Despite her limited knowledge of Latin, this chant was familiar to her. Last rites.
“Is he…?” asked Isabelle.
The minstrel started at the sound of her voice and turned to face her. “No, he lives still, but barely.”
Isabelle found two flat rocks and pounded the leaves between them. She added whiskey from a flask the minstrel carried and created a paste. It was not how she had been shown to make it, but it was all she had and it would have to do. She ripped more from her chemise and made another compress, this time adding the paste. She held it firmly to the child’s head and prayed again. Perhaps if God answered her prayer before, he would answer this one too. Isabelle had told Mother Enid that she did not believe in prayer or that God cared enough to save people. Never before had she wished more fervently to be proven wrong.
Isabelle knelt by Rabbie and kept the bandage to his head. The boy was limp and white. She prayed he would wake, but he remained deathly still. Jacques sat on the other side of Rabbie, his eyes closed. He was either praying or taking a nap. Isabelle preferred to think he was praying since her prayers did not appear to have made much effect.
Why would such a terrible thing happen to such a sweet little boy? He was looking for his boat. The boat she stole. Guilt punched her in the stomach. Rabbie would never have climbed the crumbling tower if she had not run away with his toy. It was all her fault.
Below her she heard horses and a shout. Campbell had returned. Isabelle kept her eyes on the still form of Rabbie. She could not look at Campbell. What must he think of her now?
“Rabbie!” It was Mairi.
Isabelle gave way to Mairi who knelt beside Rabbie. She felt him over, making a quick assessment of his injuries. The minstrel stood and backed out of the way, his head bowed, the cut on his lip beginning to swell.
“What is this?” Mairi asked, pointing to the compress, which itself was soaked in blood, yet Isabelle was pleased to see that the wound had stopped bleeding.
“I made a paste with this.” Isabelle showed her the plant she used. Mairi’s eyes bore into her like nails, her lips a thin, tight line. Isabelle held her breath. Would Mairi find fault with her ministrations?
Mairi nodded, “Verra good. There is no’ much more I can do. Let us bring him to Innis Chonnel, but verra careful now. I wonder what that boy was thinking climbing this crumbling heap.”
Isabelle glanced at Campbell, but he said nothing. He directed the minstrel to help him gather wood to make a stretcher. More of Campbell’s brothers arrived, Dain driving a cart with Hamish, Gill, and Finn. They quickly wove together a stretcher, and under Mairi’s careful direction, moved him gently to the stretcher and onto the cart. The family gathered around the cart and held him still as Dain slowly drove down the road. The minstrel ran ahead, kicking away rocks or anything that might jar the cart. Isabelle followed along behind.
They entered the gates of Innis Chonnel a bedraggled little troupe. Not wanting to take him up the stairs to the living quarters, Mairi directed a small storeroom be emptied and a bed be brought down for him. The brothers jumped to her commands, happy to be given a task they could do.
Isabelle held the compress to Rabbie’s head as his siblings prepared his room. Isabelle willed him to wake, but he did not. She walked with him as they slowly moved him into the makeshift sickroom. The news of his fall spread fast and they were soon joined by the sisters and many other family members. The room began to shrink in size and Isabelle struggled for breath in the stiflingly hot room.
“Out!” commanded Mairi. With a look she emptied the room. Mairi closed the door after the rest of the clan was in the hall, her eyes blazing. Isabelle felt relieved to be hustled out into the cooler air of the castle passageway, and knew Mairi would make sure Rabbie got the best care. She was a formidable woman and Isabelle had an idea that even unconscious, Rabbie would not risk her disfavor by disobeying her command to wake up. He was in good hands. He was surely going to be well. The alternative was too awful to contemplate.
“Go on now,” said Campbell to his siblings. His face was gray. “Dain, Will, Finn, Hamish, get back to the lists, ye shoud’na be standing here like this. Fiona, take the ladies back to the solar. Ye will be told if there is any change.” Several of Campbell’s siblings eyed Isabelle and shifted slowly as if waiting for an explanation as to her disappearance and return. They received none from the stoic Campbell. They moved away with reluctance until there was only Campbell and Isabelle left in the hall.
Isabelle glanced up at Campbell. She wanted to say how sorry she was. She wanted to give him comfort. Campbell’s eyes bore into hers like arrows of accusation. Isabelle opened her mouth to speak, but the words died in her throat.
Campbell’s jaw was clenched and a large vein stuck out at his temple. “Ye took his little boat?”
Isabelle nodded and took a step back.
“He was up there because o’ what ye did,” said Campbell, his voice low almost a growl. “He fell because of ye.”
“I am sorry, truly, I am,” whispered Isabelle.
“Sorry will ne’er be good enough,” spat Campbell, even as his face crumpled.
“You blame me for his… accident?” She had almost said death. She closed her eyes, wishing she could take back the unspoken word that hung in silence between them.
“Why did ye do it? Mayhap yer husband would no’ be as cruel as ye believe. Maybe his feud wi’ yer uncle would have died wi’ him.”
“He means to kill me! He waited until my uncle died and I inherited Alnsworth. Now that I have inherited, I am of no further use.”
The anger drained from Campbell’s face leaving him pale. He rubbed his forehead and his shoulders slumped. “Ye truly think he means to kill ye?”
Isabelle nodded. “I am his fourth wife. His two previous wives lived only a few months into the marriage.”
Campbell shook his head. “There are many reasons why people die.”
Isabelle opened her mouth to argue, but fatigue seeped into her bones and weighed her down. She had struggled for so long to try to save herself and her people and look what it had gotten her. She had not meant it to happen, but Rabbie would never have been up on that tower if she had not taken his boat. Perhaps it was time to give up and let Tynsdale take her. She knew her life would be rather unpleasant and quite short, but perhaps this was of no consequence.
“I will return to my quarters. Please inform me when my husband arrives.”
Isabelle tried to walk past Campbell, but he blocked her, stepping in her path. They stood close, not touching, not moving.
“I canna lose him.” Campbell leaned closer to Isabelle. He stared beyond her at the rough stone wall, his eyes brimming with tears.
Isabelle reached up and wrapped her arms around Campbell’s neck and pressed herself to him. For a moment, it was as if she was hugging a cold marble statue, then he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her close. Her own anger slipped away as she recognized his harsh words were born in fear. He was large and warm and holding her uncomfortably tight, but she would not stop him for anything.
Twenty-Nine
“David!” Cait Campbell’s voice charged down the hall.
David Campbell jumped away from Isabelle like she was a hot poker.
“David, where are ye? David!” Cait rushed down the stairs into sight. “Is Rabbie hurt? I heard he hit his head?” Tiny worry lines appeared on Cait’s forehead, like a miniature version of David’s deeper ones.
“Aye, he fell and cut his head. He’s resting now. Mairi is wi’ him.”
Cait took a breath. “Good, Mairi will see to him. I need to speak wi’ ye, David.” Campbell shook his head and opened his mouth to protest, but Cait cut him off saying, “I need to speak wi’ ye most urgently on a matter o’ life and death.”
Campbell trudged up the stairs followed by Cait and Isabelle. Campbell and Ca
it entered a solar Isabelle had never seen before. She guessed it was Campbell’s own.
“I will retire and see ye in the morn,” said Isabelle. A weariness clung to her, weighing her down. All she wanted was to sleep.
“Nay.” Campbell spoke with authority, his hands on his hips. “Nay, ye canna be free to roam the castle, no telling what ye might do.”
“I swear the only thing I will do now is find a pallet for sleep.”
“Nay, ye be trouble and I’ll no’ be having ye hurt anyone else.” Campbell’s face was stone.
“What are you going to do? Lock me in the dungeon?” Isabelle hoped he would laugh. He did not.
“Aye, that is one option.” Campbell raised one eyebrow. “I’ll give ye one other.”
***
Isabelle stood outside the solar door feeling awkward. Voices were raised, and it was impossible not to hear what was being said. Good breeding demanded she walk away, but she could not; she had taken Campbell’s second option. At the time it seemed better than the dungeon. She thought Campbell might be joking, but the look in his eye… she did not want to put it to the test.
Isabelle felt a tremendous tug and was flattened against the door. The price of option two. A rope was tied around her wrist and led from her hand, under the door, to the belt of her Highlander. The rope started to move from side to side of the oak door. He was pacing, the beast.
“Please, Andrew is innocent, can ye no’ see?” wailed Cait. Isabelle felt for her, she sounded distraught.
“I caught him wi’ ye in his arms, Cait. How do ye explain that?” roared Campbell.
“It wasna what it looked like.”
“I know what I saw, Cait. And Andrew himself admitted to me that he abducted ye.”
“He did? Why would he say that?”
“Mayhap he decided to tell the truth.”
“Nay, it wasna him. It was…”
“It was…? Tell me who else abducted ye and I’ll make sure they will swing as well.”
“I dinna ken. They wore masks. But Andrew wasna there. He rescued me from them. Aye, he rescued me from a band o’ vicious thieves, single-handed.”
“Dinna tell falsehoods to me, Cait. ’Tis insulting.”
“He was verra kind,” said Cait in a smaller voice. “Why will ye no’ believe me?”
“What I see is that he took advantage o’ ye and made ye believe he was yer friend. But he dinna return ye nor my horses, and I dinna find he had any intention of doing so. Whate’er he said to ye was lies, Cait.”
“Nay!”
Isabelle could plainly hear Cait crying. Poor girl.
“What will ye do to him?” asked Cait, her voice wavering.
“There will be a trial o’ the elders. He will have a chance to say his piece.”
“And then? What will ye do then?”
“Ye must prepare yerself, Cait. If he is found guilty of the charges before him he will be sentenced to death.”
“Nay! Please, ye canna do this.”
“I’m sorry this displeases ye, but I must see justice served.”
“I hate ye. I hate ye!” screamed Cait and the door flung open.
Cait bolted out the door and ran down the passageway, tears marring her beautiful face. Isabelle was embarrassed for having overheard such a contentious exchange between brother and sister and hoped Cait had not seen her.
Campbell leaned on the doorpost and sighed. “I suspect ye may have overheard some o’ that.”
“I did not mean to intrude on your privacy. But…” Isabelle held up her tied wrist.
Campbell motioned for her to come inside his solar.
“Forgive my intrusion.” Isabelle settled herself on a bench in his solar. “Since I could not help but overhear, why is it that you would sentence the lad to death? Is that not a severe sentence for his crimes?”
“For holding my sister captive and stealing my horses? It is a just punishment.”
“But she seems to be undeniably attached to him.”
“That is what concerns me. If I find he compromised her in any way, his death will be from my hands around his neck, forget the noose.”
“You don’t think that she and he…”
“She denied he molested her, but…” Campbell collapsed into a chair next to her. He rubbed his eyes, the worry lines on his forehead growing deeper on his tired face. “I’m only her brother. I know nothing.”
“Might there be a way justice could be served without ending his life?”
Campbell shook his head and looked up with sad eyes. “I have seven sisters to me. If word spreads that I let Cait’s abductor go free, none o’ my sisters will e’er travel safe again. I need to make a statement here, now, or my family will ne’er be safe. Understand?”
“Yes, but did you not abduct me? Are you not as guilty as he?”
“Abduct ye? Lady, I saved ye from yer own suicidal tendencies. If it were no’ for me ye’d be dead several times over.”
“True.” It was a forced admission, one that Isabelle wished she could deny.
“David.” Mairi’s pale face appeared at the door. “Rabbie. He’s no’ breathing well.”
Campbell stood. “What can I do?”
Mairi shook her head. “Ye need to be prepared for the worst.”
***
Campbell stormed out of the castle with Isabelle trailing along behind. Not that she had much choice in the matter since she was still tethered to the man. Campbell needed some time alone, particularly time without her within reach. Yet the rope around her wrist forced her to run after him to avoid being dragged behind.
They were heading to the chapel, a place she knew he would go even before they turned in that direction. Just as she knew he would pray until he lapsed into unconsciousness or he got the word that Rabbie was awake or dead.
The chapel was deserted when they entered and Campbell stalked to the front, crossed himself and lay prostrate on the floor. A wave of compassion washed over her, and Isabelle wished she could make things better. She had a sudden urge to touch him and comfort him, but pushed it aside. The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of her presence.
She slid into a pew next to him and bowed her head. Was this all her fault? She had stolen Rabbie’s boat. Stolen. The truth was undeniable. She had been so concerned with saving her people she had not considered the result of her actions. The wages of sin is death. The verse came floating back to her from one of the many sermons she generally ignored. She had always thought that the wages of sin would be her own demise, not someone else’s. Not Rabbie. He was innocent.
She was praying before she knew what she was doing. She prayed for Rabbie to be well and for him not to suffer because of what she did. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was not sure God would listen to her pleas, especially since she had espoused a lack of faith in the whole prayer process. And yet, she prayed anyway. It was the only thing she could do.
Campbell groaned and pulled himself off the stone floor. He sat next to her on the pew, and covered his face with his hands.
“’Tis all my fault,” he whispered.
Isabelle put her hand on his shoulder. “No, ’tis my fault.”
Campbell wiped his eyes with his hands. “Nay, I could have reached him in time but I… I faltered. I hesitated when I reached the top and he…” Campbell put his face back in his hands.
Isabelle rubbed his shoulder. “If you had rushed over to where he was you would have both fallen. Truly, you are too hard on yourself. There was naught you could have done. If there is fault to place, it is mine for stealing his little boat. And for that I will be forever sorry.”
Campbell looked at her, his eyes red. In one sudden movement she was in his arms. He was warm and smelled of leather and sweat. She breathed deep and held him close.
“’Tis no’ yer faul
t, Isabelle. I apologize for saying so. I was just so… scared.” He broke away from her and looked at the floor. “’Tis shameful, but I am powerful afeared o’ heights.”
Isabelle was surprised by his admission. It seemed impossible for this big man to be afraid of anything. The implication of his words hit her and his actions started to make more sense. “So that is why you were so angry at me on the top of the cliff.”
“Ye have no idea my feelings at that moment.”
“And yet you climbed up after me, though you were scared to do so. Why?”
Campbell looked up, his face tired and lined. He carried much on his shoulders. “Ye might have been in danger. I coud’na leave ye to yer fate.”
“So you climbed up after me and saved me from falling off a cliff, even though you were afraid?”
“It had to be done.”
“Yes, and you did it. You saved me. It did not matter that you were scared, you still acted to save me. Do you not see? You would have done the same for Rabbie. You did not stop because you were scared, you stopped because it was not safe. The ledge would not have held your weight, you would have brought both of you down. Your only hope was to talk Rabbie back to safety, but he fell before you could do it.”
Campbell’s green eyes flickered with intensity. “Ye ken?”
“Yes. Only a fool feels no fear. You show courage because you feel fear, but it does not control you. Remember how you saved me on the cliff? You would have done the same for Rabbie if it was possible, but unfortunately it was not to be. I only regret that you saved me and not Rabbie.”
“Do no’ regret it, for I have no regrets in saving ye.” Campbell stared up at the unfinished stained glass window in the front of the chapel. “Thank ye, Isabelle, my mind is much more at ease.” He put his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. For the first time in a long while Isabelle felt at home. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was nice. Very nice.
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