Highland Savage. Hannah Howell

she would not allow Lucas Murray to destroy.

      “Are we below Dunlochan now?” Lucas whispered as he followed her into the room lit by only one small torch set high on the stone wall.

      “Aye. What we want should be over here.”

      Lucas followed her into a shadowy corner of the room and nearly gaped. Piled there was a very large collection of food and drink. Someone inside the keep was obviously helping Katerina by secretly setting aside some supplies, probably little by little every day. As a warrior, Lucas could not stop himself from wondering exactly how they might use such allies to defeat Ranald and Agnes.

      Seeing how Lucas scowled at her supplies, Katerina carefully placed her list of things she needed in the hiding place she and the cook had agreed on so long ago. Neither of them had thought it would take so long for Katerina to win back Dunlochan. Poor old Hilda still believed in her, probably more than Katerina believed in herself, but she suspected the woman was growing weary of waiting to be free of Agnes’s harsh rule.

      “Just how has this come to be here ready for ye to walk away with it all?” Lucas asked, keeping his voice as soft as Katerina kept hers.

      “Ah, weel, Old Hilda, the cook, and a few others slowly gather it up. When we take it we always leave a wee message telling them what we think we might need soon.”

      “Doesnae anyone notice how much is going missing from the stores?”

      “Nay. Can ye truly see Agnes or Ranald keeping records or tallying anything at all save for the money in their purses? I doubt they e’en think on where it all comes from. Not e’en Agnes’s woman, Freda, tends to how the things they want are acquired, only that they are delivered into her hands exactly when she wants them. ’Tis my people who diligently tend to such things as these stores and the ledgers. ’Tis another good reason for me to continue to play dead. If Agnes or Ranald kenned that I was still alive, a lot of my people would be in grave danger. They would immediately come under suspicion and that could easily mean their deaths.”

      “Ye have planned for that, havenae ye.” Lucas did not make it a question for he knew she would have made meticulous plans for the safety of such people. Considering what he believed she had done to him such confidence did not make much sense, but he shrugged aside that puzzle as he picked up a heavy sack of food. “There is a lot here. Ye could ne’er have carried it all back on your own.”

      “Nay, not in one journey, true enough.” Katerina shrugged. “I had little else to do aside from waiting for my men to return. A few trips back and forth ’twixt here and the hall wouldnae hurt me.”

      “The people who do this for ye could be verra useful in other ways.”

      Katerina sighed, all too aware of what he was thinking of for she had often considered the very same thing. “They could be, but using them for anything aside from gathering food and information for us could get them killed. Most of them are verra young or old. They arenae warriors and some have no ability to become ones. They are cooks, clerks, pot boys, and the like. Verra good at listening since people like Agnes ne’er e’en see them, and verra good at making ten meat pies but serving only eight, slipping the other two aside for us. E’en that small but valuable service puts them at risk.”

      Lucas nodded in agreement. “There may come a time, however,” he began.

      “When the risk is worth it,” she finished for him. “I ken it and so do they.”

      The sound of a foot sliding over stone drew Lucas’s attention. Again he pushed Katerina behind him as they both crouched behind the stacked barrels. Afraid the sound of him drawing his sword would echo too loudly in the room, he slowly drew his dagger. The glow of candlelight came first followed by a plump, gray-haired woman who paused in the entrance to the room and nervously looked around.

      “’Tis Hilda the cook,” Katerina whispered even as she wriggled out from behind Lucas and stood up. “O’er here, Hilda.”

      “Oh, bless ye, child,” Hilda said as she hurried over and gave Katerina a brief, one-armed hug. “I have been slipping down here whene’er possible just hoping to catch ye. I was getting ready to try and hunt ye down.” Hilda’s eyes widened as Lucas stood up and stepped closer to Katerina. “Oh, have mercy, he is alive!”

      Quickly putting an arm around Hilda’s shoulders to steady the woman when she swayed, Katerina said, “Aye, and he means to make Ranald pay for what he did to him.”

      Katerina knew Lucas intended to make her pay, too, but she did not say so. She needed full cooperation amongst her allies. Telling Hilda, who had been like a mother to her, about Lucas’s suspicions would set the woman firmly against him. That was a trouble she did not want to deal with at the moment.

      “Weel, how wondrous, and it ne’er hurts to have another strong sword arm when ye are in such a hard fight.” Hilda eyed the monk’s robes Lucas wore. “Unless—have ye joined the church?”

      “Nay,” replied Lucas. “I thought it a good disguise.” He could tell by the woman’s expression that she most certainly did not agree with him.

      “Weel, ’tis God’s blessing that ye survived those bastards.”

      “Verra true,” Katerina agreed. “What did ye need to see me for, Hilda?”

      “Ranald is suspicious about young Thomas, I fear. The lad disappears a lot and does it when ye ride. Ranald has finally taken notice of that. He feels he ought to bring the laddie here and beat some truth out of him.”

      Already planning on how to bring young Thomas to safety, Katerina asked, “But Ranald hasnae decided on doing that just yet?”

      “He has, but Agnes hasnae. She isnae sure Ranald is right and she frets o’er how acting against the lad could rouse people’s anger against her. Fool woman doesnae seem to see that almost every mon, woman, and bairn at Dunlochan already loathes and mistrusts her. I but needed to warn ye for I think Ranald will soon convince her of the need to grab Thomas. Especially if, weel,” she looked at Lucas, “if she learns that this mon is still alive.”

      “She will learn that as soon as Ranald returns this night, for he tried to kill Lucas again and we snatched away his prize.” Katerina kissed Hilda on the cheek. “Thank ye, Hilda. I must go quickly now and see to Thomas’s safety.”

      “Godspeed, child.”

      Grabbing up all they could carry, Lucas and Katerina hurried back to the hall. Lucas could almost feel Katerina’s fear as she nearly ran through the passages. He was not sure what could be done to help the boy but he knew she would try something. Lucas also knew that he would not let her go alone. That need to keep her safe made no sense to him, but he was beginning to think a lot of what he felt and thought concerning Katerina Haldane made no sense.

      “What has happened?” William demanded, alarmed by the way Katerina and Lucas rushed into the hall.

      “Ranald has become suspicious of Thomas,” Katerina replied as she set aside the sacks of supplies.

      William and Patrick cursed. “Then we have to try to get to the boy before he does,” William said.

      “There are only four of us,” Patrick pointed out quietly.

      “It will have to be enough,” said Katerina. “We cannae let Ranald get his hands on the boy.”

      “Nay, of course we cannae, but do we have a plan?”

      Katerina rubbed at her forehead, trying to ease the ache that was beginning there. “Nay, and I am nay sure we can make one until we ken where Thomas is and if Ranald is already hunting him. Hilda said Agnes hadnae agreed with Ranald’s plan to grab Thomas and beat some truth out of him, but after what happened tonight, Ranald may nay care about that.”

      “Where does Thomas live?” asked Lucas.

      “At the inn,” replied Katerina. “He is Annie’s brother and they both live at the inn. She has a wee room in the eaves, but, unless ’tis