Donna Fletcher Short Story Collection (9 page)

“I had another chamber prepared for us.”

Brianna smiled, grabbed his hand and tugged
him along.

Royce laughed, aroused even more by his
wife’s eagerness and rushed to scoop her up and take the stairs two
at a time.

“We’ll not be bothered by ghost or prankster
tonight,” he said brushing a kiss across her sweet lips. “I have
two warriors standing guard outside our door and the chamber has
been examined to make certain no one lurks in hiding. We are free
to enjoy ourselves and you shall have an uninterrupted night of
sleep.”

“Bless you,” she said and kissed him on the
cheek.

“Can you not do better than that?”

Brianna laughed and whispered in his ear and
Royce raced up the stairs.

They wasted not a minute once in the room.
Their lips met and their hands were quick to help each other shed
their garments, but it wasn’t fast enough. They fell partially
clothed on the bed together, their lips sealed in a never-ending
kiss.

When passion could be denied no longer Royce
rose up off his wife to rid her of her clothes. His eyes remained
on hers as his hands hurried to undo the ties of her blouse. He
loved seeing how her desire for him danced like firelight flames in
her eyes.

Suddenly her eyes grew wide and desire
quickly vanished replaced by fear... and she screamed.

“Someone tugged at my toe.”

He was off her in a flash, reaching for his
sword near the bed.

The door flew open and the guards rushed in
swords drawn.

The three warriors glanced quickly around the
room but saw nothing.

Royce nodded at them and they spread out
searching in the dark corners and under the bed. One even opened
the small chest in the corner, though it was too small even for a
child to hide in.

The two warriors remained silent waiting for
their laird’s command.

“No one slipped past you?” Royce asked but
knew the answer.

“No one has entered the hallway,” one
said.

“Remain on guard,” Royce ordered and the two
men left closing the door behind them.

Royce rested his sword against the wall by
the bed and then joined his wife, much too pale to his liking, in
the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried herself in
the strength of his embrace.

“Why does the ghost torment me?”

Was the old woman right? Did the ghost want
his wife’s help? If so, why her and not him? Royce didn’t wish to
further upset her so he did not tell her about the old woman’s
warning. She might do something foolish like try and help the
ghost.

“You will sleep with your feet tucked beneath
my legs tonight,” he said. “If the ghost intends to tug toes again
then only mine will be available to him.”

“I do not know if I can sleep. This troubles
me so, especially now that the ghost has not waited for me to sleep
but interferes in our love making. What could he possibly want from
me?”

“I will find out and settle it, this I
promise you.” He kissed her forehead, then her cheek and lastly
brushed his lips across hers. “You are not to worry, I will see
this done.”

They snuggled beneath the heavy quilt after
Royce added several logs to the hearth and blew out the candle. He
wrapped his muscled legs around her feet, the ghost not able to
touch them without touching him. And he swore to himself that he
would not sleep. He would keep watch over his wife and keep watch
for the ghost.

~~~

Brianna drifted awake and cringed; her feet
cramped from the strength of her husband’s legs. She would move
them for a minute just to stretch the cramps out of them and then
return them where they were... safe and sound wrapped in Royce’s
legs.

Help.

Was that whisper Royce? She looked up from
where she rested, tucked against her husband’s chest to see him
sound asleep.

Help.

There it was again, though a bit stronger
this time and it came from the foot of the bed. She didn’t want to
look fearful of what she would see. She poked her husband’s chest;
he didn’t respond.

Help.

She poked much harder and Royce sat up in a
flash taking her with him.

He looked at his wife and her eyes were so
wide that he feared they would pop from her head. He followed her
glance and his eyes widened though his hand also reached for his
sword, though what good it would do against a ghost he had no
idea.

The apparition of a man stood at the foot of
the bed. Tall, lean, fine features, a cloak draped over his broad
shoulders and with his arm stretched out and his finger pointing at
Brianna.

With a crook of his finger he beckoned her to
him.

~~~

Brianna watched her husband pace in front of
two guards who had come to speak with him in the Great Hall.
Something was amiss and she could see from his scowl that he was
not happy about it. The servants went out of their way to avoid the
trio, though mostly their laird.

She could not blame them. He was a fierce
looking warrior when angry and his temper had surged upon entering
the hall an hour ago and learning that news of last night’s
apparition had spread like wildfire and along with it... fear.

The ghost had certainly frightened her but
Royce had been quick to act. He had vaulted off the bed, the
apparition disappearing as he clamped his arms around the
evaporating mist.

The two guards had stood with shocked
expressions. She believed more so from seeing their laird fearless
enough to attack a ghost rather than seeing the ghost themselves.
Royce had ordered them from the room and told them to be off that
they were no longer needed for the night. He had also warned them
to hold their tongues about what they had seen but Brianna and he
knew it would do no good. The entire village would hear of the
ghost by first light. And they had been right.

Royce walked over to her running his hand
lovingly over his daughter’s soft thatch of hair. She sat content
on her mother’s lap trying desperately to get the attention of an
old hound that slept in front of the hearth.

“King is old and does nothing but sleep,
sweetheart,” he said and kissed her plump cheek. “It is a puppy you
need.”

“What is wrong?” Brianna asked knowing her
husband delayed speaking with her.

“A fierce snowstorm has hit and a group of
travelers will not make it to the village before nightfall and that
means...”

“They will surely freeze to death if they are
not helped.”

He hunched down in front of her. His daughter
smiled, gurgled and her tiny hand swung out to grab his braid that
hung down the side of his head and onto his shoulder. She was quick
but the mighty warrior was quicker. He grabbed her hand and gave it
a kiss. She turned her attentions back to the sleeping hound.

“I do not wish to leave you. I wish to settle
this ghost matter once and for all,” he said.

“As do I but the travelers need our help,”
she said with more courage than she felt. She would have preferred
that her husband not leave, but she could not be selfish. He was
the laird of the Campbell clan and had his duties to attend.

“I wish I could say I will not be long but
the snowstorm rages and while the group is not far, the storm will
prevent easy and fast travel.”

She knew what he was trying to tell her.
Today was Christmas Eve and if they did not rid the keep of the
ghost before midnight tonight he would disappear and return next
year at this time to haunt again.

“You must go,” she said.

Royce hated to leave his wife. She needed him
and he needed to banish the ghost as he had promised her. But she
was right, he had to go and get the travelers to the village
safely.

He kissed her, a soft gentle kiss that was
not meant to arouse but it did. “I will be back as soon as I can,
though before I go I must tell you something.”

Brianna listened with interest as he detailed
his visit to the old woman in the woods.

“So if we discover what he searches for he
will leave us in peace?” she asked.

“The old woman believes so and I wish I had
time to find out, though I am not sure where I would start.” He
kissed her again. “I will hurry.”

“No, you must be careful. You could easily
get lost in the snowstorm.”

He laughed. “Not even a blinding blizzard can
keep me from you.”

“You will take care,” she ordered.

He stood, leaned over, and planted another
kiss on her lips, a strong one this time. “Stay in the Great Hall
until I return.”

She smiled and raised Breda’s hand to wave
good-bye to her father as he slipped on his warm fur-lined cloak
and drew the hood up over his head. He pulled on thick gloves and
returned his daughter’s wave just as the double doors opened.

The roaring wind swept in bringing with it a
flourish of cold and snow. It blew out several candles and stirred
the flames in the hearth. It took great effort on the servants’
part to close the door against the demanding wind, after which they
got busy lighting the snuffed out candles and clearing away the
snow.

Brianna stood and with a quick peck to her
daughter’s cheek and a hug she handed her to Sara. “I have
something I must attend to.”

She took the stairs with care and haste.
Royce had helped her overcome her fears and had helped her find her
courage. It had not been easy having had such a cruel first
husband. She had promised herself that she would never allow fear
to immobilize her again. She would take control and take
action.

She entered the room that she and Royce had
shared last night. All the nights before that the ghost had only
tugged at her toes or moved object around. But in this room he had
shown himself. Could there be something about this room that he was
trying to tell her?

Apprehension filled Brianna, trembling her
hands and turning her legs weak. The room was fairly dark, the fire
having died down to a few glowing embers since none of the servants
would dare enter the room to keep it stoked.

Brianna grabbed at the sides of her deep
green wool skirt to stop her hands from trembling. She glanced
around the room slowly. It was a stark room with only a bed and a
small chest. It was mainly used for guests. Could something have
happened to someone who had stayed here?

She sighed wishing there was a family member
she could ask and then smiled. Servants usually knew more than
family members and who out of all of them knew the most... the
cook.

Brianna hurried out of the room not hearing
the stone that dislodged in the hearth and fell into the lingering
embers.

~~~

Royce cursed the damn snowstorm and the damn
ghost. He should be home in bed and beneath the heavy quilt
pleasuring his wife. He loved long, snowy winter days. They were
the perfect excuse to linger in bed. Instead he was out in a
horrific snowstorm that was going to delay his return home longer
than he had been counting on.

He grumbled and mumbled and continued to
curse his misfortune when they came upon the group of travelers
hunkered down against the fierce wind and snow. Brianna had been
right. Many of them already looked half frozen. They would have
never survived the night let alone a few more hours.

He helped his men distribute blankets and got
busy gathering everyone together. One older man, frail and bent
from age and work didn’t look as if he could take another step. A
carrier would need to be fashioned for him and no doubt would slow
them down even more.

Royce could almost hear Brianna chastising
him for thinking such and so he began gathering branches they would
need to fashion the carrier. A couple of the men in the group took
over the task from Royce and he in turn went to see how the old man
was doing.

His men had fashioned a refuge for the women
and children beneath the heavily laden branches of a pine tree
along with the old man. They huddled around a small campfire that
his men had gotten started.

Royce hunched down beside where he sat on the
ground braced against the trunk of the tree and wrapped in a fresh
blanket.

“Are you all right?” Royce asked.

“I have survived worse, though actually it
was a storm much like this one and right here in this area at
Christmastime. I was but a lad. My da and I were passing through
and took refuge in your village for a few days. My da would have
preferred to move on with the trouble brewing there but the storm
wouldn’t allow it.”

“What trouble?”

The old man shrugged. “I did not know the
whole of it, heard most through gossip, though it was enough to
scare the wits out of me.” He shook his head.

“Tell me,” Royce urged wondering or possibly
hoping it just might have something to do with the ghost.

The old man shivered though for some reason
Royce didn’t think it had anything to do with the cold.

“The villagers were terrified and if the
gossip was true I couldn’t blame them. If it could happen to a
Highlander warrior it certainly could happen to one of them.”

“What happened?”

“A brave Highlander warrior disappeared from
a room with guards standing right outside his door and was never
seen again?”

A twinge of fear stirred in the pit of
Royce’s stomach. He recalled how the ghost had crooked his finger
at Brianna. “How could that be?”

The old man lowered his voice and whispered,
“
The
w
itch got him
.”

~~~

“I know nothing,” Deidre said busy directing
half dozen helpers in the kitchen all crazed as they hurried to
prepare more food not only for the travelers that would soon arrive
but for those who could not survive the storm on their own. They
would seek refuge in the keep.

Brianna didn’t believe her. She had answered
much too fast when asked if she knew if anything strange had
happened in the room where the ghost had been seen. It was almost
as if she was afraid to answer.