Page 7 of A Forbidden Night with a Scot
That was a good question, one that made Alicia hesitate—but then she remembered she didn’t really need to explain herself to the guards. She was the laird’s daughter. As long as she didn’t get them in trouble, she could do as she pleased.
“I dinnae question what Laird MacDougall does an’ neither should ye,” she said. “Surely, ye recognize the man! Ye’ve seen him plenty o’ times.”
As she spoke, she looked over her shoulder and gestured at Katherine and Samuel to come closer, pointing at him when they reached them. “See?” she said. “Laird MacDougall, in the flesh.”
Flustered as they were, the two guards gave Samuel a hasty bow before they opened the door for them to slip inside the castle grounds. Still, much to Alicia’s chagrin, Samuel paused as he passed through, giving both men a stern look.
“I willnae inform the laird o’ this,” he said, “but ye should think twice afore ye allow his daughters tae leave the castle unaccompanied in the middle o’ the night. Didnae ye think, even fer a second, that somethin’ may happen tae them? That someone may harm them?”
The two guards averted their gazes, thoroughly chastised and clearly embarrassed by their actions. The last thing Alicia needed, though, was for those guards to try and stop her the next time she would need to sneak out of the castle like this. She didn’t want Samuel meddling with her plans.
“Laird MacDougall,” she said in a warning tone, but Samuel ignored her entirely.
“Well, I suppose ye should ken that they were lucky I was there,” Samuel continued. “Somethin’ terrible could have happened tae them tonight an’ ye wouldnae even have kenned. What would ye dae then? What would ye say tae yer laird?”
“Samuel!” Alicia snapped, clenching her jaw in annoyance. “Leave them be. Let us head inside.”
Samuel didn’t move at first. He only stared the two men down, even as they avoided his gaze, looking pointedly at the ground before their feet. When he followed Alicia, he did so while still filled with anger, eyes blazing in the night.
“They must learn tae protect ye,” he said through gritted teeth as they walked through the shadows, Alicia making sure that theyall stayed away from the torches that lined the walls. “An’ ye must learn that ye cannae dae such dangerous things.”
“We’re nae fools,” said Alicia.
“Then why dae ye act like ye are?”
Rage coursed like fire through Alicia’s veins then, burning hot and all-consuming. She didn’t need Samuel to tell her any of this was a bad idea. She had known from the start and she had weighed the risks against the reward before deciding the reward was greater. She didn’t expect him to understand, even if she could battle her embarrassment long enough to explain to him why she needed the book. He was a man, after all. He had known about such things even before he married his wife, and Alicia was quite certain he had never had to go through the same fear and uncertainty as she did.
“Had I been born a man, would ye still think me a fool fer leavin’ the castle at night?” she demanded, her voice barely more than a hissed whisper, coming to a sudden stop to turn around and glare at him, only to have both him and Katherine bump right into her. “I dinnae think so. An’ there are guards everywhere here so if ye truly wish tae keep this a secret from me faither, then I suggest ye keep quiet.”
Samuel opened his mouth as if to speak, but Alicia held a hand up, shushing him. Then, she spun around and continued her trek through the bushes until she made it to the northernmost side of the castle, where a small door led inside.
“What is this place?” Samuel asked, squinting in the dark to look around at his undoubtedly unfamiliar surroundings. Guests had no reason to be there, and so Alicia doubted he had ever seen this place before. In fact, hardly anyone other than the servants working in the kitchens had any reason to be there at all, as it was nothing more than a storage room for grains—but one that also led, through a narrow, rickety staircase, right by the corridor where Alicia’s and Katherine’s chambers were.
“Up,” Alicia said instead of providing an explanation. She waited for Samuel and Katherine to walk up the stairs before she followed them, making sure that no one had spotted them, unlikely as it was that anyone would be up at that time of the night.
Once she had climbed the stairs, Samuel looked at her with a soft chuckle. “Ach, I see,” he said. “Gavin should have never given chambers so close tae that wee room tae ye.”
“Maither chose the chambers fer us,” said Alicia with a small shrug. “We’ve had them since we were bairns an’ I doubt it ever occurred to her we would be leavin’ the castle through that room. An’ faither doesnae ken we ever dae an’ ye promised ye wouldnae tell him.”
With a sigh, Samuel walked them both down the hallway, stopping first by Katherine’s chambers. Katherine, her gaze glued to the floor, gave him a quick curtsy and a mumbledgoodnightbefore disappearing into her room, eager to flee his presence.
“Goodnight,” Samuel called after the door was already shut, before turning to Alicia. “Dae ye think she heard me?”
Alicia couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she continued down the hallway, Samuel following close behind. Her own chambers were only two doors down from Katherine’s and she had half a mind to go inside and close the door to Samuel’s face, but then again, she didn’t want to be so terribly rude to him.
Instead, she leaned against it and asked, “Will ye truly nae give me the book?”
“Truly,” said Samuel. “I dinnae even have it.”
Alicia raised a curious eyebrow. “What dae ye mean ye dinnae have it?”
“I dropped it by the tavern when I was fightin’ those men. I dinnae have it.”
All that gold, wasted!
Groaning, Alicia let her head fall back against the door with a thud. It wasn’t just the gold that she couldn’t help but miss now. It was also all the effort she had put in this, from sourcing the book to sneaking out of the castle, to enduring the danger of being in that tavern and embarrassment of getting caught by Samuel. None of it was worth it in the end, and on top of everything else, she wouldn’t even find the information she needed now.
“I willnae tell yer faither,” said Samuel. “I dinnae wish fer his heart tae give out.”
