Highland Lover Read Free Page B

overhead.
    “Ready to tell us who ye are?” asked the Gowan man who was lowering down the clean privy
    bucket.
    “Nay,” replied Alana, proud of how she resisted the growing urge to scream out her full name, give
    precise directions to her people, and demand to be pulled out of the darkness.
    She frowned a little when Gregor’s response was little more than a grunt of agreement to her words
    as he exchanged the clean bucket for the soiled one. He stood as he had for the last three days,
    staring intensely at the rope as the Gowan man raised the privy bucket and then lowered down their
    food. And again as he exchanged the dirty water for clean water. It puzzled Alana, for he was far
    too intense in how he watched the whole tedious process. Although she could not see his face, she
    almost felt his concentration and could see it in the taut stillness of his lean form.
    Their guard left, taking that faint light with him, and Alana shivered with fear as she always did.
    She fought for calm, but still sighed with relief when Gregor sat down next to her. Each time that
    light disappeared, her fear of the dark reasserted itself. It embarrassed her that she required Gregor’s presence to harness it again. It seemed so cowardly, yet it was not a fear that could be reasoned with.
    She could only hope that Gregor was not aware of how deep and strong that fear was, although why
    that should be important to her Alana did not know.
    “I have a plan now, lass,” Gregor said as he divided the food between them, carefully placing her
    share in her lap.
    “And just when did ye devise this plan?” she asked calmly, even though her pulse quickened with
    hope. “Before or after ye assisted in changing the privy bucket?”
    “So sharp for one so wee,” he murmured, grinning. “I was watching the raising and lowering of the
    buckets.”
    “I noticed that. I cannae see much in that wee flicker of light, but it did seem that ye were most
    interested in that.”
    “I was studying it all verra closely. It took me a while to decide on the best way to judge it.”
    “Judge what?”
    “The distance up to that hole.”
    “Too far for either of us to reach it.”
    “Aye, but, mayhap, nay too far for the two of us.”
    Alana took a moment to think about that as she finished the bread she had just filled her mouth with.
    “What do ye mean by the two of us?”
    “How tall are ye, lass?”
    “Five feet.”
    “And I am six feet and a few inches.”
    “How proud ye must be,” she muttered and then sighed out her irritation, “but how does that
    matter?”
    “Your height added to mine might be enough to get ye up to that opening.”
    “To do what? Gnaw through the thick iron bars?”
    “The grate isnae locked or barred.” He could feel her grow tense even though she was not sitting up
    against him.
    “Are ye certain of that?”
    “Aye. Why should they bother? ’Tis too high to reach, or so they believe. And these walls cannae
    be climbed. I tried several times ere ye arrived and got naught for my effort save more bruises. I am a verra good climber, but e’en I need the odd niche or outcrop or so to grab hold of as I climb. The
    few there 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