by Amanda Scott
When they reached the northernmost end of Loch Lomond, the women were riding, and Andrew insisted that they all keep to the MacFarlan side of the loch.
Murie said, “But Dougal may—”
“Dougal willna find enough men at Arrochar to challenge ours,” Andrew said with more confidence than Rob felt where Dougal was concerned. “Between us,” Andrew added, “counting Rob and m’self, we have more than a score of good men if we also count Sorley, Hamish, and the lads leading the baggage ponies.”
Rob glanced at Murie, noted her calmness and Lady Aubrey’s. Tibby looked resigned. When no one else reacted, Rob felt himself relax. He tensed only when he saw a watcher on the hillside above them and, now and again, saw others as they traveled. No one seemed more than curious, though, and when they reached the Tarbet, more people gathered to watch them but no one offered challenge.
Andrew waved, and two or three men waved back. Then, others did. Soon they were all waving and cheering, men and women, even children, although Rob could not imagine that the bairns understood why they cheered.
Andrew beamed, but just then Hamish said to Rob, “Laird, there be someone a-peltin’ toward us yonder tae the south. Looks like that redheaded bairn.”
“That’s Pluff,” Murie exclaimed. “Something must be wrong.”
Her father had seen Pluff, too, and waited for him with his hands on his hips. “What the devil are ye doing here, where ye’ve nae business to be?” Andrew demanded when the boy dashed up to them.
The crowd around them had fallen silent.
“Lady Dree and Lady Lina sent me tae find ye, laird, ’cause I ken this road better nor most. Dougal’s took Lady Lizzie again, and nae one kens where they be.”
“How long ago?” Rob demanded.
“I dinna ken,” Pluff said. “Nae one saw him come this time. They said Lady Lizzie went wrathful at summat that Lady Marg—”
“That’s enough o’ that,” Andrew snapped. “D’ye mean to say that Lizzie went off on her own?”
“Aye, that be it,” Pluff said. “God kens where… as Sir Mag said,” the boy added hastily. “But one o’ the gillies saw a man creeping through the woods, and he thought it were Dougal but didna let him see him. Said he thought it were wiser tae get help, and Lady Lina said he were right. She also said that Lizzie… Lady Lizzie, that is, will be safe ’til we find her, that Dougal willna hurt her. So he won’t.”
“Mercy,” Murie said. “Can Dree not sense which way they went?”
“Nay, m’lady,” Pluff replied, shaking his head so hard that his red curls bounced. “She says she still be none so aware o’ Lizzie as she be o’ ye and the lady Lina, and there be dunamany strangers moving about the noo.”
Andrew said, “Strangers?”
“Aye, laird, ’cause Sir Ian brought his men, and the Laird o’ Galbraith came wi’ his, too, to see did we need them. He said he’d heard ye were off tae Inverness, and wi’ Lizzie here, he came wi’ Sir Ian tae be sure we’d all keep safe. They’d feared that Pharlain might get up tae mischief whiles ye were gone.”
“He did,” Murie said. “But he got up to it in Inverness, and the King hanged him for it. Dougal left the day before the hanging, though, and we left before it—”
She broke off when Andrew said sharply, “Never mind all that,” and Rob touched her arm. Then Andrew shouted, “Does any man here ken how many Dougal has with him?”
A tall man stepped forward and said, “He’s alone, laird. He tried tae roust us all tae go with him, but he’d already told us the King hanged Pharlain and signed your Arrochar charter, so we kent fine that we’d answer tae ye now, and glad we be tae do it. Few here be loyal tae Dougal. Sakes, we’d be fain tae help ye search.”
“I thank ye, and if need be, I’ll send the lad back to fetch ye. From the sound of it, we’ll have enough men for that. I’ll want to meet with everyone here, though, as soon as I get things sorted at Tùr Meiloach. Who’s in charge here?”
The same man said, “Me, laird. I be Kai’s Gavie. M’ da were with Pharlain at Inverness. D’ye ken what became o’ the rest of our men there?”
“Nay, but the King willna blame them for Pharlain’s misdeeds,” Andrew said. “Ye’ll look after this lot for now, Gavie. I remember your da. He’s a good man, and I’m thinking ye’re another.” To Rob, he said, “We’ll go faster without the ponies.” Calling to one of his men, he ordered him to choose two others and look after the garrons. “Just tie them in a string and lead them,” he said.
Glancing at Lady Aubrey, who nodded, Murie dismounted at once.
She did not need the frown on Rob’s face to tell her that he was about to order her to stay with the garrons, so she grinned at him and kilted up her skirts as she said, “I go where Mam goes.”
Rob looked to Andrew, hoping the older man would order both women to stay behind, but Andrew did not. Instead, he said quietly to Pluff, “We’ll talk as we go, lad. What else d’ye ken?”
Half-running to keep up with their long strides, Pluff said, “Sir Ian and Sir Mag will likely ha’ found ’em, laird. They sent men everywhere and tellt ’em tae report tae Sir Ian at the tower or Sir Mag near his cottage if they spied ’em.”
“They are sure that Dougal hasn’t left Tùr Meiloach, then,” Rob said.
“Aye, sir; he couldna. Sir Mag and Sir Ian set guards on the passes and all round. They think Dougal must ha’ swam over by hisself in the night and sneaked past the men a-watching the shore near where the wharf can lie down on the water. Sithee, Wee Molly were awake most o’ the night wi’ a new tooth, so Lady Dree didna ken nowt save her bairn’s troubles, nor would she anyways wi’ so many strangers about. See you, it were gey misty and black as pitch, and Sir Mag said Dougal must ha’ come ashore after the moon set when the mist hid even the stars.”
Making their way as fast as possible up the steep track to the top of the pass, they found some of Ian’s men with Andrew’s there. Other men, one of them said, were scanning the landscape from the peaks above them.
“Nae one ha’ come this way, laird,” their leader assured Andrew.
Traveling faster downhill, they hurried through the forest to the tower, where they found Sir Ian Colquhoun with Murie’s sisters in the great hall.
Lanky Ian jumped to his feet and shoved strands of blond hair off his face as he strode forward to shake Rob’s hand and welcome the others.
“We knew you were coming,” Lina said, smiling at Rob. “Dree sensed your approach late this morning, but none of us had any notion that Dougal was near.”
“What happened?” Rob asked.
“We aren’t sure. Lizzie broke her fast with us, as she has every morning, but she was restless. When Lady Margaret told her to go up to the solar and practice sitting quietly, Lizzie looked utterly mutinous. Even so, when she just got up and left, no one thought aught but that she knew whose side Galbraith would take.”
Murie shook her head. “Did you ask her maidservant where she went?”
“Aye, sure,” Lina said. “She said she knew naught. Dree and I could tell that she was being untruthful, but she seemed calm, not worried. We thought Lizzie might be up to mischief, but Galbraith had gone out early with Mag, so it never occurred to us that she might have dared to go outside the wall.”
Rob said to Andrena, “She did, though, aye? You’re sure of that?”
Rocking the sleeping Molly, cradled in her arms, Dree nodded. Quietly, she said, “Lina persuaded Lizzie’s maidservant to admit that Liz was going to meet someone. She didn’t know who it was. Then one of our men said he’d seen Dougal skulking in the woods. By the time others went to find him, he had vanished.”
“And Liz would go to meet Dougal if she had somehow got a message from him, asking her to,” Lina said. “She still believes we have all wronged him and he is not as wicked as we think. She has a gey soft heart, Lizzie does. But, to be fair, I doubt that Dougal will hurt her. The runes agree, and whilst we were captives at Dumbarton, he showed a softness tow
ard Liz that I’d never expected of him.”
“Nevertheless, he kept you both there,” Rob said flatly. Whatever else he might believe, he did not believe that a few stones could predict the future.
Murie put a soothing hand on his arm just as Pluff dashed into the hall. “Some’un saw them on the cliffs!” he cried.
Andrew looked around the hall, and Rob knew he was counting the few men there, preparing to issue orders.
“Sir,” he said, but Murie and Lina interrupted him in near unison, “Don’t send an army after them, Father!”
The two women looked at each other, and Lina said to Andrew, “I believe strongly that he will not hurt her, sir. But, if your men anger or frighten him, he might do something daft. If they are on the cliffs, a mistake could kill them both.”
Rob saw Murie nod in agreement. He had no idea how the sisters deduced the things they seemed to deduce. It wasn’t by the runes, but he had learned enough about his wife and heard enough about the others to keep out of it now.
To Ian, he said, “I hope the men who saw them will have sense enough to await orders before confronting Dougal.”
“Aye, we told them just to find the minx and report her location. I’ll have a few words to say to her if Galbraith or Mag does not get hold of her first.”
Andrew said, “We must find them, and speedily.”
“We’ll go, sir,” Rob said. “You and I and Ian. We’ll find them as fast and as quietly as we can and assess the situation then. We’ll send Pluff at once to tell Mag where she is and assure him that Tùr Meiloach is not under siege or in imminent danger of invasion by Pharlain, as he may fear it is.”
Andrew glanced at Ian, who nodded agreement, whereupon the three of them made for the stairway without a word to anyone else.
Murie looked at Dree and Lina and raised her eyebrows.
Andrena shook her head with a smile. “Men,” she said. “As if we are of no account whatsoever. If Lizzie and Dougal are on the cliffs, then I can tell you they are some distance south of here. You should be able to walk along the clifftops until you see them. Ian posted no watchers on the cliffs, because no one save Mag has ever managed to climb or descend one. It is possible that no one searched there if they were sure that Dougal would try to take her away from here. Men are watching the rivers and the passes, and have spread throughout the woods. I’d wager that Dougal eluded them easily if Lizzie was compliant.”
Lady Aubrey gestured toward the hearth, where Scáthach lay quietly curled by the fire, and said, “If you are going, Murie, take Scáthach. You may need her.”
Murie nodded, but she was watching Andrena, still rocking Wee Molly. “You aren’t coming with us, Dree?”
“Nay, I must stay with Molly, and you don’t need me. You and Lina know Lizzie better than I do… Dougal, too, come to that. But Murie…” She looked toward Lina, now talking near the hearth with Lady Aubrey. Drawing a deep breath, Dree said quietly, “Do not trust Dougal, Murie. I heard what Lina said, but what I’m sensing now tells me he may be gey distraught. If he is not, he will become so when they confront him.”
“I know,” Murie said. “The King hanged Pharlain for being party to the assassination plot at Perth and for murdering our brothers. Dougal got away.”
“That explains what I’ve felt then. Sithee, I could not identify the source, but I did feel strong disquiet all morning and I sense it now from south of us.”
Lina said, “Murie, if you are coming, we must leave now. Mam will stay with Dree and Molly.”
“Aye, sure,” Murie said, clicking her tongue to Scáthach as Rob did when he called her to heel. So certain was she that the dog would obey that she felt only increasing confidence when Scáthach followed her across the hall.
Hurrying down to the postern door, Murie and Lina slipped outside into the yard, through the gate and into the woods, where Scáthach ranged slightly ahead of them.
As they emerged from woodland onto the clifftop, Murie said, “Lina, are you certain Dougal won’t hurt Lizzie? I confess I am not sure at all.”
“If no one challenges him…” But Lina said no more, and Murie knew that she was as worried about Lizzie’s safety as Dree was. She recalled then that Lina had prophesied dire consequences to Dougal if he dared to test the nature of Tùr Meiloach’s sacred ability to protect true MacFarlans.
“Sakes, Lizzie is not a MacFarlan,” Murie said. “Tùr Meiloach will not—”
“Do you think I am unaware of that?” Lina asked. “We must reach them quickly, before anything dire occurs. Then, Murie, we must both do all we can to remain calm and impose that calm on Lizzie and Dougal.”
Muriella nearly disclaimed having any such power. But, remembering what Lina had so often told her about having confidence in herself, she nodded instead.
“No matter what Rob thinks, I can do anything that Lina and Dree can do,” she murmured to herself. Then she repeated it silently, again and again, as they hurried along the clifftops.
There was no path there because the granite was strewn with boulders and scree, so they had to watch every footstep. Keeping well away from the edges, they made good time and soon saw Rob, Ian, and Andrew in the distance ahead.
“They will be displeased to see us, you know,” Lina said. “Ian expected us to stay in the tower, but—”
“I know,” Murie interjected. “Rob is beginning to grow accustomed to my… my thinking for myself or acting on impulse, as he would say. But…” She paused.
“Has he done as the Brehon ordered yet?”
Murie grimaced. “Sakes, you must have one ear inside my head, for I just thought of that myself. He has not. He said he doesn’t want to. Moreover, his grace absolved me of all guilt in the abduction and granted me a royal pardon, so that may have eased Rob’s belief that he is obliged to keep his word to the Brehon. However, he might say that this, today, has nowt to do with the Brehon. Sithee, his principles do not succumb as easily to blandishment or even to logic as Father’s might.”
“Husbands are like that,” Lina said. “Ian is as likely as Father is to fly into the boughs, but—” Cutting off her own words, she exclaimed, “Look yonder, Murie! They’ve stopped and are staring at something or someone between them and the loch. Hurry!”
“Don’t come any closer if you want this lass to see another day!” Dougal shouted. He and Lizzie stood with their backs dangerously close to the cliff’s edge.
Rob had seen them first, but having little experience with the sheer cliffs that guarded Tùr Meiloach against access from the loch, he had not realized until they were nearly upon Lizzie and Dougal how close to the edge the two were.
Seeing the loch behind them and knowing that the two stood a hundred feet above the water sent chills up and down Rob’s spine. He had a healthy respect for such heights and had seen as he and the others hurried along the uneven granite that the tide was nearly at its ebb. Even if one of them could survive hitting the water, no one could survive hitting the rocky shallows.
The impulse to rush forward and grab Lizzie was nearly unbearable. Looking at Andrew and then Ian, Rob saw his feelings reflected in their faces.
Dougal did, too. “Don’t try it, or I swear I’ll step off and take her with me.”
Aware of peripheral motion, Rob glanced to his right and saw Murie and Lina approaching quietly but swiftly. Wholly unexpected fury surged through him along with something less familiar. Realizing that the unusual emotion was pure terror, not for Lizzie but for Muriella, he strove to calm himself. What the devil were they doing here? Surely, Murie would not risk herself for—
The thought stopped in its tracks. Had he not seen her act in foolhardy ways more than once already? Had she not begun this journey of theirs with a foolish, impulsive act, albeit not nearly as terrifying as what he feared she might do now?
He tried to catch her eye, but she kept her gaze fixed on Dougal and Lizzie.
Standing beside Murie but looking intently at Dougal, Lina said gently, “It will not
be as dreadful as you fear, Dougal, I promise. The anger you feel has mixed with your grief for your father and the disappointment of seeing your future hopes dashed. Some of it is selfish; some is honest grief. None of it is Lizzie’s fault.”
Seeing Dougal’s head jerk up at those words, Rob thought Lina must be daft to risk speaking such a truth to him at such a time. Looking at Andrew and Ian, he saw, to his astonishment, that even Ian was calmly watching the tableau.
Murie listened to Lina but was trying to read Dougal and to project her own utterly unexpected sense of calmness to him. His emotions were in such turmoil that she could not interpret them. She knew only that what she sensed was dangerous, especially for Lizzie, so she had to do what she could to help Lina calm him.
As she did, she realized that it must be Lina’s own calmness flowing through her and hoped that, together, they could ease the turmoil of Dougal’s emotions.
Lizzie looked fearless. She was uncharacteristically quiet, though, and alert. Murie could sense no warmth in her now for Dougal and wrested her attention back to him, confident that she could remain calm and avoid the gimlet green stare from Rob that might otherwise prove her undoing.
She knew that look well enough to feel it aimed at her, but she reminded herself that he was beginning to trust her… in some ways.
At least, she knew that he would do nothing foolish. The very thought was alien. Rob was the steadiest, most even-tempered man she had ever known, except when she vexed him. Even then, his anger was more like the tide rolling to the shore, steady, unavoidable, and—in her case, at least—painfully effective.
She had done it again, drifted into her imagination.
Everyone else was standing still, scarcely daring to breathe.
Then a loud crack seemed to erupt through the very air.
Her gaze flew to Lizzie’s widening eyes and gaping mouth, and she realized that the granite shelf on which Lizzie and Dougal stood had cracked.