." Claybourne rubbed his hands together. "I'll pay you a hundred pounds to go into the castle and bring Lady Stanbury out to me."
"Are you a m-madman? I'd never be able to do that alone. S-She'd scream and alert all the guards. And—and Rebbinglen would kill me if he found out."
"I'll give you a thousand pounds."
Jittery, MacFadden shook his head with great vigor. "'Tisnot possible, I-I tell you."
"Give me the key." Claybourne held out his hand. "I'll take care of it myself."
"I-I don't have it on my person at the moment. Rebbinglen confiscated my keys."
The daft man was trying his patience. "You said you could get into the castle."
The man clamped his lips shut tight.
Claybourne sighed. "What is it you want most, MacFadden?"
He glanced toward the castle then down at the ground.
"You must want something. Tell me and maybe I can help you get it."
MacFadden eyed him speculatively and with a bit of hope. "The castle."
"What do you mean?"
"I-I want the castle of my forefathers. Rebbinglen cares naught for it. He has many estates.'Tisonly the third time he's ever been here."
"I see. Well, once I have the lady, Rebbinglen will follow me. I'll kill him, and then you'll have the castle. Simple." Claybourne shrugged.
"That wouldn't make it legally mine. His father or someone else would still own it."
"'Tisdoubtful they'd want to live all the way out here." Claybourne spread his arms. "There's not even a decent-sized village close by."
"Aye, but—but 'tis not worth my life."
"All right. I'll pay you ten-thousand pounds. That amount should go a long way in paying for this crumbling heap. It couldn't be worth much more than that. All you have to do is go in and secretly bring the lady out, without alerting the guards."
MacFadden was practically drooling now, though still fidgety. Claybourne held back a grin. Of course, he wasn't going to pay the daft man ten-thousand pounds, but he wouldn't find that out until it was too late.
"P-pay me half now, and h-h-half when I bring her out."
"Are you mad? I don't simply carry around that much coin. I'll have to talk to my treasurer and my solicitor."
"Then—then I have no guarantee you'll pay me."MacFadden'smouth twitched.
"I'll draw up a legal document." Claybourne motioned to his steward. "And I'll start off by giving you a thousand pounds right now to prove I'm trustworthy."
"You're not going to kill the lady, are you?"
What? MacFadden was suddenly growing a conscience? "Nay. Of course not. I'm quite smitten with the lady, in fact." Was smitten and consumed by lust the same thing? He shrugged.
A quarter hour later, his steward had drawn up a very rudimentary contract on a small piece of wrinkled parchment and they'd signed it, difficult in the dimness and with only a flat rock as a desk. But his steward was always prepared.
