Page 14 of The Trials of Neilina MacKai (The MacKai Brides #5)

“You are worse than disobedient,” she continued.

“You are a deceiver and should be whipped. However, I doubt your heathen husband would pay well for your return were you punished as you deserve, thus whipping will not happen. At least not today. In fact, if you are obedient and keep the silence I will order for you, you might avoid any other penance.”

Seona nearly bit her tongue in half restraining herself from replying.

“Did you really imagine you could deceive me with your lies and falsehoods?” the abbess questioned.

Seona kept silent.

“Pride is another sin, so you no doubt thought you could make a fool of an elderly abbess and her nuns. Were you more humble, you might have realized that I leave nothing to chance. Lady Staunton, who is my cousin by marriage, has proven a very useful source of information about all that goes on in Castle MacFearann. ’Twas her idea that we should allow you to place yourself in our hands.

I’ve had few prisoners who came to me as willingly as you.

I hold more than one hundred men, women and children who are a threat to England and its king. ”

Mother Eadburgh—Seona refused to think of her as superior—laughed and moved a few steps away before she returned. She must have bent low for her next words came whispered in Seona’s ear.

“You will lie here until someone comes for you. Do not imagine you can escape. There are always two men at arms guarding the chapel from inside and four more outside.

Why did I not see them when I entered the chapel ? Because I had my gaze downcast like a good penitent. The men must stand guard in the shadows. I’ll take this as a lesson to remember to be more observant regardless of the circumstances.

“My men would love for you to attempt escape,” the abbess continued. “I promised them that if you disobeyed me, they could have you first before I locked you into the cell where you will end your days.”

Don’t be so certain you witch. I am a more formidable opponent than you might imagine from the role I’ve been playing .

Seona listened as the woman’s footsteps faded away.

Lady Staunton was a spy for the Abbess, for England. That suggested an antipathy for Scots and Scotland. No wonder she was always sour-faced and disapproving. Did she truly hate her own sister and her nephew so much? Why?

No profit could be had from such questions. Much better and more important was to devise a way to find Rhuad’s mother and sister then escape. Let the abbess think she had her newest prisoner cowed. When Seona succeeded despite this betrayal, the success would be all the sweeter.

***

S HE’D LAIN ON THAT icy chapel floor until the bells sounded Vigils before one of the guards—a man thin enough to disappear should he turn sideways—ordered her to stand.

He’d put manacles on her wrists and told her to walk straight out of the chapel before him.

Despite the aches she suffered from her hours embracing the cold stones, she began to walk.

Just outside the chapel door, the thin man shoved her forward.

“Faster you Scots bitch.”

She ignored his ill manners. She could hardly expect courtesy from an Englishman.

Directly across from the chapel, she came to a halt before a door where a second hefty guard stood watch.

“Got a new one, eh?” The new guard asked.

“New, old, what does it matter, they’re all filthy Scots.”

The door guard ran his gaze over Seona as he handed a ring of keys to the other guard. “This one’s got some curves on her. Bet bouncing on her would be real nice. Better than that old stick of a woman and her skinny daughter we’re holding hostage.”

Does he speak of Lady MacFearann and her daughter? Can I persuade these two to confirm that and tell me where they are ?

“The abbess hasn’t given her, or them, to us, yet,” Thin Man said.

“What the abbess doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Hefty replied.

“And you think this bitch won’t tell the abbess, if you try anything.”

“Probably will, but she’s a Scot. Why should the abbess believe her?”

Thin Man rubbed his chin. “It’s worth thinking about. We’d have to take turns.”

“Of course,” Hefty agreed. “Neither of us has duty after Vespers. We’ll do it then and have most of the night for our fun.”

“We’d have to take into our confidence whoever has guard duty at the time.”

Hefty smiled. “No, we would not. I have a copy of all the cell keys in this section. All we have to do is tell the man on guard that we’ll relieve him so he can get a meal.”

“That will work. I’m always hungry when I have to stand this watch,” Thin Man commented.

“As are most of us,” Hefty concurred. “The Abbess doesn’t give a man enough food, drink, or women to satisfy his appetite.

I’ll steal some wine from the cellar. We can enjoy it while this one pleasures us.

” He nodded in Seona’s direction. Looking her over again, Hefty licked his lips then patted his crotch.

“I have a big package for you. Hope you can handle it.”

Thin Man laughed. “She’ll have to handle two big packages, later. I’d best get this slut into her cell.”

“Aye,” Hefty surveyed the courtyard then turned to unlock the door. “We’ll have a good time tonight.”

He pinched Seona’s buttocks as she passed by him.

She suppressed her urge to react.

Let them think me meek and intimidated. Their plan will provide me with the means to free myself.

The door opened to pitch blackness.

Thin man shoved her inside and followed before he took a torch from a high shelf carved into the stone wall.

Once he had the torch lit, he ordered her forward.

With limited vision, she moved cautiously. Which was a good thing, when one foot encountered empty space.”

“Step down,” the escort ordered. “Your new home is at the bottom of those stairs.”

She’d expected to be taken up to one of the rooms with windows facing the courtyard. Heading downward was a surprise.

She had no option save to follow instructions.

The stairs spiraled down a long way. About halfway down she heard the crash of waves and felt the wall on one side shake.

The cave where she’d arrived yesterday wasn’t the only passage running through the island.

Were the cliff walls riddled with passages and caverns?

How many prisoners were kept here? The rooms she’d seen from the courtyard could have housed a hundred people or more and still leave rooms for the nuns.

Hadn’t the abbess bragged that she held hundreds of prisoners?

Sounds of the sea faded to silence before the stairs ended in a small open space. Five iron doors faced the open area.

Her escort took her by the elbow, leading her to the middle door.

She heard the rattle of keys, but couldn’t see where they’d come from. She had not seen him receive keys from Hefty.

Her escort opened the door and shoved her inside causing her to slam into the stone floor. The sound of rushing water greeted her aching body.

Before she could right herself, the door banged shut. So much for asking her escort for food and a blanket.

“Guard” she called out. Perhaps he might hear and come back.

She was destined to disappointment. No sound answered her at all.

The room vibrated with the rushing ebb and flow of water.

Feeling her way along the walls, she moved to a spot farthest from the door.

There she sank to the floor. She was cold and hungry.

She could give in to despair, but she knew better.

She fell asleep planning how to best defeat the guards who would attempt to rape her that night.

If she could do that, she’d be able to escape to the upper floors, and she could start searching for MacFearann’s mother and sister.

The distant sound of bells ringing Matins and a loud rumble from her stomach woke Seona. She opened her eyes and got her first good look at her prison cell.

Weak sunlight came in through a tiny opening at the point where the wall and ceiling met. It was too small for even an infant to crawl through, nonetheless an iron grate barred any access. Attempting to climb the smooth stone walls to get to the grate would be an exercise in futility.

A quick glance showed no chains other than the one linking the manacles on her wrists. The stone room was completely bare, and thoroughly damp. Water pooled in spots on the floor.

Her throat was parched, she’d had no water since yesterday morning. She touched a fingertip to one of the pools. When she licked her finger, she tasted salt. She’d have to remain thirsty. She cast another glance at the grate. The pale light revealed a darker spot on the wall beneath the opening.

That explains the water on the floor. How often, I wonder, do the ocean waves reach that grate ? How deeply does the room flood ? Perhaps I am intended to drown before I starve. I wish someone would bring some sort of food and drink .

A long while later some irregular thuds sounded outside her door.

The noise grew louder indicating something or someone approached.

Then yellowish light, like that cast by a torch, seeped through the space—the span of one palm—between the bottom of the door and the floor stones.

Something scraped the floor, and a metal plate was pushed through the narrow opening.

A squat heavy tankard followed. Drawing near, she took the plate in hand, noting the tankard appeared to hold water.

She peered at the unappetizing mess on the plate.

The thudding irregular sounds resumed and began to fade away.

Someone has very heavy boots or is lame, perhaps both .

“Wait,” she yelled, hoping to draw the person’s attention. “I need a blanket.”

Only silence and the noise of the tide replied.

Perhaps some protection against the cold is brought later. I pray it is so. I’m colder than I am hungry .

She moved to the far side of the room where light from the high opening would help her see what she was eating.

Ugh ! Worm ridden brown bread .

She brought the plate close to her nose and sniffed. The bread had a sour smell.

I can starve, or I can eat what is to be had .

She did her best to inspect each piece she broke off then pick out the worms before putting the morsel in her mouth. From the textures that met her tongue, she suspected her inspection was less than thorough. Wormy bread might be unappetizing, but she was uncertain if it would make her sick.

What choice have I ? I’ll need all the strength I can get to defeat those two rapists tonight . I must escape tonight. The longer I remain here the weaker I will become and be unable to fight my way free . I must do everything possible to prepare. I wish I had a weapon .

Her brother had taught all of his sisters to fight with a claymore and other more common weapons. She had no doubt she could handle a puny English broadsword with ease.

She intended to defeat evil on all levels. First the men intent on rapine, then the abbess and her allies. Seona had an idea how she could easily find Rhuad’s mother and sister. She would persuade Mother Eadburgh to lead her to them, and she would have the weapons to do so.