Chapter 83

"You'r carriage is ready to leave anytime you are, Teárlag."

"We're almost done packing."

"It wouldn't take so long to pack if you didn't bring so much."

"Then I couldn't look so beautiful for you."

"When you're dressed in nothing is when you're most beautiful to me," Thorburn said.

"I can't go naked while attending weddings and Festivals. Well, I could, but if you're worried about my reputation, it would be gone forever if I did that."

"Let me get started on bringing your things to your carriage," he said.

"Those two trunks are ready, Lord Cameron."

He picked them up and carried them out of the Keep. Despite the number of trunks and valises Teárlag had, she was still one person with several servants aiding and ready to go before Frang and Isobel. Stuart, Ailene and Thorburn were present to see her off. Teárlag thanked Ailene for inviting her and all of them for their hospitality.

"I had a delightful time while I was here," she said.

"A fact which you made known to all each morning," Stuart teased. "Usually it's the roosters waking us, but you can have the job if you wish."

Ailene struck Stuart on the arm, "Don't be rude to our guest."

Teárlag laughed. "He's merely stating a fact, Ailene. Don't be hard on the boy. He knows I can take it. Maybe you can craft a muzzle for me, Stuart, for my next visit. That way, your brother can have his way with me without me waking the household."

She hugged Stuart, a longer one for Ailene, and pressed hard against Thorburn for a genuinely teary goodbye.

"I look forward to our next visit, Thorburn. Try to ensure you save me at least a couple hours of your time on market day. I don't know how I shall survive the nights without you to fill them," she said, "and me," she whispered in his ear. She reluctantly disengaged from Thorburn. "It's a long trip to Tobermory, so I shall get going. Good bye and thank you again."

"Have a safe journey, Teárlag. We've all enjoyed your visit," Ailene said.

She climbed into the carriage with Thorburn's aid and called out, "Go, driver," while tapping on the wall. The Keep door was opened and she departed, heading Northeast on the Tobermory road.

"I like her, Thorburn," Stuart said. "She's a lot of fun and you seem to enjoy her company."

"Aye, I do. I freely admit she wore me out while she was here, but I miss her already. She makes me laugh." He watched her disappearing down the road.

The riders accompanying Frang, Isobel and Bjarkë were starting to bring their horses into the courtyard. Cyrus McTeague and his wife were there, having spent the night with all the others attending the wedding from Lady Luck. They would be over 40 strong when they returned, though they didn't expect trouble. No one was aware of their travel arrangements. The wedding had been unexpected. While the Midsummer Festival had been widely known, normally they would have returned yesterday. They would avoid the road again. If they were to be ambushed, it would have to be hundreds of men involved to cover all the deer trails and overland paths they might take between Cameron Keep and Lady Luck Farm.

Soon, Isobel came down with Frang carrying the larger bundles. Because they had additional packs than when they arrived, including Isobel's dresses, Thorburn gave them an additional horse to use as a pack animal. Frang began tying their things on the horse. Isobel went up to Ailene and hugged her.

"I shall miss you, sister," Isobel said. "You've been my dearest friend and confidant. I look forward to seeing you next Saturday."

"And I, you," Ailene responded. "Make sure that you keep your hand wrapped until your skin heals. You will have to tell me if your plan works."

"What plan?" Frang asked, finished with the pack horse.

"It's woman's matters, Frang," Ailene answered, "and no man's business."

Isobel and Ailene looked at each other and began laughing.

"I don't portend this bodes well, brother," Stuart said. "When women begin making secret plots between them, you can assume it won't go well for you."

"What can they have cooked up?" asked Frang.

"Does it matter? You may as well surrender now. Personal experience, you know."

Frang hugged each of his brothers, then Ailene. He helped Isobel mount her horse, then climbed aboard his own.

"Next week," Frang called out before he led them out of the Keep. They stayed on the road for only a few hundred yards before they turned off into the heath, disappearing into the brush.

Teárlag had the carriage driver drop her on the outskirts of Achnadrish. She told him to return to the same spot at dusk. He worked for Blackthorne, so he didn't ask uncomfortable questions. She waited until he was out of sight, then made her way to the abandoned house. Getting a candle from the cupboard, she lit it and pulled the cupboard back to expose the tunnel, descending into the hole before pulling it closed behind her. Once she was in the tunnel, it was like all light was swallowed up. Her candle showed very little around her, maybe no more than three feet in front of her, enough to keep her from tripping over the rough ground, but not much else. She found the latch when she reached the end and opened the door.

"Please, kill me," a raspy voice whispered.

My God, Teárlag thought, the poor girl is still alive. What torments she must have endured? She wondered what she had done to earn Blackthorne's enmity when she remembered the servant girl Thorburn told her about. Màiri, she thought it was.

"What's your name?" Teárlag asked.

"Màiri." Teárlag could barely hear her.

It was Màiri; the Cameron's missing servant girl. No wonder no one had ever been able to find her. She was slowly being tortured to death here. Teárlag thought quickly.

"Can you walk, girl?"

"I don't know."

"I can't help you if you can't walk. You must be able to leave under your own power. I can't help you get out of here. You have to do it yourself. Do you understand?"

"I'll crawl if I must."

"Did you see where I came in?"

"Yes." She rasped.

"I'm going to open your cell door and leave the passage door cracked a tiny bit. There's a tunnel; it leads to a house through which you can leave. I'll leave a candle burning by the door, but you must escape yourself. I'm expected, you see. I have to go up and see him, now. If you don't make it, you must never tell him I helped you; or I will join you in your cell. I'll stall him upstairs as long as I can, but you must hurry. Get back to the Cameron's; they've been looking for you. They're taking care of your family. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she croaked. "Thank you."

Teárlag found the latch to the cage. Fortunately, it didn't require a key as she didn't have one. She left the door open, lit another candle and left it by the tunnel, leaving the tunnel door ajar. She hurried up to Blackthorne's study and knocked on the door, waited for ten seconds, then entered. To her disgust, Abner McTavish was there. It made no difference. There were rules to be followed. She quickly stripped off all her clothes and knelt down waiting for Calum to pay her mind. Abner noticed her right away and payed close attention to her as she shed her clothes, starting to rub his cock as she bared herself.

"Pay attention, McTavish. I'll not waste my time repeating myself," Blackthorne barked.

McTavish turned back to Blackthorne, though Teárlag noticed him sneaking surreptitious glances at her when Blackthorne wasn't looking.

"The fact young Frang is a gambler made me think of a possible way to ruin the Cameron's. I'd heard of some cards designed to help cheat. I inquired around and found some of these cheater's cards. Open the deck now."

McTavish opened the deck of cards provided by Blackthorne.

"Look at the backs," Blackthorne ordered. "Do you see any differences in them?"

Looking, McTavish noticed they had a diamond motif on the backs, rather a common design for cards. He was about to say they looked like any other deck, and if it weren't for the fact Blackthorne ordered him to look, he might not have noticed it. But he did. The design was slightly off, like the backs were misprinted or miscut. Some of the diamonds at the very top were whole, others half, and others barely there. He looked again, and they had the same sort of differences on the side.

"Yes, yes, I see it. They're different; not noticeably so, but I do see a difference," McTavish said.

"The way it was explained to me, the diamonds on the tops or bottoms of the cards tell you the value of the card. If you see a whole diamond, it's an Ace. With just a tiny piece off, the King and so forth. If there's almost no diamond left, it's the two. On the left and right of the card, a whole diamond indicates a spade; three quarters, a heart; half, a club and one fourth of a diamond is a diamond."

"So I know exactly what cards the other players are holding!" McTavish exclaimed. "I'll know if their hands are good or bad, if they're bluffing or not. I will know precisely if my hand is able to beat them."

"Correct. I am willing to risk another five hundred pounds if you can get Frang into another card game. Take his money, take your lands back. Take whatever you can. I suspect even you won't lose my money if you know what the other players hold. Don't win a lot of money until you get him in the game. Stay even. If you should have a long run of luck before you start playing him, they may take a closer look at your cards. But anyone can get lucky for a brief while. Long enough to clean him out. I'm giving you a couple decks. Use the first one to practice. Put the cards face down on the table and identify their face value from the back. Keep doing it until you don't make a single mistake going through the deck three consecutive times. You should be ready to play cards then."

"Thank you, I'll do it. You won't regret it."

"I won't, but you might if you lose more of my money. Have your spies reported anything useful?" Blackthorne asked.

"Well, one of the interior spies got placed outdoors," McTavish said, "so nothing useful from him. They don't tell much to the lads outside the house, and when they speak indoors, it's hard to overhear them, because they place guards on the room. I found out which room they tend to meet in and there's a way to overhear at least some of the conversation from a room upstairs. I've told the maid to listen up there if they hold more meetings in that room."

"Useless so far. What else?"

"Frang and my ex-wife attended the Midsummer Festival at Cameron Keep with about thirty of his people and mine."

"Any of your spies make the trip?"

"No, mostly Keep men and a few of mine picked out by Isobel or Cyrus McTeague. They both knew who I was pretty close to."

"Everyone knew about the Festival. Not unexpected they would go there. Still useless. How well defended did they leave it?"

"Forty to fifty fighting men, a few younger lads and older fellows as well, and they've improved the fortifications around the place substantially. They're out there training every morning, a close watch from the house top and several other men watching in the woods around the place."

"All useless to me. So far, I've not gotten much from our partnership, McTavish."

"I'll get Frang in another card game, Lord Blackthorne. We'll start winning back the lands piece by piece."

"You'd better or you're as useless as sails on a house." He looked at Teárlag for the first time. "Stand."

Teárlag stood, hands behind her back, legs spread, as Blackthorne required. She was sick she had to do so in front of Abner McTavish. He was more openly jacking his prick, the pig.

"You're late. You were supposed to be here yesterday after the Festival. Why are you getting here today?" Blackthorne inquired.

"I'm sorry, Master. On the day of the Festival, Isobel learned she's pregnant. Frang asked her to marry her. They announced their engagement at the Festival and were married the following day. I thought you would want me to stay for the marriage."

"Whose child is she carrying?" Blackthorne demanded.

After a moments hesitation, Teárlag said, "Frang believes it is his, Master."