Charles and his men had stayed behind for a couple of days. He did not know why but Charles knew that this is what he must do. Around late morning on the second day Charles and his men heard sounds of many horses and a wagon. They hid away from the road and watched as the travelers passed. This is when he had seen Bryon and decided to follow them. Now as they stopped for the night Charles thought this would be the time to go in under the cover of night and take Katelynn and have his men take care of Bryon. He would then go back to Galloway and return with men to take the village of Glen Roy. He knew she would fight him on this and any love he wanted from her would be forced but he would not be told no not now not ever.
As Charles and his men began to make preparations for that night, his men began to wonder why he wanted the wench so bad after all she was just the daughter of a village chief.
They understood why he wanted Bryon dead but the girl they did not understand this.
The moon was waxing and only a sliver showed through the clouds from time to time. It was perfect for what they were about to do. But they had not planned on there being guards placed at points around the camp. Charles had gotten through with no problem but the other two men had alerted one of the guards and they had been captured. With all the excitement of the other two being captured no one heard Charles as he got away with Katelynn.
He had found her easy enough he then heard one of the guards yell, “Who is there?” And then heard one calling to the other guard to come help that there were two men trying to sneak into the camp. He slipped his hand over Katelynn‟s mouth and grabbed her up with his free arm and carried her kicking out of the camp. She fought hard but she was no match for his strength.
When they reached his horse he told her, “I will remove my hand. But if you make one sound I will make sure everyone in your camp die a slow and horrible death.” Katelynn did not know that the men he had sent to kill Bryon were at that time a captive of her grandfathers, so she did not utter a word for fear he would have them all killed. He tied her hands behind her back and put her up on his horse. They rode all that night and most of the next morning finally stopping to rest around midday. He had not taken the road that was well traveled.
He had started across the countryside in case someone was trying to follow them. He knew that his men had been taken captive and within a short time Katelynn had been discovered missing.
And was sure that Bryon and the men that were with him were at that moment trying to catch up to them.
As he cut a piece of venison Charles told Katelynn that he was sorry it had to be this way but he would have her for his own no matter what the cost. He cut another piece for her. She refused it.
She spat in his face and told him, “As long as I am with you, I will not eat nor drink. I will make myself look so undesirable that not even a blind man will want me or maybe I will die of thirst and hunger. But I promise you will never have me.” Charles shrugged his shoulders and went on eating, “ If that is the way you feel maybe I should kill you now and be done with it,” he said.
Soon after the two men were caught that were with Charles, they told Bryon of his plans to return here and conquer these lands. It had not taken long for the men to turn on Charles, they had not agreed with him taking the young woman to begin with and knew it was only going to stir up the people of the Northern lands by doing this and that their homeland could not spare the men to travel all this way to fight these people. It would take them to far away from where they were needed at this time. But they knew he was not thinking with his right mind and that was because of a woman. So someone had to stop this lunacy.
Bryon and two of William‟s men had set out after Katelynn and Charles. They were not far behind. Charles had not thought his men would turn on him so soon. He knew they would to save themselves but had not counted on them to be so fast about it. Bryon had picked up their trail very easily. It was if Lord Drasken or Charles is what Katelynn had called him and the two men with him had confirmed what Bryon had thought about him using his given name, to help keep his where a bouts unknown. But he was not very good at hiding his trail. It was very easy to follow. He had gone off the main road and was traveling through the countryside. He had told Christine and her father to go to Richard and tell him what had happened. To get all the men of the village to make preparations for battle. William had also sent one of his men back to his village to gather all the men there and told them all to start for Glen Roy as soon as they were ready and not to waste any time.
Katelynn knew they were getting close to her village by the way the countryside looked.
A forest surrounded her village and it sat in a valley. The forest protected the village. The forest would not protect them from this man and she knew this. They stopped at the top of a hill and she looked down into the valley and thought of the dream she‟d had. Charles was thinking the same for he had also dreamed of this very spot. Now he remembered the feeling he got from the dream of her not wanting to be there with him.
Katelynn thought if she was ever going to get away from him now would be the time she was close to the forest and close to her village too. And she could hide in the forest. She knew the forest well. She also knew there were a few small caves she could hide in. Maybe she would make it to the village. He had not tied her hands back after she had went to relieve herself. She wished now she had thought of escaping then but that was a little while back she was much closer to her village now.
She clasped her hands together and hit him in the back of the neck then jumped off the horse and began to run. At first Charles was not sure what she had done it had caught him off guard. The blow to the back of the neck had left him a little light headed. He shook off the feeling and now began to chase her. She had made it to the forest before he could regain his senses. Now he would have to hunt her down like a wild animal. He wanted to catch her before she could make it to the village. Charles had been so disoriented he did not hear the men approaching him.
Katelynn had found a small cave a little ways into the forest. She had gone inside and was hiding there. She heard a rustle of leaves and the crackle of the dried forest floor being tromped on. Her heart was beating so hard she felt it in her ears. She was afraid that what ever or who ever it was would here it. She was hiding as far back a she could then she saw the silhouette of a man standing at the entrance to the cave. He stumbled in and grabbed for her she screamed she saw it was Charles. She felt something warm and sticky on her hands. Was it his blood or had something gotten in his way and he had its blood on him. She looked up and saw someone else coming into the cave. She started running to the front of the cave. Before she could see whom it was she passed out. She had not eaten or drank anything for two days. And was so exhausted from the running she could not hold up any longer.