Highland Savage by Hannah Howell Page A

have? She thought as she eased open the door to the storerooms deep beneath Dunlochan keep. Despite wanting to do violence to the man for his insulting accusations, Katerina knew she would not be able to resist another taste ofthe desire that had always flared between them. She inwardly shrugged. She had survived all attempts to kill her; she had survived thinking the only man she had ever loved had died and left her alone; she would survive the fact that the man she loved and desired was a blind idiot who might just use her and walk away. If they did become lovers, she would try to gather up as many heated memories as she could and then stand dry of eye as he walked away. It was all she could do to salvage her pride. That was one thing she would not allow Lucas Murray to destroy.
    “Are we below Dunlochan now?” Lucas whispered as he followed her into the room lit by only one small torch set high on the stone wall.
    “Aye. What we want should be over here.”
    Lucas followed her into a shadowy corner of the room and nearly gaped. Piled there was a very large collection of food and drink. Someone inside the keep was obviously helping Katerina by secretly setting aside some supplies, probably little by little every day. As a warrior, Lucas could not stop himself from wondering exactly how they might use such allies to defeat Ranald and Agnes.
    Seeing how Lucas scowled at her supplies, Katerina carefully placed her list of things she needed in the hiding place she and the cook had agreed on so long ago. Neither of them had thought it would take so long for Katerina to win back Dunlochan. Poor old Hilda still believed in her, probably more than Katerina believed in herself, but she suspected the woman was growing weary of waiting to be free of Agnes’s harsh rule.
    “Just how has this come to be here ready for ye to walk away with it all?” Lucas asked, keeping his voice as soft as Katerina kept hers.
    “Ah, weel, Old Hilda, the cook, and a few others slowly gather it up. When we take it we always leave a wee message telling them what we think we might need soon.”
    “Doesnae anyone notice how much is going missing from the stores?”
    “Nay. Can ye truly see Agnes or Ranald keeping records or tallying anything at all save for the money in their purses? I doubt they e’en think on where it all comes from. Not e’en Agnes’s woman, Freda, tends to how the things they want are acquired, only that they are delivered into her hands exactly when she wants them. “’Tis my people who diligently tend to such things as these stores and the ledgers. ’Tis another good reason for me to continue to play dead. If Agnes or Ranald kenned that I was still alive, a lot of my people would be in grave danger. They would immediately come under suspicion and that could easily mean their deaths.”
    “Ye have planned for that, havenae ye.” Lucas did not make it a question for he knew she would have made meticulous plans for the safety of such people. Considering what he believed she had done to him such confidence did not make much sense, but he shrugged aside that puzzle as he picked up a heavy sack of food. There is a lot here. Ye could ne’er have carried it all back on your own.”
    “Nay, not in one journey, true enough.” Katerina shrugged. “I had little else to do aside from waiting for my men to return. A few trips back and forth ’twixt here and the hall wouldnae hurt me.”
    “The people who do this for ye could be verra useful in other ways.”
    Katerina sighed, all too aware of what he was thinking of for she had often considered the very same thing. “They could be, but using them for anything aside from gathering food and information for us could get them killed. Most of them are verra young or old. They arenae warriors and some have no ability to become ones. They arecooks, clerks, pot boys, and the like. Verra good at listening since people like Agnes ne’er e’en see them, and verra good at making ten