Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

feared little Rachel was lost forever. The King killed the scunner and Thomas was more than happy to watch, but it took two long days before they found Rachel in that closet the scunner locked her in.
    Thomas remembered seeing the four-year old run into her mother’s arms at last. It was the most wondrous sight he had ever seen. Now Rachel was lost again and the rage in Thomas would not be easily contained.
    It was in his power to command at least four hundred men to look for Rachel. Still, if Thomas did that, the Fergusons would know the Camerons were aware of the impending war and Kevin’s plan wouldn’t work. It was a good plan and Kevin wouldn’t want him to give it away, even for Rachel’s sake.
    Maybe Rachel was all right and just didn’t make it back before daylight. If that were the case, she might go to the Cameron hold, and that was a path his men could search without raising suspicion. He turned his horse and headed home.

    Inside the MacGreagor Keep, Anna used a wet cloth to wash the smudges off Kevin’s cheeks. “She cannot come back until tonight.” When Anna finished, she took his hand and led him to the bed. “Rest husband, you are no good to us if you cannot think clearly.” She waited until he stretched out on the bed and then curled up beside him. He was asleep almost immediately, but Anna’s eyes remained wide open.

    Later in the morning, Connor trained with the men in the courtyard. At noon, Kevin was awake, decided to lower the bridge and send several of the horses out so the Fergusons would think they didn’t have enough feed inside to keep them alive. Lowering the drawbridge was a noisy affair and could be heard a good distance away. Kevin had the men begin to lower the bridge to alert Rachel, then he had it stopped. He waited and prayed he was giving her enough time. Then the bridge was put all the way down.
    He stood just inside the wall on one side of the bridge and Connor stood on the other so one of them could grab her and pull her out of the way. The archers were ready and as soon as the horses were out, they knelt down just inside the courtyard ready to kill any Fergusons who tried to come in. None did. Kevin left the bridge down several minutes more, but there was no sign of Rachel and he ordered the bridge raised.
    In the afternoon , Connor climbed up a ladder and looked over the wall. He scoured the woods for trouble and when he saw none, he raised his body up and lay down on his stomach. It was the first time he realized the wall wasn’t three feet wide in all places. Some parts were as little as two and others a full four feet wide. Down the length of the wall, other MacGreagor men were doing the same thing.
    He reached down on the inside of the wall and felt another man put a stick in his hand. At the other end, twine had been looped through the handle of a pitcher and tied to the stick. He raised the stick over his head, moved it to his other hand, lowered it and dipped the pitcher in the moat. When it was full, he lifted it back to the inside of the wall where the pitcher was emptied into a bucket.
    It was all for show. If they really were running short of water, Kevin would use the hidden door to haul it in, buckets at a time during the night. But in the daylight, Kevin didn’t want the Fergusons to know he knew about the traitor or that they knew about the doors. Besides, Connor wanted to watch for Rachel. Each time he dipped the pitcher in the water, Connor watched the woods for a signal from Rachel. There was nothing.

    The thirteen-year old Ferguson boy was tired. His laird woke him early in the morning and made him mount a horse. Then the laird sat a half-dead woman in the boy’s lap and told him to take her north where no one would find her. The boy hadn’t even had his morning meal.
    She was heavy and it was a struggle to hold her upright , b ut he was afraid of what his laird would do if he did not obey , so he kept going. By noon, he figured she was dead. She hadn’t made a single sound. By late afternoon, he was exhausted, so he found a large rock, guided his horse to the top, got down and pulled the woman to the ground. Then he sat down and watched her for a while. She did not move.
    Her skin was still warm when he lifted her skirt hoping to get a good look, but his attention was drawn to the dagger strapped to her leg instead. He took the dagger, lowered her skirt and glanced around. He wanted another look, but he sure didn’t want to get caught