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“Men came in the evenin’,” Astrid said. “They brought us here. We had nothin’ to eat, nor any water for a day. Then he came.”
“Who?” Conner asked, getting more and more frustrated with the lock. Finally he reached for the pouch of black powder. “And lean back. Sadie move to the corner of the room and close yer eyes. When this goes off, I daenae want either of ye to get hurt.”
“Are ye sure that’s safe?” Astrid asked as fear stole her happiness.
“Tis the only way to break this lock,” Conner said as he looked up at his mother. “Now close yer eyes and turn yer head away. Ye might want to cover yer ears as well.”
Pulling in a long deep breath, Conner filled the keyhole with the black powder. He looked at the hearth.
“Daenae move,” Conner said as he jumped to his feet and rushed to the hearth. Carefully, he plucked a small bright ember out of the fire with the tongs and walked it over to Astrid.
“Alright, on the count of two,” he said. “One…”
On the count of two, Conner dropped the ember onto the pile of black powder. The explosion was deafening. There was no doubt that if someone were a mile away they would hear the commotion and come running. As the smoke cleared, Conner couldn’t help but smile as he noticed the lock had fallen off, freeing Astrid.
She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, thank ye.”
Conner noticed the bright red ring of sores that encompassed his mother’s ankle. But he knew he didn’t have time to address the wounds right now. He needed to get Sadie unshackled first.
“Yer turn,” Conner said, motioning for Sadie. Sadie sat on the chair and curled in on herself, plugging her ears as Conner did the same for her. The second explosion added to the ringing in Conner’s ears.
“Alright, let’s get out of here,” Conner said.
“Conner, ye asked who took us,” Astrid said as they rushed to the front door. “It was Sionn.”
Conner stopped in his tracks as he stared at his mother. “What? Are ye certain?”
“Aye, I’m certain it was him. He came into our room the night ye met with Niel Webster and told us how things were progressin’ wit’ meetin’. I thought nothin’ of it when he offered us tea. There was somethin’ strange about it, it tasted bitter. The next thin’ I ken, we are in the back of a carriage. Where we were goin’, I didnae ken.
“It took me several years to piece together what happened that night. But it hit me all at once when yer friend here,” Astrid glanced at Damon and smiled at him.
“Forgive me, what is yer name?” she asked.
“Damon, ma’am.”
“When Damon mentioned he ken Joseph and Henry,” Astrid continued. “I grew suspicious. The men had come and gone for years. I heard them whisperin’ one night about Sionn and Sionn’s plans for us. Oh, Conner, my son. He would have killed us. From what I over heard, the plan was to kill us. Joseph instead spared us that fate. He kept us hidden here.”
“Then I shall spare his life,” Conner said. “Should I come across his path again, I will nae pursue him. But if Sionn is behind yer kidnappin’, then that means… Olivia. We must get back, now.”
“Who is Olivia?” Conner heard Astrid ask as he took off running with every ounce of strength and speed as he could muster.
My wife… my child… dear Lord, nae again.
Chapter 30
Olivia stared out the window. Her eyes locked on the horizon. Each second felt like an hour as she fiddled with her necklace. There was only one thing on her mind, Conner. As the clock ticked on, one thought plagued her mind, was he still alive?
Although she hoped he found his mother and sister, it was his safety that concerned her the most. A plethora of scenarios played through her mind. She envisioned Conner returning triumphantly with his family in tow. She could see it so clear in her mind, but knew that he went with no soldiers. There were no guards that followed Conner and Damon. In the back of her mind though, she knew why Conner went alone and it had nothing to do with the troubles he would face, but the troubles she might face being alone.
Pulling in a deep breath, she turned her back on the window and moved to the plush couch. Sitting, she reached for her book and opened it. The pages and words blended together in an incoherent thought. Frustrated, she slammed the book shut.
“Is there anythin’ I might dae for ye?” a servant asked. Olivia glanced over her shoulder and mustered a smile for the young girl.
“Nay,” Olivia answered. “Thank ye though.”
“Yer nervous,” the servant said as she proceeded to dust the shelves around the room. Olivia studied the girl a moment, watching as she lifted up trinkets as she cleaned and set them back down in the precise order. “I daenae blame ye.”
“Have ye had a loved one rush off into an unknown situation?” Olivia asked. The servant girl nodded as she paused her cleaning.
