Page 19 of Highlander’s Escaped Prisoner (Highlands’ Partners in Crime #7)

N essa refused to eat her midday meal with Logan and her father, so she feigned tiredness and ate in her room with Maudie, having told her the whole story of what had transpired in the last few days.

“Get tae bed,” Maudie ordered, then tucked Nessa firmly under the blankets. “I wilnae let anybody disturb ye, hen. ’Tis so good tae have ye back!” She kissed Nessa’s forehead and tiptoed out.

Nessa waited a few moments before getting out of bed and dressing in a serviceable brown dress. She descended the stairs to the kitchen, where the cook, Fee, saw her and gave a loud shout of surprise and joy.

“Mistress!” she cried. “Where have ye been? We have a been out o’ our minds worryin’ about ye!”

“Fee, I am fine.” Nessa went over to the big woman and laid her hands on her shoulders, smiling at her affectionately. “I have not been in any danger, and no one has hurt me, but I was unable to tell you where I was. I am sorry to have worried you.”

“Mistress Nessa!” One of the gardeners, Fergus McNeill, came in, his weatherbeaten face a mask of relief. “Where have ye been?”

“I will tell you in good time,” Nessa answered.

However, in a moment, half a dozen other assorted staff had entered the kitchen, and everyone was talking at once so that Nessa had to shout to make herself heard above the din.

“I will tell you all later!” she bawled, laughing. “I am so glad you missed me!”

“That we did, mistress!” Fee said happily, wiping tears from her eyes. “Can I get ye something?”

“Yes, Fee,” Nessa said grimly. “I want to see the prisoner in the cell and to tell the two guards I am back, so I need two cups of hot spiced ale, please.”

“Careful, mistress,” Fee warned as she poured the ale. “I hear he is a very bad man.”

“I am in no danger,” Nessa replied. “Our guards are the best, Fee.” She took the cups and strode down to the dungeons, where she found them sitting relaxing by the gate, having just fed their prisoner.

“How is the big man?” Saunie Reid, one of the jailers, asked, yawning. “Still shoutin’?”

“Well, you heard him,” Gavin McLeod answered. “Lungs like a set o’ bagpipes. They say he’s a killer. Ye seen the size o’ him? I wouldnae take him on without a claymore in my hand!”

Presently they both jumped to their feet as Nessa appeared, smiling widely. “Hello, gentlemen!” she said pleasantly. “Glad to see me?”

“Indeed, mistress!” Saunie grinned. “Where have ye been? The laird has been worryin’ himself tae death!”

“I have been fine and in no danger, thank you,” Nessa replied.

“But I could not get word to my father. You will learn the whole story in time before long, but it is too long to tell now. Now drink your ale while it’s hot.

I want to see the prisoner.” Her voice was grim.

“Do not worry; I will stand outside the gates. I want to tell him exactly what I think of him!”

“Are ye sure, mistress?” Gavin asked doubtfully. “He is a dangerous man.”

However, Nessa was already walking away. She found Bryce sitting dejectedly on a straw pallet in a small cold cell with nothing but a slop bucket and a chair in it.

“Nessa!” His eyes widened in astonishment, and he was about to open his mouth to speak when she put her finger over her lips to stop him.

“Not a word,” she whispered. “We are leaving.”

She tiptoed along the passage, then retrieved the heavy bunch of keys from their hook and unlocked Bryce’s cell. Having freed him, she returned the keys, grabbed his hand, and led him to the hatch.

He hesitated for a moment. “What about the guards?” he asked, puzzled. “How did you get the keys?”

“Fast asleep,” Nessa replied. “As well as all the herbs...the healer gave me a sleeping draught. I put it in their ale.”

Bryce stared at her, then grinned. “You are an evil woman, Nessa Guthrie!” he said as he followed her out of the cell.

Nessa led him to a hatch that was so cleverly fitted into the floor that it was practically invisible. She pushed a sliver of metal down into the tiny gap between the lid and the floor and wedged it upward until she could prise it open with her fingertips.

Bryce looked at its size doubtfully. “Will I fit?” he asked.

For an answer, Nessa scrambled in front of him. He backed down after her, although the width of his shoulders meant that was a tight squeeze.

As soon as they were inside the tunnel, Nessa lit the candle and looked at him. “Let us get out before they wake up!” she said urgently.

Bryce needed no second bidding.

They scrambled as fast as they could along the dark, confusing passageways, and Bryce was amazed at Nessa’s ability to find her way.

“How long have you been doing this?” he asked in astonishment.

“Since I was five years old,” she replied, laughing. “I know these tunnels like the freckles on my face.”

Eventually, they emerged into daylight under a prickly gorse bush in the middle of a small stand of trees a few hundred yards away from the castle.

Bryce looked around himself. “Thank you,” he murmured gratefully, then his lips descended on hers in a kiss of such gratitude and sweetness that she never wanted it to end.

When she felt his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, she opened it to admit him and heard him groan with pleasure, and as he pulled her closer, she felt his hardness pressing against her, and for a while, she was lost in him, but it could not last forever.

Finally, she drew away a little and studied him.

“You look terrible,” she observed. Once again, he was filthy.

He chuckled. “I always do whenever you see me,” he replied, then he became brisk. “What about horses?”

“No need for those,” she answered. “It is only a short walk.” She took his hand and led him further into the wood to where an enormous beech tree stood.

Its trunk was so thick that a small house could have been built inside it, and as Nessa cleared away the undergrowth in front of it, Bryce saw that it was hollow inside, and the space was big enough to accommodate him.

“This is where you must hide,” she said as he followed her inside. “Wait for me.”

“Always and forever,” he murmured, as she disappeared beneath the bush again.

Just when he thought he had learned everything there was to know about Nessa, she continued to surprise him.

Nessa emerged into her bedroom, and quickly donned a fresh dress, then went to see her father in his study. “I must speak to you,” she said grimly, frowning deeply. “Bryce Blair does not belong here.”

“You said so before,” Roy answered tiredly, “and I will give you the same reply. He is a murderer, and as soon as it is convenient, he will go straight back to jail.”

Just then, there was a furious knocking on the door, and the laird opened it to find Logan on the other side, out of breath and furious.

“Blair has escaped!” he cried. “The guards fell asleep, and somehow he got out.”

Nessa stood up. “Do not blame the guards,” she told him. “I drugged them and set him free. I told you when he came here, and I am telling you again that he is not a murderer.”

Logan came and stood over her. “How did you both get out?” he demanded. “Someone must have seen you.”

“You do not need to know that.” Nessa’s voice was scornful. “Now go away. I wish to speak to my father alone.”

Logan glanced at the laird, who nodded sideways toward the door, dismissing him. Logan turned on his heel and left, and Roy Guthrie sat back and sighed.

“You know what you have done, Nessa? You have let a dangerous criminal loose on our estate. Why? Has he convinced you that you are in love with him? Men can be very devious, and you are still so innocent. Tell me where he is, and I promise he will be well treated.”

“Let me tell you about our bargain first, Father, then you may change your mind.” Nessa looked straight into her father’s eyes, and he melted.

Roy knew that Nessa could always twist him around her little finger, and she was doing so now, but he resolved to listen. After all, she was a grown woman.

“Tell me, then.” He leaned forward to listen to her.

“I made a bargain with Bryce,” she began.

“When I first met him, I was as skeptical as you are, Father. But since then, I have seen what a good man he is. We made a deal that I would help him prove his innocence, and he would help us solve our border dispute. We went to visit Andrew Henderson, Uncle’s friend and counselor, and he told us his ‘sources’ had informed him that you killed Uncle Gerald.

I did not believe that, of course, and I still do not. ”

“This is outrageous!” the laird cried, standing up and knocking his chair over. “Who are Andrew’s sources?”

“He was too scared to tell us,” Nessa said, shrugging. “But Bryce does not believe that you murdered him, and he is not a killer either. You have always told me I am a good judge of character, Father, and you told me that animals are too. Jo loves him and greets Bryce every time he sees him.”

“I will take Jo’s word for it, then!” her father laughed, then he became serious again.

“Nessa, our border dispute has been going on for years. It is time it was ended before any more lives are lost. If you think Bryce can help us, then tell me where he is, and I promise that no harm will come to him. In the meantime, I will send a message to Gregor Blair and request a meeting with him and the Blair clan leaders and ours. This feud ends now.”

Nessa had never seen her father looking so grim before or so hurt. This had touched him on a deeply personal level since he had never before been accused of any crime, least of all the killing of one of the most beloved people in his life. Her heart ached for him.

Presently, he turned and smiled at her. “Nessa, you are the light of my life, and I do not know how I would have lived if anything had happened to you.” Once more, he wrapped his arms around her.

“I am so proud of you for having the courage of your convictions. If you believe that Bryce is not a killer, then I will try to see things through your eyes. I am not saying that I am wholly convinced, but I am trying to understand.”

“Thank you, Father.” Nessa kissed him.

“Did you use the tunnels?” Roy asked suspiciously.

“I did,” Nessa confessed, somewhat guiltily. “The one that comes out under the dungeon.”

“And you did not get lost,” he said admiringly. “Then I know exactly where Bryce is. Go and get him tomorrow morning. Will he survive the night?”

“He has lived for seven years in one of the worst prisons in Scotland!” she pointed out. “A night in a hollow tree will not scare him in the slightest!”

Back in his study, Roy took out his parchment and quill and thought for a moment before beginning to write.

Dear Laird Blair,

I would like to invite you and your clan elders to a meeting in Drumblane Castle on the 1st of May, to discuss a matter of mutual interest. I am sure you know what I refer to. Please reply and let me know if you will be attending,

Sincerely,

Laird Roy Guthrie

He sealed the envelope, ready to be sent in the morning, then thought about what Nessa had said for a long time. He resolved that Bryce Blair would not come back to Drumblane in chains.