Rumors Among the Heather

by Amanda Balfour

  The ones who were able on either side began to drag their wounded comrades into the shade and to give what medical attention they could. Julie did not let herself think about what might have happened to Matthew. She feared the worst. Her palms became cold and clammy, and her face felt hot. She put a trembling hand to her eyes to block out the sun.

  Hoof beats sounded the arrival of a horseman. She gazed through creased eyelids and glimpsed Matthew on the hillside. He brought his mount to stand in front of Julie. He leaned down from his saddle and hoisted her into position in front of him. Julie’s head swirled with conflicting emotions.

  She grabbed fistfuls of his tartan in her hands. This seemed to steady her and give her some of her strength back. “Where are you taking me?” she managed to choke out.

  Matthew did not answer. He looked straight ahead, ignoring her. She shivered involuntarily. He took her across the battlefield and into a group of trees on the other side. His horse skidded to a stop, and he deposited her in front of a group of wounded men lying on the ground. Quickly, Matthew dismounted and stood over her. When she refused to move, he lifted her up by her arm and brought her to where Geoffrey lay wounded.

  At first Geoffrey did not recognize her, but soon acknowledgment flickered across his eyes. Her disguise seemed to amuse him. “My congratulations, Julie. To the victor goes the spoils, isn’t that right, Lord Bonnleigh? She will not be mine after all. What a pity and what a waste,” he said with a sigh of resignation.

  “What are you talking about? What are you going to do with him?” Julie asked in a daze.

  “What he means is I get you. We fought, and Hamilton lost. Don’t worry, he’ll live. We have no way to keep prisoners. His men will take him back.”

  “Is this all you care about? All this pain and suffering? Look about you! Well, I want no part of it. And I don’t want either one of you fine patriots. Least of all you,” Julie ground out. Her fist dug into Matthew’s midsection.

  Her anger overcame her queasiness. She turned and stomped off across the battlefield, leaving Matthew with his mouth open. She could hear Geoffrey laughing, but she neither felt nor heard anything else until she reached the cave. Her anger abated some as fatigue washed over her muscles. Angus had the misfortune to be coming out of the cave as she reached its entrance. Seeing him made her that much angrier. All the indignities of the past few months burst forth.

  She pointed her finger at him and said, “Stay where you are! I want to talk to you, and I will not be fobbed off. I’m leaving. You can get someone to take me back to the path or not. I do not care. I’m giving fair warning. Do not try to stop me!”

  Angus stood looking at her as if dumbstruck. His stare began to make her nervous. Finally he opened his mouth to speak. “Well, hoots, toots, I know why it puzzled me when I looked at ye. Something was just not right, and now I know what it is. You’re not a lad but a lass.” He sat down to laugh at the joke.

  “What are you going to do? I can’t stay here,” Julie yelled, panic riding her hard.

  “Calm down, lass. Allan’s a bonnie lad. He’ll take ye back and see ye make it to Aberdeen.”

  “I would like to leave without Lord Bonnleigh knowing I have gone, and I would also like him delayed a day’s time,” Julie said with a false confidence that her wishes would be obeyed.

  Angus surprised Julie when he nodded his head in agreement. She did not have to wait long before Allan came to get her. They left through a trap door under Angus’s chair. Maybe they were not as zealous as she first thought. A horse awaited them on the other side of the tunnel. Allan mounted first and then pulled Julie up behind. He treated her like he would any young boy. Angus had kept her secret. She gave a sigh of relief as the horse started to move.

  Julie searched the countryside for one last glimpse of Matthew, but they kept out of sight and rode in a wide circle around the battlefield. Allan was quiet much of the time. They rode along in a comfortable silence, and this suited Julie. She was tired of talking, tired of thinking, and most of all she was tired of being tired. Her traveling companion fed them from the sack he had strapped to the back of his saddle. It would be too dangerous to make a fire for tea. They ate in silence at the end of the day. When the meal was over, they lay down to sleep.

  The rain started shortly after nightfall. It bit into their faces where they lay amid the heather. Exhausted, she ignored the oozing mud underneath her. She fell asleep quickly and slept until Allan woke her up at first light. The cold ground leached dampness. Julie shivered under her blanket. A thick mist surrounded the countryside. She could not see three feet in front of her. Standing up, she wrung her soggy blanket out and packed it away.

  Breakfast was not much different from supper. Allan handed her a bowl of drammach, which consisted of oatmeal mixed with cold water, and she washed it down with the cool mountain water he brought her. They waited until a brisk wind broke up the gloomy mist before starting up a steep, rocky hillside.

  Tirelessly, Allan rode on through the day. If not for his strength, she did not think she would have made it. At nightfall, they camped by a mist-shrouded river just like the night before.

  Julie looked around. I don’t think my journey is ever going to end. It seems like I have been on a horse or on foot tramping through the wilderness all my life. I don’t think I’ll ever be warm and dry or feel safe again. My teeth chatter, my bones ache, and my throat feels raw and scratchy. This endless rain is driving me crazy.

  The rain continued to beat hard against their faces and drip icily down their backs in a monotonous procession throughout the next morning into day and on into the night. The next morning Allan woke her as he had done the day before and gave her the same breakfast. “I’ll be leaving ye this morn. The laird said to take ye this far. I’m ta leave ye this here horse and the last of the rations.”

  “I can’t take your horse. How will you get back?” Julie asked in concern.

  “I know these mountains and how to get food out of ’em. I’ll be fine. Ye’ve got a three or four days’ journey. Keep to the Dee, that’s the water in front of ye, and she’ll lead ye into Aberdeen. Always travel east and keep to the main river, and ye’ll be fine,” Allan said cheerfully. He picked up his blanket and began to roll it up and strap it on his back.

  “Allan, at least take half of the food,” Julie pleaded. She felt guilty for letting him go with nothing after he had been more than kind to her.

  He just shook his head and started back the way they came yesterday. He did not look back or say good-bye but marched off like a good soldier. Julie watched him disappear down the trail. Only then did she turn back to the camp and began to roll up her own bed and saddle the horse. Tears of frustration welled up inside of her, but she willed them to stop.

  I’m a survivor. I will get through this no matter what I have to do. I will reach my aunt, and I will have this child.

  She inspected her transportation by running her hand over the horse’s frame. The poor old thing was bony and had a bit of a sway to his back. In truth, he looked like an aged warrior on four legs, but he was willing to bear the load, so she tightened the cinch and mounted her steed in search of Aberdeen.

  * * *

  The English casualties had been many and serious, but the Highlanders suffered only minor wounds and one fatality. All their wounded were attended to, and the dead were buried or carried away. Angus gathered up his men, and they marched in double quick time to the next haven of safety. When they reached it and everything settled down, Matthew began to look around for Julie. When he did not see her, he went directly to Angus.

  Angus, who was busily concocting one of his famous rum punches, greeted Matthew with a wave of his hand and a twinkle in his eye.

  “Bonnleigh, my lad, from the looks of ye, ’tis a drink of me punch ye’ll be needin’. Sit down,” he said wickedly and began to chuckle to himself.

  For some reason, this annoyed Matthew. He suspected Angus had already been into the punch. “I can’t find my
nephew. Do you know where he is?”

  “The lad’s about. Ye ken how boys are. I think I saw him with Allan. He’ll turn up. Here, have a cup while ye wait. It’ll do ye good,” Angus said devilishly.

  Matthew took the cup and began to drink. The first mouthful took his breath away. “What’ve you got in this witch’s brew?” he asked between gasps.

  “It takes some getting used to, but once ye’ve had the first cup, ye’ll be begging me for the recipe. Even so, don’t ask, for it’s an old family secret handed down from father to son since the first MacLaren.”

  Angus saw to it Matthew’s cup stayed full, even though he drank only one cup to Matthew’s three. After the third cup, Matthew’s eyes began to mist over. By the fourth cup, he was ready to call Angus his bosom buddy. They laughed and slapped each other on the back and drank to everyone’s health they knew or hoped to know.

  “My old friend, I’ve got some advice for you. Never, I mean never, under any circum…circumstances trust a woman,” Matthew slurred. He leaned across the table and looked Angus in the eye. “They’ll do you in quicker than a Campbell. They’ve got no heart and no conscience. Ruthless is what they are.”

  “Me lad, are ye just finding that one out? Ye ken what’s wrong with ’em, don’t ye? For one thing, they’re way yonder too smart. And they’re even sneaky about that. You take a man, he just comes right out and lets ye know he’s smarter than ye, but not a woman. Hoots, toots! They try to make ye think you’re the smart one, then they outsmart ye and twist everything you say to use against ye. They’re a worthy adversary, that be true,” Angus said, shaking his head. He held his cup up for a toast to women everywhere. “God love ’em,” Angus said with a loud voice.

  Matthew broke in with “Hear, hear!”

  He and Matthew clinked their cups. Angus spilled half of his before he could get the cup back to his mouth. He appeared to be feeling his punch also.

  Both men sat quietly trying to figure out exactly what Angus had said. They both agreed it was profound, and that Angus’s mind bordered on genius for coming up with these pearls of wisdom. Matthew tried to stand and quickly lost his balance. He fell to his knees and could not move. Angus bent over and helped him back into his chair.

  “I have to go. I have to find Julie. Where’s my nephew? You’ve got to help me find him. I can’t remember why right now, but I know I have to find him. Not a moment to lose. And, and Ribble, now there’s a good fellow, a man to ride the river with if ever there was one, but where is he?” Matthew sat puzzled beyond reason. Before long, he closed his eyes and lost his battle to slumber.

  Matthew slept for one whole day and night. Ribble sat by his side when he awoke. His head pounded without mercy, and his tongue felt like it wore a wooly jacket. He could almost get one eye open, but the light hurt his eyes. He thought he had been wounded until he remembered the punch. He tried several times to sit up, but it took Ribble’s help before he could regain his balance.

  “Where’s Angus?” Matthew spoke in a whisper while holding his head in his hands. His head pounded and his stomach churned, but with Ribble’s help, he managed to get to his feet. He started to speak again but stopped when he had a chance to look around him. The whole camp was deserted.

  “That scoundrel purposely made sure I was drunk and left us here. How long have they been gone?”

  “Today would be the second day,” Ribble said. His valet appeared to be as disgusted as Matthew felt.

  Matthew pointed toward the small river running by the camp, and Ribble helped him down the bank. He bent down to get a drink of water and lost his balance, pitching headlong into the icy, rushing stream. He floated helplessly, forcing Ribble to wade in and fish him out. The soaking refreshed Matthew enough for him to walk back to camp without Ribble’s assistance.

  When Ribble offered him food to break their fast, he could not eat anything. Just the thought of food sent him running into the bushes. The next morning Ribble forced a cup of strong coffee down him. After he drank the coffee, Matthew began to feel a little more human.

  Unassisted, he walked down to the river and washed his face. They saddled up without talking and headed for Aberdeen. “Did you know she was going to have a child?”

  “Aye.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “She wanted to tell ye, but ye were captured, and there was no way. Afterwards, seems like ye dinnae want to know.”

  “Whose child is it?”

  “Ye talk like ye’re daft. Whose do you think it is?” Ribble sneered.

  Matthew could see the flash of anger in his eyes, and he had no desire to fight with him again.

  “You think it’s mine. I say it’s Hamilton’s,” Matthew insisted stubbornly.

  “Then ye’re an idiot, and there’s no hope for ye,” Ribble said with growing annoyance.

  “What makes you so bloody sure?”

  “For one thing I know the lass, and I know what she did for ye. She risked her life is all. If’n ye could see past yer jealousy, ye’d ken it too. Hamilton wanted her, that’s for sure, but she dinnae want naething to do with him. She’s a woman of honor, and she deserves better than either of ye,” Ribble snapped.

  “I don’t know what to believe. Hamilton said she turned me in, and he as much as said they were lovers.”

  “Of course he said those things. He wanted her, and he tried everything he could think of to get her. When he couldnae have her, he dinnae want anyone else to have her, let alone ye. He had spies on the island, and they were watching when she went to meet you. They signaled Hamilton, and he laid the trap. Why, I don’t ken, but she still loves ye after all ye said to her and after all the trickery.”

  Ribble’s words gave him hope and at the same time depressed him. Could it be possible all he said was true, and Julie really did love him? And he had another question that needed answering. “What trickery? You keep babbling about something that makes no sense whatsoever,” Matthew growled loudly, his patience wearing thin and his headache getting worse.

  “She heard about how yer grandfather and some of yer ancestors used to take village girls to the church in the dead of the night and pretend to marry them. Both of us went to the church and looked through the records. There was no record of yer marriage. We don’t have to be hit with boulders to know what ye done,” Ribble finished with a self-righteous look on his face.

  “Is that what all this is about? There isn’t a record in Gairloch because I couldn’t take a chance of having somebody find out we were married. I was trying to protect her and Ian if everything went wrong, which it did. The record is in Dumfries where my friend’s church is. I did marry the lady in question,” Matthew said in exasperation. Realizing what a comedy of errors they had been through, he said, “I suppose now it’s too late after what I’ve done and said.”

  “Well then, there is no time to dilly-dally. I think we should let the lady in question decide,” Ribble called over his shoulder. He mounted up and headed toward Aberdeen.

  Matthew quickly followed, but he did not see how he could bridge the gap between him and Julie. His words came back to haunt him as he remembered each insult he’d heaped on her with shocking clarity. His motives, he knew, would not bear the light of day. Because of him, she was alone, pregnant, and unprotected. His mood grew blacker the closer to Aberdeen they traveled.

  Chapter Eleven

  The sun rose high in the sky as Julie stumbled out of the wilds and caught her first glimpse of Aberdeen. Wearily, she shielded her eyes from the sun and saw what looked like a city of silver. Bone-weary and weak with hunger, she could not believe her eyes. Relief washed over her. Feeling like John the Baptist coming out of the wilderness, she rubbed her eyes and looked again. The sun reflecting off the granite buildings in the distance instilled the illusion of heavenly magnificence. Her heart pounded and feeling overwhelmed, she urged her horse onto the road to search for a signpost or a traveler who would tell her how to find Stonehaven.

  She ha
d traveled almost a mile before she came upon a farmer bringing back his empty cart from the market. “Pardon me, sir. Could you tell me how to find Stonehaven?”

  The farmer ignored her, urged his horse to go faster, and continued on his way. She passed two more people and like the farmer they ignored her also. The next person appeared to be a peddler. He carried a pack on his back, which banged and clattered with all manner of things hanging from straps.

  “Please, could you give me directions to Stonehaven? I’ve traveled many miles,” Julie asked again, not expecting an answer.

  The peddler paused and looked her over critically. “What’s that ye say, laddie?”

  Julie wanted to shout. It was the first human voice she had heard in over a week. “I’m needful of directions, sir. Could ye direct me to Stonehaven?” she repeated.

  She did not trust the shifty cast to his gaze, but he took the time to stop and talk, and she was too tired to be choosy.

  “I’m a peddler, ye ken. Time is money, eh?” the peddler said while he scratched his chin with its stubble of several days’ growth of whiskers and twisted his face into a pucker.

  She hedged, “I dinnae have much money, sir. I’m on me way to find my sister. How much for a piece of that blue ribbon there? She’s got right pretty guinea-gold hair.”

  “One farthing will do nicely. Have ye got that much, laddie?” The peddler eyed Julie with a calculating glance.

  Feeling self-conscious under so much scrutiny, she felt in her pockets until she found a coin. She was afraid to take out her purse. If the peddler knew how much money she had, he would ask for more. Julie opened the palm of her hand with the coin in it to give him a glimpse. When he reached out for it, she pulled her hand back quickly at the last moment.