Page 21 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
Damn her father! If he had not been such a miser, if his arrogance and self-conceit had not been so bad, she would never have had to embark on her life of crime.
A few hours earlier…
Adaira had wanted to go with her that night, but Keira had flatly refused to allow her.
“No.” Her voice was firm. “You are not yet trained for this, Adaira. Your job is to spy on my father and, if possible, distract him, but since he has already drunk himself into a doze, I do not think you will have to do either of those things tonight. But stay alert, please. You know the code word for any messages I may need to send back.”
Adaira nodded, but she looked anxious. “Be careful, Keira,” she had warned. “I know you have done this many times before without being caught, but there is always a first time.”
“It will not be tonight, Addie,” Keira assured her. “Stop worrying. I will be back soon, then we can drink wine and eat cakes to celebrate because in a few months we will all be eating and drinking well. And I forgot to tell you, there is a ship which will be ‘running aground’ at Morton’s Cove soon, and we can sell all the wine on board…well, maybe not all!” She winked. “No one will be going hungry then.”
Adaira had hugged her tightly. “You are the sister I never had, Keira,” she said warmly. “I love you. Take care of yourself, please.”
Her lovely face was tense and anxious, as was Moira’s.
“I will, and I love you too, Sister,” Keira replied. “And you, Moira.” Then she kissed both of them and was gone, leaving Moira and Adaira to stare after her fearfully.
“One of these days she wilnae come back.” Moira’s voice sounded sad, and tears stood in her eyes.
“You cannot say such things,” Adaira said angrily. “She will be back.” However, she sounded more convinced than she felt.
11
It was midnight when the rebels gathered together in an old ruined barn that was as near to the grain store as they could be without being seen. The barn had served them well for a few years as both a hideout and a place to store their booty until it was time to distribute it.
“Right,” Keira said grimly. “I have heard that the store is only half full, but our people need food, so let us take what we can and hide it. If we must, we will do another raid after that.” At once, there was a storm of protests, but Keira held up her hand, then put a finger over her lips. “Shhh! I know it is something we have never done before, and it is risky, but times are desperate and we cannot let people down when they are depending on us. Are you in agreement?”
This time, there was a general chorus of agreement, but even if every man in the band had not followed her, Keira would have gone anyway since she was passionate about the welfare of the people she thought of as her own.
“I would prefer that we all had time to rest before we strike again, but we have no choice.” Keira sighed. She was already exhausted, and the night was not half over.
Cautious as always, Keira had sent out scouts before them, but there was no sign of any movement that suggested that the store was being watched.
“Naybody there, Keira,” said Ben as he crept back to them. “It looks safe.”
Keira nodded. “Good. Are we ready?” she asked, looking around.
There was a forest of nodding heads.
“Aye!” they replied very quietly.
“Let us go! And good luck, lads!” Keira called out, then they began their journey of mercy.
While she was carrying out her missions, Keira always kept her final aim in sight. No one would go hungry if she and her band could help it.
Keira crept around the side of the store while the others spread out around her. She had a bad feeling about their raid that night, but she had no idea why. They had planned meticulously, as they always did, and there were no signs that anything was any different from the way it usually was. She chastised herself for being foolish and tried to push her presentiments of doom to the back of her mind and concentrate on the task at hand.
Each of the rebels kept a fair distance away from each other so that if the worst happened, they could not be captured all at once. As well as that, they were all dressed in dark clothing that would blend into the night. Every precaution that could be taken had been taken.
Keira was the leader, but she had never claimed to be better than any of the men who worked with her and was not keen on barking out orders. Thoroughness and organization were herbest weapons. She was, without doubt, a better rider and had keener eyes than most, but apart from that she claimed no special skills and let each of the men do what he did best. She had found that things usually worked out better that way.
The door was firmly locked and bolted, but two of the more powerful men levered the door open with a heavy iron implement that Keira had instructed the blacksmith to make for her. He had been rather baffled at the time.
“What dae ye want it for, mistress?” he had asked, with a puzzled frown.
“I want to break the doors down with it,” she informed him, with a mischievous smile.
He had laughed heartily and followed her instructions. The same tool was used to break the keyhole in the wooden door so that Keira could reach her small hand inside and open it.
