Page 47 of My Notorious Highlander

"They must have gone," Torrin said, keeping his voice low. "Let's see if we can stand and move closer to the door. That way, we can see how many guards he left. Push against my back."

She pushed back hard, while he did the same, and soon they were standing. Stepping sideways, they inched closer to the door, then Torrin saw him—the man with a scraggly brown beard pacing back and forth on the trail. Was he the only guard Haldane left? Or was another one patrolling behind the structure?

"Let's move to the back wall," Torrin whispered. Once they did, he said, "Now, let's see if we can find a jagged stone to cut this rope with." They rubbed against the rocks, most of which had been laid with the smooth side toward them. But then the rope snagged. "There's one." Torrin placed the rope that was wrapped around his upper arm against the roughened edge and sawed against it. "Is this hurting you?"

"Nay. But I don't feel I'm helping very much."

"You are." He rubbed the rope against the rock with all his strength. He had to do this for Jessie. He had to free her before her unpredictable brother did something insane. The rock was not as sharp as he would've liked. In the dark, he couldn’t even gauge his progress. Still, he kept sawing the rope until he was near worn out from using the same muscles over and over.

"Saints," he hissed.

"Is there something I can do?" she asked.

"Nay." He had to sever the rope, but could he do it before Haldane returned?

∞∞∞

Haldane and ten of his men quickly crept along the trail toward Dunnakeil.

"Remain quiet," he whispered. "If the portcullis is open, we'll slip in. If not, we'll see how many guards are patrolling the battlements, and we'll ken what we're up against."

They didn't yet know how many men MacLeod had brought with him, two or three, or a whole regiment. He also needed to know if the clan was out searching for Jessie. 'Twas suppertime and they'd be looking for her soon. Once he had this information and complete darkness fell, so his men could hide better, he'd bring Jessie to the castle and demand entrance… if they didn't want to see her killed before their eyes.

Earlier in the day, Haldane and his men had left their stolen bìrlinn at Smoo Cave. What grand luck that they'd come across Jessie and her lover frolicking in the bay. Haldane snorted, disgusted with his sister. He'd never known her to be a wanton, nor had he expected that match up. 'Twas clear MacLeod was besotted with her, considering how he'd helped her along on their journey through the brush and boulders. He might cause a problem when Haldane separated Jessie from him and brought her to the castle.

"You may have to kill MacLeod," Haldane whispered to McMurdo.

"I thought you wanted to hold him for ransom. You're near out of funds, are you not?"

"I'm thinking he'll be too much trouble for that, especially when I separate him from Jessie."

"He's a chief," McMurdo warned. "His death won't go unnoticed. Every MacLeod in Assynt will be hunting us down."

"Do you think I care? Once I'm chief of the MacKays, I'll have a large fighting force of skilled warriors."

"Won't do you any good if the MacLeods attack and kill half of them."

"You let me worry about the rest of the MacLeods. All you have to do is kill Torrin MacLeod, and then if Dirk shows up, kill him, too."

"Whatever you say," McMurdo muttered in a resigned tone.

Aye, McMurdo would obey his every command. The old man wanted that tomb inside the church too badly to oppose him.

"Why is it you wish to be buried in the church?" Haldane asked.

McMurdo gave him a dark and deadly look from the corner of his eyes, the menace clear even in the gloaming. "The why of it is not your concern, lad."

Even though Haldane ordered McMurdo around a lot, he didn't dare anger him. He knew the grizzled highwayman could turn against him in a trice. And if that happened, Haldane might be dead in two seconds. Or, if McMurdo let him live but deserted them, the MacKays would be much harder to defeat. McMurdo might be ancient, but he was still lethal. Mainly, Haldane needed him to kill Dirk, for his older brother was a formidable opponent, a highly trained and skilled warrior. He had to be taken out before Haldane could be chief.

Once they took possession of Dunnakeil, they could easily accomplish the rest. He would force each member of the clan to obey his command… or die. Their choice.

As they neared the castle, Haldane saw naught out of the ordinary. 'Twas just as it had been the last time he was here several months ago, except fewer guards were patrolling the battlements. He only saw three at the moment, their dark silhouettes clear against the gray sky.

"Hide in the bushes," he told his men in a loud whisper. They silently vanished. He slipped through the bushes until he had a view of the portcullis. 'Twas closed. "Damnation," he muttered.

One man's voice echoed within the bailey. That's when he noticed a large number of men assembled. They might be organizing a search party for Jessie and MacLeod.

How many men were gathered there? He saw a few he didn't recognize. He'd seen most of the MacLeods several months ago when he'd gone to Munrick. For a certainty, they weren't MacKays.