Page 33 of Highlander's Escaped Prisoner
“Well, you heard him,” Gavin McLeod answered. “Lungs like a set o’ bagpipes. They say he’s a killer. Ye seen the size o’ him? I wouldnae take him on without a claymore in my hand!”
Presently they both jumped to their feet as Nessa appeared, smiling widely. “Hello, gentlemen!” she said pleasantly. “Glad to see me?”
“Indeed, mistress!” Saunie grinned. “Where have ye been? The laird has been worryin’ himself tae death!”
“I have been fine and in no danger, thank you,” Nessa replied. “But I could not get word to my father. You will learn the whole story in time before long, but it is too long to tell now. Now drink your ale while it’s hot. I want to see the prisoner.” Her voice was grim. “Do not worry; I will stand outside the gates. I want to tell him exactly what I think of him!”
“Are ye sure, mistress?” Gavin asked doubtfully. “He is a dangerous man.”
However, Nessa was already walking away. She found Bryce sitting dejectedly on a straw pallet in a small cold cell with nothing but a slop bucket and a chair in it.
“Nessa!” His eyes widened in astonishment, and he was about to open his mouth to speak when she put her finger over her lips to stop him.
“Not a word,” she whispered. “We are leaving.”
She tiptoed along the passage, then retrieved the heavy bunch of keys from their hook and unlocked Bryce’s cell. Having freed him, she returned the keys, grabbed his hand, and led him to the hatch.
He hesitated for a moment. “What about the guards?” he asked, puzzled. “How did you get the keys?”
“Fast asleep,” Nessa replied. “As well as all the herbs...the healer gave me a sleeping draught. I put it in their ale.”
Bryce stared at her, then grinned. “You are an evil woman, Nessa Guthrie!” he said as he followed her out of the cell.
Nessa led him to a hatch that was so cleverly fitted into the floor that it was practically invisible. She pushed a sliver of metal down into the tiny gap between the lid and the floor and wedged it upward until she could prise it open with her fingertips.
Bryce looked at its size doubtfully. “Will I fit?” he asked.
For an answer, Nessa scrambled in front of him. He backed down after her, although the width of his shoulders meant that was a tight squeeze.
As soon as they were inside the tunnel, Nessa lit the candle and looked at him. “Let us get out before they wake up!” she said urgently.
Bryce needed no second bidding.
They scrambled as fast as they could along the dark, confusing passageways, and Bryce was amazed at Nessa’s ability to find her way.
“How long have you been doing this?” he asked in astonishment.
“Since I was five years old,” she replied, laughing. “I know these tunnels like the freckles on my face.”
Eventually, they emerged into daylight under a prickly gorse bush in the middle of a small stand of trees a few hundred yards away from the castle.
Bryce looked around himself. “Thank you,” he murmured gratefully, then his lips descended on hers in a kiss of such gratitude and sweetness that she never wanted it to end. When she felt his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, she opened it to admit him and heard him groan with pleasure, and as he pulled her closer, she felt his hardness pressing against her, and for a while, she was lost in him, but it could not last forever.
Finally, she drew away a little and studied him.
“You look terrible,” she observed. Once again, he was filthy.
He chuckled. “I always do whenever you see me,” he replied, then he became brisk. “What about horses?”
“No need for those,” she answered. “It is only a short walk.” She took his hand and led him further into the wood to where an enormous beech tree stood. Its trunk was so thick that a small house could have been built inside it, and as Nessa cleared away the undergrowth in front of it, Bryce saw that it was hollow inside, and the space was big enough to accommodate him.
“This is where you must hide,” she said as he followed her inside. “Wait for me.”
“Always and forever,” he murmured, as she disappeared beneath the bush again.
Just when he thought he had learned everything there was to know about Nessa, she continued to surprise him.
Nessa emerged into her bedroom, and quickly donned a fresh dress, then went to see her father in his study. “I must speak to you,” she said grimly, frowning deeply. “Bryce Blair does not belong here.”
