Page 97 of The Falcon Laird
“He knows,” Gavin said. “He is no fool. Surely his men are watching the castle.” He squatted down and saw a line of sturdy iron rungs, a hidden ladder that led down to the water. “Your ancestors provided a neat sally port here,” he said.
“They did,” she agreed. “They tunneled into this great rock when the first stronghold was built on the promontory. Gavin, I wonder if Robbie and Patrick are right. There could be another tunnel connected to the well.”
“It is possible. But for now, we must get the children and the others out of here. And this boat is just what we need.” He held out a hand. “Come, my lady. We have work to do.”
As the lastof the captives climbed down the rock to the boat, Gavin turned to Christian. “Now you,” he said.
“Me? I will not go,” she said.
“You will. Even John is going, to bring word that we need some help at Kilglassie. Now climb down there.”
She folded her arms stubbornly; he recognized the haughty lift of that chin. “Where you go, I will go. You mean to find the treasure,” she said. “And I will go with you.”
“Christian,” he growled low, “I mean also to find Hastings and deal with him as I should have done years ago. You are not safe here. Leave with the others.”
“I will not, unless you come.”
“Do not argue with me,” he said. “Of course I will not come. I cannot let Hastings tear down these walls. I rebuilt this place. It is my home.”
“Mine as well,” she said. “And I will not leave it for the English to plunder and ruin.” She grabbed his arm. “Gavin, listen. I destroyed this place once, and feared that I destroyed the legend too. If there is a chance that the treasure has survived, I must find it. I am the keeper of Kilglassie’s legend. It is my responsibility to claim the gold for Scotland.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Ah. Do you not trust me to find your gold, then? Think you I will let the English have it?”
She laughed lightly, surprising him. “I trust you well, Gavin of Kilglassie,” she said. “You know that now. But I have the right to do this.”
He sighed. “You do have the right,” he said. “But I will not put you in danger.”
“You will not. I stay of my own will. I have lost my fear of the English, Gavin. I do not know what happened, or where it has gone, but I do not feel the awful fear of them that I had before. I will stay here with you.”
As he listened, he remembered, quite suddenly, an image of the caged birds flying free. She seemed to have released her fears somehow, just as she had released those birds.
Just then, the thought of the caged birds brought into focus the one element that had eluded him earlier. He frowned, thinking, glancing around at the promontory, and realized that the idea that had occurred to him was quite sound.
“Go, Christian,” he said. “Climb down to the boat and go.”
She tilted her head and watched him, her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean to do? You cannot get out of the underground chamber. Hastings barred the door from the other side when he shut us in the chamber. How will you get to the well—you cannot mean to wait for Hastings to let you out of the storage chamber!”
He looked up at the sky, which still glittered with stars. “There is another way into the castle,” he said.
“Where?”
“I am not certain, but I will find it. Go, Christian. John and the others are waiting for you to climb down into the boat.”
“You truly mean to find the gold,” she said.
“Among other things I mean to do, aye. Now go,” he said firmly, taking her arm.
“I am staying here with you.” She yanked away from him stubbornly and folded her arms across her chest.
He brushed at a curl that blew loose from her sparkling silvery fret, then cupped his hand along her cheek, tilting her face up to him. “Listen well to me, Christian of Kilglassie. Stay with me, and risk all. Or go with the others and keep yourself safe.”
She watched him, her eyes dark, deep, trusting. “If you wanted me truly safe,” she whispered, “then you would ask me to stay with you always. Always.”
He drew a breath, struck by the implication of her words, feeling the truth of them in his very soul. “Your loyalty is a true gift.”
“Freely given to you,” she said.
He bent his head then but stopped to look down when he heard a low growl at his feet.
