Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

them and pull the first section of the door out.
    Cautiously, he crept into the short tunnel and stopped. The inside door was closed and Thomas had to remember to speak English, “Catherin?”
    Standing with his back against the wall and his arms folded, Connor thought he heard a voice. He drew his sword and crouched down. Justin heard it too and slipped out of the cottage to help. The voice was coming from inside the wall.
    “Catherin, it is I, Thomas.”
    Relieved, Connor put his sword away and removed the inside door, “You live dangerously.”
    Thomas stepped out and slapped him on the back affectionately, “Go get Kevin.” Connor was quick to obey.
    “Is anything wrong?” asked Justin.
    “That is what I came to find out.”
    Justin smiled and motioned for Thomas to come inside.
    “It is good to see you old friend. What has happened?”
    Not long after Justin finished telling Thomas everything, Connor and Kevin came in. In the dark, they could barely see each other, but Kevin greeted his old friend with a smile, “There is a traitor among us.”
    It was Justin who was the most surprised, “How do you know?”
    “The woman who brought the boys back told us. She is Catherin’s sister.”
    “I did not know Catherin had a sister,” mumbled Thomas.
    “Neither did we,” Justin said.
    Kevin continued, “When Rachel was little she often had smudges of dirt on her face and Justin called her that. In English, the lass called Rachel, ‘Smudges.’ Yet , it was dark and the only way she could have known it was Rachel is if someone told her who to expect.”
    Thomas took a deep breath, “Someone has found one of the doors.”
    “Doors?” Connor asked.
    It was Thomas who answered, “Aye, there are three.”
    Justin said, “We are not the only ones who know about the doors.”
    Kevin agreed. “True. All the elders know, but we made them take a vow not to tell. I can think of no one who would break that vow.”
    “Nor can I.” Suddenly, Justin caught his breath, “Dear God, they must know Rachel is out there again.”
    Connor was horrified. “Kevin, you let her go again knowing we have a traitor?”
    “How could we keep her in? You heard her; she would have gone out anyway. At least this way she knows we depend on her to come right back.”
    Thomas squared his shoulders. “The Camerons will watch the doors at night. We will guard them, find your traitor and silence him.”
    “Good. Just make sure they do not keep a lass from coming in. We must have Rachel back.”
    “Have you a plan for winning this war?” Thomas asked.
    Kevin lowered his voice. “I do. We must first...”

    Four hours after Rachel left, Connor slipped through the door in the wall to wait for her. She might need his help climbing out of the moat and he would not let her down. It was another night of pitch black with clouds hiding the moon and he was glad. The noise inside the hold was normal and he strained to hear and feel any movement in the water. He stood for a while, sat for a while and stood again. Still, she didn’t come back. The minutes seemed endless and he stayed all night until the sky began to lighten. He thought about just staying outside the wall now that the Fergusons knew about the door s. However, Kevin wanted everything to look as though the MacGreagors didn’t suspect a traitor, so he reluctantly went back in.
    Where was she? He was starting to feel the hurt in his heart Kevin felt when Anna left, and he didn’t like it one bit. Now Rachel would have to hide all day until it was dark enough for her to come back. She wouldn’t sleep, she wouldn’t eat, she would be exhausted, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Loving Rachel was beginning to tear him apart.

    Kevin was up all night as well and he was exhausted. Still, the next morning he knew Thomas would appear again on the hill and he wanted his old friend to know. He waited and as soon as Thomas walked his horse into the clearing, Kevin moved to the window. It was dangerous. Standing at the window made him an easy target for any number of Fergusons hiding in the forest with their bows loaded. His movements were swift. He wiped ashes on both sides of his face and then moved away from the window.
    It took him a moment to understand, but then Thomas caught his breath; Smudges had not come back. He guided his horse out of sight, brought his hand up and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He could still remember how he felt when they