The Highlander (33 page)

^Twenty-Five

Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.

—William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and playwright.
Henry IV, Part 1
(1597), Act 2, Scene 3

The sound of spurs ringing against the stone floors of Monleigh Castle caused those sitting around the fire in the hall to pause in their conversation, as every one of them looked toward the door, each face bearing a look of apprehension.

The doors were thrown back and James Graham strode into the room looking every inch the strong leader he was.

"What are you doing dressed like that?" Arabella asked. "It's too soon for you to be thinking about going out."

"I was thinking about it, but I am no' thinking about it any longer," Jamie said. "I have decided to go out. I am through with languishing in bed. I've something that belongs to me and I intend to get it back."

Niall had been about to take a drink from his tankard but he put it down so hard some of the ale sloshed over the top. ' 'Are you sure you are up to it? It's a long ride to Rockingham's castle."

"We go by boat to Whitby, in Yorkshire. We will take our horses with us, and ride from Whitby to Swifford Castle."

"We will make better time on our own horses," Fraser said.
  
,.

"How many men do we take with us?" Bran asked.

"Two score, no more," Jamie answered.

He did not tell his brothers that he had no idea if Rockingham had even taken Sophie to his home, but his gut instinct told him he would have taken her to Swifford Castle in Yorkshire, rather than risk taking her to London. The bastard would want to break her spirit first, so she would be the perfect submissive wife when he introduced her to the ton.

"Aye, two score of the Grahams is more than enough to hold off a whole British regiment," Niall said. "When do we sail?"

"At daybreak," Jamie said, "so get a good night's sleep."

"Before we go," Calum said, "I'd like to know something of your plan. Rockingham is bound to know we might try to rescue her. He will have double, even triple guards posted at every nook and cranny."

"If you are frightened of the odds, you are welcome to stay here," Jamie said.

"Hold on, now," Fraser said. "We don't need to have any tempers flaring amongst us. This must be well thought out, and perfectly executed. We don't aim to let you go off to rescue yer lass by yerself, but we do want to have some idea of what we are getting into."

Jamie nodded. "Since none of us have ever been to Yorkshire the best approach is to find a place to make camp, while two or three of us ride over to Swifford Castle. Once we are there, we can explore and gather information about the strength and positioning of the duke's troops. When we have the information we need, we will plan our move and catch them by surprise."

"It's that last part I worry about. Someone is bound to notice a band of Highlanders riding about Yorkshire."

"We willna be wearing our plaids, if that is what you are thinking," Jamie said. "We will be dressed to look like ordinary Englishmen. Since they will not expect us to have the daring to go that far into England to rescue her, we should raise no suspicion."

"I don't mind saying the odds do not put my mind at ease," Niall said. "It is still a very risky thing we will be doing."

Jamie grinned at Niall and then shared the grin with his other brothers. "The most exhilarating battles are when the odds are no' with us. It is a good way to keep us alert and focused on what we are about. Otherwise, we will be like the man who went out for wool and came home shorn."

It was a welcome laugh they shared and it did much to ease some of the tension, but when the jollity began to fade, the solemnness of the occasion settled over them once more.

"We can't exactly ride in the postern gate and expect to be welcomed," Bran said. "How do you plan to get us inside?"

Jamie lightly cuffed his brother's head. "I ken we will know the answer to that after we visit Swifford."

Sophie was glad for her time at the French court, for it would have been difficult otherwise for her to carry herself with grace and aplomb while playing hostess to a group of fifteen of England's most influential men. Even when she was most nervous, her experiences enabled her to observe the proprieties easily and without thinking. She almost regretted the many complaints she made against the years of training in what she called paltry decorum.

Seated in the hostess chair at the end of the dining table opposite Rockingham, Sophie was at home in such luxurious surroundings and, because she was comfortable, she fulfilled her role perfectly.

Both of her dinner partners, the Duke of Wye-ford seated to her left, and the Earl of Northrop on her left, were well traveled, articulate, and thoroughly enjoyed her presence, although she was not so foolish as to think they might have enjoyed it half as much if she had not been the granddaughter of the Sun King.

After dinner the men turned to their brandy and insisted that Sophie remain in their presence.

At one point Rockingham whispered to her, the pride in his voice reaching pompous levels, "My dear, you have them eating out of your delicate palm. I knew you would make the perfect duchess to grace my table."

She wanted to tell him she was not his duchess, nor would she ever be, but that would have to remain her secret for the time being. Instead, she smiled and said, "I am honored to be of help, Your Grace."

Even the Duke of Bellingham made a similar comment. "I propose a toast to the loveliest, most gracious hostess England has ever had the pleasure of welcoming to her shores."

"Thank you, Your Grace. I feel the honor belongs to all of you, for in order to be a great hostess, one must have great guests, and so I thank each of you."

Soon, the men settled into conversation as if they had quite forgotten Sophie, who was sitting upon a slippered chair a few feet away, quietly listening to everything the Leicester House Set had to say.

They were discussing Frederick Louis, the Prince of Wales, and the strategy for getting him on the throne before George II died.

This discussion caused Sophie to recall Rockingham's diplomatic service in France, and how her cousin Louis said, "Rockingham was sent to France because King George wanted to get him out of the way."

Instead of serving the English King, Rockingham began to negotiate on his own behalf with Louis. If the French helped him overthrow King George, he and his friends would put the Prince of Wales—who would side with the French—on the throne.

To seal the bargain, Rockingham wanted Sophie as his wife.

Louis was at first reluctant to involve France in such a plot, but King George had declared war on Spain, which was swept up into the Spanish War of Austrian Succession, putting England and France on opposite sides.

In the end Louis said, "We have nothing to lose by going along with Rockingham's plan."

Which was something Sophie balked at, and she told her cousin so. "You cannot mean to go along with Rockingham's idea. How can you, when it means I will be sacrificed in marriage to a man I abhor?"

Instead of being sympathetic, Cousin Louie was very blase.

As he told Sophie, "Think of it as a way to serve France, dear cousin. You will be married to a very powerful man who will have not only the ear, but also the gratitude of the future King of England."

Sophie saw through that immediately and replied, "The opposite is also possible, for there is an equal chance the Prince Regent might not become king, and Rockingham could lose everything and be imprisoned, or killed. I could even be accused of being part of the plot. What happens then?"

Louis patted her hand and said, "Then all we have lost is our lovely Sophie."

"You would use me, even forfeit my life, to further your schemes against England?"

"That is the way the game is played, cousin. Some of us win, some of us lose, and some of us must be sacrificed."

Even now, the words of Louis brought a sharp pain to her heart. She looked around the room, trying not to let the disgust she felt show.

She had to get out of here.

She wished Jamie was here, with his level head and strength to guide her, but Jamie had never seemed further from her than at this moment.

What difference did it make, she wondered, for she had neither the comfort of his presence, nor a place in his heart.

All she had was her own resources, and it galled her to think she had to resort to such cheap, womanly tricks as pleading a headache in order to excuse herself from the Leicester House Set.

Two days before the planned rescue attempt, Jamie and his men made a bivouac a mile from Swifford Castle.

During the day, masquerading as various merchants and travelers, he and his men patrolled the area around the castle and nearby hamlets to gain knowledge about the comings and goings, as well as the general layout of the castle itself.

Jamie was fortunate enough to find a man who not only had firsthand knowledge of the castle, but went so far as to cut a limb from a nearby tree and scratch a detailed map of the castle's layout in the dirt, all too happy to fill him in on the most- and least-used entrances, and even took the liberty to point the location of a small hidden door few knew about—or so he claimed—in the curtain wall.

The night of the planned penetration of the stronghold arrived. The moonlight made it necessary for everyone to wear black and to leave behind all but the most necessary pieces of armor.

"We dinna want anything that will make noise," Jamie said.

The bridles had been carefully wrapped, as well as the horse's hooves, and as they rode to Swifford they were careful to stay well within the screen of trees avoiding, whenever possible, the roads and open moors.

When they were close enough to see the lights in the windows of Swifford Jamie held up his hand and the men dismounted.

"I will take two men with me to wait with my horse while I go in alone. I hope to have my lass and be back soon, but if I am not back in an hour you are to leave without me. I will have any man who disobeys that order whipped. Regardless of the circumstances, do not think to play the hero and attempt to storm the castle and rescue me. Rockingham has a well-trained army. Once they know I have breached their walls we will have lost our advantage, and we will not stand a chance."
  

Bran and Niall rode ahead with Jamie, but once they reached the castle wall the two of them waited in the trees, while Jamie went on alone. He found the door in the curtain wall, which was so difficult to open he decided it must have been several hundred years since anyone even tried. Still, it was good to know it was not a place they would likely guard.

He opened the door at last and entered the castle grounds. Once inside, the moonlight was on his side, for it cast long shadows of the roofs and turrets across the castle keep, and Jamie's own shadow melted into the evening silhouettes.

He made his way into the castle proper, after choosing the area near the privies as the least likely place for guards to congregate. The smell of piss and ordure was almost overpowering, and he took as few breaths as he could until he was well away from there.

His choice was a good one in that the area was poorly lit, and there were no guards to be seen.

From there he went in through the chapel, doubting that Rockingham would be about, devoutly reading or piously engaged in prayer. When he left the chapel he went down a deserted hallway and up a narrow circular stairway that seemed to be seldom used, judging from the cobwebs.

He came above stairs on the main floor of the castle and, to his astonishment, caught nothing more than a glimpse of Sophie's back as she started below stairs. He was about to go after her when two guards came down the hall, and he ducked back into the stairwell until they had passed.

Once the guards were well out of hearing range, he went down the stairs she had taken only moments before.

After she left the meeting of the Leicester House Set, Sophie was on her way to her room when she passed the salon and saw one of the doors to the small private terrace and garden was slightly ajar.

After all the smoke from the cigars a little fresh air would be welcome, and she slipped quietly through the door.