Page 69 of Once Upon A Haunted Castle
It hurt to move quickly. It hurt to wear the heavy, dark cloak that would hide her features and protect her from the cold outside. But, none of that could slow her down or they would both, they would all perish. She stopped and faced the large, rough man who accompanied Alex. He was not what she had expected after Lara’s words of praise, but he had carried the message and brought Alex here.
“Brodie?” He nodded and watched her expectantly. “Lara cannot remain behind. My father will kill her for helping me, us, when he discovers this.”
“Aye, ye are right on that, lady. Lara waits now at our meeting place. I wi’ see her safe.”
Alex chose his friends well. She nodded and led them to another storage chamber. There, hidden in the stone wall, was a secret doorway. She counted the stones as her mother had told her to do and pushed on a round one at the top corner of the wall. A soft grating sound was the only noise as the passageway was revealed to them.
Her mother could not openly help Isabel, but in revealing this to her one night as she sat at Isabel’s bedside, nursing her bloodied back, her mother had given her a way out of whatever her father planned. Shocked by even that attempt on her mother’s part to circumvent her father, Isabel was glad of it now. Once Brodie lit the torch held on the wall inside, she allowed Alex to go ahead, using him for support on the dark steps that led down beneath the keep.
Isabel thought on her mother’s words as she walked down through the dark place. This had been carved out of the bedrock of the headlands on which Dunvegan sat at the same time that the oubliette had been dug—that structure hiding this one. Only the chieftain and his most trusted aides knew of this.
And apparently his wife.
They reached the end of this chamber and found another doorway. When Alex pulled it open, they were met by the salty smell of the sea. A sea cave would lead them to the cliff side of the keep and escape. But, according to her mother’s words, this path was arduous and long and Isabel could feel her strength waning and each step she took brought collapse closer.
“Rest here, love,” Alex said to her, drawing her to his side and letting Brodie pass. “Go ahead and see what lies there.” Isabel slumped against him and gasped when her back hit the stone wall.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked. Concern laced his words and his gaze.
“Nay. The worst is past, but the skin is tight and yet pulls when I move.”
“I will kill him.”
She startled at his vehemence. “I do not think either of us can do that, no matter how much we might want it.”
“Well, he will never touch you again, Isabel,” he swore. “I will make certain that you are safe.”
That brought them to the heart of the issue—what would they do once they were away from Dunvegan?
“Where will we go, Alex?” she asked. “What will we do, if we escape?” She brushed her hair back from her face and searched his.
“When we escape.” He reached up and touched her cheek, smoothing her hair again. “We will escape. And we will be together. I vowed before God to be at your side, Isabel.”
“What did your father say when he heard that we were wed?”
She knew the answer before he said a word, for the guilty look in his dark blue eyes shone there. Their marriage was yet a secret from his family as well as hers. Isabel closed her eyes and then tried to release her frustration and fear as a breath.
“My father will take us in if for no other reason than to thwart and anger yours,” he assured.
The thought of facing The MacDonald’s ire and his wrath did nothing to ease her mind or heart. She had thought that Alex’s return here to rescue her meant he had explained their marriage to his father and his family would accept it and her. Feuding families often married to settle issues and this could be simply one of those. She had hoped. She had prayed. The gentle touch of his hand, lifting her chin so that their gazes could meet, made her open her eyes.
“You are in pain and exhausted. When we get out of here and you are rested and recovered, we will sort it all out.”
Isabel was in pain and nights of sleepless tossing and turning had sapped whatever strength she might have had before her father’s punishment. The constant fear that her father would discover her secret made her fret through every hour of each day.
For, in spite of her fear that she had lost the bairn inside, she now suspected she had not. Unable to speak openly or ask questions about such things, she could only rely on memories of bits and pieces she had overheard discussed by other women about it. Now, with Alex here, it felt wonderful to have someone else who could take on her burdens and help ease her fears.
Isabel slid her arms under his and rested her head against his strong chest. Her whole body relaxed and even the pressure on her back did not bother her when he embraced her.
They were together. She breathed in his scent, slowly savoring him.
They were together. Isabel stroked her hands up and down the muscles of his back, accepting the strength he offered in his arms.
They were together.
She only knew she had slept when his whispered words woke her. It was time to leave Dunvegan behind and begin their life together.
