Page 26 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
At last, the crockery and cutlery were cleared away, and the staff was able to retire to bed. It was only as she walked along the passage to her chamber that Kenna remembered she had promised Ewan something to eat. She had been too busy to drop anything off to him earlier, and by now any leftovers would havebeen divided up amongst the staff. Only the mixed-up, inedible food would be left, and that was destined for the pigs.
Damn you, Kenna!she thought irritably.He will be ravenous! What are you going to say to him?She stopped outside her door to gather her wits, then took a deep breath and unlocked the door.
The single candle in the room had almost burnt down to a stump, but it was still giving off a feeble light. The fire was almost out, and only a few glowing embers were left. Nevertheless, she could still make out the figure of Ewan sprawled on his back on the bed. One leg was hanging over the side; he was snoring softly, clutching the book she had given him close to his chest.
Kenna smiled, feeling infinitely grateful that she did not have to tell him that he was going to starve that night. Gently, she took the book out of his hand, and he stirred but did not move. She studied his face for a while. He always seemed to look younger in his sleep since all the worries of the day had been smoothed away, and she felt the now familiar but unwelcome flood of arousal. Damn! What was it about this man that he could make her feel this way?
She shooed the thought away, for she had more to worry about. She was faced with a rather awkward predicament. Should she wake him up or leave him where he was? Despite his somewhat inelegant position, he seemed to be sleeping very soundly, so she decided to take pity on him and leave him undisturbed.
I am going to regret this in the morning,she thought as she spread one of the blankets on the floor and lay down on it. The carpet underneath her was rough and uncomfortable, even withthe blanket on top, but Kenna was so weary that despite her discomfort, she fell asleep almost at once.
12
There was a man, a very ugly man, hiding under Kenna’s bed. She knew he was there, but she could not move, either to escape or chase him away, because her hands were tied in front of her and her feet were bound together. She was so frozen with fear that when she tried to scream, no sound came out.
The man came crawling out toward her, and for a few moments she thought he was some kind of monster. But he was definitely human, although his features were twisted and irregular, and his teeth were black and rotten. It was his eyes that terrified Kenna most, though. They were completely black, opaque, and no light reflected from them; they almost looked like holes in his hideous face. It made her feel sick just to look at him.
Kenna turned her head away, hoping to find someone to help her, but the room was empty. She remembered that someone else had been there, though. Where was he now? She tried to roll over to look for him, but a moment later the creature had its hands around her neck and was squeezing so hard that she began to choke.
The pressure of his fingers was excruciatingly painful, but when she clawed at them with her bound hands and tried to prise them off her throat, it became even worse as they tightened further. Stars appeared in front of her eyes as she thrashed and hit out at the horrible man, but the pressure on her neck became even harder, and the more she struggled, the worse it became. Then the stars disappeared, and she could no longer feel the pain. Darkness was descending over her eyes, and at last, she could see no more.
Maxwell turned over in the bed, surprised to find himself lying on the soft mattress when the whimpers he could hear were coming from somewhere on the floor.It must be Kenna,he thought, then looked around, but the fire had almost gone out, and the candle had burned down to half an inch, so he could barely see anything.
He reached out a hand to touch Kenna, who was making the strange coughing and choking noises from the floor; he climbed out of bed and shook her shoulder gently. When she would not wake up, he shook a little harder, and suddenly her eyes flew open and she opened her mouth to scream, but he clamped his hand over her mouth to stifle it.
“Kenna,” he whispered urgently. “You are having a nightmare. Wake up!”
“Wh-What?” she gasped. Then she began to shuffle backward on her elbows away from him. “Leave me be. Get away from me!”
Maxwell had never seen a more terrified expression. In desperation, he lunged forward and threw his arms around her,then pulled her to him roughly, holding her so tightly that she could not break away from him. Her face was pressed against his shoulder, stopping her from screaming, but still she fought against him with all her might, pushing against him and trying to punch him. She even tried to bite him, and he could feel the fear that was flowing through her, almost consuming her.
“Shhh…Kenna,” he said as quietly as he could. “Shhh… You are having a bad dream. Wake up.”
Gradually, Kenna stopped thrashing and took a deep breath, then looked up at him. Her eyes were confused and unfocused for a moment, then she seemed to realize where she was. She looked around, then gazed up at him for a long moment before he loosened his grip a little, and she pulled away from him.
“Better?” he asked softly. “You looked truly terrified. Are you all right?”
Kenna nodded. “I am sorry to wake you,” she whispered.
He laughed softly. “I am sorry to have taken your bed. You should have woken me up, Kenna. I am comfortable enough sleeping on the floor, and you have to work in the morning.”
“I did not have the heart,” she replied. “You looked so peaceful, so restful. I could not bear to disturb you.”
A wave of tenderness washed over him as he watched tears of pure fear trickle down her face, and he reached out and rubbed them away with his thumb.
“You should have,” he replied gently. He wanted to wrap her in his arms again and hold her to stop the nightmare from coming back. “Maybe you should tell me about your dream. Perhaps ifyou shared it, you would chase it away. I know a few people who have been helped that way. Was it the usual dream?”
“No.” Kenna shook her head. “I dreamt that a horrible, hideous man was crawling out from under my bed to attack me. I thought at first he was a monster, but then I realized that he was a human being, even though he was a very ugly one. I was tied up, then he tried to strangle me, and I was just about to pass out when you woke me up. It was the worst dream I have ever had.”
Maxwell took her hand.
“Maybe if you had been sleeping in your own bed, it would not have been so bad. They say dreams have meanings. Do you know what it could have meant?”
Kenna shrugged. “No. But I have never been so afraid in my life. Have you ever had nightmares?”
“Indeed I have,” he replied grimly. “When my friend pushed me out of a tree, I had nightmares about hitting the ground for months, and my mother made me take a sleeping draft, but I hardly ever took it. I still feel sick when I think about it.”
He shuddered, remembering the vibration that had gone right through him that day, the headaches, and the sickening aftermath.
