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  “Aye, aye.” Donnell waved away the rest of her words. “Weel, I will be kind and pretend that I am believing all of your explanations and excuses for being with the mon who is my greatest enemy. James Drummond wants me dead, Cousin. He disguised himself and wormed his way into Dunncraig and my confidence in order to murder me. The fact that ye seem to have become verra friendly with the mon doesnae make me feel that ye are one who can be trusted.”

  “He was a wood-carver, Cousin. That is all I e’er thought he was.”

  “Did ye think a wood-carver could do this to me?” hissed Egan, grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him.

  Egan’s face was a mess, Annora thought. She had not taken the opportunity to really look at him since he had grabbed her by the cottage. His eyes were so blackened and swollen she was surprised he had been able to see clearly enough to ride a horse.

  “Ye were trying to rape me, Egan, and ye were beating on me.” She lightly touched her bruised cheek. “All I saw when Master Lavengeance burst in was a mon who was about to save me.” She looked back at Donnell. “I admit I was suspicious and verra disappointed when the mon I thought my rescuer dragged me to the nursery and took Meggie. But, as I keep saying, I felt it was my duty to stay with Meggie.”

  “How did ye get out of the keep without being seen?” demanded Donnell.

  This was going to be a difficult question to answer, she thought. Annora was heartily glad that she had thought over all her possible answers and excuses as she had been taken back to Dunncraig. She was not a particularly good liar, but she could tell a very good story. Having planned ahead for this question, she began to tell her story.

  As Annora told an elaborate tale of slipping through the shadows with a knife-wielding man and a sleeping child, she watched Donnell closely. He frowned as she spoke but she could not tell if that was a frown of thought or one of disbelief and, worse, she could sense nothing in him to tell her, either. Since Donnell already had plenty of proof that his men did not always make the most vigilant of guards, she felt no shame in implying that their lax guard was why she and Meggie were so easily slipped out of the keep.

  “The mon is more clever than I thought,” murmured Donnell.

  “Do ye really believe all that?” said Egan.

  “Most of it. I but wonder if my dear Cousin isnae really the complete victim she claims, however.”

  A tiny trickle of sweat went down Annora’s spine but she kept her expression one of calm innocence. “I ne’er saw any evil in the mon, Cousin. Ye trusted him so I felt I could as weel. And since he twice saved me from Egan’s attempts to steal my virtue, how could I not think him a good mon, one I could trust?”

  “Ye are mine, woman, and I have the right to take ye anywhere and any way I please,” said Egan, and then he backhanded her.

  Annora hit the floor so hard she was dazed for a moment. She noticed that Donnell said and did nothing to stop Egan, and that silent approval of what the man had done made her very uneasy. It told her that, although Donnell could not see where her lies were, he suspected she was telling him some.

  Egan yanked her to her feet and shook her. “Look at her mouth!” he yelled at Donnell. “’Tis verra clear that she has been thoroughly kissed.”

  “It does appear that way, Cousin,” Donnell said. “Are ye sure ye didnae allow that bastard to seduce ye to his cause?”

  “Ye think me some whore?” she demanded, acting completely outraged at the mere suggestion that she had taken a lover. “Do ye nay think I at least have enough wit to tell when I am being seduced? I am nay my mother.”

  “But ye carry her blood.”

  “I carry that of my grandsire as weel and he was no mon’s fool.”

  “Ah, verra true. Still, I fear I dinnae completely believe your tale, Cousin.”

  “I cannae change it, for ’tis but the truth.”

  “As ye say but I think I will allow Egan to ease some of that fury that has him so tense and try to convince ye that ye just might have a wee bit more to tell us.”

  Even as Annora realized what Donnell was saying, Egan hit her in the face with his fist. The only reason she kept standing was that he had a painful grip on her arm. He smiled and she knew she was in for a very long, extremely painful time of questioning. She prayed she had the strength to remain firm and stay with the story she had told them.

  It seemed like hours of pain and brutality, interspersed with the same questions over and over again, before Donnell said, “Enough, Egan. She is either telling us the truth or she will die ere she changes her story.”

  Annora stayed where she had fallen the last time Egan had hit her. She did not think there was a single part of her that was not shouting in pain. Turning her head upon the cold stone floor just enough to look at the two men standing there looking down at her, she wondered how they could still be free and alive while a good man like James was chained in their dungeon awaiting what would undoubtedly be a long, cruel death.

  Just as she was thinking she might at least try to sit up, a man burst into the ledger room crying, “The MacLarens are raiding us!”

  “’Tis nay e’en dark yet,” muttered Donnell. “What do the fools think they are doing?”

  “Avenging the death of the laird’s son?” Annora said as she eased herself up onto her hands and knees.

  A hard kick to her side sent her sprawling again, and Donnell snapped, “That was a death caused during a raid. It happens all the time. And only an utter fool raids a weel-manned keep in the full light of day.”

  “Mayhap someone let him ken that we arenae fully manned at the moment,” said Egan as he roughly dragged Annora to her feet and then nearly threw her into a chair.

  Fighting unconsciousness, she listened to Donnell question the man who had brought the news. From what was being said, she gathered that the MacLarens had come very close to taking Dunncraig Keep. It was only the sudden return of the rest of Donnell’s men from their hunt for her and James that had saved Dunncraig. Those men had come up behind the MacLarens and the battle that had ensued had quickly become a rout. That so enraged Donnell that he punched the man who had delivered the news right in the nose, breaking it. Out of the corner of her rapidly swelling eye she watched that man slip away as Donnell turned all of his attention to making plans with Egan, plans that included chasing down the MacLarens and slaughtering them to a man.

  When both men strode toward the door, Annora thought they had completely forgotten her. Then Donnell turned as he opened the door. He looked her over and his face twisted in an expression of distaste. Annora decided she must look very bad indeed if it was enough to trouble Donnell.

  “Dinnae try to leave Dunncraig again, Annora,” he said. “We arenae through asking ye questions.”

  She stared at the door for a long time after it closed behind Donnell and Egan. As she sat in the chair and tried to fight back the pain she was in, Annora wondered what she could do next. At the moment, she was not even sure she had the strength to get out of the chair.

  The door slowly opened, and Annora frowned. It could not be Donnell or Egan, for they had no reason to enter the room in a secretive manner. The person who slipped into the room looked familiar, but her vision was so blurred by pain that the person was within a few steps of her before Annora recognized Big Marta. The woman was right by Annora’s side before Annora saw that the strange lump to the right of the woman was a bowl of water and a little sack full of what she assumed were supplies to help heal all the wounds throbbing on Annora’s body.

  “Do ye think they broke any bones, child?” Big Marta asked in a voice that was surprisingly gentle for her.

  “Nay, but I dinnae think there is one tiny spot upon my body that isnae bruised,” Annora replied and decided her own voice sounded odd because her lips were swollen. “What is happening?”

  “Meggie is in the nursery and Annie has finally managed to get the child to sleep,” Big Marta said as she began to clean Annora’s face. “I fear the true lair
d is hanging in chains in the dungeon, just where too many other good men died when that bastard cousin of yours took o’er Dunncraig. And MacKay and his men are haring off across the countryside trying to catch and kill MacLarens.”

  This was an opportunity to do something, but Annora found all of her thoughts and strength consumed by Big Marta’s care of her many bruises and scrapes. She was fighting hard to stay conscious by the time the woman had spread salve on her bruises and wrapped her badly bruised ribs. Simply loosening her gown and dropping it to her waist, then putting it back on again had been pure torture.

  “I must go find Tormand Murray and Sir Simon Innes,” she said as she struggled to sit up straight.

  “Lass, ye are so badly beaten I doubt ye can get to a piss pot without help,” said Big Marta.

  “I have to go to the village. Has the fight with the MacLarens gone beyond there?”

  “Aye,” Big Marta replied as she helped Annora stand up and then steadied her when she swayed on her feet, “the fools are chasing them all the way back to MacLaren lands.”

  “I pray the MacLarens win that race if only because they have given me the chance I have been hoping for.”

  “The chance to do what? Kill yourself by trying to do too much when ye should be lying abed?”

  “I must go find Simon Innes and Tormand Murray. I can get them into the keep without being seen.”

  “Ah, of course. The lad took ye out through the secret ways, didnae he?”

  “He did and I mean to bring some help back through the same way. Will ye watch Meggie for me?”

  “Of course I will. I will make certain that she isnae caught up in any fight that happens.”

  “Thank ye. I believe she has seen enough of that for now, aye.”

  As Big Marta walked her to the door, Annora tried to push aside all her pain and steady herself. She would do no one any good if she fell facedown in the dirt before she even reached the village. She took each step very carefully and by the time she reached the door leading to the outside, she felt she could walk without any assistance.

  “Mayhap I should help ye get to the village,” Big Marta said as she looked around at the nearly deserted bailey. “I dinnae think MacKay realizes that he has left this place so empty.”

  “Good. He was in a rage and rages make him stupid. James is being guarded, though, isnae he?”

  “Och, aye, by six burly fellows who wouldnae let me near the lad e’en though I told them I was to see that he didnae die of the bleeding from his head. Told them the laird would be most unhappy if the mon died, for then he wouldnae be able to torture him, would he?”

  “And that didnae work?”

  “Nay, they said they already kenned that the mon wouldnae die so why didnae I get my skinny arse back to the kitchens where I belonged? I will play the game again later and it may work then.”

  Those men would be lucky if they were not poisoned at the very next meal they sat down to, Annora thought. “Watch Meggie, Big Marta. She will be scared and Donnell might e’en try to hurt her if he sees that he is about to lose everything.”

  “I swear to ye, lass, that child will be safe. Just ye worry about yourself.”

  Annora almost nodded but then feared that moving her aching head like that could be just enough to send her into the unconsciousness that was beckoning at the edges of her mind. Instead she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She grew a little more steady on her feet as she moved along, but her pace was slow. Annora suspected she looked much like a bent old woman as she walked, but her appearance was the least of her worries.

  As she reached the edge of the village, she felt someone take her by the arm and looked up at the person now walking by her side. “Ida, it isnae safe to be seen with me right now.”

  “It isnae safe to be living in Dunncraig right now,” Ida said. “I dinnae ken where ye think ye are going but I couldnae abide watching ye hobble along looking as if ye were going to fall into the dirt for one minute more. Where are ye going?”

  To the inn. To James’ brother and that Sir Simon Innes.”

  “Weel, ye are in luck for they but just returned to their rooms. They heard what had happened and I think they are trying to make some plans. Dinnae ken what they think they can do. E’en now, with most of the fighting men riding o’er the countryside screaming for the blood of the MacLarens, it wouldnae be easy to get the laird out of those chains.”

  “Nay, for Big Marta told me that there are six verra big men watching him and there is nay telling when Donnell and his dogs will return. A plan more clever than just running o’er there now and trying to free James has to be made. I but hope this Simon and James’ brother are clever men.”

  “Och, aye, lass. They are verra clever. Havenae they been sitting here right under MacKay’s big nose for days now and doing so without MacKay catching wind of it?”

  That gave Annora hope as she looked at the stairs inside the inn and felt every ache in her body cry out in protest at the mere thought of going up them. Then Ida slipped one strong arm around her waist and Annora started up the stairs. With each step she took her bruised ribs sent pain throbbing through her body. Annora knew she never would have made it up the stairs without Ida’s help and suspected poor Ida was nearly carrying her by the time they reached the top. Ida kept a firm grasp on her as she rapped on a door at the top of the stairs.

  A tall man opened the door and asked, “What is the trouble, Ida?” A harsh curse escaped the man and Annora felt a strong arm encircle her shoulders. “Who is this woman and why have ye brought her here?”

  This is Annora MacKay, Sir Innes,” replied Ida.

  Another tall man appeared in the doorway and Annora asked, “Tormand Murray?”

  “Aye. Jesu, what happened to you?”

  “I was asked a few questions about your brother’s attempt to flee Dunncraig.”

  “Why have ye dragged yourself here? Ye should be abed.”

  “Later. Is the king’s mon ready to help James in more ways than just gathering information?”

  “Aye, he is,” said the shadowy form that Ida had addressed as Sir Innes.

  “Oh, good, for I can get ye into Dunncraig so that ye can get him out ere Donnell cuts him into small pieces just for the joy it would bring him.” She felt as if her knees had turned to water. “Although I think that may have to wait just a moment.”

  The last thing Annora heard was a deep voice curse and then say, “Catch her. She doesnae need any other bruises.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Pain was the first thing Annora was aware of as consciousness returned. Then a cool wet cloth moved over her aching face soothing some of the pain there. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. They did not open very much but, recalling why she was in such pain, she was surprised they opened at all. A handsome face with mismatched but very beautiful eyes appeared in her narrow field of vision.

  “Tormand Murray?” she asked, remembering what James had said about his brother’s eyes. There could not be another man at the village inn with one green eye and one blue eye.

  “Aye, and ye are James’ Annora,” he said.

  “Oh, that sounds nice.” She blushed when he grinned, for it had been a foolish thing to say. “How long was I unconscious?” she asked.

  “Five hours.”

  “Nay!” she cried, terrified that they had lost the chance to help James. “Why couldnae ye have woken me up?”

  “We did try from time to time but then we decided we could make some preparations while ye rested for a wee while.” He slid his arm around her and helped her sit up. “We are ready now for ye to lead us into the place where they are holding James. S’truth, without that wee rest ye took I dinnae think ye would have been able to do it.”

  “I am astounded that ye made it to the village,” said the man standing at the other side of her bed, drawing her attention, and then he bowed slightly. “Sir Simon Innes, mistress. At your service.”

  “Only the two of ye
?” she asked as Ida nudged Tormand out of the way and helped Annora drink some mead.

  “Nay. As ye rested we gathered some men,” replied Simon. “It wasnae hard to find ones eager to rid Dunncraig of your cousin. Was he the one who beat ye so badly?”

  It obviously troubled Sir Innes a great deal to see a woman beaten so badly, and Annora felt that was a good sign. James had said that the man could be trusted, but she was feeling very wary of everyone at the moment. Unfortunately, James did not have the time to wait while she decided who she could trust.

  “Nay, he had his mon Egan do the honors,” she replied. “Egan was most eager to do so as James had beaten him rather badly just before we fled Dunncraig. Did Donnell slaughter any MacLarens? That was what he intended to do when he left me.”

  Tormand shook his head. “Nay, they got away. A few have slipped back, though. Simon felt they might prove a good source of trained fighting men. We will need such men to take Dunncraig back from MacKay.”

  “Of course ye will and the MacLarens will be more than eager to help ye. Donnell did a verra thorough job of ridding Dunncraig of all the men loyal to James. So, when do ye wish me to lead ye inside Dunncraig?”

  “In one hour.”

  Annora slumped against the pillows Ida had placed at her back. “Then give me a cold wet cloth again so that I might put it o’er my eyes. It will help me to see more clearly where I am going when it is time to leave.”

  “Do ye think an hour will be long enough?” asked Tormand as he gathered what she had asked for.

  “Aye, though dinnae expect me to do any more than slump in a corner somewhere once I get ye inside.”

  “I will see ye safely set into one myself.”

  She placed the cloth over her eyes, nearly sighing with pleasure over how good it felt, and then she heard the door to the room shut softly. “Ida?”

  “Still here. Rest, lass. Ye will be in sore need of all the strength ye can muster to just get through the next few hours.”