Highland Dove: (New Year's)

by Elizabeth Rose

  “Do I look like I’m in any condition to couple with my wife?” He squirmed and itched his body like crazy.

  “Y-ye’ve got what she had,” Baldair blurted out, moving backward with his arms outstretched, as if he were trying to ward off a plague.

  “That’s right, I do. I must have gotten it from her when she rode with me on the horse.”

  “Do ye want me to leave her here?” asked the guard.

  Eideard continued to itch. “Nay! Get her out of here. And leave me alone. Find someone to heal me. And hurry!”

  “Aye, my laird,” said the man with a nod.

  “And keep an eye on her. Dinna let her out of the castle walls, nor down to the dungeon to see Angus. I dinna trust either one of them,” he growled and slammed the door in their faces.

  Mari started to walk away but the man stopped her.

  “Where do ye think ye’re goin’?”

  “My husband needs someone to heal him. Ye heard him.”

  “And what are ye goin’ to do about it?”

  Mari thought of the leftover bottle of the hogweed poison in her room. If this worked out, she might be able to keep Eideard miserable and covered in blisters until Duncan returned. “I have medicine given to me by the old gypsy that healed me so quickly. But if ye dinna want the leftovers, then find somethin’ for yerself. But I warn ye, my husband will no’ be in a guid mood until that nasty itchin’ stops.”

  “All right. Give it to me,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “It’s in my room. But ye canna tell Eideard it is from me.”

  “Why no’?”

  “Ye heard him. He doesna trust me.”

  “Then how do I ken I can trust ye?”

  “I think this speaks for itself. Dinna ye agree?” She held out her arms to prove that her blisters had disappeared.

  “Then let’s go get it.”

  “I’ll only give it to ye if ye let me have free roam of the castle.”

  “Ye heard Eideard. He told me to keep an eye on ye.”

  “He thinks I’m goin’ to try to escape. So put extra guards at the gate and ye’ll ken I am no’ goin’ anywhere.”

  “I suppose,” said Baldair. “Let’s go.”

  A half-hour later, Mari entered the mews. She’d tried to sneak down to the dungeon to see Angus, but it was too heavily guarded. She’d just have to figure out his clue by herself.

  She entered the mews and walked straight over to the turtle doves that Duncan had given her. They cooed on the perch, sitting close together. Her hand covered her locket. She couldn’t help but think how these doves symbolized her and Duncan. Or at least they used to – before she’d been forced to marry that ogre, Eideard.

  “Hello, Lancelot and Guinevere,” she said, reaching up to run a finger over them. The falconer who tended to the mews was nowhere in sight. She noticed their food had run low. “I think ye’re hungry.” When she took the scoop over to the food barrel, it was empty. “Where would he keep extra seed?” she asked aloud. Spying a door at the far end of the mews, she walked over and tried to open it. It was locked. She was about to walk away when she thought she heard crying from inside the room.

  Pushing her ear to the door, she heard it again. “Hello?” She knocked on the door. “Is someone in there?”

  “M-Mari? Is that ye?” came a weak voice from within.

  “Emmaline?” she asked, thinking her ears were playing tricks on her.

  “Help me,” cried the woman.

  Mari pulled on the door but it wouldn’t budge. “The door is locked and willna open.”

  “The key is inside the bucket.”

  “The bucket?” Mari looked around, only seeing one bucket but it was filled with water. She stuck her hand inside and felt around, pulling out a key. “I found it.”

  Sticking the key in the lock, she opened the door to find Emmaline on the floor in the dark, stuffy room.

  “Emmaline,” she cried, running to her and helping the woman to her feet. “We need to get ye out of here.”

  “What are ye doin’?” They turned to see the falconer standing outside the door.

  “Harris?” she asked, knowing the man. “Why are ye keepin’ Duncan’s mathair in here?”

  “Och, Mari, I am so sorry,” said the man. “I swear I never wanted to do it. But Eideard threatened to hurt my wife and children if I didna do as he said.”

  “I understand,” said Mari. “But now ye need to understand that I want ye to keep this a secret.”

  “Eideard is goin’ to want me to tell him.”

  “Eideard is goin’ to be laid up for a few days, possibly for the next week. I dinna think he’s goin’ to bother ye. I’ll take Emmaline back to my room. And if there is any trouble, ye can blame this on me.”

  “But for how long can I keep it from him?” The man’s eyes darted back and forth.

  “Ye willna need to do it much longer, I promise ye.”

  “What do ye mean?”

  “The less ye ken the better for now. I’ll be back. Now please, keep this a secret.”

  She threw her cloak around Emmaline and snuck her back to her room. Once inside, she lit a candle. “Ye stay here and ye should be safe,” said Mari.

  “But what if someone comes while ye’re gone?”

  “They willna come in here. I just got over bein’ infected by hogweed and they are afraid.”

  “Thank ye, Mari. Duncan would have been proud to ken ye helped me.”

  “Duncan and Angus are alive,” she told her, watching the hope light up in the woman’s eyes.

  “Please, tell me ye are no’ jestin’?”

  “Of course no’. And I have so much more to tell ye, too. I’ll return with some food and ale, and we will talk. I’m goin’ to need yer help if we’re goin’ to assist Duncan in reclaimin’ MacLean Castle and takin’ the position of chieftain and laird.”

  Chapter 12

  Two days later Mari hurried from her room with a small piece of parchment clasped in her hand. Since seeing Angus in the dungeon had not been successful, she had to handle things on her own. There was one way she could think of to get a message to Duncan and she was kicking herself that she hadn’t thought of this sooner.

  Turning the corner of the mews, she accidentally bumped right into Baldair. “Och, I’m sorry,” she said, trying not to make eye contact. She didn’t want him to figure out what she was up to.

  “Where are ye goin’?” he asked.

  “I’m goin’ . . . to the well,” she said, her eyes settling on the well outside the mews. “I’m thirsty.”

  “Well, be sure to stay inside these walls,” he reminded her. “Eideard will have my head if ye disappear.”

  As he headed away, Mari called out. “How is the medicine workin’? Is it healin’ Eideard at all?”

  “Nay,” grumbled Baldair. “I dinna understand it, but he’s actually gotten worse. His body is an itchin’ mass of –” He shuddered at the thought, stopping in midsentence. “He’s in worse shape than before and canna even get out of bed he is so miserable.”

  “So sorry to hear that.” Mari smiled inwardly. Success. “It might take a little time to work, but just keep puttin’ the oil on him. The more ye use, the faster it will heal him.”

  “Aye,” he said with a nod and left with his head down.

  Mari slipped into the mews to find Harris tending to the birds.

  “Mari,” said the man, looking up. “Is everythin’ all right?”

  “So far, so guid,” she told him, hurrying over and picking up Lancelot. “Lancelot, I need ye to deliver a message for me,” she said softly to the bird, tying the note onto its leg.

  “What are ye doin’?” asked Harris.

  “Lancelot is goin’ to take a message somewhere for me. These doves are like homin’ pigeons, ye ken.”

  “I ken. Duncan trained them to fly one way, and only to yer clan. Is the message for yer faither?”

  Mari walked over to the door with the bird in her hands
, kissing it quickly. “Go, find him,” she whispered, hoping that Duncan would see the bird and know she sent it. There was no other way right now of getting a message to him.

  “Nay, Harris. I was sendin’ a message to Duncan. Sit down and I’ll tell ye everythin’. Mayhap ye can get some of the others to help us in reclaimin’ the castle.”

  “I still dinna understand how we are goin’ to get inside MacLean Castle,” said Daniel. “If Eideard has his guards posted, we’ll be spotted before we even get close. Even with the MacKeefes aidin’ us, I dinna see that this is goin’ to work.”

  “I ken. That’s a problem,” said Duncan, pacing back and forth. They stood outside in the sunshine. The weather was warm today. It felt as if it were an omen to Duncan because they wouldn’t be able to attack in a storm.

  “Do ye think there is some way that Angus or Mari can open the postern gate?” asked Tillie, sitting at the trestle table with her father. Forba was serving them, and Malmuira was watching Tillie’s girls nearby, also listening to the conversation.

  “I dinna ken,” said Duncan in thought. “There is no way to get a message to them to even let them ken when we are comin’.”

  “Why havena ye attacked by now?” asked Daniel, regaining his strength every day. “My daughter is in there and she is in danger.”

  “It’s because ye still dinna ken where Eideard is keepin’ yer mathair. Am I right?” asked Tillie.

  “I suppose so,” said Duncan, still pacing. “If we attack before I find her, the secret might go with Eideard to his grave.” He was distracted by the cooing sound of a bird from overhead. He looked up to see a dove landing on a stump nearby.

  “Is that one of yer birds, Daniel?” asked Duncan.

  “Nay, I dinna think so,” the man answered. “I only have a few pigeons right now, and that looks more like a dove.”

  “It is a dove,” said Duncan, taking off quickly toward the bird with the others following. As he walked up, he recognized it. “Lancelot,” he said, reaching out for the bird. “What are ye doin’ here?”

  “There’s somethin’ tied to his leg.” Tillie pointed at it.

  Sure enough, there was a message of some sort tied to the bird. “It must be a message from Mari.” He excitedly untied it and read it. A smile spread across his face.

  “What is it?” asked Daniel. “Is my daughter all right?”

  “She is, and she’s also found my mathair,” he told them. “Daniel, call one of yer messengers over. I dinna ken how we’ll do it, but it is time we send word to the MacKeefes that we are ready to take back MacLean Castle.”

  Chapter 13

  The next day, luck was with Mari and she was able to sneak into the dungeon. Emmaline insisted on helping her, and purposely let the dungeon guards see her and then ran off. When they went to catch her, Mari slipped inside. With her hood pulled up over her head, she found the key on the wall and opened the door leading to the holding cells.

  “Angus? Are ye in here?” she called out, her voice echoing off the stone walls. She looked into each and every cell along the way, peering into the dark but not seeing Angus anywhere. Not understanding, she turned back, and cried out when she knocked into a big man who she figured was a guard. He reached out and grabbed her. Pulling her to him, he covered her mouth with his hand. Struggling in his hold, she bit him.

  “Och, lass, that hurts,” came Angus’ voice in the dark.

  “Angus?” She looked closer and realized it was him. He no longer wore the gypsy clothes, but instead walked around half naked, just in his braies. “What are ye doin’ outside the cell?”

  “It’s a little trick I learned from my big brathair.” He smiled and held up what looked like a filed down spoon. “What are ye doin’ in here?”

  “I came to tell ye that I found yer mathair. She’s right here in the castle.”

  “She’s alive?”

  “She is. And she’s helpin’ us. Eideard has been infected with the hogweed and stays in his room, so that is why I am able to move around without bein’ stopped. I sent a dove to Duncan with a message.”

  “Then send him another one. Tell him I’ve been able to open the old grate at the end of the tunnel in the dungeon that connects to outside. Some of them can sneak in that way, and open the front gate for the rest.”

  “I’ll tell him,” said Mari. “But I only have one dove left. When should I say that they should attack?”

  “As soon as possible,” Angus told her, looking up when he heard a noise. “Ye need to get out of here so Eideard doesna think ye had anythin’ to do with the killin’s.”

  “What killin’?”

  “The ones I’m about to do once the guards return. Now go, and send that dove and dinna tarry.”

  Once Mari had written the message, she hurried back to the mews to send it with Guinevere this time. “Guinevere, I need yer help,” she said, gently picking up the bird and carrying it back to the door. She didn’t see Harris anywhere and wondered where he’d gone. “Ye need to get this message to Duncan.” She was just about to tie the note on the bird’s leg when Eideard appeared, standing in front of her.

  “So, ye’re sendin’ messages to Duncan usin’ the birds? Kill it,” he told one of his guards who moved forward with a dagger in his hand.

  “Nay!” she cried, sending Guinevere into the air to save her life. The note fell to the ground at her feet. “Go!” she called out after the dove as it flew over Eideard’s head and disappeared into the sky.

  “That wasna a smart thing to do,” sneered Eideard.

  “I dinna ken what ye mean.” She tried to put her foot over the note but he saw it.

  “Get the note,” he instructed his man. The guard picked it up and handed it to Eideard. He read it and shook his head. “It seems that ye’ve been a very bad lassie.”

  “That’s no’ true,” she said. “I even tried to heal ye. Just ask Baldair.”

  “Oh, he already told me all about that bottle of medicine ye gave him. It only infected me worse. But once I remembered where I’d smelled it before, I kent yer little game. Ye infected yerself so ye wouldna have to sleep with me, and then ye did the same to me.”

  “Ye canna prove it.”

  “Ye’ll admit it.”

  “Nay, I willna.”

  “Then I’ll have to take drastic measures. Bring them in,” he called out. Baldair and a few guards walked up, pushing Angus and Emmaline. Their hands were chained behind them and they had shackles on their feet, keeping them tied together. Harris was with them but, oddly enough, he wasn’t tied.

  “Nay! What are ye doin’?”

  “I’m guaranteein’ that they willna escape again. Harris was guid enough to alert me that the wench escaped as well as the big Scot.”

  Mari’s eyes filled with tears as she looked over to Harris. Why had she trusted him? Harris looked at the ground rather than at her. “It was all my fault. Release them and chain me up instead. They are innocent.”

  Eideard chuckled heartily. “Oh, I highly doubt that. And after readin’ yer little note, I ken exactly where to meet Duncan and his friends when they attempt to save ye. Now tell me, when will they be here?”

  “I dinna ken,” she said, her heart aching to think her friends might be hurt all because of her.

  “Then we’ll wait,” he told her. “And as soon as they arrive, we’ll welcome them with a little celebration that is sure to make a statement. Put them in the dungeon,” he told his men.

  “If ye’re imprisonin’ them, then ye’ll have to do the same to me.”

  “On the contrary, I want ye, my wife, to prepare the great hall for Hogmanay. After all, we’ll have guests arrivin’ soon and we want them to feel welcome.”

  “Ye are a sick man and I will no’ do what ye say.”

  “Ye will, if ye want to see yer friends alive again,” he threatened her. He looked at the blisters on his arm and blew on them. “I’m already healin’ and will no’ wait much longer.”

  “For wha
t?” she asked cautiously.

  “To consummate our marriage. Or have ye forgotten that we never completed it?”

  “Believe me, I have no’ forgotten.”

  “I plan on ringin’ in the bells of the New Year with my wife under me while I plow into her and plant my seed. Now go, and take care of the preparations because I want this to be a Hogmanay like no other. One that neither of us will ever forget!”

  Duncan was instructing the men, preparing for battle when he saw Guinevere fly into the camp. He ran over and picked up the dove, looking for a note but didn’t see one.

  “What is it? Is there another message?” Tillie ran over with Malmuira and Daniel moving slowly behind her. Daniel was in no condition to go to battle, but Duncan wasn’t going to forbid the man to fight to save his daughter. Family was the most important thing, and Duncan knew it. He only wished his father was still with them to join in the battle. He missed him with all his heart. Eideard would pay for what he did, and he would pay with his life. He only hoped that Mari, his mother and Angus were still alive and not hurt.

  “What does it say?” asked Daniel, craning his neck, trying to see the bird.

  “There is no message,” said Duncan, cradling the dove in his hands. If he wasn’t mistaken, he swore the dove seemed frightened.

  “I dinna understand,” said Malmuira. “Why would Mari send a dove with no message? What does it mean?”

  Duncan put the bird back on the post. “It means that somethin’ must have happened and Mari wasna able to do anythin’ but send the dove. I feel we need to go. Pack our weapons and get the men together. We will leave for the MacKeefe camp anon. The sooner we get to MacLean Castle the better. And I just hope that we willna be too late.”

  Chapter 14

  The next day was Hogmanay. It was usually a festive, happy time, bringing in the New Year. However, for Mari, it was the worst day ever. Tonight was the night when Eideard would take her to his bed, and she had run out of ways to stop him. With Angus and Emmaline locked up, she had to do whatever Eideard said, or he might kill them. If that happened, she would never forgive herself.