by Beth Camp
He spat. “Winter won’t kill that rot. They should have burned them all. They’ll let their cows wander on the grasses for feed, and they’ll make a porridge out of the seed they should have planted. The cows will be too skinny for any good market price, if they last the winter. Few will be able to pay their rents at Candlemas, and the older folks will die.”
Alice looked around the foggy moor with its rolling grasslands, the stone cottage behind them closed up against the cold. She could still see the people huddled inside. No work and no food.
“I still need the list of crofters.” Her mare shifted its weight from one foot to another. Alice lifted the reins, and the horse stilled. “Names and ages. How many in each family and some notes about their skills and their health.”
“I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Alice flicked the reins and turned her horse toward Westness. She would be ready when Gordon returned.
CHAPTER 29: THE SHEEP
The sun sparkled on the waters of Bottle Bay in the cold January morning. Deidre, bundled up in a thick woolen shawl atop her cloak, leaned against her father as they watched men unload sheep onto the new pier. The sheep tossed their heads, frisky after their long confinement.
“Sheep, Da. Where will they go?”
“Somewhere inland. Lord Gordon thinks to try a new breed. Look, they've brought in their own herders.”
A small band of men marched past the sheep and stopped outside the Pig's Head on Front Street. Hats pulled low, they joked and jostled each other.
“Who are those men, Da? They don't look like sheepherders.” Deidre stood even closer to her father, as if she could make herself invisible.
“Ferry-loupers. Over and back, if we’re lucky. Perkins said they're hired some guards to work with Constable MacTavish. They're here to protect us.” He spat.
“Protect us from what?”
“I don't know. They serve Lord Gordon.”
“And where will they all stay?” Deidre asked. “Not up at Westness, will they?”
“Some. A few here in Selkirk. Your mother didn’t tell you? We’ll have three of them at our house. Don't look at me like that. We'll be paid for room and board.”
“Da, it's not about the money. They'll stay at our house? Why? Why are they even here?”
“Perkins said it's a precaution.” William rubbed his hands in the cold and gazed at the small boats ferrying the off-islanders to land. “And while we’re just the two of us, your mother asked me to say a word about Mac. She wants you to stop seeing him.”
“Father, how could you ask?”
“I hear he’s making trouble.”
“You know Mac, Da. He’s not a troublemaker. It's been a hard winter. It doesn't look any better with this.” Deidre pointed to another group of men now disembarking, an occasional gun glinted in the sun.
“Don’t forget I work for Lord Gordon and so do you.” William paused, his hand heavy on her shoulder. “You’re not stupid, lass.”
“But we’ve never had guards and soldiers on the island before, not like this.”
“Lord Gordon has plans. Since he's returned, 'tis all changing, and we’re in the middle. For now, that means we'll have those guards in the store and in our home. I’d like you to keep an eye out for your sisters. And help your mother. If you must see Mac, you’ll see him. That’s all, and that’s enough for me.” He turned away to walk back up the hill to the store.
For the first time, Deidre saw gray in his hair. She turned to follow him, the sun warm on her shoulders. Behind her, drovers pushed the sheep onto land, and clusters of guards walked up the muddy streets of Selkirk to form ranks in front of Pig's Head.
“Don’t make a fuss, now,” said Anne, as she plumped the pillows on the makeshift bed in Charlotte and Penelope’s room. “We’ll have two guards upstairs and one down in the storeroom. That’s only three. I expect I’ll need more help. You’ll be away from the house most of the time anyway. Not that I need you, but I would like you to watch out for your sisters.”
“Yes, so father said.” Deidre folded another blanket. “How long will they stay?”
“Don’t be asking me,” replied Anne. “Your father is the one who has the ear of his lordship. There, that will keep you well enough. Now come help me with supper. The girls will be home soon enough.”
They looked at each other as they heard men come up the stairs. “That will be your father,” Anne said. “Stay here for the moment.” She closed the door to the bedroom. Deidre sat on her new bed and listened to the rumble of voices as they moved past her door on down the hall to the front bedroom.
Anne stuck her head back in the bedroom. “You might as well come out. They’re wanting something to eat right away.”
“This is Miss Scott, one of my daughters. She teaches over at the school,” said William.
Three men gathered around the kitchen table and nodded at Deidre. One winked at her.
“Now, none of that,” said the tallest. “Mr. Laughton will call you out.”
“More bread, please,” said the youngest, ducking his head.
Deidre sliced the bread, handed it over, and watched the leftover chicken from last night disappear. She ladled out another bowl of bean soup.
Deidre and Mac walked down the hill to Selkirk, its narrow lanes and stone houses ahead of them, darkening in the early evening light.
“What do you mean you have strangers sleeping at your house?” Mac asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” said Deidre. “They came in this morning with the sheep.”
“I heard, but there’s only talk. Why are they here?”
“Mac, I don’t know. Perkins made the arrangements. I don’t think Father’s too happy about it.”
Mac stopped walking. “I’m worried about you.”
“That should be the least of your worries. Who’s going to look at an old maid like me?”
“Ah, now that’s a different question.” He drew her close. “I’d like to spend the rest of me life looking at the likes of you.”
“Mac, Father said you’re getting a reputation. Mr. Perkins told him you were trouble. He doesn’t want me to see you anymore.”
“And how do you feel?”
Deidre looked at Mac. In the last few months, she had seen him almost every day. No matter what happened, he always made some time for her. They would walk through Selkirk, down to the sea and then back to the store, as dependable as the sun rising or setting. She sighed. “I think you know how I feel about you. Aren’t we out walking?”
“Ah, but sometimes a man needs to hear.” He waited.
The sun had just dipped down over the ocean, and the wind increased a bit. Deidre shivered. “I’ve got to get back. Especially tonight. My sisters will be curious about our boarders.”
“And you, will you be curious?”
“Mac, I love you, but my family needs me.”
“Those are the words I was waiting to hear.” Mac twirled her up in the air. “Ah, lass, you near made me stop breathing.”
“Put me down, Mac. This is serious. I don’t like those guards, or whatever they are, and I don’t like them in my house.”
“I am being serious. It doesn’t bode well for any of us. Do you be careful, please.”
For a moment, Deidre lay her head against Mac’s chest. “I will.”
CHAPTER 30: GRANNY CONNOR
Mac moved as quietly as he could in the gloom of early morning. He set the newly coiled lines for cod in his creel by the cottage door. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The new deck worked well enough, he supposed, but the fish seemed to have vanished. No doubt a troll at the bottom of the sea was sneaking them off the line. Maybe he should try Quernshead if the fog lifted. They had to eat.
The sound of running footsteps outside startled him. He leaned against the door to listen. He eased it open to find Sean with arm lifted, ready to pound the door.
Sean stood in the rain, his face
wet, his chest heaving. “Mac, they’ve tossed Granny Connor out of her cottage.”
“No. Don't say it. Come in, come out of the wet.” Mac roared up to the loft. “Dougal, get down here. We've got trouble.”
Dougal skidded down the ladder so fast he almost fell. Colin and Jamie tumbled behind him.
“She's an old woman,” said Mac. “Why would they evict her? There’s no enough land there for his fancy sheep.”
“It wasn’t about the sheep. Perkins wanted her house for those guards to stay in.”
“God's bones, I knew it.” Mac pounded his thigh. “Ever since Lord Gordon came back, it's nothing but trouble.”
“Where is she?” asked Dougal. “Is she all right?”
“Granny’s at my place for now. Perkins came so early this morning, it was still dark. They carried her out, scattered her possessions in the yard. They beat her when she tried to go back inside. No one heard her screams until she managed to come into town. Lenore’s taking care of her now,” Sean took a deep breath. “She’s pretty shaken.”
Mac shook his head. He couldn’t imagine Granny Connor screaming. “How many men?”
“I don’t know. Someone saw a group of them, maybe four or five up at Westness yester night, but there could be more.”
“There’s three of them quartered at Scott’s Mercantile. Was Perkins about?” asked Mac.
“Granny said he was in the thick of it, riding his horse through it all.” Sean sat on a three-legged stool and then jumped up again. “She said they just took over her cottage, laughing and strewing her things all over the yard and tramping up her garden. When we went back up to see what happened, Perkins said we’d better keep her away. He said she couldn’t have her house back. It’s the same cottage she’s lived in since I can remember. Even Jack Connor’s Da and Grandda lived there, and before that.”
“Dougal, come with me to Sean's,” Mac said. “If we can, we’ll bring her up here, out of town. She can sleep in Moira’s old place.”
“I want to go with you,” said Colin.
Mac shook his head. “Not 'till we know what's happening. Go over to Westness and find Dylan or Moira. Hargraves will help you. Wait until you’re alone, and then tell them what's happened. Then come back here as quick as you can.”
Colin tugged on his coat and left, slamming the door behind him.
“What about me?” Jamie buttoned his trousers. “Can I come with you?”
“No, Jamie.” Mac ruffled Jamie's hair. “Keep an eye out. If Perkins comes here, just get on the moor. We’ll find you. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
Granny Connor stepped into the McDonnell cottage, still leaning on Mac’s arm. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the fire banked on the hearth. “He called me a witch. He said I could burn in me house, if I chose to. Me own house.” Her hands moved restlessly over the rough gray blanket someone had thrown over her shoulders. “What would Jack say? Where are my things?”
“Never mind that, Granny. Come sit. We’ll take care of you now.” Mac eased the old woman into a chair set close to the fire.
“They came all of a sudden. So many of them. Jack wouldn't have let them hit me.”
Mac didn’t know what to say. He stared at the purple mottling her cheek and wanted to bash something. “Granny, you’ll stay with us for a time, and all will be well. You’ll see.”
Granny tried to get up from her chair. “I must get my things. My things are still in the yard all scattered.”
“We’ll take care of it. You’ll stay with us, Granny, like I said. Give us a chance to find out what happened.”
The door opened sharply, and Dougal and Colin came quickly to the fire. Dougal leaned close to Mac. “We’ve news. Willie said there’s some thirty or so of those guards all over town.”
“What’s that?” cried Granny. “They're coming here?”
“No, no, Granny. Not now. Nothing to worry about,” said Mac. “Try to rest.” He tucked the blanket around her. “You’re safe here, Granny.” He lowered his voice. “Dougal, Colin, outside.” He looked at Granny’s hands still clasped in his own, and a rage built in his heart. For a moment he couldn’t see. “Jamie, stay with Granny.”
Outside, Mac leaned against the stones of the cottage and took a deep breath. “He’s no evicted any fisherfolk as yet, so we may have ground to stand, but stand we must 'ere we’re next. If we can see him. If we can get past Perkins. I don’t care. I want to throttle him.”
“You and everyone else,” said Dougal. “Willie’s got a house full. I didn’t want to say inside, but Willie told me this is the third eviction this week. He hasn’t heard anything about the families up by Barr Auch or out in the valley. Otherwise, it’s quiet, like everyone is waiting, but they’re angry about Granny.”
“I saw the guards at Westness,” said Colin. “They all had clubs and guns. Hargraves said they plan to go inland. I talked to Dylan but not Moira. He said he’d get word to Moira, and she’d come as soon as she could.”
“Well done, Colin.”
“How is she?” asked Colin.
“How would she be?” said Mac. “Colin, can you stay with Jamie just now and help with Granny?”
“Aye.”
“We'll meet tonight, after Moira and Dylan are here,” Mac said. “Sean will come, I think. And others. Best to have as many as we can.”
“Meet at Willie’s then?”
“Nah,” said Mac. “Here.”
“Should we ask McPherson?” asked Dougal.
“I don’t know,” said Mac. “He’s likely already up at Westness, having tea with that sodding bastard. Did you hear anything about Catriona and her family?”
Dougal shook his head.
“Then we’ll find out as we go,” said Mac, his anger rising again.
Dylan watched the men talk in small clusters as the meeting broke up. It reminded him of Ireland, not enough food and too much violence. The men walked down the hill in groups of two and three, Mac and Dougal with them.
For a moment Dylan saw his sister’s face. He paced along the stone wall in front of the cottage, not looking at the sea. Maybe the boatworks would take him back. If not in Inverness, maybe Glasgow. He could stay with his brother. Or try the railroad yards.
Moira came out of the cottage, shutting the door behind her. “I got Granny settled. I think she’s going to be all right.”
“’Tis a dark day,” said Dylan.
“Looks like more to come,” said Moira.
“’Tis lucky we are with no little ones just now.”
Moira was silent.
“I may have to go to the mainland for work.”
Moira blinked and pulled her shawl tight.
Dylan felt like swearing. He didn't want her to cry. “I don't want to leave you. You know that. But I cannot see a way out of this if I stay.” He stood with his back to the sea. “I dinna like to say this. Your brothers work hard, but Mac’s trouble.”
“They always come to Mac when things go wrong.”
“It’s different now at Westness since Lord Gordon came back from London. You see it. If the fishermen stop working with me, I don’t have a job. I’ve got to find a better place for us.”
“I can’t come with you?”
“I don’t see how. I won’t have enough to keep you.”
“I know how to work.”
“I know, dear heart.” Dylan remembered the choking stench of the room he shared with his brothers, high in the tenements of Glasgow. He shook his head.
Moira sat down heavily on the stone wall near the house. “You don’t have to go now, do you?”
“I’ll hold out as long as I can.” Dylan smoothed Moira's hair, wanting to touch her.
“Things could change.”
“With evictions in the winter? I don’t think so.”
“You’ll go then without me?”
“Aye,” said Dylan. “But I don’t like it.”
Dylan sat next to her on the stone wall. He remembered saying go
odbye to his mother and father, and then his sisters and his brother. He leaned on the stone wall and held Moira’s hand. “Maybe not until the herring run.”
Moira made no answer.
CHAPTER 31: WESTNESS
Gordon scattered the list Pastor McPherson had so carefully prepared. “You think this is adequate?” Gordon snorted. “I expected more from you, Pastor.”
McPherson straightened in his chair. “I've served here seven years, sir. I know I remain or go at your discretion. All I’m asking for is an increase in my allowance over the next few months. The people are hungry.”
“You want me to mollycoddle these wastrels, these do-nothings? Let them feel the sword of Damocles. If they work, they eat. I will not give false charity. You, sir, have a responsibility to support my directives.” Gordon peered at Pastor McPherson. “Do you understand me?”
“Christ himself would understand you. But He fed the multitude with a basket of fish and a few loaves.”
“Will it make them more amenable to emigration? Then I grant your request this once and no more. Don't mock me. For it is also written that every man shall bear his own burden. Understood?”
Pastor McPherson nodded. “Thank you.” His hands lay still on his lap. After a moment, he rose and left the room.
Lord Gordon returned to his papers. “I must persevere. I have no choice,” he muttered.
Alice tapped on the door of Lord Gordon’s office.
“I didn’t expect to see you, not after this morning.”
“I wanted to talk with you about the evictions.”
“Oh, that.” Gordon’s mouth pinched into a straight line. “Haven’t we had enough excitement over you going to Edinburgh?”
Alice flushed. “I appreciate your allowing me to visit my family. But I’ve been down to the parish house again. It’s inadequate for the numbers of people coming into Selkirk. People are sleeping in the streets. Children are going hungry.”
“Come, come, my dear. Don’t upset yourself. I’ve just made arrangements with Pastor McPherson to provide additional resources. He’s helping with emigration. Those who remain will have better lives. In time, they’ll adapt.” He stood closer. “I don’t like you going to Edinburgh.”