A Time of Madness

by Marti Talbott

  Sawney had been thinking about it and just that morning decided a new name might better help them hide. He was grateful he managed to warn the clan in time so they would not look shocked. “We are Kerr,” He had never met a Kerr, but he’d heard of the clan often enough in the stories his father told of the war between his grandfather, Neil and Neil’s brother Sween.

  “Ah, we thought you might be the banished MacGreagor clan. I am Joel and he is Amos. We ride the beach daily keeping an eye out lest the English, the Normans, the Celts, or the Romans think to attack.”

  In unison, all the MacGreagors turned to look out across the ocean. None had ever seen a ship or even a large boat, let alone the dreaded Romans, and the thought they might see one someday excited them.

  Amos found this little clan fascinating as well. It was not hard to see how tired they were, especially since the smallest one was sound asleep on a woman’s shoulder. “From where have you come?”

  Sawney wasn’t sure which lie he told last, so he stalled for time by introducing each of them. He was relieved when Blare answered Amos’ question.

  “We come from the west. Our village caught fire and we have always wanted to see the ocean. Our choice was to rebuild there or find a new land.”

  “Are there many other clans nearby?” asked Keter before the king’s men could ask any more awkward questions.

  “Brother, you forget,” Blare interrupted. “They are thirsty and our flasks are nearly dry. Perhaps they might show us where the water is first.”

  “Why?” Dolina asked, pointing toward the ocean. “There is water aplenty there.” Speaking out as she did, at not yet twelve, embarrassed her and she quickly hung her head.

  The strangers laughed and then felt bad when she glared at them. “Forgive us lassie, we should not have laughed,” said Joel, “The water in the ocean will plague you, but first you become daft. ‘Tis the salt in the water that kills, they say.”

  “We have heard that,” said Keter. “We have little, but we are willing to share a meal with you.”

  Amos nodded his appreciation. “My wife will have our heads if we do not return as promised, but we will show you were the water is and come back tomorrow...and the next day...and the one after that. You’ll find good hunting in these woods and fish in the streams. You will do well here, Kerr, and you are welcome to all the land you can hold. ‘Twill be good to have neighbors.”

  Sawney, Keter and Lenox followed the King’s men down the side of the hill to the path and then around a bend. Sawney could not help but look for the woman as he passed, but she was not there.

  They expected a stream, but it was not just a stream, it was a three-tiered waterfall with a pond. The salmon were the largest fish any of them had ever seen and the fish were trying to jump up each tier of the waterfall. Some were even making it while others fell back only to try again.

  Amos got off his horse and explained while he dumped old water out of his flask and filled it with new. “They go upstream to spawn and their yield comes back down to swim in the ocean.” He watched with fascination as Lenox knelt down, suddenly reach in the stream, pull a salmon out, and toss it on the shore. His grin matched those of the other men and soon each of the MacGreagors caught enough salmon to take back to the clan for their evening meal.

  “How far away is your village?” Sawney asked, standing back up and brushing the dirt off his knees.

  “Just a piece up the way,” Joel answered, pointing north.

  Sawney was happy to hear it especially since the woman in the forest went that way. Joel and Amos seemed pleasant enough and he wondered why she did not want them to know he had seen her.

  Just before Amos and Joel mounted their horses and were ready to leave, Keter had one more thing to say. “On our journey, we happened upon a gray wolf with eyes the color of the sky.”

  “Blue eyes? Never have I seen such a thing. A gray wolf normally has eyes the color of a fire,” said Amos.

  “That is what we always thought,” Keter said.

  “‘Tis a pity you are not the banished MacGreagors. We heard tell they were all slain and hoped it was not true. Till the morrow, then.” From the path going back to the beach, Joel glanced up the hill to see if the lass he found pleasing was watching. When fifteen-year-old Senga was, he smiled. At not yet twenty, he was more than ready to take a wife and thrilled to see they had new neighbors for him to choose from. Perhaps he might come back and help them build.

  Sawney, Hew and Lenox picked up the fish, walked back down the path and then up the hill. He hated telling them what they had just heard, but it had to be done.

  “They think we are dead?” Tears began to form in the rims of Paisley’s eyes and when Sawney opened his arms, she gladly went into them.

  “They’ll not think it for long,” said Keter. “I told them we had seen a wolf with blue eyes, which is what Mother said to say so she will know we are well.”

  “There, you see,” said Sawney, “what news travels faster than that of a gray wolf with blue eyes?”

  Paisley wiped the lone tear off her cheek, “And every lad in Scotland will hope to see it.”

  “That they will.” Sawney hugged her again and then started down the hill to the meadow. “I say we build a fire and eat these wondrous fish.”

  In the trees, Mackinzie watched the tall man hug the woman and decided it was time to go home. He was obviously married and that was that, although she liked him and wished it were not so. She shrugged and headed home.

  The older children helped by gathering sticks while Sawney and two of the other men went to the edge of the forest to find larger pieces of dry wood. The women cleaned and prepared the meat, the older children gathered dry leaves, put them in a pile, and added the sticks. Then one struck ironware against his flint stone and fanned the small flames with his hands until it began to burn.

  Soon the smell of cooking salmon filled the air.

  LAIRD NEASAN DAVIDSON had a lot on his mind. He managed to take a bath and trim his beard, but the more he thought about what Carley said, the more determined he was to learn who betrayed him. As soon as he got back, he called the twenty men he thought might have heard him say he was going to do away with the elders, and made them come inside the great hall.

  Bearcha could not stand the smell of the place and began to gather the bowls of rotting food. He carried them out the door to the kitchen and went back for more. How a man could live in such stench was beyond him and as soon as Neasan began yelling, Bearcha decided doing this chore at a slower pace would keep him out of the line of fire. Often he stayed in the kitchen a little longer than was necessary, even though it smelled worse in there. It wasn’t hard to hear every obnoxious word Neasan had to say, in fact, the whole clan could probably hear him.

  First Neasan demanded to know who told Carley and when that produced no satisfactory results, he wanted to know what they had heard of William and his men. He received no reply to that question either and began to pound his fist on the table. “I command you to tell me!”

  Bearcha decided he best go back and try to calm Neasan down before he destroyed the table. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and went in. “They do not hear where William is because the clans are not speaking to us. We have attacked the Haldane and they favor them more than they do us.”

  It was a reasonable answer and one Neasan contemplated for a moment. “Do you speak the truth?”

  Bearcha took a deep breath and let it out before he moved an empty chair away from the table, turned it to face Neasan and sat down. “If there is news of William, I for one have not heard it.”

  “Nor I,” said another man amid the nods of the others. It was true, they had not heard a word.

  Neasan tried to see deception in their eyes, but these were fearless warriors who were taught to keep secrets from birth, even from their laird. Perhaps they were telling the truth this time. His thoughts quickly turned back to what Carley said and for an hour more, he threatened, ranted, and raved
until his throat began to hurt. He needed more wine.

  Bearcha found Neasan’s silence more frightening than his ranting, watched him finally sit at the head of the table, and tried to guess what he would find to get upset about next.

  Yet Neasan remained quiet for several minutes until he decided he had only one more question to ask, “Who took the bone out of the glen?” He carefully watched as the men exchanged glances.

  “You did,” Bearcha finally answered.

  “What?” Neasan half rose out of his seat and stared at Bearcha.

  “Do you not remember? You said you never wished to see it again, so we took it away.”

  “When?”

  “Last night after...after you drank your fill. Shall we bring it back?”

  Neasan slowly sunk back into his chair. This odd lack of memory after drinking the night away never happened before. Suspicious, he brought his goblet up to his nose and smelled it. It smelled the same as MacGreagor wine always had. Maybe he was getting old, and why not, being laird was a lot harder than he imagined. “Be gone, all of you.”

  Never had men left a great hall as quickly as these twenty and Bearcha was right behind them. Outside, he watched them scatter in different directions, breathed in the pleasant air, and finally allowed himself the smile he’d been holding back all day. Still, that was not the end of Neasan’s demands and when he heard the door open behind him, Bearcha quickly hid his smile and turned around.

  “Bring Dena to me.”

  That was the last thing Bearcha expected to hear and although he was shocked to hear it, he had no choice but to obey. Dena was the man’s wife and a husband had a right to do as he pleased. Bearcha nodded and walked down the path.

  When she answered the door, Dena seemed pleased her husband finally sent for her. Bearcha walked her to the Keep but he didn’t take her in. He feared for her, did not want to hear what he suspected would happen, and went home instead to hold his own wife in his arms.

  She too feared what might happen, but Dena made this mess and thought she probably deserved what was coming. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and opened the door. To her surprise, Neasan was alone and didn’t look at all angry, although he did not smile. The place was a mess, but she ignored it, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her.

  “Come, Dena.” Neasan noticed her hesitation and added, “I will not harm you.” He waited until she came closer and then pulled a chair away from the table for her. “Tell me, why have you falsely accused me?”

  She thought to lie, but he was her husband and she had always heard there should be truth between a husband and a wife. Yet she was not eager to confess either. “Why do you send lads to bring Paisley back?”

  “Oh, I see. You misunderstand, Dena. I want Paisley here so her brothers will not attack us, nothing more.”

  His explanation was one she had not thought of. It sounded reasonable enough and now she was thoroughly ashamed of herself for trying to trick him. At length, she hung her head, but when he came to sit beside her, he put a finger under her chin and lifted it so she would look at him.

  “How did you happen to hurt yourself?”

  She couldn’t help but smile just a little. “It was dark in the forest and I ran into the branch of a tree.”

  He had not expected her to so openly tell the truth and just now, he wished he had someone hidden nearby to hear her confession. Why did he always think of these things too late? He took his hand away from her chin and put her hand in his instead. “‘Twas a wretched thing you did and now we are both trapped by it. Nevertheless, I have decided to forgive you.”

  “You have?”

  “Well, not completely. Do you suppose if you lived here with me, you might manage to get the women to do a little cleaning and perhaps see that my meals are prepared? ‘Tis what a mistress does.”

  At the mention of her being his mistress, Dena’s eyes lit up, and her heart fluttered with anticipation. “Aye. Shall I go get my belongings?”

  “Please.” He watched her bounce up and race for the door, and as soon as she was gone, he shook his head. “Never have I seen such a stupid lass.”

  It wasn’t long before she was back with her grinning mother and sisters in toe. Almost immediately, they began to clean the place and Neasan was pleased, although he soon went outside to avoid all their happy chatter.

  That night when he went up to bed, he found Dena waiting for him in his third-floor bedchamber. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought...I...”

  “You thought wrong. You tricked me into this marriage and for that; you will never be in my bed.” He grabbed her by the back of the hair and shoved her toward the door. “And if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will kill you.” He opened the door and released her.

  He was furious enough to throw her down the stairs, but that would not do...at least not yet. Instead he took hold of her arm, half dragged her down the first flight, opened the door to the room where Sawney’s dead brothers once slept, and shoved her inside. Abruptly he closed the door, went down the stairs and out the door to find his pleasure elsewhere.

  In tears, Dena sat down on one of the small beds and closed her eyes. She wept for what seemed like hours and then a thought occurred to her. He did not love her, that was clear, but perhaps if she was very good and did all he asked, he might someday. Until then, she had what she wanted—she was mistress of the clan.

  EVEN THE GROUND SEEMED softer in the tall grass near the sea and sleep came easily to the MacGreagors. The sound of crashing waves comforted them, the fish filled their stomachs, and all of them agreed this was a very fine place to build a new home.

  Their first morning on the new land meant a thousand decisions had to be made. What they needed most was a roof over their heads and four walls to protect them from the wind and rain. A large structure was always the first built and would become the Keep once there were cottages for the families.

  Fortunately, the art of building had been handed down through the generations and they’d managed to bring a few tools. The tools, each of them realized, were thoughtful gifts from those left behind and they were very grateful.

  One guard standing on the top of the hill could see for miles around in every direction and Daniel took the first watch. It allowed all the other men to turn their attention to gathering beer stones, a white chalky substance they could grind and mix with sand and water to make mortar. The tempting grass kept the horses from straying very far away and bright orange peacock butterflies flittering through the air dared the three and the five-year-old to capture them. All the while, the sounds of the ocean seemed like music to their ears.

  Yet there was so much to do and with no mistress to make decisions, the women began to loudly discuss who would do what. Finally, Sawney started up the hill to try to sort it all out.

  Just then, Daniel whistled and pointed up the beach. The women quieted, the men ran up the hill to protect them, and the little ones scurried to hide behind an adult.

  On a dapple-gray, a woman dressed in a blue plaid rode along the beach. As she drew closer, it was easy to see she had a pleasant face, light hair, which she wore in two braids and she was likely in her forties. When she spotted them, she waved and turned her horse up the hill.

  “She rides alone,” Blare muttered. MacGreagor women were not allowed to ride alone and he hoped it meant dangers were few in this part of Scotland.

  Sawney was disappointed it was not the woman he met the day before. He’d been thinking about her all morning and often glanced at the woods where he last saw her just in case she was watching them. If she was, she was very good at hiding.

  Keter scratched the side of his face, “Perhaps she can say where we might barter for a cow and some sheep.”

  Gavina giggled. “Aye, but we have no churn for butter or a curds and whey press for cheese.”

  “We have no kiln to bake bread, on which to put the butter either, but we will make them, my love...in time.
For now, we will do it the way the ancients did; we will put the milk in flasks, put the flasks over the backs of horses, and let their constant movement churn the milk.” He winked, left her side and offered to help the stranger down off her horse.

  The woman was unaccustomed to such help and regarded Keter with suspicion. Then she shrugged, put her hands on his shoulders and let him lift her down. “I am Brin of Clan Campbell. My Amos told me about the fire,” she said in a voice a little too high pitched and a smidgen too loud. Brin handed her reins to Keter and then went to the woman she assumed was his wife. “How dreadful for you all.”

  She gave Paisley a quick hug and then looked over the people. “My, but you are a small clan. Amos said as much and he is never wrong.” She spotted their meager belongings in a pile and sadly shook her head. You need nearly everything, I see. Which of you is Laird Kerr?”

  Sawney nodded. “I am.”

  Brin talked so fast, the MacGreagors just stood there staring at her in amazement. “I suspected as much, and are these not the biggest men I have ever seen?” She quickly looked Sawney and Hew up and down, and then spotted Jennet. “You are with child, I see.” Joel did not say of that. I’ve a box just the right size for a wee babe. I am old and I hope not to need it again myself.”

  Jennet suspected, but she had not mentioned her pregnancy to Blare and when she looked up at her husband, he had the question in his eyes. Jennet smiled and nodded. Forgetting the stranger, he took her in his arms, kissed her, and excitedly swung her around. Their sons, Daw and Cormay, were in their teens and all their younger children were lost to the fever.

  This was a new life, a new beginning and the MacGreagors were just as happy as Blare. Brin smiled. She was pleased to be the first to break the news and waited until they stopped celebrating.

  Yet Paisley had her mind on other things. “May we barter for a cow?”