Page 25 of Highland Spirit

“Ethan doesna want to stay here because he’s afraid of the ghost,” said Caleb, catching Ethan off guard.

“Haud yer wheesht, ye fool,” Ethan said through gritted teeth. He’d almost forgotten about the ghost until Caleb just mentioned it.

“The ghost? What ghost?” By the way Kirstine batted her eyelids, Ethan knew she was keeping something from him.

“Have ye ever heard the scream of a woman from the tower window?” asked Ethan curiously.

“Nay.” Kirstine busied herself putting food on her trencher. “Nay, I dinna believe so. What do ye mean?”

“It’s nothin’,” he told her, grabbing the flask back from Caleb. Something told him the girl was lying and he had no idea why. It was already proving to be a very long night.

Chapter 6

Ethan awoke during the night, having fallen asleep with his head down on a trestle table as he sat in front of the fire. His dog lay at his feet under the table. He’d had every intention of sailing the boat back to the MacKeefe camp and not staying the night, but the weather had been ruthless. Between Caleb and Kirstine, they’d convinced him not to go.

Part of him didn’t really want to leave yet anyway. He needed to make sure Alana was going to be all right. Not to mention, he wanted to confront her about their past.

Through the dark, Ethan could see the embers on the hearth. The room was frigidly cold and snow still blew in through the hole in the roof. He decided to tend to the fire himself since he wasn’t even sure where to find a servant right now. It was amazing that a castle of this size didn’t have more occupants. Something was odd here, and he needed to find out more.

Stepping over Caleb sprawled out on the floor, Ethan made his way back to the entrance of the great hall. His wolfhound darted out from under the table and followed him into the courtyard. The moon was still high in the sky but Ethan could see a slight orange glow as the sun was just starting to rise on the horizon. The snow had stopped but it was nearly knee-deep in places and not easy to walk.

“Trapper, we’ve got to find a few logs for the fire,” he told the dog, wandering across the courtyard in the snow. There didn’t seem to be any guards on the battlements. As far as he could tell, he was the only one out here. The courtyard was oddly empty, bringing about the feeling of death. Back at Hermitage Castle there were always guards and servants milling about even in the wee hours of the morning. Then again, the MacKeefe’s laird, Storm MacKeefe, would never allow the fire to get so low on such a cold day.

The MacKeefes were good people and there were quite a few of them. Here at Blackbriar Castle, the halls were nearly empty and the walls looked to be crumbling down around him. Nothing was cared for at all. Ethan wondered if old, crazy Mad Murdock was still alive and residing here, and also why Alana and her family were staying here at this horrible place at all. It was almost as if they were in hiding. He could understand why, since the Chisholm name was ill-regarded by most, thanks to the antics of Alana’s father. But still, he didn’t like this at all.

If this laird, Diarmad, allowed his castle to be in such disrepair, then he must not care about the people who lived here. Nothing was right, from the way no one acknowledged even seeing or hearing the ghost, to the little girl being kept away from other children. No wonder nobody set foot on this isle. There were a bunch of lunatics living here!

The dog whined and darted off, hopping through the snow, leading the way to a wooden enclosure filled with logs.

“Here we go,” said Ethan, walking over to collect some wood. From his position, he could see the tower perfectly where he’d spotted the ghost. Looking upward, his mind must have been playing tricks on him because he thought he saw a dark shadow float over the battlements and then quickly disappear.

“I need to wake up, Trapper,” he said to the dog, rubbing his eyes and blinking. He might have shaken off the whole thing if Trapper hadn’t started growling lowly, looking up to the battlements as well. “Did ye see it, too, boy?” he asked, watching the dog lower its head, seeming to be able to see something that Ethan couldn’t.

“What are ye talkin’ about?” came a feminine voice from behind the woodpile.

Ethan turned back to see Alana standing behind the structure with an armload of logs.

“Alana.” His heart skipped a beat seeing her. He tried to push aside the feelings he still held for her, but it wasn’t easy. Then he thought about how she’d played him for a fool, and his loving thoughts of his past betrothed were quickly buried once again. “What are ye doin’ out here? Ye should be in bed.”

“In bed? Hah! Someone’s got to get the logs for the fire before we all freeze to death.” She took a step and lost her balance in the deep snow, losing her grip. The logs clattered to the ground. She would have landed on her rump if Ethan hadn’t reached out and caught her.

“Careful,” he said, putting his hands under her arms and helping her to stand.

Once again, Alana reveled in the feeling of being in Ethan MacKeefe’s arms. Why did it affect her so much after all this time?

“Thank ye,” she said, looking up at him as she regained her footing. Just being in his presence brought back so many wonderful memories that, for a brief moment, she was transported back to the past. Back to the days when life was good and she looked forward to a future with Ethan.

Ethan’s slight smile warmed her as he reached out and brushed the snow off the front of her cloak. It was an innocent action, and she was sure he only meant to help her, but she felt a tingle of excitement flit through her when his hand came close to her breast.

“Ye are injured and should be restin’,” he told her, sounding genuinely concerned. She had thought he’d be furious with her, but if he was, he kept his emotions in control.

“Nay. The castle is cold and I want to stock the hearth before everyone awakes.”

“Ye?” He bent down to collect the logs she’d dropped, looking up at her as he spoke. “Shouldna the servants be doin’ this work instead?”

She couldn’t tell him that the servants were prisoners of Diarmad’s as well and that she usually didn’t ask them to do things when Diarmad was away. She felt sorry for them and wanted to help them in any way she could.

“Even servants deserve a day to sleep a little later than normal,” she answered, hoping he wouldn’t ask more. How could she tell him that everyone at Blackbriar Castle was a prisoner and that they weren’t even given a boat so they were stranded on the isle?