Gavin's heart pounded. He opened his eyes and looked around, feeling a kind of tug on his soul that something had changed. He briefly forgot that the other men had escaped, and with Colin gone, he hadn't been disturbed in quite some time.
Gavin's neck ached, the stone floor wasn't the kind of bed he ever expected to sleep on. He rolled over and stretched out, before planting his hands against the floor and lowering himself. He did an explosion of push-ups, feeling the sweat bead on his forehead before he stopped. He couldn't explain the anxiety he felt, but he just knew that something had changed in the air of the castle. He rolled onto his back and started pulling himself up to his knees, straining against the weight of the furs that held him down. He tried to determine what time it was. Was it night? Or day? When was Katrine going to arrive so he could finally be put out of his misery? When would he get a chance to find out if Elyn was still safe?
He hoped Barron and the others hadn't been caught. He suspected they hadn't. He had a feeling that Robert or Colin would take perverse satisfaction in telling Gavin if Barron and the men had been killed. But maybe they were waiting to crush that ember of hope.
A sound outside the chamber alerted him. His stomach growled in protest, but he ignored it. He climbed to his feet and approached the bars, grasping them with his swollen fingers. The door unlatched and a woman stepped inside. Gavin frowned, because his first thought was that it was Elyn, and he tensed up. But he was sure it couldn't be.
The woman closed the door and turned to face Gavin. He stared at her hard, trying to figure out what she was doing there. Her brow knitted and she burst into a smile. She raced toward the bars and reached through them, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him forward before he could react. She kissed him hard, and he knew that his gut instinct wasn't wrong â it was Elyn. Those lips had a flavor to them that he could never forget. He reached between the bars and planted his hands on her head, turning her lips and kissing her deeper. She let out a soft moan in response, and he felt a tear from her cheek drip onto his.
After a long and passionate kiss, they pulled away and gazed at each other, their spirits renewed and empowered. The fire of their love blazing at full strength again, threatening to destroy the hearth it was contained within. "Gavin, ye are still alive!"
"I thought I might never see ye again."
She blushed and looked down, and she gasped when she saw his wounds. "Oh my God, who did this?"
"Maxwell's men. But Barron and the rest escaped. They should be reaching Eilean Donan any day now..." he paused and his eyes widened. "What are you doing here? It isn't safe!"
"I know that â I've already met with Robert."
"You what?" Gavin shook his head in disbelief. "How?"
"Ye'd be surprised how similar Katrine and I look. He hasn't seen her in so long... I think I fooled him."
"Why!" Gavin fell to his knees, his hands sliding against the bars. "Why would ye do that?"
"Gavin," Elyn said, her voice unwavering. She lowered herself to sit in front of the bars, meeting his eye level. She stroked his arm through the bars. "Robert Maxwell wants his daughter to marry Gavin MacKenzie, and guess who he has together in the same castle now?"
Gavin's eyes lit up. "My God, you're a genius. Right under his nose?"
"Aye, under God and Scottish Law."
Gavin reached through the bars and kissed her again, holding her. She embraced him, and he felt his heart swell with vigor again. After some time, she pulled away from him. "It's better â I know that the King was killed."
"By 'King' Maxwell, of course," Gavin said. "Who else?"
"It isn't that â his true will wasn't ever found â Robert's been losing his mind trying to find it."
Gavin's eyes widened. "If we can find that... we can turn Iverlochy on him. At least, until Barron can return with some highlanders. I hope he contacts your family as well."
"Aye," Elyn said. She nodded quickly and turned at the sound of footsteps. "I have to go, I told him I couldnae meet with you because I was too tired. I'll see ye in the morning."
Gavin kissed her one last time, but the sound of footsteps in the hall forced her to end it early. She stroked his cheek one last time and departed, latching the door shut after giving him one last hungry glance of gratitude.
He slumped back against the ground and stared at the black ceiling. His neck didn't hurt anymore, and he felt like he might finally get a peaceful night of sleep. His mind felt soothed just seeing her safe. He rolled her plan around in his head, considering the odds. While it seemed dangerous, there wasn't any other way. It would secure their wedding that had been put off by this whole affair.
He grinned and burst into uncontrolled laughter for the first time in what felt like ages. He clutched his stomach and tried to stifle them, but it was almost too much. To Gavin, the look on Robert's face if he found out, would already be worth more than all of Scotland.
He moved to the back of the cell and started working out again. His pent up energy was too great to control.
He squatted down and muttered the plan to himself, turning over the details or problems he could think of. He wished desperately he could go into her chambers and make sweet love to her that night, but he knew it was impossible. He had to hold out, and hope everything would work out. It was hard for him to contain himself.
He traced the marks on his body from Colin's whip, and he admired how healed they already were. They weren't sore at all. He gripped the bars of his cage and screamed out, trying to expel his pent up energy.
***
Elyn raced back to her chamber, only pausing when a yell rang through the halls. She whirled around just as she recognized it was Gavin's voice calling out in triumphant joy. She smiled to herself as she ascended the stairs back to her room, doing her best to not breath too loudly and draw attention to herself. She lowered her head as she passed by a highlander standing guard outside of Robert Maxwell's room. Soon she found her way back to her chamber.
She latched the door shut and collapsed against it, her heart and spirit out of control. She waved her hand to try and cool her flustered cheeks, the dry and hot air in the room almost too much to bear after her exciting day. She listened hard to see if the guard had followed her, but heard nothing.
She relaxed and took off her cloak, tossing it on a chair. She only noticed the wedding dress then, hanging from the top of her bed. A glorious green dress as lush as the tall grasses of the highlands. There wasn't anyway Robert had picked out such a fabulous dress, was there? It was embedded with jewels and rich sapphires. She touched it carefully, as if it might burst into flames or disintegrate if she insulted it. It was more beautiful than she could have imagined.
Before she started to put it on, she didn't even consider that it might not fit. After struggling a bit with the hips, it slipped over her waist and clung against her skin like a finely crafted glove. She was shocked she didn't have to adjust the bodice. She moved in front of the dark mirror near the hearth and admired herself in the flickering and stubborn light.
The dress flowed over her like a waterfall, effortless and sleek. She ran her hands over the fabric and gasped as how tightly woven it was. It was unlike anything she had ever touched. She dared to consider it better and more lovely than the dress she had prepared for herself back at Eilean Donan, which made her feel a twinge of bittersweet joy.
In the morning she would finally be wed to Gavin MacKenzie, the man she should have been married to for years already. She couldn't have wished for a better man, and under the extreme circumstances, a better way to exact revenge on Robert Maxwell by turning the tables on him. With all the witnesses in the land and his own authority, the marriage would be as good as gold. Especially if they were able to unmask Maxwell's plot. The only problem was Katrine escaping and ruining everything.
Elyn slipped the dress off and hung it back on the bed. She climbed under the covers and sighed contentedly. The dry and soft sheets were a welcome change from the wet and hard wood of the last couple of nights. She turned over and stared at the wall, thinking about Katrine. What if she escaped from Gregary's watchful eye? If that happened, hopefully Gavin and Elyn would already be married, but that didn't mean Robert wouldn't kill them both.
Elyn considered how satisfying it would be if Robert discovered what he had done, but she knew deep down he couldn't find out before they found the will. It was a fantasy to think they could rub it in his face immediately and get away alive. Not without an army backing them up at the gates of the castle. Even then... it was too dangerous. Elyn bit her lip and fought away the anxiety building in her chest.
At the very least... she got to see Gavin one last time. If she could keep up the charade long enough, maybe she could convince Robert to spare Gavin, seeing as he would be Robert's new son-in-law. That wouldn't be too difficult, would it; convincing a man to spare his daughter's new husband? Maybe he could be convinced that the highlands would still be his, even without the MacKenzie clansmen fighting for him.
No. They had to find the will. Elyn briefly imagined breaking into the King's chambers that night, and pilfering the will. But if it was in there, surely Robert would have already found it? The chamber was completely torn apart, after all.
She tossed and turned, the bed suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable.
She couldn't bear the thought. After some time of restlessness, sleep finally gripped her and took her away. In her dreams, Gavin was next to her, his arm wrapped over her shoulder, and his lips steaming on the back of her neck. She let out a small gasp as she imagined it, forcing herself to lay still and leave the illusion unbroken.