Page 18 of The Trials of Neilina MacKai (The MacKai Brides #5)

When she woke, she howled. It was the pain of having the dirk removed from beneath her shoulder blade that revived her.

“I’m sorry that hurt,” said the young woman. “But I needed to bind your wounds. The dirk was in the way.”

Seona would have laughed if she’d thought it would not hurt. She cast a glance toward the middle of the chapel. The abbess lay nearby trussed like a pig.

“What did you tie her with?”

“Oh, these habits she forces us to wear have rope belts. I used mine to tie her hands and her own to bind her feet.”

“That was clever.”

“I need you to try to sit up. I made a dressing for your wound, and I must secure the dressing by wrapping the binding cloth around your torso. I also need to tend the wound on your chest.”

Seona had almost forgotten that injury. By comparison with the pain in her back, the earlier wound was a nit. Nonetheless, she sat up with a little help from her makeshift nurse.

“What are you using for dressing and binding?” She looked at the girl who’d moved around to look at Seona.

The girl’s face went bright red. She had the fair skin of a true red-head.

“I...uh...I cut strips from the altar cloth. There was plenty of cloth, so I have more than I need. I fear I’ll be doing penance for a long time, since I used blessed items for less than holy purposes.”

“I think any true priest would forgive you, since you used the candlestick and the cloth to save a life.”

“Do you truly think so?” The girl looked up from where she finished securing the bindings over Seona’s bandages.

“Absolutely. If need be, I will speak in your defense. However, we must now find a way out of here. What are you called?”

“Oh I’m Lady Labhra MacFearann. You must call me Labhra.””

“You are sister to Earl Rhuad MacFearann?”

“Earl Rhuad? What of our older brother Ranulf, and how are you acquainted with Rhuad?”

“I think Rhuad should explain what happened to Ranulf. As for how I know Rhuad, we are handfasted. My name is Seona.”

“Is Ranulf dead?” Lady Labhra asked soberly.

“Not that I’ve heard. Rhuad knows much more than I.”

“How come you to be handfasted with him? And how is it he permitted you to come here? MacFearann men make terrible husbands, for they ignore their wives completely and won’t permit them to go anywhere unescorted.”

Seona could only hope that Rhuad wasn’t a typical MacFearann husband.

She was inclined to think he was not. Hadn’t he listened to her when she’d told him his original plan of attack would fail?

Or had he just been indulging her? “We will have time for explanations later. First we must escape this abbey before the guards discover what we’ve done. ”

“I can’t leave without my mother. She too is hostage here, but she is ill.

Too ill, the abbess said, to be of good use to deceive an enemy.

I did not know what the woman meant at the time.

” The younger woman shivered. “Now I’m very glad she used me as a decoy instead of my mother or one of the other prisoners. ”

Seona did not know whether to be happy or dismayed. Could she manage to free and help to escape the hundreds of prisoners the abbess had claimed to have? “How many other prisoners are there?”

“I don’t know. I only know the ones who are held in our prison corridor.”

“Do you think they might know of others and how to find them?”

“Possibly, most of them have been here longer than my mother and I.”

“I must get on my feet, if I’m to help you release your mother and find any other prisoners.”

Painful as moving was, Seona managed with Lady Labhra’s help.

“What should we do with the abbess?” the younger woman queried.

“If we leave her here, someone might discover her and release her. Then we’d have to defeat her all over again. I’m not certain I could succeed at that a second time,” Seona commented

“Then we must take her with us, until we can find a place to hide her.” Lady Labhra nodded emphatically.

“First let us switch my clothing for hers. I’d rather not walk about this place more naked than not.” Seona wobbled a bit on her feet.

Her companion reached out a steadying hand.

“I’ll see to it,” the lady said. “Then I’ll make a sort of litter from the remnants of the alter cloth and the remaining pieces of rope.”

“You can use the leather from the sword belts too. They are useless for their original purpose in their present condition,” Seona suggested.

Weariness dragged at her, but she could not afford to stop for rest. That way lay certain recapture and perhaps death.

Having defeated the abbess, she was now responsible for the lives of all the captives.

“Can you carry one of the swords and one of the daggers?” Labhra asked.

“Aye. With my shoulder as it is, I cannot manage both swords.”

“I’ll put one on the litter under the abbess. We wouldn’t want her to be able to cut herself free if she wakes.”

Seona exchanged a smile with her new friend. “No indeed. Can you keep the other dirk in your belt?”

“Certainly.”

They set about putting their plans in action and were soon standing at the closed chapel doors. Seona lacked the strength to open even one of the solid oak portals. Thus, it was Lady Labhra who cracked an opening between the doors and peered out into the courtyard.

“I don’t see anyone,” she reported.

“Your field of vision is limited, open the door a bit wider and poke your head outside,” Seona advised.

Lady Labhra followed instructions. “I am now able to see the entire courtyard.”

“Is the way clear?” Seona asked.

“No.” Labhra shook her head, drawing it back behind the doors. “There are two nuns carrying food and drink. I think they are about to feed the prisoners. They never speak,” the lady explained.

“Nonetheless we should avoid them,” Seona decided. “Who knows if they are loyal to this abbess or not?”

“I agree,” Rhuad’s sister said, smiling.

They waited, then waited more.

“The other nuns will be coming to join the abbess in the chapel for morning prayers,” Lady Labhra said. “We don’t want to wait too long. Especially since it will take us time to cross the courtyard. Do you have keys to open the other doors?”

“I took these from the guards who intended to rape me. That intent gave me the opportunity to escape.” She lifted the keys she’d retrieved from the lock of her own cell door.

Lady Labhra eyed them carefully. “Those don’t look like the keys the abbess carries at all times. Fortunately,” she smiled. “I found her key ring when I exchanged her clothes for yours.” She smiled and lifted the crowded ring of keys.

“Clever girl. Let me have them. Your hands will be busy dragging the travois. I’ll be able to unlock the doors ahead of you.”

“Do you see the colored yarn on each of the keys?”

“I do now.” She’d not noticed them the first time the abbess had used the keys in her presence.

“I suspect that the different colors indicate different types of doors. That may reduce the number of keys you must try at each door.”

“Very clever girl.”

Labhra poked her head outside once more.

“The way is clear, now.”

“Excellent,” Seona said forcing herself to move against the weakness seeping into her muscles and bones. “We’ll head for the door directly across the courtyard. That’s the shortest distance. Try to hurry.”

***

A S LUCK WOULD HAVE it, the fog covered the approach of the attackers at low tide. All men were in their assigned positions before the sun grew hot enough to burn off some of the fog. The company was divided into four groups.

Three groups would attack the guard keep: the men led by Raeb MacKai to attack the right flank; Rhuad’s group to strike the left flank.

Dougal led the group making a frontal sortie.

The fourth group of villagers and seamen with Mr. Clyne and Squire James MacShennan in charge took to boats and made for the seaward cave entrance.

Since that access was believed to be unguarded, the force sent there was the smallest and least well-armed.

When the fog cleared enough for the men to see the shapes of their opponents, Rhuad gave the signal to begin the attack.

The captain of the abbey guards was in the privy when the first shouts came announcing an assault.

He hurried to complete his business then pulled up his braes and tied them in place.

He went to open the door and found it blocked.

He pounded on the door and yelled for help.

But even he could tell the fighting was fierce from the noise of battle.

He spent the entire fight trying to escape from his inadvertent and rather smelly prison.

Eventually, the door opened.

Dougal looked inside and saw an angry man staring back. He’d hoped to relieve himself, but resigned himself to a fight. “Who are you?”

“I am captain of these guardsmen.”

“Don’t just stand there, draw your weapon,” he said to the glaring captain.

“I can’t. I left it outside the privy door. ’Tis not enough room in here for a weapon.”

Dougal looked to the side of the door and saw an English broadsword leaning against the outer wall. He stepped aside and picked up the abandoned sword.

The angry man emerged.

“That’ll be a lesson not to build so small a privy next time,” Dougal remarked.

“I’m just as glad I’ll not have to fight you.

I’m tired and need use of the privy myself.

First, let’s get you to your men. They fought well, but we outnumbered them.

They were smart enough to realize they were beaten almost before the fight started, so very few were killed or injured. ”

They started to walk side by side.

“Did you lead the attack? Do you know what will be done with us?”

“Nay, I led only part of the attacking force. ’Tis Lairds MacFearann and MacKai to whom you will surrender. As for your fate, I heard some talk earlier about ransoming from Edward all the men we defeated here. However, I’m not certain what was decided.”

The captain groaned. “Do you know what happened to the last group of men that MacKai ransomed from Edward?”