Let Me Be Your Hero (17 page)

He is a fool who thinks by force or skill

To turn the current of a woman’s will.

Samuel Tuke (1620?-1674),

English royalist and playwright.

The Adventures of Five Hours
(1663)

T
hings did not bode well for Claire.

Tired of waiting for Isobel to succeed, Lord Walter contrived to bring her under his control. He informed Isobel that he was taking charge.

“What do ye have in mind?” she asked.

“She must be isolated. She draws strength from this place, as well as her sisters.”

Isobel’s face registered her surprise. “Isolated? I dinna ken what ye mean by that.”

“I shall take her north, to my family’s castle in the Highlands.”

An uneasy silence engulfed the room. Isobel looked anxious and glanced warily around. “You mean to take her to Kalder Castle?”

“Aye. I have given it much thought and deem it the
perfect place to put her in a more agreeable frame of mind.”

“But it is in near ruin…and completely isolated on that promontory jutting into the sea. There are no servants there, nor any neighbors within miles.” Isobel tried to keep the uneasiness from her voice. She hoped above hope that Walter did not intend for her to accompany him, for it was a horrible place and one she feared. To merely say the name Kalder Castle filled her with fright. It was aptly named, for it was dark and sinister, and a place where horrible things had occurred. It was a cursed place and haunted. No one would go near it.

“I have sent word to Angus Sinclair that I will have need of his services while I am there. He will gather that which we will have need of and meet me there.”

“So ye plan to go alone?” she asked, praying it was so.

“Alone? No, not alone, for I shall have your lovely niece to keep me company.”

“Ye do not plan to…”

“Ye are losing sight o’ the purpose here, Isobel. It isna seduction. If I wanted to take advantage of her body—which holds no appeal for me, by the way—I would not need to go to such lengths. I could have taken her here, anytime I pleased.”

“She will not go.”

A sinister smile stretched like an evil snake across his face. “Och! Ye are wrong there. She will go and gladly, for if she refuses, her sisters go into the turret and they will not come down again.”

“Ye mean to harm them?”

“That is up to her.”

“But…what have ye in mind?”

“I must decide between starvation, or a diet of nothing but salted pork.”

Isobel shuddered. She remembered the story of the unfortunate Earl of Ness, who was imprisoned at Kalder Castle by Walter’s grandfather. The Earl was given nothing but salted beef, not even water. He died, screaming and raving, insane from lack of water. It was said he tried to eat his own hands before death claimed him. The castle was abandoned a generation later because of the earl’s ghost, which still suffered his torment in the dungeon during the day but was allowed to haunt the castle at night, where he wandered eternally in search of water.

“When do ye leave?” Isobel asked.

“I will put the question to her tonight, and let her choose—Kalder Castle, or death to her sisters.”

One of the servants, the grim and formidable Mrs. Macklin, brought word to Claire.

“My lady, Lord Walter awaits ye in his study and advises ye not to be tardy.”

As soon as the Grim Reaper—the girls name for Mrs. Macklin—left, Claire’s sisters gathered around her.

“Do ye have any idea what he wants with ye?” Kenna asked.

“ ’Tis nothing good, I ken,” Greer said.

Briana threw her arms around Claire. “Dinna go, Claire. Dinna go. I am afeard for ye.”

At the sound of the desperation in her sister’s voice, Claire looked down at Briana’s upturned face and
stroked the rosy ringlets hanging loose around her delicate neck. Her eyes held an abundance of love, mixed with fear.

Although Claire herself was worried about the reason Lord Walter had sent for her—for these kind of summons were never pleasant—she did not want to cause alarm in her youngest sister, for Briana was filled with terror at the very thought of encountering Lord Walter. Whenever she recognized his step in the house, she was desperate to find a place to hide or seclude herself until the sound of his steps passed.

Claire took Briana’s face and framed it in her hands. “Ye must act like the lady ye are, Briana. Ye are almost grown, and ye must act the part. Do you understand what it means to be grown-up?”

“Aye,” she said, “it means ye will be alone.”

Claire hugged her close, regretting one so young had to have such a bleak outlook on life. Claire spoke to her in a calm voice. “Ye ken I must go, Briana, else it will bode ill for all of us, ye ken.”

“Shall we accompany ye?” Kenna asked.

“No. ’Twould only serve to make Lord Walter angry. Dinna worrit. I doubt he is going to quash me over the head with a club or hurl me into the fire.” When Claire saw that her words did nothing to ease the apprehension in Briana, she continued, “What say ye if I bring ye back an oatcake and some almond milk?”

“I only want ye to come back, Claire,” Briana said, clinging fiercely to Claire, as if afraid to let her go.

“Now, let me go, so I willna be late. I shall return soon,” Claire said.

“No, ye willna…ye willna….”

After Claire left, her sisters went to the window and sat there looking out at the loch, as they often did for comfort, for it was one of the few things in their lives that remained constant.

All of a sudden, Kenna jumped up.

“What is it?” Greer asked.

Kenna turned to her sisters. “I will be back in a little while.”

“Where are ye going?” Greer asked.

“Shh.” Kenna put her fingers to her lips. “I want to find out what Lord Walter wants with Claire.”

“I want to come,” Briana said.

“No, stay here with Greer. ’Tis best that I go alone. That way, if I get caught, only one of us will be punished.”

“Are ye going through the secret passage?” Greer asked.

Kenna nodded. “Aye, and wise Claire was when she told us not to let Isobel or Lord Walter know it existed.”

Before she left, Kenna instructed her sisters not to tell anyone where she went. “If they ask, say you havena seen me, ye ken?”

“Aye, we willna say anything,” Briana said.

Kenna nodded and turned to light a candle, and carried it from the room.

She no more than left when Greer said, “Wait here. I will be right back.”

“Where are ye going?”

“I want to find oot where Isobel is. Mayhap I can hear something like Kenna hopes to.”

“I want to come.”

“Ye must stay here, in case Kenna comes back before me. Otherwise, she may leave and we will never know where Claire is.”

Greer opened the door and peered into the hall, and finding it clear, she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

At the far end of the hallway, Kenna pushed a wooden panel and stepped into a black void. The room was dark. The candle did not put out a great light, but it was enough for Kenna to see her way up a narrow stone spiral staircase. It opened to a small room on the second floor, right behind the study. She made her way toward an ornate metal grate and peered into the study.

Claire was standing in front of the desk, with Lord Walter seated in their father’s chair behind it. He removed a feather quill from the ink jar and drew the plume through his fingers.

Near the grate, a large wooden panel was set into the stone. When Kenna pushed on the panel, a painting in the study tilted back so she could hear the conversation in the study.

“The time has come for a change. We will be leaving Inchmurrin tonight,” Lord Walter said.

“How long will we be gone?” Claire asked.

“That is up to ye. It could be weeks, or it could be for the rest of your life. Once we are there, ye willna leave until ye agree to marry Giles.”

“And my sisters?”

“They will remain here with Isobel. Nothing will happen to them…at least not for the time being.”

“Where do ye take me?”

“Full of questions, are ye not?”

“I feel it is the least I deserve.”

“I am taking ye to my grandfather’s castle.”

“Where?”

“In the Highlands. Ask no more questions about where ye are going. I have said all I am going to say on the matter.”

“How much time do I have?”

“For what?”

“To pack and say goodbye to my sisters.”

“Isobel has seen that some of your clothing has been packed. As for your sisters, ye have seen the last o’ them. If ye wanted to bid them adieu, ye should have said goodbye before ye left.”

Overhead, Kenna put her hands over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Her mind raced as she tried to decide what she was going to do with the information she had gathered.

She pushed the panel back in place and returned the way she had come. When she entered the room, she was greeted by Briana’s lovely voice.

“’Tis a grave situation we are in. Why do ye sing at a time like this, Briana?”

“I am singing so I will no’ be afraid.”

“Ye have naught to fear, at least for now. ’Tis Claire who is in danger.”

“What did ye find out?” Briana asked. “Does it bode ill for Claire?”

“Aye, it…” She paused and looked around the room. “Where is Greer?”

“She left.”

“She left? What do ye mean she left? To go where?”

“She went to spy on Isobel, to see if she could find oot anything.”

“She should have remained here, like I asked her to do.”

“Ye ken Greer doesna always do what she is told. And neither do ye.”

“Weel, for that matter, Lady Briana, neither do ye.”

“Aye, ’tis true enough, but tell me, what did ye find oot?”

“I heard Lord Walter tell Claire that he was—”

The door opened and Greer slipped into the room.

“Hurry,” Kenna said. “I was about to tell Briana what I found oot.”

“Oh, good,” Greer said. “I am most anxious to know what ye heard.”

Kenna started her story again, and finished it this time.

“What can we do?” Briana asked. “I think we should go after her.”

“We canna,” Kenna said. “What would we do when we caught up with them? We are powerless. We dinna ken where this castle of Lord Walter’s is.”

Tears began to slide silently down Briana’s cheeks. “We canna sit here and do nothing. We must help her. We must.”

“Aye,” Kenna said. “We will, but first I must think of a way. If only we knew where Lord Walter was taking her.”

“I know where he is taking her,” Greer said. “Or at least I ken the name o’ the castle.”

A puzzled frown settled on Kenna’s brow. “What do ye mean he is taking her to a castle, and ye have the name of it? How do ye ken these things, Greer, when Lord Walter did not mention them to Claire?”

Greer shrugged and folded her arms across her
waist. “I wanted to help, so after ye left, I went to find Isobel. She was in the solar, so I went into the oubliette that adjoins it. It wasna long until Lord Walter came to tell her he was leaving and taking Claire with him. Then I heard Isobel ask him, ‘Are ye certain Kalder is the right place to take her? It is verra far and terribly isolated.’

“Then Lord Walter said, ‘Aye, and that is the reason I chose it.’ Isobel then expressed her doubts about this Kalder Castle because, according to her, it was partially destroyed. Lord Walter said that was what made it the perfect choice, for who would think to look for them there.”

“Kalder…” Kenna said thoughtfully. “It isna a Celtic name nor a Gaelic one. It must have come from the Saxons or the Normans, although it sounds more Norman, and if that be true, then it would be in the far northern part of the Highlands, more than likely. Not that we should worry overmuch about that now, for I ken we should be able to track it doon withoot much difficulty.”

“Aye, but how do ye ken we go aboot it?” Greer asked. “What can the three of us do? We are powerless, even if we do find oot where this Kalder Castle is located.”

Kenna saw the glum expressions on the faces of her sisters, and that seemed to give her an added dose of optimism. “Aye, ’tis true we canna handle something like this by ourselves. It is as father said, ‘A monk canna shave his own head.’”

“What has that go to do with anything?” Greer asked.

“Weel, if a monk canna shave his own head, then
he must find someone else to do it for him, ye ken? Dinna fret and fash yerself. ’Tis plain as the snow on Ben Lomond that we canna do this alone. I plan to get help.”

“Will ye seek help from the clan, then?” Greer asked.

“No, this isna the fifteenth century when the clans settled all grievances. How could we move so many men withoot arousing suspicion?”

“Then who shall we ask to help us?” Briana asked.

“I shall leave immediately for Edinburgh,” Kenna replied.

“Edinburgh?” Greer and Briana asked in unison.

“Aye, ’tis where Fraser Graham is practicing law.”

Greer’s face registered surprise. “Fraser Graham? Are ye daft, Kenna? Ye canna ask Fraser,” Greer said. “Claire would die if ye did.”

“Claire may die if I dinna. Any port is welcome in a storm. Fraser is the only man I know that I trust enough to ask,” Kenna said.

“Why dinna ye tell some of the men and let them help.”

“Ye ken how the clansmen are. They would immediately arm themselves and ride off as if they were going to war. We need someone calm and levelheaded. Otherwise Claire will never come home again.”

“Do ye ken Fraser will even want to help?” Briana asked. “After the way Claire divorced him, I couldna blame him if he wanted nothing more to do with any of us ever again.”

“Fraser will help. I am certain of it, but I canna tarry overlong talking aboot it. I must leave for Edinburgh immediately.”

“Ye canna go to Edinburgh alone,” Briana said. “It isna safe for a woman to travel alone.”

“I will wear a pair of Kendrew’s trews and put my hair inside one of his bonnets. Everyone says I ride as well as a man. With Kendrew’s cape on, no one will think I am a woman.”

“Ye mean to ride astride?” Greer asked.