Caledonia

Escape

September 1630

It had to be raining icy buckets today of all days making it seem like no sun ever shined upon this corner of the Scottish Highlands, Caledonia MacLeod thought to herself atop her mare, as she traveled along the narrow pathway she and her riding party were taking to escape her uncle's keep. The howling wind and near freezing temperatures turned the rain falling from the sky into pellets of sharp ice which hit the exposed, bare skin of her young face. It was nearly so painful to the point of being unbearable, but that wouldn't stop Callie from starting her perilous journey out into this dark, cold night. She pulled her cloak more tightly around her face to shield it from the storm. No one in their right mind would be out traveling in such foul weather conditions if they were given the chance to be home, safely ensconced in front of a roaring peat fire where they would be dry and warm with a cup of hot tea. The mere thought of something warm to drink sent a shiver down her spine.

It was the worst autumn that anyone in the clan could remember could remember for decades in the wild reaches of the Highlands. Her uncle's land was located in the northwest of Scotland where it was often necessary to journey two, full days to meet another living soul. The weather perfectly suited Callie's foul mood. This time of year was always depressing, as days were drawing shorter in the last weeks before the annual, clan gathering were ones filled with back-breaking work from before sun up and continued long into the night to ensure all the crops were harvested and everything was ready for the coming winter. Her maternal uncle was laird of their clan and he issued an order to have his subjects beaten if they didn't work hard enough to make his keep look like a showplace in time for the gathering this year. It wasn't uncommon for one or two of the older ones to die this time of year, but no one dared to challenge him. Not since the untimely deaths of her parents at the Campbell clan gathering ten, long years ago when she was nine summers old had her mood been this dark. At the time, their abrupt and sudden loss in her young life meant complete and utter heartbreak, plunging her into a depression which never truly lifted due to Callie never feeling at home in her uncle's castle. Now, her dark mood was due to her closest relative, her maternal uncle and laird, not caring a whit for her future happiness, since Hamish was willing to marry her off to a man reported to be one of the most vile in the region and her uncle's sole motivation was to gain a tidy profit from the match.

Her intense determination to escape her uncle's keep tonight under the cover of darkness and foul weather outweighed the fear of what he would do to her in retaliation if she was caught trying to escape his land, because she knew her very life and remaining future years depended on how far she could escape this night. She could feel some soreness in the bruises on her wrist he left there after she dared to say to him that she'd never whore herself out to any man for her uncle's profits. The bruises were physical reminders that Hamish didn't suffer insolence from anyone, let alone his dependent, female relative. It certainly wasn't the first time he left such bruising marks on her pale skin in anger; however, the number of times it happened was recently growing in frequency and intensity since her aunt died. He would surely skelp her arse within an inch of her life if she wasn't successful at escaping the keep, and indeed his land, this night. God help her if Hamish caught her and her fellow travelers in their attempt to flee without permission. She had to wonder if other Highland lairds treated members of their clans any differently. Her father had been laird of his clan and even though her memories of him were fading as she grew older, she never remembered him being cruel to anyone. Too many years had gone by without her feeling any sort of kindness from a loved one. Knowing the once strong memories of her parents already begun to fade in her mind, filling her with sadness and an emptiness that felt like nothing could ever fill.

Her mother's maid, Moira, was devoted to Callie since the deaths of her parents, even after she was demoted to a chamber maid. Her partner, Davis, felt the same sense of loyalty to Callie, although her uncle only agreed to keep him on as a stable hand and not the position of head groom he'd been for her parents at their bustling, friendly, and profitable keep. She had repeatedly told them over the last ten years that she would understand if they chose to leave the cold, miserable Campbell keep to return home, leaving her there on her own. Both Moria and Davis could have left her uncle's castle years ago, as they owed him nothing, but they felt too loyal to her and the memory of her parents to abandon Callie. He and Moira were both widowed with grown children who became a couple themselves a few, short years before her parents' deaths. Their plan was to wed when they returned to the MacLeod keep after the Campbell gathering ten years ago, having found a second chance at love with each other. Since they refused to leave Callie's side and stayed at the Campbell keep to watch out for her, her uncle hadn't even allowed their marriage to go forward and the older couple were forced to live apart to this day.