Page 55 of Scot of Deception
“Aye, me laird,” said the soldier with a deep bow. Then he rushed down the hallway to fulfil the orders.
“Dinnae fash fer her,” Laird Stewart said before Blaine could even express his concern for Kathleen. “The castle is well-guarded. We have soldiers an’ we have natural protection.”
Laird Stewart was referring to the tide, but he and Blaine both knew it would soon recede. If the Campbells planned an attack, they would do so when Castle Stalker was at its weakest—when the tide was low and they could come and go as they pleased.
Just before they reached the laird’s study, the man stopped by a portrait of an older woman and glanced around them only to find no one there. Pleased by that, he pushed the deceptively heavy portrait aside with a grunt, the fingers of both hands hooked over the thick, gold trim. A draft blew through the opening in the wall, until the portrait was set aside and a dark passage was revealed behind it, one Blaine had never once noticed in his patrols of the castle—not because he hadn’t looked, but rather because of how well-constructed the door was.
Clever work. If I couldnae find it, nay onewill.
Reaching for one of the torches that blazed on the wall, laird Stewart unhooked it from its rest and handed it to Blaine. Then, with a sweeping movement of his arm, he gestured to him to enter the passageway. “There are guards outside her door, so ye should be quiet.”
Blaine nodded, but before Laird Stewart closed the door behind him, Blaine paused and turned around to face the man with a frown.
“Why are ye daein’ all this?” he asked. “Why are ye helpin’ me?”
Laird Stewart gave him a small smile, a joyful huff of breath escaping him. “Because I think everyone deserves the chance tae confess his feelings tae the woman he loves.”
“Even in this case?” Blaine asked. “Even if?—”
“Everyone,” Laird Stewart insisted. “I’ve only regretted things when I’ve kept quiet. I’ve never regretted tellin’ the truth.”
It was what Blaine needed to hear for him to finally commit to the laird’s plan. He had to talk to Kathleen and make sure she knew he loved her dearly. He had to try to apologize, evenif his apology would never be enough to fix all the mistakes he had made.
As he stepped into the narrow, damp corridor and the hidden door closed behind him, Blaine drew in a deep breath and took the first decisive step towards Kathleen.
“Kathleen?”
Kathleen jumped, her heart leaping to her throat. Her head swiveled wildly around as she tried to locate the source of the voice she had heard, but there was no one in the room with her. She was certain of it.
Perhaps I simply imagined it.
“Kathleen!”
She jumped again, her terror getting the better of her as she shot out of the chair where she sat by the fireplace. It was as though the voice had come from right behind her, but there was nothing there but the burning flames and the crackling logs. How could anyone be calling her name?
“Who’s there?” she demanded, even as she felt foolish foreven believing that someone could be there, instead of the voice being in her head.
I must be losin’ me mind after everythin’. That’s it, I’ve lost me mind! I am imaginin’ Blaine’s voice now.
“It’s me, Blaine,” the voice said, and Kathleen came to a halt, frowning to herself. “I’m in the wall.”
Kathleen’s frown only deepened. “In the wall?”
Her surprise was so overpowering that any joy and any anger she could have had at Blaine’s presence were quickly overshadowed. She approached the fireplace slowly, carefully, and even grabbed the iron poker from the fireplace, grasping it tightly in her hand. If it was truly Blaine, then she wouldn’t need it, but if it was someone else, its sharp tip could prove useful.
“Am I behind the fireplace?” the voice asked. “The wall’s warm.”
“How can ye be in the wall?” Kathleen demanded, the volume of her voice rising against her will. She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, waiting one heartbeat, then another. But the guards outside didn’t seem to have noticed that anything was amiss.
“There’s a hidden passage,” the voice claimed. “Put out the fire an’ let me in. Please.”
It daes sound just like Blaine.
With some apprehension and with the poker still in her right hand, Kathleen grabbed the pitcher of water from her nightstand and poured it over the flames methodically, dousing all the logs. Once she was satisfied with her work, she stepped back and pointed the poker at the fireplace, ready to attack whatever would emerge from the other side.
“Alright!” she called. “They’re out.”
It took a moment for the wall behind the fireplace to part, revealing an opening just big enough to fit a grown man. Just as the voice had promised, Blaine was at the other side and Kathleen could hardly believe her own eyes.
