Highland Lover. Hannah Howell

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СКАЧАТЬ are are too far apart and not easily grabbed hold of.”

      “So how do ye plan to get us out of here?”

      “I think that if ye stand upon my shoulders, ye will be able to reach that grate.”

      Alana looked up, envisioning the grate in her mind since it was too dark to see it now. It was made of a very thick iron. Barred shut or not, it would be difficult for her to move it, especially since she would be standing on a man’s shoulders and not on firm, steady ground. She was also not that fond of heights but felt she could overcome that unease if offered the chance to escape. Alana was just not sure this plan gave them much chance.

      “’Tis a heavy thing to try to push up and out of the way,” she murmured.

      “I ken it, and ’twill be a struggle for such a wee lass, but there is no other choice. I cannae stand upon your shoulders.”

      “Quite true. ’Tis worth a try.”

      “’Twill probably take several tries because of the lack of light. ’Tisnae easy to do anything in this dark. We should give it a try after we sup.”

      “Why wait?”

      “If we succeed, ’tis best if we try to leave the keep come nightfall. After the last meal is delivered, we can also be certain no one will be coming down here for hours. If we fail, it will also give us time to hide all possible sign of what we were trying to do. After having come up with a plan, I dinnae want it to fail simply because the Gowans caught us at it and secured the hatchway better.”

      “Should we attempt to hoard a little food?”

      Gregor sighed. “We should, but I still worry o’er attracting the rats.”

      “I certainly dinnae want them for company, but I havenae heard much scratching about within the walls. Mayhap they have given up since ye have been here nearly a week and we havenae left anything out for them.”

      “True. It may also be that, since the Gowans have only recently begun to play this game, the vermin havenae discovered a way in here. We shall give it a try. Mayhap if we wrap it securely in cloth and keep it close they willnae sniff it out and come ahunting for it.”

      The mere thought of rats crawling about their prison made Alana shiver. She loathed the creatures. Unfortunately, she and Gregor did need to at least try to hoard a little food for their escape. If they got free of this place, they would have to move swiftly and stealthily, which would make hunting for any food very difficult. She had little doubt that the Gowans would set out after them. Although she did not believe the Gowans would follow her and Gregor too far, there would probably be several days during which she and Gregor would spend a lot of their time running and hiding. For that they would need food, if only to keep up the strength needed to run fast and hide well.

      “’Tis a shame we willnae be able to get the horses,” she murmured.

      “Aye,” agreed Gregor. “Howbeit, I think e’en these fools would notice if I tried to slip a horse or two past the gates.”

      Alana laughed softly and then frowned as a sudden complication in his plans occurred to her. “If I can get up there and open the hatch, how do we both get through it? Once open, I can pull myself up and out, but I cannae pull ye up after me.”

      “Ah, weel, that is a weak point in my plan.”

      “’Tis nay a weak point, Gregor. ’Tis a gaping hole.”

      “Sarcasm is unbecoming in a female,” Gregor said and grinned when she muttered a curse in response to that pious and condescending remark.

      “So is punching someone offside the head,” she muttered.

      He ignored that. “I think we could use one or two of the blankets as a rope of sorts if ye can find naught to use up there. Once we ken if ye can move that lump of iron, we can tie the blankets about your waist ere ye climb out of here. If I recall it aright, above us are several things ye could tie the end of a rope to.”

      “Ah, that may serve.”

      “The first problem we need to solve is how to hold ye steady enough upon my shoulders so that ye can open that cursed grate. How much do ye think ye weigh?”

      “Seven stone, mayhap a little more.”

      “I can lift that easy enough, but I have ne’er tried to balance such a weight upon my shoulders. But dinnae worry. I will catch ye if ye fall.”

      Alana did not feel particularly comforted by that reassurance. Six feet was not a great distance to fall, but the ground was hard. She still had bruises from landing on Gregor when the Gowans tossed her into the dungeon. Obviously unwilling to damage their prize too much, they had lowered her down by her wrists first, but it had still hurt when the man holding her had let her go.

      For a brief moment, she battled the urge to tell Gregor that she could not do it, but then she lectured herself sternly to banish that surge of cowardice. They needed to escape this place, and not just to save their families the expense of ransoming them. She needed to get out of the unrelenting dark before she began to cling to Gregor like some terrified infant. Each time the Gowans brought that blessed shaft of light and took it away again, she drew closer to that point. Her fear of the dark grew sharper and took longer to shake free of.

      It was also necessary to escape the chill and damp of their prison. Alana was surprised that Gregor was still so hale and strong after spending a week in such a dismal place. The man appeared to be annoyingly untouched by conditions she knew were slowly robbing her of the good health she had enjoyed before entering the prison. If fear of the dark did not drive her to attach herself to Gregor like a leech, then the chill creeping into her bones would.

      The thought that she was a pathetic weakling settled itself in Alana’s mind. Cold and damp were ever pervasive, annoyances she had thought herself inured to. She hastily shook that troubling thought aside. There had always been fires to warm one and dry clothes at hand. They were blessed with neither in this dark pit. If one could not get warm and dry from time to time, it was only to be expected that the cold and damp would settle in deep and hard. It was also not surprising that Gregor held up better than she did, for he was much bigger and had more meat on his bones.

      “What are ye scowling about now?” asked Gregor as he carefully packed away some of their food, a simple chore that was proving very difficult to do well in the dark.

      “How do ye ken what expression is upon my face?”

      “Ye make a little noise when ye are irritated.”

      “A little noise?”

      “A soft, weel, grunt, or the like.”

      “Ladies dinnae grunt.”

      “Of course not. My mistake.”

      She ignored that remark, for the words were heavily weighted with amusement. “What are ye doing?”

      “Attempting to secure some food. A simple chore. Or it would be, if we had a wee bit of light,” he grumbled and then asked, “So, what has annoyed ye?”

      Alana sighed. “I was just thinking on what a puling weakling I am.” Gregor made an odd choking noise and she decided it was probably СКАЧАТЬ