I still need them regardless.
Why now of all times?Jack believed his Clan had passed the worst of times, and he had hoped things would ride on smoothly for them now that they had wealth.
Calloway’s guards surrounded the meadows even before Jack reached them. He slowed his ride until his mare halted, then he jumped off his horse and approached the line-up of men in front of him.
Aideen did the same, and so did Jamie. The rest of his guards waited for the command of their General Aideen.
“Laird Humphreys,” the Calloway’s general called. “We’ve been expectin’ ye. Our Master wants to have negotiations with ye in person and he is pleased that ye have arrived here safely.”
A smile curved up on the man’s lips. Jack tensed and placed his hand on the head of his sheathed sword. One wrong move from these men and he would respond to protect himself.
“Ye Master has somethin’ of mine. I believe he left me this note.”
Jack reached into the pocket of his kilt and handed the rumpled note to the general before him.
“Our Master would like to speak with ye alone, Laird Humphreys. In good faith, of course.”
Jack hated the smug smile that appeared on the man’s lips. Seeing as he did not deny the note, he could tell that they really did have Isla.
The question that burned on his mind was who helped them get in his Castle?
It had to be someone closest to him.Jamie? Aideen? Or someone else in his Castle?He did not believe either Jamie or Aideen would ever betray him.
Countless times, his cousin and man-at-arms saved his life and worked together with him for the better of their Clan. His trust in them was not given… it was earned.
Jack knew his enemy loomed closer than ever.
Isla was taken from the Castle, and no one had raised an alarm. It meant those loyal to this enemy worked for him too.
His first step once he eventually found their Master was to rip all of them of their swords and titles as knights then lock them up in his dungeons forever.
The only one who knew Isla’s origin so far was Jamie, and his clan had been allies with the Calloways for many years now it was hard to understand why they had turned against him.
“I will meet yer Master,” he said. “but I want my wife back.”
“She isnae yet yer wife, Laird Humphreys. And like I said… our Master has been awaitin’ yer arrival… for negotiations.”
Aideen stepped behind him, and his movement instantly made the Calloway men tense. They moved to draw their swords, and so did Jack’s men.
Both sides stood on the defense now. The leader of the Calloway men had his sword drawn at Jack, and Aideen had his sword drawn back at him.
Jack placed his hand on Aideen’s sword and gently lowered it.
“Seas sios,” he said, asking his men to stand down.
Once they obeyed him, Jack said to the leader, “I will meet yer Master now.”
“Come with me, My Laird,” the man replied with a head bow.
Jack nodded to his cousin to prove that it was all right, then he followed the leader toward the tent while his men stayed on guard with the Calloway guards.
27
Isla realized she was bound by both hands and feet when she slowly opened her eyes. She whimpered because the flames lighting where she lay cut through her pain-dazed brain and caused her pain.
Her throat felt sore, and her stomach hurt too. She remembered hearing Jack and Aideen’s conversation about him breaking their betrothal for another woman, and then the blow to her head that knocked her unconscious.
Where am I?