Page 18 of Tempted
Tina walked to the fireplace, threw off the despised Douglas tartan, and put on her lavender-wool gown She looked up at the beautiful pale girl in the portrait and whispered, “Damaris, help me find Davie. We must get away. All hell will break loose when he learns it wasn’t the Hamiltons who raided.”
“I seldom leave this chamber ‘Tis the only way to avoid Alexander,” whispered Damaris
Tina retrieved her knife and carefully slipped it up the sleeve of her gown.
“Mary and Joseph, whatever are you doing with a knife? I suppose I have no choice but to come with you. I must do all I can to protect you You must be a very reckless girl,” Damaris lamented.
Tina climbed upon a chest beneath the high window slit After a few minutes she saw the powerful figure of the Black Ram heading toward the stables, his moss-troopers at his heels. She sighed with relief knowing they were no longer under the same roof. Before she crept quietly from the chamber, she picked up the Douglas plaid and covered her bright hair
Her heart was in her mouth as she made her way with stealth along the passageway, then she forced herself to walk casually as if she had nothing to hide. For the moment she hoped to avoid the hall where men-at-arms tended to gather in inclement weather. From afar she saw servants and members of the Douglas clan, and she was thankful they wore plaids as she did The moment she saw stone steps leading below, she slipped down them. The air had a distinct damp and musty smell here below ground that was mingled with the sickening odor of rushlights burning mutton fat.
She passed through a room filled with barrels and kegs of ale and wine. Scufflings and squeaks came from the shadows, and she stopped dead in her tracks as she realized what creatures caused them.
“The rats can sense me,” Damaris said. “Don’t be afraid.”
When Tina realized the rats had fled, her courage returned, and she ventured down a narrow, whitewashed passageway. Here were empty cells with barred doors, similar to the ones beneath Castle Doon. When she looked through the bars of the fourth door, she gasped as she saw her brother nursing a bandaged arm.
She put her fingers to her lips and didn’t speak until they were only inches apart. “You’re wounded. What did they do to you, Davie?”
“They burned me!” he lied.
“Give him the knife,” Damaris urged.
“What the hell are you doing here, Firebrand? Are ye here tae ransom me?”
She shook her head. “They don’t know who we are, and we must get away before they find out. There isn’t much time, Davie. That bastard Douglas has gone to the Hamiltons to demand ransom for you. I can’t unlock the cell, but here’s my knife, Davie.”
As he grasped the haft, he said, “When the mosstrooper brings me food, he’ll be a dead man if he doesn’t unlock this door.”
“Don’t kill him unless you must, David—there’s been no bloodshed yet,” she urged.
He held up his arm grimly. “Someone will pay fer this.”
“I’ve done all I can. I’m leaving before the Douglas returns.”
“Done all ye can?” he scoffed. “Fire the castle afore ye leave—raze the bloody place tae the ground!”
“God’s passion, keep your voice down. I just want us both out of here with our lives!” Her heart was hammering as she retraced her steps and walked a direct path to the hall.
The spirit of Alexander Douglas sensed the presence of Damaris immediately. He left the small group of men-at-arms who were casting dice and approached the two beautiful women, one flesh, blood, liver, and vibrant with energy, the other ethereal and hauntingly remote. “Damaris, beloved, who is this ye guard so carefully?”
Not by the flicker of an eyelash did the lovely wraith acknowledge that she had seen or heard him. Alexander sighed. For fifteen years he had begged that his bride listen to his denials, but he had begun to conclude that though he saw her apparition, she could not see his.
At first he had tried to communicate with the living, consumed by the need to exonerate his name and honor, but it had been impossible. The horses in the stables were aware of him, and Ram’s wolfhound had seen him so often, he’d begun to wag his tail when Alexander approached, but Damaris always acted as if he were invisible. He suspected that she saw him and heard him well enough, but she believed the lies that he had poisoned her and like all females was too pig-headed and stubborn to listen to his pleas.
As she glided past him, his breath caught at her loveliness. She was still exactly as she had been that fateful night over fifteen years ago. Her blush-pink nightgown with its trailing sleeves emphasized her delicate beauty. Her skin was like porcelain and her hair like silken strands of moonlight.
Alexander was heartsore that his beloved Damaris was lost to him, yet he was willing to exist through eternity if he could see her like this and know they were together at Douglas He still clung to the hope that someday she would look at him, smile at him, or even curse him—anything that would indicate she was aware of his spirit’s existence.
Tina knew the moss-troopers were staring at her. She shrugged her shoulder and removed the dark green plaid. Then she picked up her purple velvet cloak from the wooden settle, wrapped it about herself, and pulled the hood close.
Colin Douglas moved slowly across the hall toward her. “Are ye leavin’ us, mistress?” he puzzled.
“No, no. I thought I’d walk about the castle now that the rain has stopped. Lord Douglas suggested that seeing my horse might bring all back to me. I promised to sup with him when he returns from Lanark.” She bit her lip. She knew immediately that she had made a slip. Her own knowledge provided the information that the closest Hamilton castle was at Lanark, less than ten miles north. But it went unremarked by Colin Douglas, who must have assumed Ram had mentioned his destination, and the blush that colored her cheeks began to fade. A pulse beat in her throat as she tried not to quicken her steps outside.
Damaris did not want to accompany her niece inside the stables because her presence always made the horses skittish. She knew that Tina would get away safely, and she was grateful she had had a chance to see the lovely creature. She kissed Valentina’s brow and whispered, “Goodbye—please never return.”
Tina’s hand came up unconsciously to brush back the hair from her brow, then boldly she walked to her mare and led her from the stable. The saddle had been removed, but luckily the bridle had not.
