by Alisa Adams
Adaira nodded sadly. “And MacCormick is a malign influence on my poor brother, too. Duncan is not malicious, but foolish and easily led.”
“All the more reason that we should get to my father and put an end to this conflict as soon as possible,” said Rodric. “We will set off in the morning, then. Now, I think we must rest, since there is little more we can do before dawn. It makes no sense to go off now, as we will need to pack supplies. Then we can set ourselves up with the best chance of going all the way and finding my father before he reaches Castle Dunn and begins his attack.”
“Good,” said MacPherson, looking around at the others. “I think we can all agree tae that?”
All the other men nodded their agreement.
As they stood, stretching and looking forward to a rest, Adaira turned to the door. “I think I shall just go and see what is happening with the cleaning up at the gates before I rest,” she said to Rodric.
“Aye,” he said, “good idea. I’ll join you.”
Together, they made their way to the door of the inn. Rodric pushed the door open and held it for Adaira. She smiled at his gallantry and was just about to step out into the cool evening when a man came rushing up from outside, nearly colliding with her in his haste.
“Beg yer pardon, miss,” he gasped, leaning his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“Well, what is it, man?” said Rodric worriedly, as the young fellow panted. Rodric recognized him as one of the scouts he had sent out to look at the surrounding area. “Have the MacCormick soldiers returned with reinforcements?”
“No, no, it’s no’ that,” said the messenger. “But sir, we’ve found someone oot there in the glen. It’s—”
But at that moment, his words were interrupted. From the shadows between the buildings, a figure emerged, surrounded by concerned villagers. The figure was small but upright, barefooted, with ragged clothes, a bruised face, and wild hair, but retaining an air of determined dignity. The light of the torches flared in her dark green eyes.
“Maudie!” cried Adaira. “It’s Maudie! Oh, my dear friend! Look at your poor face! What has happened to you?”
She ran forward and clasped her old friend in her arms. Maudie returned her hug and then turned to look at Rodric.
“Well,” she said, attempting a laugh. “We meet again, Rodric Montrose.” And she smiled. All three of them laughed suddenly. Despite the peril of the situation, they were all grasped by sudden relief at being reunited.
“I’ll send others tae see how the cleanin’ up is comin’ on mistress,” said MacPherson, who had come out to see what the commotion was about. “Bring yer friend intae the inn. It looks as if she’s been through a lot.”
“I have indeed,” said Maudie, “but I am no’ too damaged. If I can sit down and hae somethin’ tae eat, I will feel better, I’m sure.”
“Of course, of course, you must come inside straight away,” said Adaira, feeling anxious. Rodric hung back as Maudie, leaning on Adaira’s arm, made her way into the inn and sat down.
Adaira, who knew Maudie well, could see that she was putting on a brave face. She was desperate to ask what had happened but held her tongue for the moment until she had settled Maudie in a chair with some food in front of her and a glass of ale. Maudie was silent for a few minutes as she ate, then, with a sigh of relief, sat back in her chair and looked around at the circle of expectant faces around the table that watched her.
“Maudie,” Adaira asked, “what has happened?”
Maudie sat back and took a deep breath, then began her tale.
“After ye an’ Rodric leaped fae that window, I fled back tae our rooms. Yer brother and his men didnae see me, they were so busy wi’ ye two, but it wisnae long before the guard that I’d given a sleeping draught tae woke up. Then they came tae our rooms. I pretended tae be asleep but they dragged me fae my bed an’ brought me before yer brother Duncan. He was furious! Oh, Adaira, I’ve never seen a man sae angry. He was a’ for setting the hunting dogs after ye, but John MacCormick told him tae wait an’ think it over.”
She paused and took a swallow of ale before continuing. “I told them that ye had tricked me intae givin’ the guard a sleeping draught as if I had not known, an’ I think Duncan believed me, though MacCormick didnae. The men he had sent out tae look underneath the window found nothing but some muddled tracks, an’ Duncan agreed tae wait until the morning before doin’ anything more. Then when morning came, well, we looked o’ of the window and saw...” Maudie trailed off and looked at Rodric.
“Well?” asked Adaira impatiently. “What did you see?”
“The Montrose army,” said Maudie. “A’ over the hills and intae the glen north o’ the castle, hundreds upon hundreds o’ soldiers. An’ mistress, there are king’s soldiers there, too. The Stuart banner was flying over some units of horsemen looking over the field. Clan Montrose has allied themselves wi’ the Royal House, and there is nae chance for Clan Strachan.”
“Yes,” said Rodric. “That would be the influence of my good friend, Malcolm Stuart. He is a distant cousin of the royal line, but he was fostered with the Montroses as a child. We were brought up together and Malcolm has connections. The king wants peace as much as any of us, and Duncan’s actions have caused anger at court. I’m not surprised to hear that the king has sent soldiers to reinforce my father’s army. Tell us, then, Maudie, what happened next.”
Maudie had listened to Rodric’s explanation with interest, but now she went on. “When Duncan saw the Montrose army, he was terrified an’ raged around, layin’ intae everyone in sight. Everybody fae the castle had gathered in the main audience hall upstairs, an’ Duncan made a scene. It was frightening; he seemed like he was mad. Then he calmed down a wee bit. MacCormick called me over. Then when I was there, MacCormick said tae Duncan, ‘I will gae tae my castle and gather the men of my command. Then we will be able tae spring an attack on the besiegers when they are least expectin’ it.’ Duncan agreed tae this, and then MacCormick said he thought he would take me along too.”
Maudie took a deep breath, steadying herself before she carried on speaking. “It was a horrible time for me. MacCormick was certain that I knew somethin’ about yer escape. Duncan wasnae interested in findin’ out, so he just said ‘yes’ when MacCormick said he would take me with him. I dinnae think I’ve ever been sae afraid! We went out the back way, wi’ maybe thirty men of MacCormick’s command. We got goin’ quickly, and as we topped a low rise and looked back, we could see the Montrose army lightin’ fires an’ puttin’ up tents. It looked as if they were preparin’ for a long siege.”
Rodric leaned forward eagerly. “A siege, you say? So they did not look like they were about to attack immediately?”
Maudie shook her head. “It didnae look like it.”
“Then there is still hope!” said Rodric, and smiled at Adaira.
However, Adaira was looking into the distance, as if remembering something far off. She was thinking about Rodric, and the feelings she was developing for him. He was strong and noble and seemed to be as focused on peace as she was, but there was still an element of doubt. She felt in her heart of hearts that he was concealing something from her, and that eroded the trust that was between them. She shook herself, turning to Maudie.
“Finish the story,” she urged.
“There isnae much more tae tell. When we got on the road it was clear that MacCormick had nae intention o’ goin’ straight tae his lands. He was after ye, mistress. He...he threatened me, and he hit me once.” She gestured to the bruise on her face. “He forced me tae admit that I had helped ye tae escape. I’m sorry I betrayed ye, but he said he would kill me, an’ I didnae see what use it would be tae pretend I didn’t know what was going on. But I truly didnae know where ye'd gone. He tracked ye. Ye had left tracks in the wet mud, and he worked out for himself that ye would have ended up here. He kept me beside him as he rode, and he talked wi’ scorn about yer brother. He said he would get ye, force ye tae marry him, then bring hi
s men up tae help the Montroses. When the Montroses had killed Duncan and yer father, he’d go tae the king and say that he’d tried all along tae calm Duncan down a bit, and through his marriage tae ye he’d try tae claim the lands o’ the Strachans and add them tae his as a reward for helping them.”
Rodric was nodding. “Aye,” he said thoughtfully, “that would work. It’s well known that my father doesn’t desire to have any more lands to manage. That’s part of the reason he wants peace so badly. Ah, what a treacherous man MacCormick is. If only Duncan knew, he would perhaps change his ways.”
“Well,” said Maudie, “I watched the attack wi’ horror, fae the back o’ a horse. But when the villagers put up a good fight, an’ they didnae have any news o’ you, MacCormick decided tae drop it. A’ he needed was tae betray Duncan in battle at the right time. He pushed me fae my horse intae the mud. ‘Leave this place,’ he said, ‘an’ make sure I never see yer sniveling face again. I have nae use for ye anymore. Be off!’ So I ran toward the village, hopin’ for help, but I never expected tae find ye here!”
Adaira gave Maudie a comforting hug, and they all lapsed into silence after this extraordinary tale. MacPherson had sent for some of the village women, and it was agreed that Maudie should go upstairs and sleep after her traumatic adventure. She embraced Adaira once more, and then went off with the women to have her cuts and bruises cared for by the wise woman, and to rest.
Adaira turned to Rodric and took his hand. “Shall we try to get some sleep, Rodric?” she asked.
He nodded but looked troubled. “We cannot rest for long, but we must sleep for a little while before setting out. Let’s go upstairs. Adaira, I have something I need to tell you.”
She glanced quickly at him. “What is it?” she asked sharply.
“Let’s go upstairs. I would rather speak with you in private. I’m not proud of it, but I’ll not rest easy until I’ve told you. Adaira, I’ve not been entirely honest with you. It’s time for me to confess.”
13
Rodric’s Confession
They headed upstairs together. Adaira was full of dread for whatever this confession was going to be. She would not shy away from it, however. She was afraid that it was going to be a confession that he didn't actually love her as he said he did. She wondered if he had maybe said that to try to get close to her for his clan advantage, but had now repented of it.
Anxious thoughts swirled in her mind as she climbed the creaking wooden stairs behind Rodric. Her heart was beating furiously. What was he going to say?
Rodric felt no better. Now that the moment had come, he felt that he could not go any further with the whole affair without confessing to Adaira what his true mission was. He had not been captured by mistake; quite the opposite. He had deliberately allowed himself to be taken so that he could get into the castle, and his target had been her father's life. It had only been bad luck that meant he had not been able to carry out his mission. He feared very much that he would not be able to retain her affection after making his confession, but he was, at heart, a man of honesty and principle. He would not continue with this adventure any further without baring his heart fully to her.
When they got inside the room, Adaira looked expectantly at him.
“Well?” she said. There was fear and trepidation trembling in her voice. “What is it? You said you have something to confess? I don’t like the sound of this.”
“And I don’t like having to say it, lass,” he replied, as he sat down on the bed with a sigh. The mattress and wooden frame creaked under his weight. He leaned forward on his knees and rested his head in his big hands for a moment, then began to speak.
“About a week ago before I was captured, my father and I had a council of war with the high nobles of my clan. Then, as now, we desired peace with as little bloodshed as possible, so together we came up with a plan, a way we could achieve that goal, without having to fight anymore. You have to understand, Adaira, that we did not realize at the time that Duncan was the main driver behind the continued warfare. We thought it was—” He hesitated, and looked at her with sad eyes. “Well, I’m sorry to say that we thought it was your father who was behind the refusal to parley. It's only now, since you and I have met, but I have fully realized just how bad things have been at the heart of Strachan Castle. We knew your father was sick, of course, but we thought that Duncan was just a youth. We did not realize he had any power at all.”
Adaira’s eyes had hardened as she looked at him. She feared very much that she knew what was coming next.
“Well, we decided that we would get someone inside the castle. Any soldier, or even one of our nobles who was captured, could not expect to be treated with any respect or leniency by our enemies, but if the person captured was of the blood of the family, well, then we might expect him to be kept in better conditions, and in more comfort. There were plenty of rumors about how the common people, and even the Strachan guardsmen, were deeply unhappy about the continued warfare.” He sighed. “What can I say? We believed that if we could get a man into the castle who would be kept under lenient conditions as an honored prisoner, we would be able to carry out an assassination of the chief of the clan. Yes, my mission was to kill your father.”
Adaira felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water. The wind was knocked out of her, and she stood so suddenly that she accidentally pushed her chair over and it crashed onto the floor. Her hands were bunched into fists at the end of stiff arms as she took two steps towards him.
“My—my father!” she choked. “You came to the castle to murder my poor, sick father, who should bear none of the blame for any of this! You came to kill him, and all this time, all the time I was helping you, bringing you food, and helping you to escape, all that time you never told me! My father desired peace as much as anybody! If it were not for my treacherous brother and his stupid, selfish plotting and scheming, none of this would ever have happened! If you had succeeded in killing my father, you would have done nothing but make the whole situation ten times worse!” Adaira was standing in front of him now, a clenched fist held in front of her chest as if she wished to punch him. He looked up at her, his open palms raised towards her in a gesture of peace.
She was shaking with anger, and tears stood in her eyes at his betrayal. “I wish I had let you starve!”
“I know!” said Rodric. “I know that now! That whole skirmish was planned so that I would be captured because we thought that I was the only person whom the enemy would treat with respect. Then I could get into a situation where I might be able to escape into the castle and carry out my mission. Of course, when I arrived at the castle after allowing myself to be captured, I found that it was a very different story. Instead of being put in an insecure room and treated with respect, perhaps even given the opportunity to parley, I was trapped in a stinking dungeon without any light, and all my things were taken from me. I had a bag of gold and my intention had been to use it as bribe money. I also had my sword, and the gold, sword, and my cloak and hat were taken from me. I was thrown into a dungeon and not even given any food!”
“And then I came to help,” she said in disbelief at her own foolishness. She shook her head. “To help the man who would have killed my father.” Some of the anger seemed to go out of her. She unclenched her fists, turned, and walked slowly back over to pick up her fallen chair. Then she turned and sat down heavily in it, glaring at him. “Go on then,” she snapped. “Finish your tale.”
“There’s only a little more to tell. Before you came to help me, two guards came to me. They made it clear that they had orders to beat me, and they tried.” He smiled wryly at the memory. “I didn't let them, of course. After that, no one tried again, but nobody brought me food either. But then, that first night, a man came to me, a man who worked as a servant in the kitchens. He told me that he had relatives in the Montrose clan and that he wanted to help me. He told me the situation, that the common folk wanted peace, that your father the chief was so ill no one
had seen him for weeks, and that Duncan was the one making all the decisions, and bringing the clan down as he did so. That changed my opinion of the situation, and I thanked the man and told him to leave the castle and go to my father, to tell him my situation. So he did.”
“And then I came,” said Adaira.
He smiled slightly. “Aye, you did. You came to me, and you not only saved my life with food and care, but you changed my view of things too. Here was someone I thought of as an enemy, but you helped me, and you confirmed the situation to me as well, that Duncan was the force behind the failed negotiations—not your father. I saw how wrong we had been, and also I saw how bad the situation would become if I succeeded in carrying out my mission. I learned that the garrison was light at Castle Dunn and that my father would succeed in an outright attack if I moved quickly. I had to change my plan. I abandoned the idea of assassination, and began to think about how I could escape.”
“Escape so that you could finish off my clan in battle, rather than killing my poor father?” she asked bitterly.
“Well, aye,” he admitted. “But by that point, I thought we might be able to capture your brother and speak with your father. If I could introduce my father to yours, and they could have a conversation without the influence of your brother or his advisors, then we might be able to come to a peace agreement. So, you see, I repented of my original plan once I realized the true situation.”
“What I see,” said Adaira, “is that you accepted my help to escape from your captivity without ever telling me what your true intention had been. If I had known that you had originally intended to kill my father, I might have felt very differently towards you! And then, afterwards, you said—” She looked away from him and clenched her teeth to hold back a sob. “You said that you cared for me. You kissed me, and we were so close, but all that time you were keeping the secret from me.”
“Aye, it's true. And it's true that I regret it now. I see that it would have been better to tell you as soon as I could. But what can I say? I was afraid it would cause you to reject me, just as now, it truly has. But you must see, that at first if I had told you, you would not have helped me. What good would that have done for anybody? If you had not helped me, your brother would have killed me. Then, my father's wrath would have been fearsome. He would have killed not only your brother and your father, but all your folk as well. My father is not a madman, but he's not a merciful man either. He loves his family more than anything. Yes, I concealed this from you, but don't you see that I did it for a reason?”