Page 12 of A Laird and a Fugitive

Caroline saw nothing but a sheer drop. Then, Nessa encouraged her to look more carefully. She was pointing down at a diagonal angle, at a small protrusion about ten feet below them. It was another window. As Caroline focused on this, the dizzying sensation of vertigo abated. “We can climb down there and if we’re lucky, the room will be empty, and the door will be unlocked.”

“And if nae?”

Nessa didn’t seem concerned at all. “Then we can hardly be in a worse position than this.”

“There is a flaw in your plan. How are we gaeing tae climb down? We are nae spiders.”

Nessa turned back and looked around the room. After a moment, she strode away from Caroline towards the bed, and ripped the blanket from around Tara’s shoulders. Tara exclaimed loudly and looked aggrieved, but Nessa did not seem to care at all.

“We can use this, and these,” she pointed to the sheets of the bed, as well as the clothes they had discarded in favor of the colorful gifts they now wore.

Nessa began tying them together at the ends, creating tight knots that were only breakable by a knife. She worked fastidiously, and Caroline could not say that the plan was without merit. Tara crept closer to her and peered out of the window, flinching immediately.

“That is certain death! I cannae dae that,” Tara gasped.

“If we gae, we gae together,” Caroline said.

Tara’s eyes widened. “Are ye gaeing tae indulge her madness?”

“We owe it tae ourselves tae escape. I am resigned tae marrying Laird Knox if there is nae other option, but I am nae going tae meekly accept my fate. Life is a fight, Tara. If ye hae nae learned that by now, then I fear ye may never learn it.” Caroline then turned her body fully towards Tara and gripped her shoulders tightly. “Ye are strong, stronger than ye know. Ye can dae this. We will be with ye, and we will nae let anything happen tae ye.”

Tara looked uncertain as she leaned her head out of the window and gulped with fear. “It’s a long way down.”

“Dinnae focus on the ground below. Just think about the hard wall around us, and look, the window is nae tae far away. We’ll be close tae each other. Close yer eyes, keep yer grip, and ye will be fine.”

“I wish I was nae afraid like ye,” Tara whispered.

A sly smile crept across Caroline’s face. “I am afraid, Tara. I’m afraid of sae many things, and I’ve been afraid ever since Da died. But this is a chance for us tae take our lives intae our own hands. This is a chance for us tae show the Laird that he cannae lock us up and expect us tae accept our fates without a fight. We are gaeing tae show him what we’re made of, what the Gilmour name means. He may hae torn the emblem from my throat, but he hae nae taken my name or my spirit away. We cannae forget who we are, or where we came from. We are proud, we are strong, we are resilient. We can survive this. We will survive this, and we will dae it taegether.”

She squeezed Tara’s shoulder tightly and felt her own courage being mustered. Her blood flowed more warmly, and they were the words she needed to hear. It was just strange to hear them coming from her own mouth, as usually, her father would have been the one to speak to them like this.

Tara nodded, straightening her back. “Ye are right. I dinnae want tae live in fear all my life. After all, we hae survived sae much on our short travels already. What’s one more travail? We hae been hunting by dogs, we hae climbed up a tree… This is just another thing. Just one more thing…” her voice trailed away as her gaze was drawn outside again.

Tara had not fully let go of fear, but at least she wasn’t allowing it to rule her. Caroline knew they were all going to have to steel themselves against the cold claws of fear lest they were consumed by it, rendered helpless.

It wasn’t long before Nessa clapped her fingers and scrambled to her feet, holding a long snake of various fabrics tied together. She tied one end around the thick leg of the heavy bed, and then hauled the rest over to the window. There, she pushed it out and watched it ribbon down, flowing like a pendulum. It just about reached the window below.

“Perfect!” Nessa exclaimed.

“That’s nae the word I’d use tae describe it,” Tara said.

“Ach, ye are just annoyed that ye dinnae come up with anything like this. If ye spent more time outside, then perhaps ye would be inclined tae come up with practical solutions.”

Nessa, never one to tarry, took told of the makeshift rope and clambered out of the window. She turned around and placed her feet against the wall, and then made her descent.

“See ye soon,” she grinned.