will give me whatever I ask for without question."
" And I need for you to do one last thing. Go see Mairi and acquire me a sleeping potion. Conceal these things in your arisaid , and bring them along with my mid-day meal. Be most careful that you don't get caught, for if you do, it could mean certain death for us both."
The older woman visibly paled, but quickly nodded her understanding.
" When you leave my bedchamber, count the number of steps it takes for you to reach the door of Ian's room. That'll make it much easier for me to locate his bedchamber later from inside the tunnels. Since it wouldn't open before, see if you can loosen it without getting found out. Relay to Roderick all that I have said, and ask him to leave a horse in the stand of trees just outside the castle wall. I have an extra key to the postern gate leading from the bailey to the wood. Father gave me one. Tell him to wait until after the gatehouse guard has made his rounds. If Roderick is unable to provide us with a horse, we'll travel on foot."
T he door opened suddenly, startling them both.
" What's taking ye so long, old woman?" The guard lowered his brows suspiciously.
Jillian smiled sweetly. "'Tis my fault, not Winnie's, for I've kept her tarrying to answer questions about my people."
" They're no longer yer people; they belong to Gordon MacRae," he sneered, before once again turning on Winnie. "Old woman, ye've been in here long enough. Out with ye," he said, waiting for her at the door.
" I'm coming, give me but a moment to collect the tray. Cook will have a fit if I forget to return it again."
" Much thanks," Jillian said, and in a low whisper, added, "Tell Ian I'll come for him tonight, and that he must tell no one." Jillian hoped she could still remember her way through the old tunnels that meandered between the castle walls. She'd sometimes played there with her cousins as a child, but that'd been many years ago.
" I'll bring what I can, m'lady," Winnie whispered back.
After the guard closed the door behind Winnie, Jillian ate one of the bannocks and drank the spiced mead, but she wrapped the others in a bit of cloth, then tucked them inside the bundle beneath her bed.
It would be several hours before Winnie returned with the things Jillian needed. She said a silent prayer all would go well. In the meantime, she paced back and forth, going over and over in her mind everything that must be readied for the two of them to safely leave Lochstorm. She dropped onto her bed, rehearsing what she'd say to Kade, once they arrived at Ravenskull. Jillian lay back and closed her eyes. She tried to picture his face in her mind, wondering if he'd changed so much in the last four years, as he had in the three years before that.
It 'd been the one and only time Jillian had ever truly been in love. Kade had swept her off her feet with his devastatingly handsome looks and devilish grin. In the solar of Ravenskull, by the light of a full moon, they'd planned to wed. But 'twas never to be. For the following morning they both learned that she was already betrothed to another. Jillian touched her lips. She could still remember the heady sensation of his breathtaking kisses.
With her thoughts still deep in the past, Jillian was startled by the voices in the corridor. She ran to the door, pressed her ear against it, and listened.
" Ye've got an awful lot of food there for such a wee lass," the guard said.
" Aye, but she has quite a large appetite, that one. Why don't ye take that strawberry tart right there. It'll not be missed and I promise I'll not say a word to anybody," Winnie said.
The guard must have taken the tart, for he soon opened the door for Winnie. She entered carrying a platter with a trencher filled with stew, along with apples, nuts, cheese, three strawberry tarts, and a goblet of spiced mead. Jillian raised her brows in surprise. No wonder the guard was so curious. She'd not have been able to eat that much food at three meals, much
" And I need for you to do one last thing. Go see Mairi and acquire me a sleeping potion. Conceal these things in your arisaid , and bring them along with my mid-day meal. Be most careful that you don't get caught, for if you do, it could mean certain death for us both."
The older woman visibly paled, but quickly nodded her understanding.
" When you leave my bedchamber, count the number of steps it takes for you to reach the door of Ian's room. That'll make it much easier for me to locate his bedchamber later from inside the tunnels. Since it wouldn't open before, see if you can loosen it without getting found out. Relay to Roderick all that I have said, and ask him to leave a horse in the stand of trees just outside the castle wall. I have an extra key to the postern gate leading from the bailey to the wood. Father gave me one. Tell him to wait until after the gatehouse guard has made his rounds. If Roderick is unable to provide us with a horse, we'll travel on foot."
T he door opened suddenly, startling them both.
" What's taking ye so long, old woman?" The guard lowered his brows suspiciously.
Jillian smiled sweetly. "'Tis my fault, not Winnie's, for I've kept her tarrying to answer questions about my people."
" They're no longer yer people; they belong to Gordon MacRae," he sneered, before once again turning on Winnie. "Old woman, ye've been in here long enough. Out with ye," he said, waiting for her at the door.
" I'm coming, give me but a moment to collect the tray. Cook will have a fit if I forget to return it again."
" Much thanks," Jillian said, and in a low whisper, added, "Tell Ian I'll come for him tonight, and that he must tell no one." Jillian hoped she could still remember her way through the old tunnels that meandered between the castle walls. She'd sometimes played there with her cousins as a child, but that'd been many years ago.
" I'll bring what I can, m'lady," Winnie whispered back.
After the guard closed the door behind Winnie, Jillian ate one of the bannocks and drank the spiced mead, but she wrapped the others in a bit of cloth, then tucked them inside the bundle beneath her bed.
It would be several hours before Winnie returned with the things Jillian needed. She said a silent prayer all would go well. In the meantime, she paced back and forth, going over and over in her mind everything that must be readied for the two of them to safely leave Lochstorm. She dropped onto her bed, rehearsing what she'd say to Kade, once they arrived at Ravenskull. Jillian lay back and closed her eyes. She tried to picture his face in her mind, wondering if he'd changed so much in the last four years, as he had in the three years before that.
It 'd been the one and only time Jillian had ever truly been in love. Kade had swept her off her feet with his devastatingly handsome looks and devilish grin. In the solar of Ravenskull, by the light of a full moon, they'd planned to wed. But 'twas never to be. For the following morning they both learned that she was already betrothed to another. Jillian touched her lips. She could still remember the heady sensation of his breathtaking kisses.
With her thoughts still deep in the past, Jillian was startled by the voices in the corridor. She ran to the door, pressed her ear against it, and listened.
" Ye've got an awful lot of food there for such a wee lass," the guard said.
" Aye, but she has quite a large appetite, that one. Why don't ye take that strawberry tart right there. It'll not be missed and I promise I'll not say a word to anybody," Winnie said.
The guard must have taken the tart, for he soon opened the door for Winnie. She entered carrying a platter with a trencher filled with stew, along with apples, nuts, cheese, three strawberry tarts, and a goblet of spiced mead. Jillian raised her brows in surprise. No wonder the guard was so curious. She'd not have been able to eat that much food at three meals, much
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