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“YER MOTHER DINNA WANT us to go far away,” said Stefan.
“But she did say ye could teach me how to swim. The water in the loch be warmer, there are no currents and we will not stay long.” She turned her horse toward the river and did not look back to see if he was following. Kannak knew he would never let her go off alone even if he was convinced she would be safe. When she reached the river bank, she turned west. It would be an easier ride on the path, but then he would see Blair’s cottage and know they were off Macoran land.
“I dinna know, Kannak. We dinna tell Jirvel where we were going. What if something happens?”
“Nothing will happen, bletherskite. The lads tend the spring planting and there are none to bother us. Even the hunters have gone farther inland to find food for the village. We will be safe.”
Stefan was not so sure. He had a foreboding and could not shake it. Nevertheless, when Kannak had a mind to do something, he was powerless to prevent her – short of physically stopping her, which he had never done even once in the past.
He was becoming less awkward, but he was not in complete control of his strength and feared hurting Kannak more than he feared other dangers. At least the Macorans were not at war with anyone. The trees were thickest near the river and he followed her for quite a distance before they at last came to the loch. The beauty of the pristine water with the mountains behind it thrilled him. This place looked more like the home he left in Scandinavia than any other he had seen in Scotland.
Kannak pointed to the far end of the loch where two steep hills nearly touched the water’s edge. “The water be the shallowest at that end.”
“Ye have come here afore?”
“With my...Eogan. He brought me and my mother here once when he was feeling kindly. Mother brought bread and meat, spread a cloth and we ate under those trees over there.” Kannak turned her horse that direction and led Stefan to the end of the loch. Then she halted and waited for him to help her down.
Stefan tied the reins of his horse to a tree and then went to her. A thousand times in the past he had helped her mount and dismount, but during the last few weeks, he savored touching her more each time. Nearly all of Kannak’s freckles had disappeared into the creamy complexion of a young woman. Together with her auburn hair and the deep dimples in her cheeks when she smiled, her complexion served to bring out the brightness of her green eyes and her beauty had certainly not gone unnoticed by him. Each day he more acutely felt her nearness and longed to hold her. If only she would let him.
She too felt a change in the two of them. While she still teased him at every opportunity, she noticed a different look in his eyes and it perplexed her. It was the same look he had now, so when he put his hands on her waist, waited for her to put hers on his wide shoulders and slowly lowered her to the ground, she quickly let go. But he did not let go and she looked up at him. “Why do ye look at me like that?”
“Like what?”
She moved his hands away and slipped around him. “Like ye are seeing me for the first time.”
“Ye have change, ye have grown up.”
“I thought something was different, ye have not called me wee bairn in weeks.”
“Perhaps because yer no longer a wee bairn.”
She hid her smile and went to stand at the edge of the water. “Well, I am happy to hear it. I can hardly find a husband if ye keep calling me that.”
He tied the reins of her horse and went to stand next to her to take in the beauty of the loch. “Then ye have found a lad ye prefer above all others?”
“Nay, not yet. I begin to believe only a laird will do. I want to be mistress o’ all I see and am convinced only that will satisfy me.”
“How many lairds are there for ye to choose from?”
She stuck her nose in the air and started to walk around the edge of the loch toward the two hills, “Ye need not remind me o’ my limited opportunities. I intend to ask my father to find me one.”
“I see. Will ye marry this laird even if ye dinna love him?”
“I can learn to love him.”
“Ye will learn to love the power over others he gives ye, ye mean. But what if he be cruel?”
“There are no cruel lairds in Scotland.”
He rolled his eyes, “Ye are not so grown up as I thought. There are many cruel lads in the world and some even become lairds.”
“Then I will not learn to love him.” She lifted her skirt a little, stepped over a log and then walked on around the shore.
“If ye dinna love him, ye will make him miserable. What will ye do if he beats ye for his unhappiness?”
She stopped walking to think about that and then turned around to face him. “I will send for ye and ye will come to save me.”
Stefan laughed. “Am I expected to kill him for ye?”
“Of course,” she said, and was on her way around the loch again.
“I cannae come to save ye.”
Again she stopped, turned around and this time she put her hands on her hips. “Any why not?”
“Because I will have a wife by then and I cannae leave her. What would she think o’ me going off to save another lass?”
Kannak’s demeanor suddenly changed. She had not thought of him taking a wife until now and found it disturbing. She intended to take a husband someday, but she did not consider being separated from Stefan. The thought of them not being together oddly hurt her heart. “What sort o’ wife will ye take?”
“I have given that a great deal o’ thought. She must be shy when ‘tis fitting to be shy, cheerful when ‘tis fitting to be cheerful and she must love me. I will not consider a wife who dinna not love me wholly and completely afore I marry her.”
“And will ye love her?”
“If I am forced.” He passed her by and left her standing there with her mouth agape. Just as he expected, she ran to catch up.
“I curse yer long legs, Stefan Rossetti. Ye are always making me run after ye.”
She was right, of course, and it would not do in the future. He wanted to walk with her, talk to her and just look at her when Jirvel was not with them. “I will try to amend my ways, but only for yer sake and none other.”
“Thank ye. Now I must know; how can a lad be forced to love his wife?”
“‘Tis not easy, I assure ye. But there are times when a lad falls under a lass’ spell.”
“What spell? Do tell me Stefan so I may use this spell on my husband.”
He had already said too much. “Ye are too young still.”
“I am a wee bairn again so soon?” She smacked his arm and got ahead of him. “I hate ye sometimes.”
He smiled. “I know.” It was then he realized what was in front of them. Between the trees he could see some sort of structure. It appeared to be in the crevice between the two hills.
Kannak couldn’t help but beam. “‘Tis the hidden castle.”
“Ye have tricked me.”
“Aye, but ye will find it well worth the trickery.” She grabbed his hand as she had a million times before, but this time her heart fluttered at his touch, it startled her and she quickly let go. “Come, I will show ye.”
“I dinna know, Kannak. ‘Tis not safe.”
“We need not go in, we will only see it from the outside and then we will leave.”
“Alright, but ye will stay behind me just in case.” Stefan waited for her nod, pulled his sword and led her through the trees. The closer they got to the castle, the larger it looked until all three stories of the round structure were visible and Stefan stopped. Instead of normal windows, narrow slits, some vertical and some horizontal, were visible in the brown stone and it looked to be sturdy still, unlike some of the older abandoned structures he had seen in his country. The wooden door was the only thing he could see with any damage.
“They say the King o’ Scotland once lived here.”
“Why did he leave?”
“‘Tis haunted.”
Stefan smiled. “I am tempted to see this ghost.”
“Nay, we must not.”
“Frightened, wee bairn?”
“Aye.”
Stefan laughed. “Wait here then, but I will see this ghost.” He pushed through the last of the tall bushes and walked closer to the castle. He wondered for a moment why he had not seen the structure from afar, but then realized the stones in the structure matched the color of the hills perfectly and the windows were too small to give it away unless a man had a keen enough eye to spot them.
He put his sword away and this time when he took her hand, she did not remove it. It was worth being tricked, he thought, just to have her hand in his. Cautiously, he took hold of the aged leather strap and gently pulled until the door opened a crack. Then he slipped his hand in the crack and opened it wide.
A musty smell greeted them, but it soon dissipated and when he took a step inside and his eyes adjusted to the scant light from the doorway, he discovered the great hall lavishly furnished with a fine oak table and several chairs still intact. A thick layer of dust lay on the table together with wooden bowls containing dry contents that might have once been someone’s evening meal.
Caked with dust as well, a once magnificent tapestry still hung on one wall, although a corner of it had come loose. A stone staircase led to the next level and he started toward it but Kannak held back. He squeezed her hand to reassure her. “I see no ghost here; we must go up to find it.”
“But what if the stairs ...” Suddenly, a low groaning sound filled the whole castle. Kannak gripped his hand, wrapped her other arm around his upper arm and then hid behind him. “‘Tis the ghost. Come away, Stefan.”
“Listen.” He put his hand on her arm to comfort her and waited. He did not have to wait long. When the sound filled the castle again, he smiled. “‘Tis a wind chamber.”
“A what?”
“A wind chamber. ‘Tis like a flute. The roof must have a hole in it and when the wind blows in, it escapes through the narrow windows and makes that sound.”
“Well I dinna like it here. Come away, Stefan.”
“But I will see the rest o’ it.” He expected her to let go when he started for the stairs, but she was not about to be left alone and held on. Carefully, he tested each of the stone stairs, taking them one at a time and then testing the next to make sure it would hold his weight. They seemed just as strong as the day they were first laid and soon the two were at the top staring into a room still filled with a bed and the belongings of the last occupants.
“Seems they left in a hurry.”
“As should we,” Kannak whispered.
But Stefan would not be persuaded and started up the second flight of stairs. When they reached the top and opened the wooden door, the back half of the roof indeed had a hole in it just as he suspected. This room had water damage and there was little left of the previous owner’s warped and ruined furniture. Still, there was a hand mirror that was not broken and a sewing basket caked with just as much dust as the furniture below.
He had not noticed water damage on the bottom two floors and wondered why. But then he realized the window slits were level with the floor and if the structure was tilted even a little bit, the water would have escaped through the slits and down the outside wall. “‘Twas a clever builder. I should like to be a builder someday. I should like it very much.”
“Are ye certain there be no ghost?”
“Aye, are ye frightened still?” She had not let go of his hand and he turned to see the look on her face.
“Not if I believe ye.”
“And do ye believe me?”
She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. “I will only believe ye if ye tell me what sort of spell a lass may cast to make her husband love her.”
It was more than he could resist. “I will show ye.” He moved too quickly for her to resist, took her in his arms and lightly kissed her lips. Just as quickly, he let go and walked to one of the higher vertical slits in the wall to look out.
Kannak was stunned and for a long moment she just stood there looking at the back of his head. Her heart would not be still and the fluttering did not stop. Was this what her father told her about? Had the man she would marry been beside her all these months? She hoped so. Suddenly she hoped so very much. “Some spell, a lad would have to be a simpleton to fall in love over one little kiss.”
“There be more, but I cannae show ye until...”
“Until what?”
This time he had really gone too far and was not at all certain how to get out of it. “Come look at the view, ‘twill take yer breath away.” She wanted him to take her in his arms again, but when she came closer he moved out of the way.
The light shining through the opening made the side of her hair shine and he watched her smile widen as she looked out across the loch and the land beyond.
“‘Tis beautiful.”
“Indeed it is.” He meant her and when she suspected and looked at him, he looked away. “I cannae teach ye how to swim up here, now can I?”
She sighed and looked out the window once more. “Oh, look.”
He moved to stand behind her and tried to see what she was talking about. “What?” To his surprise, she leaned against him and when she did, he put his arms around her from behind.
“We have changed.” she whispered.
“Aye, we have.”
She covered his arms with hers and closed her eyes. “Is this what love feels like?”
“I hope so, ‘tis a feeling like no other.” He tightened his arms a little and put his cheek against hers.
“Will we be very happy, do ye suppose?”
“I am not a laird, but I will do as best I can to make ye happy.”
“And will ye love me?”
“More than I do now? ‘Tis not possible.”
“How long have ye loved me?”
“All my life.”
She giggled and turned in his arms. “Say the truth o’ it.”
“If ye must know, I was not certain until the Vikings came to get me. I could not leave ye that day...or any other day.”
“I dinna know I loved ye until just now. How can that be?”
He did not answer. Instead he lightly kissed her again. Then she put her arms around his neck and he kissed her the way he had wanted to for months. He felt her cling to him, tightened his arms around her a little bit more and wanted to hold her forever. But something made him glance out the window and his heart stopped. Looking at him from the other side of the loch was the black stallion.
He lightly kissed her again and then grabbed her hand. He did not want to frighten her, but his foreboding was back and it was stronger than ever. “We best go afore ye cast yer spell on me and I cannae leave.”
She didn’t understand what he meant, but she giggled and was happy to be leaving the dust and the spooky castle behind. Soon they were out the door and hurrying through the trees. “Is it the black stallion that makes ye run?”
He realized he was nearly dragging her and slowed down. “Aye, I want to see if he will come to us.”
They were to their horses when Stefan turned around, grabbed her waist and lifted her up. Then he rushed to the tree, untied her reins and handed them to her. “Go home Kannak, there are men in these woods and they are not Macorans.”
She gasped and wanted to wait until he was mounted, but Stefan slapped her horse hard and made the mare speed away. Almost as quickly, two men on their mounts broke through the trees and went after her. She glanced back hoping it was Stefan who was behind her, but when she saw the strangers, she kicked the side of the horse hard, leaned forward and increased her speed. “Stefan,” she moaned, tears already in her eyes.
He did not have time to mount or even draw his weapon before he was surrounded by ten men, each with his sword drawn. But instead of caring about his own safety, he watched the two men chasing Kannak around the loch. Then to his amazement, he saw the stallion position himself between Kannak and the men. They tried to go around the stallion, but he moved to block them. Finally, the men realized what a fine mount the stallion was, forgot the girl and tried to catch him.
Stefan smiled. While one man relieved Stefan of his weapons, another bound his hands together in the front. It took three of them to put him on his horse and he did not resist. He had a better chance of escape on a horse, even one that was better suited for endurance than speed.
After they began to ride away, he looked back often and when he saw the other two men ride up behind them without Kannak or the stallion, he breathed easier. He then turned his attention to finding a way to escape, but with six men in front, six behind him and a path that was too narrow to get around, the chances were nonexistent. He would have to wait.
He remembered his mother’s gold medallion and tried to think of a way to hide it without their notice. It was all he had of her and one of them was sure to take it. Finally, when the path was more narrow still and he was certain no one could see, he brought his hands up to his neck, took hold of the thin strap and put it in his mouth. It was harder than he thought but at length he managed to bite it in half. Then he pulled the medallion out from inside his tunic, worked the strap free and tucked it in the hidden pocket of the belt Kannak made for him. He looked back several more times until he was certain none of the men were paying attention and let the medallion strap fall.
