Page 72 of Sins of the Highlander

“Mrs. Christie, what did I tell you about knocking on this door?”

“Aye, my lord, I’ll leave the tub in the hall and return in an hour to fill it.” She turned to pad back down the stairs.

“Mrs. Christie?”

“Aye, my lord?”

“Make that two hours.”

Chapter 24

The rain ended during the night, and the next morning dawned brisk and clear. It was one of those rare November days in the Highlands, when the sky was robin’s egg blue and the sun was more than a cold disc in the southern sky. It was a liar’s day, a day that banished all thoughts of the coming winter by aping the appearance of early spring.

Elspeth rode a gentle mare with an easy gait. She was more comfortable on her own mount and figured it was a measure of Rob’s trust that he’d given her one. Strange to think that only a few weeks ago, she’d have bolted away from him as fast as she could go. Now she followed behind him along trails only he could see, through passes where the peaks rose around them on all sides, over ridgelines and then back down. They stopped frequently.

“To rest your leg,” Rob said.

But Elspeth sensed that he was drawing out the journey for other reasons. That he was reluctant to return to his home with her in tow.

“Are ye ashamed to bring me to Caisteal Dubh?” she finally blurted out.

He grimaced at her. “Why would ye say such a thing?”

She wondered whether he was loath to bring another woman into the home where he’d lived with his wife. “Ye dinna seem to be in a hurry to get there.”

“Ye’re right about that. If we dinna hurry, we’ll no’ run into an ambush,” he said, and she noticed for the first time that his gaze scoured the forest and rock outcroppings as they went. “I’m no’ ashamed to bring ye to my home. I only wish it were under different circumstances, ye ken.”

“Ye’re the one who stole me from the altar,” she reminded him.

“And ye’ll never let me forget it.”

She smiled sweetly at him. “Never in a hundred years.”

They topped a rise and looked down into a little valley. There was a castle of gray stones so dark they were almost black. Caisteal Dubh, the Dark Castle. It was ringed with a stout curtain wall, and a water-filled moat ran along three sides. A steep granite cliff rose behind it. A highly defensible position. There would be no hostile approach from that direction.

“Looks as if your father and bridegroom willna let me forget it either,” Rob said grimly.

Spread out around the other three sides of Caisteal Dubh, a host of men were encamped. Pennants emblazoned with Stewart and Drummond colors whipped in the wind. Several parties of men were felling trees to build siege works.

Rob hated to see them waste the lumber. Caisteal Dubh had never been taken and wouldn’t be on his watch either.

“They’re early,” Elspeth said. “Ye told them not to come till the end of the month.”

“They guessed I wouldna harm ye, but by now, they must also know ye’re no’ in the castle.”

“For all they know, I’m dead.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Merciful God, I hadna thought of that before. Oh, Rob, my poor parents.”

“Once we’re safe in the castle, I’ll go out under a flag of truce and let your father know ye’re well. Ye’ll have to show yourself on the wall, aye?”

“That’ll do, but I dinna think they’ll let us ride up to the front gate. How do ye plan on getting in?”

He leaned forward, surveying the array of fighting men amassed before his keep. His people were safe inside, he was sure, but if the army remained long, the land would be scarred. Feeding that many men each day would deplete the nearby game, and if any of his crofters had a private store of grain, he’d bet it was already gone. He had to make sure Elspeth was safe, and then he’d deal with the men at his gate.

“Can ye keep a secret?” he asked.

“Aye.”

“Then I’ll take ye in Caisteal Dubh’s back door.”