The front doors swung open, and the lord and his servant stepped out onto the steps. "What's going on out there?" Lord MacKenna's voice rang out.
"Just a visitor, my lord," Duffy called back. I tried to slip away, but Duffy gently grabbed my arm and guided me to the light that streamed out of the doorway. "I found this young woman outside the window. She might be wanting inside." I glared daggers and sporks at him.
Lord MacKenna was surprised to see me, and stepped aside and swept his hand into the castle. "Would you like to come in, Miss Magee, or do you prefer the window?"
"Inside, I'm too short for the window," I boldly replied. I'd been caught, so there was nothing left to do but go inside.
We left Duffy outside and I was led over to the crackling fireplace. The servant found me a seat, and MacKenna remained standing. "Would you like a drink?" he asked me. I shook my head, and he turned to the servant. "That will be all, Kelly." The old servant tottered off, leaving us alone. "I'm curious to know what you were doing outside my window," he asked me.
"I wanted to know what you were going to do with me," I replied.
He blinked. "Pardon?"
I nodded at the painting. "That me."
"Oh, yes, your portrait," he answered. He glanced at the painting. "It's very well done, but I wonder at the source material."
"Source material? You mean the paint?" I guessed.
He shook his head. "No, I mean the one who sat for the portrait. You risked a lot by following me and intruding on my home. Did you ever stop to think of the consequences for your friend?" he asked me.
I stiffened; images with Lily out on the road with all her belongings beside her flashed through my mind. Her best dress was in a puddle, a very dirty puddle. "What kind of consequences?" I squeaked.
"If I were a less friendly landlord I would evict her for your trespassing," he pointed out. The bottom dropped out of my stomach and through the floor. He noticed because his face lost a bit of its color. "Are you well? Did you need some drink? Kelly, a glass of brandy!" he yelled to his manservant.
"No, I'm fine, really," I protested. The drink was brought over my protests and shoved into my quivering hands. My clumsy fingers couldn't hold it and it shattered to the floor.
"Another!" Lord MacKenna ordered.
"Not another!" I cried over his command. "Unless you want all the stones around me stained red. Besides, I'm not sick." I just felt sick. Lord MacKenna pursed his lips, but ordered his servant away. He lorded over me, but I didn't care. All I cared about was poor Lily. "Are you going to throw my friend out?" I choked out. My head hung down to hide my face. I was trying really hard not to make a fool of myself and cry in front of him; I could cry later.
There was a short pause of a few eternities before he spoke. "No."
My head snapped up. "But you just said-"
"-what you needed to hear," he interrupted. "You're very reckless in your actions. I sought to scare you into some sense."
At that moment I would have liked to knock some sense out of him to use for myself, but I was too relieved at my friend's good fortune despite my stupidity. "Then what are you going to do to me? You caught me trespassing and peaking in on you," I pointed out.
"Morally wrong actions, but I haven't though of a fitting punishment. I'll send Duffy around tomorrow with a message of your punishment."
He mentioned tomorrow. That gave me hope that I'd have a future outside his dungeon. "Does that mean I can go?"
"If you wish, though I would-" I shot up from my chair and wildly shook his hand.
"Thank you so much for the second chance. I'm sure you won't regret it. Well, maybe you will, but not right now." Right now I was shaking him so hard his teeth were tap dancing across one another. They were in time with my chattering knees. "But I'll wait for your message and maybe see you tomorrow. Bye!" I ran out of there like Cinderella chased by her prince, and by some coincidence MacKenna ran after me. At least, I saw his silhouette out on the driveway while I made my getaway into the woods. Staying in Ireland really was going to help me lose a couple of pounds, especially if I kept having to run out of every building I went into.
Chapter 7
I probably should have paid more attention to the trail or gone along the road back to Lily's place, but I was already late for our rendezvous with destiny and car unloading. Unfortunately, we're writing about me here, so the moment I panicked and ran from the castle was the moment my brain shut down for an extended vacation. I started doubting the trail when the darkness meant I tripped over every rock along the path, and some that just happened to be rolling by and thought it was a good laugh to trip me. Every branch and root were also out to get me, and halfway to Lily's cottage my foot caught on an especially well-placed rock. I slipped over its smooth edge, worn that way by the countless torrential downpours of every season, and I slammed into the ground. There was a horrible pain in my wrist and head, and everything went black.
I don't know how long I was out, but when I woke up my head hurt like a bad hangover and my wrist told me he wasn't doing so great, either. I sat up and rubbed my sore head, but stopped when my hand sank into a mess of half-solid blood. This was bad, very bad. Things changed from very bad to very worse when I heard a noise float out from the trees. It sounded like the howling of wolves. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end so far you have have braided it and put a ribbon on the end. The howling noise was followed by the soft thud of something on the trail, and out from the shadows of the trees sprang a single yellow eye. I screamed in the hopes of frightening the animal, and because I was scared out of my mind.
"Has the forest turned ye into a banshee?" came a familiar voice behind the evil, glowing eye. That's when I realized it was a flashlight, and Duffy was the one in control of it.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I scolded him.
"Be that you, miss?" he called back.
"Yes, but not if you give me another scare like that."
"I didn't mean to, miss," Duffy apologized. He knelt by my side and all my fear vanished. I could have kissed those wet old lips if they hadn't been, well, wet old lips. "We were expecting you on the main trail and not any of these sides ones. Are you all right, miss? Nothing broken?"
"I don't know. Something's wrong with my wrist," I told him.
"Let ol' Duffy get a look at it." He shone his torch over my wrist; it was swollen to the size of a grapefruit. I hated grapefruit. He pursed his lips together and shook his head. "It'll be sprained if I'm my name isn't Duncan Duffy."
I stared at him in bewilderment. "Is your name Duncan Duffy?" I wondered.
"Aye, and your wrist really is sprained," he answered. "Now let's get back to the castle and get the doctor. He'll fix ya up in no time, or kill ya doing it."
At his words a miracle occurred; I suddenly felt much better. "No, that's fine. I'm sure the doctor wouldn't want to be disturbed at this hour, and it's already feeling-" He grabbed my swollen wrist and I yelped. "What'd you do that for?" I yelled at him.
Beneath those whiskers I detected an evil grin. "Sorry, miss, I thought you said it was feeling better," he countered.
"It was until you touched it," I argued.
"If that's so then we'd better get the doctor to take a look at it," he insisted.
"Great. Just my luck..." I grumbled.
"Ah do seem to be meeting you when you're in trouble, Miss Maggie," Duffy replied.
I smirked. Having a human audience for my quips returned my naturally good humor. "Trouble's my middle name. Maggie Trouble Magee."
"Yer parents must have had good foresight, but what about getting ya out of here?" he suggested.
"That's the best idea I've heard all night." He helped me to my feet, and I winced at the pain at the back of my head and in my wrist. Even with his help I could hardly stand because of the wooziness in my head.
"Did ya need to be carried back to the castle?" he asked me.
In the dim light I glanced over the man's strong but
small frame. "Can you?" I countered.
"Not me, Miss Maggie, but the lord's out here searching for you and he'd be glad to carry you back."
I wouldn't be put through that humiliating position. "Can't you just drag me to the cottage?"
"My lord, I've found here!" Duffy yelled out.
"Traitor..." I grumbled.
The summoned lord came out of the woods with a flashlight in hand and his expression as tense as a rubber band set in the hand of a child intent on doing mischief. He blinded me with the light. "Mind turning that light? I don't look my best after I'm made an idiot of myself."
"You sound as yourself," he mused with relief in his voice.
"But she ain't quite all right, my lord," Duffy spoke up. "She's got a bad knock on the head."
I shook my head, but stopped mid-shake when a dizzy spell blurred my vision. "Just me trying to get some sense into my head," I insisted. "You can just take me back to the cottage and I'll wait for Lily to come home."
"Lily came home an hour ago. When she didn't find you she asked us to help search for you," Lord MacKenna informed me. I winced, but not from the physical pain; Lily must have been really worried to ask her landlord for help. "We're closer to the castle, so we'll go back there and fetch a doctor," he ordered.
"She can't move on her own, my lord," the ever-helpful Duffy pointed out.
"I'll be fine with a tall stick or-" Lord MacKenna and Duffy ignored me, and Duffy was handed the light before the lord stepped up and swooped me into his arms. I yelped and clutched onto his neck, which only made my wrist hurt more. "Put me down! I can walk!"
"With that much blood on your head I'd say not as far as you need to," Sean insisted. He carried me back to the castle while Duffy rounded up the rest of the search party.
I'd barely been set in one of the chairs by the fire when the doors flew open and a flash of a person flew inside. They wrapped themselves around me and sobbed into my shoulder. "Ithoughtyouweredeadhowcouldyoudothistome?"
I wasn't even sure that was a question, but I recognized the voice as Lily. "I'm really sorry, I just didn't want you to get worried when I wasn't there."
"You can see how well that worked out," Lord MacKenna scolded me.
I shot him a glare that bounced off the target; he must have been wearing an ire-proof vest. "You're not helping."
Lily snapped up her head and frowned at me. "Of course he helped! I might never have found you but for him!"
MacKenna shook his head. "Thank Mr. Duffy. He found her rather quickly along one of the side trails. If you'll excuse me for a moment, a doctor needs to be called."
He left us alone, and Lily inspected my wounds. Her face paled at all the blood. "How badly do you feel? Is anything broken?"
I shrugged. "My head hurts like hell and my wrist is killing me, but other than that I feel like death warmed over a pilot light."
She laughed; it was strained, but I was glad to hear it. "How can you joke when you look so awful?"
"Because I haven't looked in a mirror yet, but if you can find me one I'll scare myself."
Lily shook her head. "I don't think you want to see it."
"That's okay, I don't think I do, either."
MacKenna returned. "The doctor will be here in a few minutes, but would you ladies like to stay here for the night? I have plenty of guest rooms to choose from," he offered.
Lily appeared shocked by his kind gesture, but shook her head. "N-no, my lord. That's quite kind of you, but if the doctor allows we'll be heading back to my cottage."
"Then allow me to treat you to some food and a strong drink. You both look exhausted," he insisted.
"So do you," I pointed out. His fine hair was ruffled and his face was pale.
He ran his hand through his hair which only made the effect more striking. "Yes, I suppose I do. Kelly, some drink and food," he yelled to the rear of the castle. The rear of the castle spit out Kelly a few minutes later, and the front spit in a tall, middle-aged man with a heavy coat and a large black bag in one hand. When I realized it was the doctor I downed my hard liquor drink Kelly had brought me. That would numb the pain.
MacKenna went over to greet him with an outstretched hand. "Good evening, Doctor Jacob, I'm glad you could come over on such short notice."
"I owed Duffy a favor. He rid me of my gopher problem a few summers back," Doctor Jacob replied. "Now who needs me?"
MacKenna gestured to me. "This young lady's injured her wrist."
"Well, let's have a look at it then," Doctor Jacob suggested.
He was very thorough and touched every spot that hurt. By the time he was done I wasn't sure calling him was such a good idea. "Aye, a sprained wrist but nothing serious." Those two sentences didn't fit together.
"So do I need to go to a hospital or just wait it out?" I asked him.
The doctor shook his head. "You're lucky it's a clean strain." I didn't feel lucky. "I'll bandage it so the muscles won't shift around, and after a few days you'll need to see me again for a fresh application." Oh goody. "I'll also give you some pain medicine to help you sleep, but don't come asking me for any more. I don't hand out pills like they were candy."
"That's okay, I brought my own drugs," I quipped.
The doctor raised an eyebrow, but Lily laughed and put her hands on my shoulders. Her fingers warned me to behave by digging small trenches into my skin and bones. "She's just joking, doctor," she reassured him. That's what she thought; little did she know I'd brought a container of Flintstones Vitamins just in case I needed a fix. "Can she be moved?"
"My wrist is hurt, not my leg," I reminded her.
"Certainly, but no lifting until I have another look at that wrist," he advised me. "If it gets worse then we'll have to put it in a cast."
"I'll make sure she behaves herself," Lily promised.
My wrist was wrapped, the medicine deposited in my friend's care, and the doctor left with the promise of a bill in the mail. That meant it was our turn to go home, and I turned to MacKenna with a small smile on my lips. "Sorry we kept you up this late. This'll teach me to go wandering through the woods without a flashlight."
"Or at all," he advised. "Especially when you don't know the area."
"That, too," I agreed, shocking him into a smile. I looked to Lily. "All right, let's go."
She gave me one of those sheepish smiles again. "There might be a problem with that," she hesitantly replied.
Problems sped through my mind from a flat tire to the possibility she'd ran cross-country to get to the castle. "What sort of problem?"
"I didn't have time to unpack my paintings, so you won't fit into the car," she told me.
I sighed; that left only walking along the road because another try in the woods would probably kill me. MacKenna coughed. "I'll drive her," he hacked out.
Lily and I turned to him with our mouths agape. "Pardon?" I asked him.
"You can't go on foot this late at night. You could fall and injure yourself further," he protested.
"What faith you have in me to walk a few miles by myself," I bit back.
Lily shrugged her shoulders. "He's right, you could hurt yourself again."
I sighed; et tu, best friend? "Fine, let's just get going."
Chapter 8
Lily helped me into his evil car and shut me in. I got a taste of what caviar felt like in that small seat, and felt trapped and abandoned by my best friend. To show my horror that his predicament I smashed my face and scraped my hand against the glass, and looked at her with terrified eyes. "Quit that!" she softly hissed at me.
I grinned until MacKenna slipped into the car seat beside me. My drooping face gave Lily the last laugh, and she hopped into her car and led the way. It was a good thing she was at the lead because she drove in her usual style, and we were soon left in the mud.
That meant I was completely alone with MacKenna, and he drove along the road like a short-sighted granny. Each puddle was forded like the car was a pioneer wagon that was as sturdy a
s a leaky boat. I glanced out the window and watched the slugs outrace us. "I'm not one to complain about a nice drive through the country, but could you hurry it up? The slugs will overtake us, and I don't have any salt with me."
"Are you nervous with only me to talk to?" MacKenna wondered. I detected a hint of challenge in his tone, and was riled.
"No, just bored. Has your foot fallen asleep on the break?"
"No, but you are a master of the evasive answer, and your eyes have a very brilliant light when you're angry."
"Um, I guess." His compliment caught me off guard.
"Have you been in Ireland long, Miss Magee?"
"Only a few days."
"Your presence must be the reason for this beautiful weather. We haven't had so many lovely days for a number of years."
"Um, I guess." He was acting very strangely for being my arch nemesis. I wasn't sure whether he was setting me up for a fall or a balloon trip
MacKenna smiled. "It seems I'm flustering you. Is there some topic we can discuss which you would be more comfortable speaking?"
"Silence."
"Is that a type of music?"
"I'd say it's the anti-music. Not very stylish for my generation, but it's great for helping friendships. Nobody gets mad if there's nothing to get mad about."
"Ah, but one's actions can create a rift between friends, or can create a friendship. Don't you agree?"
I would have agreed to the existence of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster if he would have stepped on the gas pedal. "I didn't really study philosophy in school. I was more of a history major."
"You mean musty dates and mustier people?" he teased.
"I guess." I hated to be given my own words back to me gift-wrapped by my arch nemesis.
"Your vocabulary is very limited this evening."
"Must be the knock on the head. Rattled my hamsters loose and I haven't been able to catch them yet." I was pleased to hear a chuckle come out of my geriatric driver. "A nice bed would help me put them back in their wheels. Mind ditching the impersonation of a snail and going for a drag racer?"
"Only if you tell me your name," he insisted. I folded my arms and winced when I put pressure on my battle-weary wrist. "You won't grant me even that small favor?" I turned my face away, though mostly to hide the agonizing scream I wanted to yell out at the pain. "What if I allowed you free rein of my castle?"