Page 77 of Kilted Hate

She was no better than her brother. Beneath the laird’s anger, that morning, she had seen his pain, and she had quickly realized that it was she alone who had destroyed the man she pertained to love. Reginald had planned to kill the man physically, but Katherine knew she had ruined him in a different way altogether. Maybe a worse way, for if he were dead, at least he would no longer have to suffer. But he was very much alive, and so suffer he now would.

They continued on, Katherine silently weeping at the thought of her life without Domhnall in it. Her pain, too, was immense, but she deserved every second of it. No doubt, when they returned to England, there would be consequences to face, but she didn’teven care. Nothing could be worse than what she currently felt. In fact, if she died that very day, it would be a relief.

When they arrived at Drynoch, the guards led them through the village, ordered them to dismount outside a tavern, and huddled them inside.

“By the laird’s order,” one of them said to the inn-keeper, “we need all o’ yer rooms tonight.”

The inn-keeper looked worried, and checking his ledger, he looked back at the guard. “I only have three rooms available.”

The guard looked back at the others, clearly figuring out what he was going to do, and then turned back to the innkeeper. “That’s fine. We’ll tak’ them.”

Soon after that, Katherine found herself in a room of her own, while Reginald and his men were forced to share one of the other two.

“There’s a floor there,” he growled, jerking his head towards the room. “Mak’ good use o’ it.”

In the evening, the guards brought her food and wine. But Katherine wasn’t hungry and instead, curled herself up on the bed. More tears trickled down her cheeks as sadness continued to overwhelm her, and at some point, she closed her eyes and fell sound asleep.

“Katherine! Katherine!”

Katherine woke up with a start, her heart pounding, her eyes still blurry.

Blinking to clear her vision, she saw Reginald standing over the top of her, his brow furrowed and an urgency on his face.

“Get up. Hurry. We are leaving.”

“What?”

“Do it. Do it now!” he ordered.

Scrambling to a sitting position, her heart still thumping against her chest, she watched as Reginald hurried towards the door. Opening it, he seemed to look out, before turning back towards her. “Move!” he hissed.

Once Katherine had gathered her bag, she hurried towards him while still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“We need to be quiet,” Reginald whispered.

Walking out of her room, Katherine gasped at the sight of the guard lying dead outside her door, blood oozing from his body.It was the same guard who had organized their rooms. Reginald glared at her, and then, grabbing her hand, he led her down the narrow staircase.

Outside, Reginald’s men where already mounted upon their horses and clearly waiting for them. Noting the moon glaring against a black sky, the bright stars its only company, Katherine deduced that it was the middle of the night. The silence of the street and lack of people backed up her conclusion.

Reginald helped her onto one of the two remaining horses, and then, heading to the front of the group, he flicked his reins, forcing his horse into a gallop. Seconds later, Katherine and the other men did the same, following Reginald out of the village at great speed.

They travelled for several hours, stopping only to rest the horses. Katherine had no idea what direction they were going in, and at one point, she asked Reginald if they were heading back to the coastal town to catch the boat back home.

“You think I am going to trust you with my plans after everything you’ve done,” he snapped. “You are the reason my plan did not work, Katherine. You alone, sabotaged my efforts here in this god forsaken place.”

Once more, her brother seethed with anger, but beneath that, there was something more. She could see it in his eyes. Something evil. It was a side to her brother she had never before seen, for even as angry as he was the last time they had met,he now seemed to be even more driven, as though the man was possessed.

A terrifying feeling rose within her at what he could be capable of, and she concluded that they were not returning at all. Why would they be running in the middle of the night, if that were the case? With that realization, even more regret began gnawing at her soul. If she had only told Domhnall the truth. But she had not, and now she worried deeply that her brother’s plan was even darker than she could ever have imagined.

Another hour of travel passed, when the man who led them, the man who had clearly been looking for something, called behind him.

“There it is,” he yelled.

Katherine looked up and followed the direction in which he was pointing. There, surrounded by trees that had not been tended to in many years, was an old and clearly abandoned house. It was large and looked badly neglected. The wall surrounding it had long fallen, and by the old ivy that crawled up the walls and into the windows, she could tell the house had not been occupied for many years.

“What is this place?” Katherine asked.

“This is where we hid out when we first arrived. We came upon it by chance, but it is the perfect place to enact my plan,” Reginald growled, an evil smile thinning his lips so much they practically disappeared.

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