Free The Tweedie Passion by Helen Susan Swift

unpleasant.
    Pock-marked looked down and got an eyeful of untouched womanhood. I saw that his interest was instantly aroused as his attention switched from hauling me to my feet to staring at what I had on display. More out of instinct than calculation, I arched my back, tempting him further, and his friend came over to join him with his eyes as wide as they could open.
    'Now, Hugh!' I said.
    I need not have bothered. Before the words were uttered, Hugh had risen from his corner of the dungeon and, clever man, swung the chains that had so lately confined his ankles. With the doubled chain in his hands, he crashed the iron manacles onto the head of the bearded Armstrong, knocking him to the ground.
    Pock-mark turned around more quickly than I had ever seen a man move, dragging out a knife from his belt at the same time. Unbalanced from his first blow, Hugh was at a disadvantage. I kicked upward, hoping to catch Pock-mark in an evil place. He hardly grunted as my boot instead made contact with his thigh but that tiny distraction was all that Hugh needed. Dropping the manacles, he punched upward into Pock-mark's throat.
    Pock-mark opened his mouth to try and draw in breath so Hugh punched him on the point of his jaw, knocking him to the wall, where Hugh punched him again. They were good punches that raised a thrill in me. I do like to see a man who knows what to do and does it well, with no wasted effort.
    'Is he dead?' I watched Pock-mark slump against the wall.
    'No,' Hugh took the man's knife and slipped it inside his own belt. 'Come on Jeannie; time we were out of here before they realise what is happening,'
    I nodded: I had never seen such fighting at close quarters before. I could only watch as Hugh jumped to the opening above us and scrambled out. Seconds later he dropped a rope down.
    'Take hold,' he ordered. 'I'll pull you up.'
    I took hold as instructed but rather than wait to be pulled I climbed hand over hand to the opening. Hugh helped me over the lip and I stood upright, looking around. I had feared that there might be more Armstrongs around but the ground level was free of them, with only horses and various stores, dimly seen in the gloom.
    'Can you ride bareback?' Hugh asked me.
    'I've never tried,' I said.
    'Can you? Yes or no?' I could sense his urgency.
    'Yes,' I said quickly.
    'Good; choose a horse; quickly!
    There were ten horses to choose from, all of the finest stock. Trust the Armstrongs to know the best horseflesh. I chose a fine brown mare while Hugh was making heavy weather of lifting the heavy wooden bar from the door.
    'Let me help,' I said, taking some of the weight. He gave me the briefest of nods.
    'On the count of three,' Hugh said, 'one two, three!'
    Between us we lifted one end of the bar, and then it slipped and fell with an almighty crash on to the floor. The noise might have been heard in Edinburgh or Carlisle; certainly it echoed throughout that isolated tower like the knell of doom on Judgement Day.
    Hugh looked at me. 'That will waken the house,' he said. 'Come on Jeannie lass, before the Armstrongs come!'
    He hauled the double doors open and we peered outside. There were no guards, nothing except the cloak of night and the sweet perfume of the Tarras Moss.
    'Why are there no guards?' I asked.
    'The Armstrongs are secure here, in the middle of Tarras. They are the only people who know the routes here, so they are in no fear of attack. Mount and ride, Jeannie; they are coming!'
    I heard the noise from above, the harsh shouts of angry men and the clatter of footsteps on stone stairs. I saw Hugh grab a sword from a rack on the wall and then we were hurrying outside with me insecure on my horse without a saddle and the night welcoming us with its dark blanket and a cool smirr of rain.
    Without knowing anything about the geography of the Tarras Moss, I could only blindly follow Hugh. Luckily he seemed to know what he was doing as he led at a trot, looking back over his shoulder either to ensure