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“I do hope you two are pleased with yourselves.”
Coll made a fist then flexed his fingers. His knuckles were bloody as was his lip. Overall, aye, he was extremely pleased with himself because Cormac was far the worse for wear than he. His brother sported a black eye, bruised jaw, and an oozing cut at his brow. No doubt his ribs would pain him for days. Most satisfying was the unnatural angle of his nose.
Having considered the conversation in the tower done, Coll had made the mistake of turning his back on his brother and walking away. Cormac had attacked him from behind. Given its effectiveness, Coll planned to keep the backward strike of the head that Ginny had almost taken him down with months before in his arsenal should he ever engage in hand-to-hand combat again. It was bloody effective.
And satisfying, he thought again.
If nothing else, he didn’t believe his brother would be willing to cross him again in the near future.
“War hardened ye, brother.” Cormac’s voice was thick with pain.
“Aye, it did.”
In many ways beyond the physical.
He’d been forced to harden his heart and his sensibilities against pain and remorse. There was no place for those things in war. No place for caring and kindness. There’d been a point when Coll feared he’d never come back from the dark place where his soul resided and find light again. Within a matter of weeks, Ginny had brought him into the sun again.
There were no lengths to which he wouldn’t go to stay as he was now.
He wanted it all. His family, a clear future, and Ginny at his side. If he could have only one, he knew which of those he would choose.
“Miss Hughes, there you are. I must say, you’re looking much better.”
Coll’s head jerked up as his mother spoke and spun around as Ginny entered the drawing room. Her clothes were straight and tidy. Her hair combed and smoothed back into a knot at the back of her head. The effects of a night at sea had been washed away. She may look “better” as his mother pointed out, but the sight of her there after the worries of the past hour was the best thing he’d ever laid eyes upon. She beamed at him, looking pleased with herself. His mood ascended higher with hope that their troubles might be over. He was hard pressed not to crush her in his embrace.
When he’d followed Cormac into the old chapel, he’d been relieved not to discover her there. And utterly baffled. Until he recalled her unique ability, that is. Whatever else, it allowed for a convenient vanishing act when necessary.
“Thank you, Lady MacLeod. I am feeling much better. All I needed was a good walk and some fresh air.”
Janet smiled. “It’s certainly put the color back in your cheeks.”
“Walh whee-er?”
Ginny’s gaze shifted to Cormac and for a moment she looked as if she were trying not to smile. “I beg your pardon? I can’t quite understand what you’re saying with your nose as it is. That’s a rather nasty nosebleed.”
“Ginny, this is my older brother, Cormac,” Coll introduced her with a warning glance for his sibling. “Whatever he meant to ask doesn’t bear repeating, does it, brother?”
She definitely bit back a smile this time and he wondered what she knew, and more importantly, how she knew it.
“I’m afraid you missed luncheon, Miss Hughes,” Janet went on, though a smile played at her lips, too. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
“She’s merely being polite, Mother. Miss Hughes disnae take an empty stomach well,” Coll said. “If ye have no’ objection, I will escort her to the kitchen to find something.”
“Not at all. Though I hope you’ll join us for dinner? I’m so looking forward to becoming acquainted with the woman who’s captured my son’s heart.”
Ginny dropped into another curtsey, this one stiffer than the last. “It would be my pleasure.”
She took Coll’s arm and let him lead her into the hall. Her brow furrowed. “Where have ye been, lass? Is there something amiss?”
Her forehead smoothed and she smiled up at him. The gesture was tight, lacking her usual warmth. She hugged his arm. “That’s a lot of questions. I’ll answer your question with one of my own. Do you want to see what I found?”
“Aye.” He looked back over his shoulder to see Cormac at the door watching them. He remained suspicious. “Best take a circular route in case my brother decides to follow.”
“To the kitchen then? I am rather hungry.”
As she’d eaten nothing more than a wee nibble of that tasty oatcake in the boat and had subsequently lost whatever else her stomach contained over the side of the boat, he imagined she was ravenous. He led her to a hidden stairwell in the corner of the tower and motioned for her to proceed him. Once they were alone within the thick stone walls, he asked. “Where is the prince?”
“You’ll see,” she said secretively. “Where is Flora?”
“The long night and excitement of the day caught up wi’ her. She’s resting above.” He looked down at her as they descended. In the glow of the lanterns affixed to the walls, he could see her expression remained troubled. “What is it, lass? Ye look worried.”
“I’m fine. The prince is fine. We’re all fine.” Her tone was bright. Too bright.
Before he could question her further, they arrived in the servants hall below. Burke, MacEachine, and the oarsmen occupied a table on the far side of the room. Burke’s eye waved them over with an exasperated shake of his head. “Ye’ve got pluck, lass, I’ll say that for ye. I couldnae believe when ye passed through here before as if ye hadn’t a care in the world.”
The other men nodded in agreement, rousing Coll’s curiosity. “What happened?”
“Why don’t you let them tell you while I find something to eat?” She hugged his arm then released him, walking toward the kitchen as if she knew precisely where it was.
By the time she returned with a small plate of meat and cheese in hand, he’d heard a portion of the tale and like the others was curious to hear the rest.
“There’s not much to tell about that,” she told them quietly in case the wall had ears. “We got away. What you will love is how we did it.”
As much as he wanted to question her further, Coll hesitated. There may be some things she would be unable to share in the presence of others. As he’d seen her with his own eyes and known she was in the tower and still couldn’t make out how she’d done it, his curiosity won out. “Cormac said the priest’s hole was empty. Where did ye hide?”
“We didn’t.” She leaned forward and they all did the same. “There’s a secret passage out of the castle.”
Coll sat back in surprise. “Nay. If there were surely my father would ken of it and have it searched.”
“It’s true as you’ll soon see for yourself. Point is, we have a means of getting the prince away safely,” she went on as if the rest of the men weren’t stunned into silence by her revelation. “We can make ready to depart. Once the boats are gone, there will be no reason to suspect the prince is here or ever was. Coll can sneak him out after we’re gone and rendezvous with us at the other Kilmuir on Loch Snizort.”
“Best to meet at Monkstadt, I say,” Burke added. “Sir Alexander MacDonald is presently away at Fort Augustus. I ken Lady MacDonald can be convinced to gi’ shelter.”
“That sounds right,” Ginny agreed.
Actually, it sounded all wrong to Coll. He didn’t like the idea of separating his fate from Ginny’s even for a few hours. Nor did he appreciate the casual manner in which she relayed her intention to leave him behind.
Again.
That was only the beginning of his issues. “What of the prince? There will be some suspicion if Betty Burke disnae depart as well.”
There were a few grumbles of agreement around the table. MacEachine scratched his head. “Mayhap we could put about that she ran off wi’ a sailor? I hear it happens now and again.”
Och, this coming from the man who thought it a good idea to dress the prince up like a woman to begin with. Coll shook his head. “Remember, my father got a fair look at ‘Betty.’ He’ll not believe it.”
“It’ll be fine.” Ginny patted his arm. “It doesn’t need to be a perfect story. It just needs to hold long enough for everyone to get away safely.”
“If there were ever a time for ye to overthink things, lass, this is it. What will happen in the morn when it is discovered that I’ve disappeared, as well?” he pressed. “Suspicions will be reborn.”
“It won’t be an issue.” She squeezed his arm with a meaningful look. “When should we leave?”
“After dark would be best,” Auld MacLeod suggested and Burke nodded his agreement.
“Leaving too late would draw suspicion,” Coll played devil’s advocate. “What destination could be close enough to warrant travelling under complete darkness?”
“Coll’s right. We could say that we are expected at this Monkstadt for dinner,” she proposed, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully. “No, it’s perfect really. We make a show of leaving. What is left to suspect if we’re all gone?”
“Ye told my mother ye’d join us for dinner,” he pointed out.
“I’m sure she’ll understand.”
Aye, but he wouldn’t.
* * *
Janet MacLeod, pleasant as she was, did not understand. The others could be on their way but Coll and Ginny would stay. Every insistence and argument waved aside and countered by assurances that her dear friend, Margaret MacDonald, would appreciate her need to get to know Ginny better, and that Coll could easily escort Ginny to Monkstadt in the morning.
“Let her leave,” Tormond MacLeod rallied unwittingly in Ginny’s favor. “Let them both leave for that matter.”
“If you don’t like it, husband, you can be the one to leave. Return to London, if it pleases you. I will have my son here for as long as it pleases us both.”
While Coll’s father had proven himself a stubborn bastard, he was outdone by his wife. She laid down the hammer and her will would not be undone.
“I’d forgotten how she rules Dunchleach wi’ an iron fist,” Coll told Ginny as they accompanied the others back to the boats to say goodbye. “Now that I think upon it, I cannae recall a time when my father won an argument wi’ her. It astonishes me that she wisnae able to regain my brother Hamish a seat at the table.”
“Every parent has a favorite child,” she reasoned. “They may deny it, but it’s true. I think with her in your corner, you’ll be able to stay home as you hoped. Maybe with enough time, he will come around.”
“It disnae signify.”
“It absolutely does.” She slipped her hand into his. “It would make you happy and you deserve that.”
“There are other things that would make me happier.”
There it was. That little thrill that morphed into an ominous chill down her spine a heartbeat later. As it had on Benbecula and again when Janet so casually referred to her “as the woman my son loves.” It meant that he’d revealed his true feelings when false ones would better aid his cause.
Because he loved her. Loved her enough to sacrifice for her.
That revelation was as staggering to Ginny as discovering she was from another time had been to Coll. There hadn’t been time for her to process it over the past twenty-four hours, much less consider the implications. Deep down, she harbored a degree of dread for the days to come and the inevitable pain she would bring him.
Yet another scar her presence would leave on the past.
They reached the beach in the castle’s sheltered cove. The men readied the boats while Coll, Flora, and she waited closer to the curtain wall in case Tormond or Cormac observed the departure from the castle. They’d avoided contact with the men in the past hour for that very reason. With luck, the others would be gone before the absence of a maid was noted.
It troubled Coll that he didn’t know where Magnus had gone. Far away, she hoped.
“Goodbye, Ginny.” Flora took her hand with a smile. “Oh, I know you said you would meet us tomorrow. Nevertheless, I feel you will discover other, more domestic, activities to occupy you.”
It wasn’t difficult to break the code on the seemingly cryptic words. Flora had been aware of the attraction between Ginny and Coll before they left Nunton, and a byproduct of her time, assumed Ginny was ready to settle down into a life of blissful domesticity here at the castle.
It was a growing pet peeve of Ginny’s to have people assume her relationship status.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she responded firmly.
Coll said his farewells before MacEachine returned to assist Flora into the boat. Burke passed them on his way up from the beach. He didn’t look pleased.
“The Stuart kilt is missing from the boat,” he told them. “Could be someone found it.”
By her side, Coll tensed. She rushed to provide assurance. “I retrieved it before I came to find you. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. It’s hidden with the prince.”
Burke tugged at his gray whiskers giving her what she was beginning to consider his signature eyeroll. “When Auld Donell asked me to keep an eye out for ye, I dinnae ken ye were going to be giving me an apoplexy every time I turned around, lassie.”
Auld Donell? Ginny blinked in surprise then gave an exasperated eyeroll of her own. Of course, he’d had a hand in all this. He was probably down in the kitchen right now sticking his fingers into a few more pots while he was at it.
“Auld Donell?” Coll repeated. “Ye mean the auld loch fisherman I used to see out and about wi’ Donald MacLeod when I was younger?”
Ugh, the pots were everywhere.
And she’d become one of them.