Page 45 of The Iron Highlander
“That’s easy. There are two places where Max would hold her; either in the highest room where he would lock her away and not let her see anyone, at the left tower of the castle, or in the dungeons,” Kate replied.
“We need to cover both sides as once, so we can leave as soon as we have her,” said Reuben, staring at the castle through the trees. Kate watched his face and felt her heart swell with pride, “I can scale the side of the tower, but I need ye to get to the dungeons Kate. I daenae know the insides of the castle wellenough, and neither does Hudson. If ye find her, come get me, and we will get back to the dungeons together and free her.”
“Aye,” Kate replied, feeling the weight of what he had asked. She was going to be separated from him, but she had to go ahead with it. She had come to save Lily, and this was the way it would be done.
“Wait, what would I be doing?” Hudson asked, looking at Kate and Reuben.
“Well, we need a distraction, someone who would keep the Laird busy while we got Lily out of the estate. Max knows what I look like, and if Kate walked into the halls, she would be apprehended at once. Ye are the only one who can, so get in there and distract him.”
“Wonderful,” Hudson said, with sadness in his tone.
Reuben smirked and turned to Kate, she caught his eyes and knew that it was time. If they were going to save Lily, it was now or never. She nodded to him, and they set off for the gates. Hudson went on ahead, taking his horse and riding straight for the front gates. Kate was dragged alongside the horse, with a bag over her head. She walked as though she was exhausted, and stopped along with the horse, knowing that Reuben was watching from a distance, not far behind.
“State yer business here!” one of the guards at the gate yelled at Hudson.
“My name is Bingwen, the great assassin from the east. I hear the laird is looking for someone who can be of service. I have come to offer just that, if he will see me.”
The guard walked up to Kate, and she whimpered, doing her best to seem afraid. The guard lifted her chin, and just before he could pull off the bag, Hudson dragged the rope which bound her hands, pulling her closer to the horse. The guard stared up at Hudson, and back at Kate.
“Who is that?” he asked.
“None of ye concern. It’s just a slave I have acquired for my own bidding, will that be a problem?”
“Nae, just keep her bound,” the guard replied before waving his hands for the gates to open.
As they walked through, Kate realized that the gates had been reinforced. There were thicker logs of wood used to keep it locked at all times. Three men would be able to lift the former gates, perhaps two well-built men. But the new one took a lever and a gear system to open and close. If they got caught inside, there was no going out.
But they were in, and Hudson quickly moved the horse to the side of the castle, allowing it to mix up with a few other horses who were grazing to the side. He pulled off the saddle and quickly undid the ropes which he tied around Kate’s hands, and hid the saddle in a few bushes. Kate turned to the man, taking off the sack from her head.
“Through the doors there, ye will find the great halls at the top of the stairs. He would be there, and if he isnae, he will come.”
“Aye,” said Hudson. Just as he turned to go, he looked back at her, “Be careful. Reuben might havenae said this, but if ye get hurt, he will lose himself, and that is the most I can say, so please, be careful, because the laird truly truly loves ye.”
Kate nodded and watched Hudson run off. Hudson had been with Reuben for a long time now, the man knew Reuben better than a lot of people did.
Reuben was madly in love with her.
Chapter 23
The lairdof the McDonald estate held on by his fingertips. The side of the castle had been scalable, just as Kate had predicted. But it was just the lower portion of the walls that were relatively easy to scale, as it had been frequented by the servants, it made the hand and footholds easier for him to grab and lock into. But once he was higher than the fence line, he was basically climbing a sheer rock face.
Reuben knew that he was safe for the time being, with Hudson and Kate down below, the guards would be distracted by them for the time, while he continued his climb. Even if they looked up at the tower, they would not see him, as he made his climb from the outside of the castle.
Reuben let out a breath and looked up, staring right at the window. There was a chance that Lily was in there, and if she was, their plan would be halfway done already. He just had to get to her.
He got to the window and peered in, looking across the room to see if he would spot any guards at first. Once he was sure there were none, he pulled himself up and into the room, landing on the balls of his feet.
He looked around and realized that it was a room, and there was a chance that Lily had been in there. But then he checked the floor behind the door, rubbing a finger against it and realizing that there was dust on it, telling him that no one had been there in a while.
Reuben reached for the door and tried opening it from the inside, but saw that it was locked. Not wasting any time, he drove his foot through the door and jumped out the other side.
A guard patrolling the corridors turned around at the sound of the commotion, unsure of what had happened, or how the laird had even gotten into the room. Before he could react, Reuben drove a right hook across his face, knocking the man out cold. He took the guard and dragged him into the room, and then blindfolded and tied him up with some of the clothes which were left in the room, making sure that he would not be an issue after he was gone.
He hurried towards the stairs and quickly rushed down. Most of the guards were outside of the castle, with Max not needing them around much. He had not expected anyone to attack, and so once they were in, there was no fear of many guards lurking around.
For a moment, Reuben wondered why the large doors had been put there, as though it had been built to lock people in. Reuben sighed; Max was a lot more sadistic than he had thought. The laird began heading for the dungeons; he moved through an adjoining corridor that passed the great halls.
He slowed and peered through a crack in the door, seeing Hudson on the other side of the wall, and on a chair at the far end of the hall, was Max Sweeney, watching Hudson with discontent.
