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'Sit down this minute, Elsie,' Uncle Murgan says strictly. 'You must not speak to your uncle like that. Your father told me to take care of you when he was dying. And taking care also means to provide good upbringing. I will not tolerate that kind of speech from the girls whom I bring up.'
'Does taking care also mean marrying?' I cannot hold it inside anymore. 'My father did not ask you to get married with me!'
'Yes, it does. I will not trust anyone to marry you, so I am marrying you myself,' he says calmly. 'That way, we are also solving the issue of the property. Instead of somebody untrustworthy, I will become the owner of these lands.'
'And what about Elsie getting married with your friend?' I keep on asking, even though we do not need any of his answers now that we have already made up our minds to run away to Domnhall Castle.
'I need a reliable ally,' he says. 'Times are hard nowadays, you do not understand anything, as you are still young. But I need an ally to help me with businesses. Everything is rational and logical.'
'There is nothing logical in that!' I shout and get up, storming out of the dinner room, together with Elsie.
We spend the rest of the day in our bedrooms, mostly reading. Even though I am reading my favorite book, but I cannot concentrate and so I read the same sentence several times without even understanding it. My entire mind is fixed onto a completely different direction – the thoughts about leaving our house tonight and going to a stranger in his castle, hoping that he will accept us. I sigh, as I continue looking at the bunch of words in the book under the light of the lantern on the wall of my bedroom.
I look out the window – it is almost evening. It is time for me to go and speak to the coachman. My heart beating with worrying, I silently leave my bedroom and go down the hallway. The hallways are almost dark, as the flickering lanterns are not too bright during the evening hours. I make sure to walk as calmly as possible, especially when I am crossing the hallway near our uncle's bedroom, so that Uncle Murgan will not hear my footsteps and get out of his room.
I leave the house and start going towards the stables. Amhuinn is mostly there in the evenings, helping the other workers look after the horses.
Luckily, I make my way to the stables without any trouble on the way and find the coachman. The old man is resting in front of the stables, sitting on the ground, smoking a cigarette, lost in his own thoughts. I am glad that he is alone there, and no one is around him to see me.
‘Amhuinn, there you are,’ I say calmly, putting a smile on my face. He immediately gets up and stands in front of me, nodding.
‘Yes, lady Megan, how can I help you?’ He is always nice and kind to me and Elsie, and I respect him.
‘Amhuinn, there is something that I need you to do,' I start saying. 'I need you to take me and my sister to Domhnall castle tonight, but this must be done in complete secret,’ I add in a whisper. I see how his eyes grow bigger.
‘Complete secret?’ He repeats in a whisper.
‘Yes, please. No one must know about it ever,’ I say strictly. ‘This is very important. My father would want you to keep it a secret.’
Hearing about my father, Amhuinn silently nods for a full long minute before replying.
‘Of course, lady Megan, when do you want me to be ready? I will take you to that castle, and no one will know about it.’
‘Roughly at midnight,’ I whisper. ‘I and Elsie will meet you here, at the stables, and we will leave. Please be ready by midnight, and prepare the horses and the carriage, so when we come here, we will leave at once. I do not want anyone to see us here.’
Amhuinn nods. ‘Yes, lady Megan, anything you say. I understand everything. All will be as you wish.’
'Thank you very much, Amhuinn. I really appreciate your helpfulness,' I also nod and leave the stables as quickly as I came. I do not want anyone to see me talking to the coachman. I sneak into the house and silently walk back through the corridors. At last, I reach our bedrooms. I walk on tiptoes to Elsie’s bedroom. There she is, waiting for me. Her eyes shine with happiness when she sees the smile on my face.
‘Here, I made a basket for us,’ she enthusiastically shows me the basket full of food, after I securely close the door of her bedroom. ‘Ainslee helped me. I told her not to speak a word about this basket to anyone.’
