Read Highland Legends 04 - Captive Highlander for Free Online

sorcery.
    Somewhat refreshed, she dried off
and pulled on her kirtle and overdress then used what her trusted servant set
out to bring order to her appearance. She wondered what Ian would think of the
simple, white linen gown. Did it make her look chaste? She did not feel
innocent since Ian’s touch.
    There was a rap at the door and
Maura came into the room. “Did ya sleep well, Milady? I canna fathom why ya
spent the night out on Rannoch Moor. Keith should’ve brought ya back no matter
what the hour.”
    Katie thought hard to form a
response. How could she keep her secret without an outright lie? The woman had
been at her side since her mother died. Tall and thin with mouse-colored hair,
Maura appeared to be frail. She was not. Katie would be lost without her.
“’Twas no fault of Keith’s. I wouldna come back.”
    Maura put her arm around Katie’s
shoulders. “Even the strong need a respite from their burdens,” she said,
giving Katie a hug.
    “Aye, so. Would you help with my
hair?”
    In no time, Maura untangled
Katie’s curls and secured part of her hair back from her face. “How’s that,
Milady?”
    Katie looked in the mirror. “’Tis
beautiful. Thank you.”
    “Where are you off to?”
    “Oh… here and there, there are
always things to attend to.” If Maura suspected anything, she did not voice her
concerns. Katie smiled and left the chamber. She sighed in relief when she
escaped Maura’s watchful eye. Katie needed to check on Ian, but there were
tasks that would not allow that until much later.
    Early in the evening, Katie
finally made her way toward the dungeon. Something seemed out of place. She
kept hearing noises behind her. At first, she thought it was her imagination,
and then it hit her. Someone followed her. How would she explain carrying a bag
of food and supplies? Rounding a turn, Katie slipped her torch into a wall
bracket in the passageway. She ducked into a little-used storage room and
watched through a crack in the door as Draco Drummond walked by. He cursed when
he realized she disappeared. Draco came back through the passage and Katie
ducked behind some barrels in the store room. She heard him checking each
chamber as he went. He opened the door to the chamber where she hid and looked
inside.
    “Blast, where did she go?” he
muttered, slamming the door closed and continuing up the passageway.
    Letting out her breath, Katie
ventured out from her hiding place and peeped out the door. Draco no longer
prowled the lower halls. She could hear his footfalls in the distance. Was this
Rannoch’s doing? She had little doubt.
    The time was ripe to see her
captive. If Rannoch had Draco following her, she must see Ian now. Slipping
into the hallway, she retrieved her torch and made her way towards the dungeon.
     
    Ian had eaten the dried meat and
bread she left him and the water was gone. His stomach rumbled and his mouth
grew dry. How long had he been in this wretched cell? The lantern flickered out
long ago and Katie took the torch with her when she left him. No window lit the
space. He had no idea of time, only blackness interrupted by the nimble sounds
of rats getting closer. His captor should have come to feed him by now. What he
hungered for most was her presence. For years many a lass had tried to catch
his eye. Save for considering the possibility of a life with Skye MacLean, none
of them enchanted him the way Katie Blackburn did. This wisp of a woman who
used deceit to trap him and chain him took hold of his imagination in a way no
other had before.
    Ian heard a noise in one of the
hallways. A light in the distance came closer until her shining face appeared
through the barred door to his cell. He rose to greet her. She dressed in white
linen, a simple shift that enhanced her striking coloring. It made her look
pure as fresh-fallen snow. “I brought you some food and water,” she said.
    “I thank you for your kindness,”
he rasped. His hoarse voice rattled her composure.
    Her hand