God's Highlander

by Thompson, E. V.

  The news horrified Wyatt. Regular soldiers in the Highlands were bad news for everyone. The presence of Irish soldiers was alarming. There was little love lost between the two races. The only reason the Kilmalie factor could have for bringing them here would be to back up a major clearance.

  John Garrett had played a crafty and patient game. He had anticipated a split in the Church and been equally confident Wyatt would side with the dissenters. Wyatt no longer had the support of the established church behind him, and the sympathies of the courts were with Garrett and all he stood for. It gave him a free hand to do as he wished on the Kilmalie estates, with no one to restrain him. Within a year there would be no need for a minister here – free church or established. John Garrett could clear every man, woman and child from the vast area that comprised the Eskaig parish.

  Wyatt’s long brooding silence was broken by the boatman. ‘I’d say something’s already happened, Minister. You’ve never drawn a larger crowd than are waiting today.’

  Wyatt looked up to see many people standing beside the ramshackle jetty, with more hurrying along the road from Eskaig. It seemed the entire village had turned out to meet him. In the van were the church elders – but Wyatt saw immediately that one was missing. Angus Cameron had not come to greet him on his return.

  When Wyatt stood on land, the elders came forward, one by one, and gravely shook his hand in a gesture of support. Many others expressed their approval of his actions as Wyatt moved through the crowd. He was greatly moved by their faith in him, especially when he learned what had happened in his absence.

  Factor John Garrett had not wasted any time since his own return. Three days ago he had gone to the manse escorted by a platoon of Irish soldiers. Under his direction all Wyatt’s personal property had been removed and dumped in an untidy heap in the churchyard. A number of elders had hurried to the scene to protest at what was being done, only to be told Wyatt was no longer a member of the Church of Scotland. Consequently, he had no right to live in the manse.

  A number of women tried to gather up Wyatt’s possessions, but Garrett warned them that anyone in the village who harboured either Wyatt or his property would be immediately evicted from their home and ordered from Kilmalie lands.

  ‘I have a little surprise for Factor Garrett – but where’s my property now?’ Wyatt asked the question surrounded by Eskaig villagers, all anxious to add snippets of information or express opinions as they made slow progress towards the village.

  ‘It’s in the schoolhouse. Alasdair Burns took it in during that first night. The factor raged on at us when he learned it had gone, but no one told him where it was.’

  ‘I’m grateful to you. To all of you. We have serious matters to discuss now I’m back in Eskaig. The spiritual well-being of our people. The support for a free church was much greater than expected. We’ll soon be able to appoint ministers to as many parishes as the established church. For a while we’ll likely be the only church, here….’

  The sudden silence that greeted his words was broken by one of the elders. ‘Garrett’s already put up a new minister for the living. Angus Cameron and his wife moved into the manse yesterday evening.’

  Wyatt was more hurt than surprised. It had always been a very badly kept secret that Angus Cameron nursed an ambition to occupy the Eskaig manse. The early rift between himself and Wyatt had been covered up rather than healed.

  ‘What of his induction?’

  ‘It’s to be this Sunday. I think Garrett expected it to be an accomplished fact before you returned from Edinburgh.’

  John Garrett had laid his plans well. With a new minister in the manse, and Kilmalie tenants threatened with dire consequences if they gave shelter to their disestablished minister, the factor must have thought he had won the day. One of Wyatt’s first duties would be to disillusion him.

  The elders suggested it might be better if Wyatt stayed at the Eskaig inn for a while. It was the only building in the village that did not belong to the Kilmalie estate, and Annie Hamilton would not be intimidated by John Garrett’s threats.

  Wyatt had other ideas. Accompanied by the anxious villagers, he made his way to the school, which was virtually on the doorstep of the manse. Here he said a short prayer and led them in singing a hymn which could not fail to have been heard in the manse. Then Wyatt left his supporters with a promise that he would remain to offer them a Free Church service next Sunday – the day of Angus Cameron’s induction. He also arranged to meet the elders in the school building later that evening.

  In the house attached to the school there was no suggestion that Wyatt’s stay would be temporary. Wyatt had his own bedroom, and his clothes had been neatly folded, or hung in a large cupboard that also served as a wall-divider.

  Wyatt had wondered what Evangeline’s reaction had been to her father’s latest actions, but Alasdair Burns informed him she had travelled to London only days after Wyatt left for Edinburgh. The doctors looking after her mother felt she was almost ready to return home to Scotland but there was a need to discuss her future. In the absence of her father, Evangeline had gone to London to speak to them on his behalf.

  While Wyatt was eating, Alasdair Burns asked: ‘Do you want to discuss our future plans just yet? We’ll no doubt both be turned out when the factor realises you’re staying here.’

  ‘We’ll neither of us be turned out. I’ll be seeing Garrett in the morning. I intend to ask him to allow me to use the kirk if the people decide they want a free church here in Eskaig.’

  Alasdair Burns looked at Wyatt as though he had been stricken down by insanity. ‘Garrett will never allow you anywhere near the kirk. He’s far more likely to have the military run you and me clear across the border into England.’

  ‘Garrett will have neither of us run out of Eskaig. I have documents here from the late Lord Kilmalie. They state that the school, this house and the land on which they stand belong to me. The Army will help him as far as it dares to go, but no commanding officer is going to break the law for a Highland factor.’

  It was almost dark outside already. Donald McKay’s steam-boat had been late reaching Eskaig. As Alasdair Burns went round the house lighting candles, Wyatt said: ‘It’s likely to be a long day tomorrow, and I must speak to the elders tonight. First, though, I want to visit the churchyard for a wee while….’ Wyatt hesitated before asking: ‘Have you seen anything of Mairi while I’ve been away?’

  Alasdair Burns shook his head. ‘No one’s seen hide nor hair of a Ross for weeks, although there are rumours galore of men from as far away as Glen Shiel coming to visit Eneas. I fear there’s something afoot at the Ross croft. Perhaps someone should warn Eneas of the Irish soldiers stationed at Fort William. They’d light a fire beneath a Highlander just to watch him dance.’

  Alasdair Burns might have been exaggerating the Irish soldiery’s dislike of the Highlander, but not by much. Soldiers of the two countries were never sent overseas in the same troop-transport and, if at all possible, were rarely garrisoned within fighting distance of each other. The Irish 27th Regiment had seen service in Africa when Wyatt was there, and it was a well-known fact that the Irishmen would as soon fight a Highlander as a Zulu.

  ‘I’ll go on to have a word with Eneas tomorrow, after I’ve seen Garrett.’

  ‘I thought you might. Here, take this lamp with you to the churchyard. There’s no moon tonight, and it’ll be dark by the time you return.’

  Wyatt did not take the lamp outside the schoolhouse. It was still light enough to see, and Wyatt would have no difficulty finding his way back. He had visited his father’s grave almost every day since coming to Eskaig. He could have found his way blindfold.

  As Wyatt skirted the small familiar kirk, he saw that candles had been lit inside. Acting upon impulse, he opened the kirk door quietly and slipped inside.

  It was a few moments before he saw Angus Cameron. The new Eskaig minister kneeled in front of the altar, a still, shadowy figure, head bowed in prayer.

&nb
sp; Wyatt had almost reached him before Angus Cameron became aware of his presence. Wyatt’s foot brushed against a misplaced pew, and the praying figure straightened up and turned.

  When he recognised his visitor, Angus Cameron rose to his feet. ‘What are you doing here? You’re no longer Eskaig’s minister. Has no one told you…?’

  ‘I know all about it, Angus, but don’t let me disturb you. Let’s pray together … for our people. The people of Eskaig.’

  ‘We no longer belong to the same church. I’m the minister now. You’d better leave.’

  ‘We’re both men of God, Angus, whichever church we belong to. Of far more importance is what’s likely to happen to the people of Eskaig if Garrett has his way.’

  ‘If you don’t leave, I’ll have the factor report you to the authorities in Fort William for attempting to stir up trouble. There’s no longer a place for you in Eskaig.’

  ‘There’s more need than ever before. More need for both of us, can’t you see? Garrett isn’t working for the welfare of the people of Eskaig, and he certainly doesn’t care about the Church. He’s playing the age-old game of “divide and rule”. He wants to clear the Kilmalie estates. While there’s been one church with a single voice to oppose him, he’s needed to restrain his ambitions. If he can effectively divide us against each other, he can do what he likes. I came to ask if we might share the kirk….’

  ‘It wasn’t Garrett who split the Church. You’re the “free church” man.’

  Wyatt realised he was getting nowhere. Angus Cameron had achieved his lifetime’s ambition. He was resident in the manse. He would not give it up easily.

  In a final bid to gain the support of the new minister, Wyatt said: ‘If we fight each other instead of fighting Garrett, we’ll wake up one day to discover we have no parishioners left to fight for. Garrett will have cleared the mountains – and Eskaig, too.’

  Angus Cameron appeared to ponder this, and for a moment Wyatt thought his words had finally made an impression on the new Eskaig preacher. Then the stubborn expression returned to the older man’s face.

  ‘You’ll not get yourself back in the manse or this kirk with clever words. You chose to leave our church, now you must pay the price. Either you get out of my kirk now, or you’ll be reported to the magistrates. Go away from Eskaig. You don’t belong here. You never have and you’ve brought us nothing but trouble.’

  As dusk closed in upon the peaceful churchyard, Wyatt thought of Angus Cameron’s words. Had he brought trouble to the people of Eskaig? What would have happened had he not come here as their minister? Was he right to try to oppose Garrett’s plans? Would it make any difference to the outcome?

  On his knees beside his father’s grave, Wyatt thought of the man who was buried beneath the almost indiscernible grassed mound. His father had wrecked his health in the battle to save the homes of his parishioners and the only way of life they had known. Yet the Islands had been cleared despite all his father had done. He had died a defeated and heartbroken old man. Had anything he did been worthwhile for either people or preacher?

  Wyatt wondered whether he should have learned a lesson from his father’s experience. Instead he was not only opposing the clearance policies of the landowners, he had also joined battle with the State-supported might of the established church. Wyatt stayed sunk in his thoughts beside the grave until he heard the elders of Eskaig making their way along the road to the school.

  Forty

  WYATT’S CALL ON John Garrett at the factor’s Corpach home began in exactly the same way as an earlier visit. He was let into the house by the same dour, vaguely disapproving, middle-aged maidservant. When she went upstairs to inform the factor of his visitor, Wyatt heard the same whisperings from the room when the servant returned downstairs to where Wyatt waited in the hall.

  John Garrett had never been short on arrogance, but when he came down a few minutes later the arrogance was heavily tinged with disdain.

  ‘I never expected to see you back in the Highlands, Jamieson. Common sense should have told you there was no place for you here. Eskaig has a new minister, one who knows on which side his bread’s buttered. There’s no room for you, or the trouble-making church you now represent. In case you haven’t heard, I’ve not only taken back the manse on behalf of the established church, I’ve also warned the villagers against allowing you to stay with any one of them.’

  ‘I haven’t come here to quarrel with you, Garrett. I had hoped you’d raise no objection to me conducting a Sunday service in the kirk.’

  John Garrett hooted with mirth. ‘You’re on the wrong side, Jamieson. It’s the devil’s cheek you have. The church is under Kilmalie patronage. As long as I’m factor here you’ll never be allowed so much as a square foot of Kilmalie land on which to preach. That leaves you with nowhere. Go back to Glasgow, Jamieson – and take that one-legged schoolteacher with you. There’s no place for him here, either.’

  ‘I’m sorry you feel like this, Factor. Neither Alasdair Burns nor I will be leaving. We’ve both work to do, and since you’ve brought an Irish regiment to the district I suspect my presence in Eskaig will be needed more than ever before.’

  John Garrett’s anger flared up, but before he could speak Wyatt held up a hand to silence him. ‘Before you repeat yourself, I’ll not need to preach on Kilmalie property. The late Lord Kilmalie left me the land on which the school is built, to do with as I will. I’ve brought a copy of the deed with me. The original is in the safe hands of Charles Graham. I had hoped you and I might have been able to reach some form of agreement on the use of the kirk. I perhaps should have known better. I’ll be holding services in the school building until we can build a new kirk on the land. Good-bye, Garrett. I see no reason why we should meet again.’

  Wyatt turned to go, but then paused. ‘By the way, Alasdair Burns has received a letter from Evangeline. She hopes to be bringing her mother home later this week. I don’t think Mrs Garrett will take kindly to sharing your bedroom with anyone else.’

  For once John Garrett did not come back at Wyatt with a ready reply, but Wyatt walked from the factor’s house with a sense of failure. He knew he had been hoping for nothing short of a miracle in thinking he and the Kilmalie factor might have been able to talk matters over sensibly. Their mutual dislike created an insurmountable barrier between them. It had been a naive and forlorn hope. Wyatt’s concern now was for the welfare of the people in the mountains who barred the way to the extra profit Garrett hoped to make from the introduction of huge flocks of sheep.

  The expression of welcome on Mairi’s face when she walked from the Ross cot and saw Wyatt approaching helped dispel much of the uncertainty Wyatt felt about his present role in Eskaig affairs. Running to meet him, she hugged him close, and her kiss drove all other thoughts from his mind for a while.

  News of the Disruption within the Church had somehow reached the remote Ross croft, and Mairi’s first words were of its effect upon Wyatt.

  ‘I never expected to see you up here so soon after the Disruption. What’s happening in Eskaig? Are you still our minister?’

  Wyatt told Mairi of his eviction from the manse and of Angus Cameron’s appointment in his place. By the time they reached the door of the croft Eneas Ross had appeared, and Wyatt was obliged to repeat his answers to the same questions.

  ‘That’s the gratitude of a Cameron for you,’ nodded Eneas Ross sagely. ‘They’ve always been men you’d be better stamping on when you have them down, not extending a hand to help them up again. There’s never been any gratitude in Angus Cameron’s soul.’

  As Eneas Ross was speaking, a number of unsmiling men emerged from the croft behind him. Wyatt recognised a few of them as cottars. Among them were men he had last seen at the funeral of the Highland centenarian Archibald Mackinnon. Many more were strangers of about Eneas Ross’s own age – and the majority carried muskets or rifles.

  ‘Kinsmen of mine,’ said Eneas Ross in the briefest of explanations. To the ‘kinsmen’, he sa
id: ‘This is Preacher Jamieson from Eskaig. He’s a dissenter and has just been turned out of the manse by Factor Garrett.’

  His introduction provoked a few grunts that might have expressed sympathy. They could equally have indicated lack of interest.

  ‘The preacher’s an ex-army man. A captain in the Seventy-Second Regiment.’

  There was an immediate change in the attitude of Eneas Ross’s ‘kinsmen’. Smiles appeared on their faces for the first time, and each of them stepped forward politely to shake Wyatt’s hand.

  Eyeing the armed men, Wyatt asked: ‘Is there any special reason for this family gathering?’

  Expressionless, Eneas Ross shook his head. ‘It’s been a long time since we last met. Now seemed as good a time as any.’

  ‘I disagree.’

  Wyatt’s unexpected comment took his listeners by surprise, and Wyatt explained. ‘Factor Garrett returned from Glasgow a few days ago with at least a full company of an Irish regiment. They’re garrisoned at Fort William.’

  The concern shown by his listeners told Wyatt that, without exception, Eneas Ross’s ‘kinsmen’ were military men. They realised the implications of having Irish regular soldiers garrisoned in the Highlands. Many Irishmen were brought up on tales of Highland savagery. Scots soldiers had been used to put down the sporadic uprisings in that tortured country, and Highland regiments had proved particularly effective.

  Wyatt pressed home his point. ‘If the Irish find a Highlander carrying a gun, they’ll shoot him on sight. You’d be wise to break up the family gathering and send everyone home.’

  When none of the men would meet his eyes, Wyatt knew they had been plotting something. Whatever it was, his news had not caused them to change their plans. Wyatt decided he must drop all pretence and appeal to them directly.