His pride didn’t last for very long though because almost immediately Richard began to laugh, it was a harsh sounding laugh and contained very little humour. Ewan’s shoulders drooped and his small hand dropped to his side as though he carried a fistful of lead.
“That’s precious!” Richard scoffed, “a few months ago she didn’t even want to come here, in fact she begged with our father not to send her here, and now you’re walking around calling her mother! You really must be a needy little creature!” His harsh laughter filled the courtyard as he watched the boy race back in the direction he had come from, and he tried to squash any sympathy he felt for him as he watched him race away. He certainly wasn’t here to make any friends, his sister might have married into this family but they were still his enemy and he’d do well to remember that!
At the sound of a door slamming behind him he turned and looked in the direction of the kitchen, but there was no one there. Shrugging he returned to pacing up and down the courtyard, sending looks of hatred towards the two men leaning negligently on either side of the only exit of the courtyard. He had no doubt that they were there to stop him from leaving, to stop him from finding his sister, and he had no doubt that that big Scottish brute had ordered them to do so using any means possible.
“Oh! Is that Ewan!” Elizabeth exclaimed as his small figure anxiously dashed across their path in the direction of the stables. “We’d best go and see what’s wrong with him”, she veered off along the path he had taken, then paused, looking back towards the castle and indecision crossed her face.
Turning pleading eyes up to Duncan, begging him to understand, she asked, “can you take care of him while I go and find Richard?”
“Of course I can!” Duncan was furious, not liking the choice she had made, “I was his father for a long time before ye arrived!”
“Are you angry?” she questioned, hearing the edge in his voice.
“No Elizabeth! Ye have your priorities and I have mine! Run along and find yer brother while I find out what’s upsetting my son!” and with that he stormed off, praying for patience, not wanting to scare his son with anger that wasn’t meant for him!
“Ewan!” Duncan bellowed as he entered the stables, louder than he had planned!
“Duncan!” William shuffled out of one of the stalls, locking the gate firmly behind him.
“Have ye seen Ewan? I saw him come in here not long ago!”
Nodding, William took Duncan by the arm, leading him out through a small side door that was rarely used by anyone but William. Keeping his voice low he explained, “He came in here mighty upset. He wanted to take one of the horses out. When I asked him where he wanted to go he just said that he dinnae want to be here, I managed to calm him down somewhat and suggested that if he wanted time alone he could go and sit in my room for a couple of hours without anyone finding him. That’s where he is; at least that’s where I left him not long ago! He wouldnae tell me what was troubling him but hopefully ye’ll have better luck, I’ve not seen the boy so upset before!”
Thanking William, Duncan wasted no time getting to the little house built on to the back of the stable. Without knocking, he opened the door and stopped dead in the doorway as he saw his bairn huddled in one corner, head in his arms which were rested on top of his bent knees. Duncan could tell from the shaking motion of his little shoulders that he was crying, thinking no one was there to watch. Silently Duncan closed the door, and slowly crossed the room to kneel down in front of his son. Reaching out he questioned, “Ewan?”
“I dinnae want him here father! Why did he have to come!” Duncan didn’t need to ask who Ewan was referring to, for his son’s feeling matched his own completely. Gathering Ewan in his arms, “shh” he tried to sooth.
“He’s gonna change everything! It’s not gonna be the same! And these past months with Elizabeth here have been great!” he wiped the tears out of his eyes.
“Elizabeth’s not going anywhere”, he caught Ewan’s chin in his hand, forcing his eyes up to meet his own, willing him to believe, “she is my wife and yer mother now, here place is here, we are her family!”
“But he laughed when I told him that”, he choked out on another wave of tears, trying to turn his head, trying to hide his tears from his father.
Not letting him hide, Duncan demanded, “and what did Elizabeth say about the whole matter?”
“She said that I was her son now, and that it is my decision whether or not I call her mother!” The tears dried, and a hopeful look appeared in his blue eyes, “do ye think she meant it?”
“Has Elizabeth ever lied to ye?” Duncan asked in return.
Thinking hard Ewan eventually shook his head no, “then she must have meant it after all!” he said with wonder in his voice.
“Richard doesnae know of anything that has happened here over the past couple of months, I’d wager he just said what he did to hurt ye and to make himself feel happier”.
“Really?”
Nodding, Duncan rose to his feet, holding his hand down for his son to take, “come on! Let’s go out for a ride, I havenae looked around some of the farms for a couple of days, ye can come and tell me what ye think!”
“Really?”
Again Duncan nodded, and Ewan jumped to his feet and made a dash towards the stables. Staring in his son's wake Duncan wished that he still had the resilience of a child because he had a feeling he was going to need it!
“Richard!” Elizabeth entered the courtyard, arms extended in welcome.
“Elizabeth!” His smile lit up his face and changed his countenance completely. He was now unrecognisable as the boy who had behaved so cruelly towards Ewan. He raced forwards taking Elizabeth into his arms. God! but he’d missed his sister, his life had been hell at home with his only alley gone.
Elizabeth’s arms tightened around his shoulders, it was so good to see her little brother again! “Oh! But I was so worried about you Richard, when you rode off from the church that day I didn’t know what they would do to you!”
“Nothing!” he laughed, “I just kept riding, didn’t stop until I reached home! Father questioned me about why I had returned early but he didn’t pursue it for long. Indeed he’s been too preoccupied with the wedding arrangements for all our sisters!”
“What? Who got married?”
“All of them!” he laughed, “You should have seen the men he chose! I almost felt sorry for them!” he grinned mischievously, “but then I thought of you up here” he sobered. “I heard about you getting shot with an arrow! Father never found out, but I managed to hear a few men talking about it. That’s why I came all this way, to make sure you were alright. They didn’t even know if you were alive or dead, but then when father received the letter from your husband explaining that you had recovered well, I wanted to come and make sure for myself!”
“What? Duncan wrote to our father?” Elizabeth’s heart jumped, he hadn’t told her that! But knowing Duncan as she did it would not be something that he cared to boast about! So he wasn’t as opposed to her family as he pretended!
“Anybody there?” Richard questioned sarcastically, waving his hand in front of her face. “You’ve not heard a thing I’ve said for the last couple of minutes! To think I came all of this way only for you to ignore me as though I’m not here!” he half joked, used to having his sisters full attention.
“As you can see Richard, I’m perfectly recovered!” arms out, she spun around to prove just that.
“So I can see. You always did have a good constitution!” Taking her arm, he led her further into the courtyard and as far away from listening ears as he could manage, “I have to be honest Elizabeth, I also came for another reason all together”.
“Why Richard? What’s wrong”, concern for her brother washed over Elizabeth.
“I’ve come to help you escape this place”, his voice was full of scorn, “and take you back to England with me!” he waited expectantly for her gratitude which he knew must come. He had taken a terrib
le risk coming here, surely she could appreciate that.
“Take me where in England Richard? Father won’t take me back now!”
“I admit that that’s the part of the plan that I haven’t quite figured out yet, but I’m sure we will find somewhere safe for you to live” he paused, pondering the dilemma, Elizabeth almost groaned aloud when she saw excitement touch his eyes, “I’ve got it Elizabeth! A convent! You could go and live in a convent, spend your days tending to the sick and needy. You’d love that!”
Elizabeth immediately regretted the shout of laughter which his words had surprised out of her, she hadn’t meant to hurt him but the very idea of going to live in a convent was preposterous! and the very thought of leaving this place was unbearable. Reaching out a soothing hand, she tried to explain, “It was very brave of you to come all of this way so that you could help me to escape. But truth be told Richard, I don’t want to leave here, I love being here. This is my home now!”
“You’re only saying this because it’s what he has told you to say!” Richard voice rose angrily. Elizabeth didn’t need to ask which he he was referring to.
“No he hasn’t told me to say anything! And he is my husband so I’d appreciate it if you’d show him some respect!”
“Well! he is a Scott and our sworn enemy and you’d do well to remember that!” He scolded, not liking her attitude.
“He is not my enemy Richard! In fact, my loyalty belongs to him!” With that said, she spun around on her heel and marched past the guards and out of the now stifling courtyard.
“Elizabeth wait!” he pleaded as the guards blocked the exit, not allowing him to follow. “Please!”
“Why? So that I can listen to you insult my family some more?”
“No!” he shook his head, “to apologize. We’ve never had bad feeling between us before, I don’t want any now. I want to hear how you’ve been these past few months.”
“Oh, when you put it like that!” she sighed and turned to John, “did Duncan tell you to guard him?” With the look that Colin and John shared with each other she had her answer. “You don’t need to follow him around anymore. We’re going to take a walk around the village and catch up, you can tell Duncan that if he asks”.
“We cannae do that! Duncan gave us orders not to let him out of this courtyard!”
“And I’m telling you that you are no longer needed here. If Duncan questions it you send him to me!”
Reluctantly the two men stepped back, allowing Richard to pass between them. As they watched the two figures walk away Colin mumbled, “I hope we dinnae live to regret this!”
"How about we follow at a distance just in case we're needed" Slowly, both men followed, hoping they wouldn't run into Duncan.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Where is he?” Duncan bellowed through the doorway. Ewan jumped at the booming echo of his father’s voice, bumping into Elizabeth and almost toppling her off the little stool she was perched on. Once she had steadied herself, Elizabeth turned to the man glowering in the doorway; the sight of him almost caused her to jump back too, for she had never seen him look more furious. Instead she reached out a soothing hand to Ewan, hoping to convey without words that he had nothing to fear, that Duncan would never hurt either one of them.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth rose shakily to her feet. She didn’t need to ask who he was referring to, that was obvious, he was looking for Richard. Racking her brains she tried to think of what Richard could have done to cause such intense anger from Duncan. She didn’t know.
Since Richard’s arrival Duncan had withdrawn from her more and more each day. At first the withdrawal had been slight and she had been so happy and caught up in the presence of her brother to notice, but as the weeks had multiplied, so too had the distance between them. The silence between them had grown until barely a civil word passed between them anymore. He still reached out for her in the dark of night and made love to her with such a fierceness and intensity that was so at odds with how he treated her in the light of day. Every night she clung to him with equal intensity, and when he fell asleep in her arms she would cling onto him hoping that the coming day would bring with it a change of attitude. But it never did!
Some days a sense of utter hopelessness shrouded her, she didn’t know what had caused his sudden change of attitude and therefore couldn’t do anything to change it. At first she had suspected that it must be Richards’s presence here, but secretly she had studied the two men, their interactions were always formally polite, too polite, and while the men clearly didn’t like each other, she had never seen any signs of outright hatred between them. Until now.
“He’s not here Duncan!” Was all the answer she could gave.
“I can see that! Though I am surprised! It seems hardly a minute passes without the two of ye being in each other’s company!” His sarcastic jab worked to rile her.
“I spend more than enough time around here! I happen to live here in case ye hadnae noticed!” Duncan roared the minute the boy was out of earshot.
“What are you still doing here when you obviously hate it so much!” as soon as the words left her lips she regretted throwing them at him. As bad as things were she didn’t want him to leave!
“That sounds like a good idea because I’m obviously not going to be missed by my wife!” he spun on his heel and marched to the door, forgetting the reason he had come in the first place and not wanting to say anything else that he might regret, not wanting to see the hurt in those eyes spitting venom at him.
“Wait!” he paused. “Why are you looking for Richard?” she asked.
“Because my dear, that darling brother of yers has sabotaged my saddle, no doubt with the hope of killing me!”
“What?” she was astounded, “Why would Richard want to do that?”
“That’s what I’ll find out, right after I find the lad!”
“No! No Richard wouldn’t do that!” she had utter trust in her brother, he might not like Duncan but he certainly wouldn’t try to kill him! “Are you sure it was sabotage?”
“Defending little brother?” he laughed harshly, “Of course it was sabotage! Now I want to find him and get some answers!”
“What makes you think it was Richard?” she wondered at the unjustness of the situation, “surely it could have been anyone!”
“Aye, it could have been one of the men who have shown loyalty to me over the last ten years, or more likely it was the English lad, who stated the night he arrived that I would never be more than his enemy. And sure all the accidents that have happened since his arrival could have just been a coincidence or more likely they were caused by yer brother’s hand!” He sneered at her.
“What accidents? This is the first time I’ve heard of any accidents taking place!”
“That’s because I dinnae want ye to hear of them, I dinnae want ye to worry about me!” he laughed again, that harsh humourless sound, “although what a joke that is! As if ye’d spend any time worrying over my wellbeing!” he spat out.
“Why are you saying things like this Duncan!” she pleaded, “you know I would worry about you! You’re the most important person in my life! Why can’t you see that? Why do you keep pulling away?” she stepped towards him but he only turned away.
On a sigh that sounded as though it was torn from his soul he asked tonelessly, “where is he now Elizabeth?”
“I’m not sure exactly. He said he was going out for a ride. To get some fresh air”.
“So he wanted time alone in the stables to put his plan to work” he scoffed.
“No! Why don’t you believe me when I tell you that he didn’t do it!” Elizabeth couldn’t stop the rising volume of her voice.
“How can ye be sure? Did ye go to the stables with him? Did ye watch him leave?” he questioned.
“No, but he asked me to go out riding with him, the only reason I didn’t go was because I wasn’t feeling so good this morning! Or else I would have been there with him!” she implored h
im to believe her.
He ignored the pang of worry that pierced his heart upon hearing that she’d been sick. Looking closely at her now he could see that her normally luminous skin had a sickly greyish colour about it and there were dark rings around her eyes. Wanting to go to her, wanting to forget this whole business of accidents and sabotage Duncan cursed the fates that made it impossible for him to do just that. He had many things to sort out before he and Elizabeth could try and rebuild their marriage, it would have to wait, he knew that, but stilling his feet was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.
“So ye dinnae know for sure that he dinnae do it?”
“And you don’t know for sure that he did! All you have is a big bunch of coincidences! That is not proof Duncan!”
"Perhaps not but I shall have the proof by the end of this day!" Without a backwards glance he purposefully marched out of the room. He didn't see Elizabeth drop heavily into the stool, or sink her head in her hands before the tears rolled out of her eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
John pulled his horse up to a halt in front of Duncan, panting from his hasty ride through the countryside and dripping wet from the downpour all around. He cursed the wind which whipped icy drops of rain painfully onto his exposed cheeks and wished the English boy to hell where he wouldn’t be able to cause any more trouble!
“Did ye find him?” Duncan’s question was whipped out of his mouth by the wind. He too was cursing the weather and becoming thoroughly frustrated that they couldn’t find the boy. Where in God’s name could he be? After arguing with Elizabeth, Duncan had left with Colin and John to go in search of Richard. They had been looking for most of the day and had had no luck so far in tracking him down. Soon they would have to turn around and return to the castle because night was creeping in earlier than usual due to the dark clouds above them. Time was running out!
“No!” John shouted over the noisy wind, “I’ve been all through the Western forest, right out to the river and there was no sign of him anywhere. If he’s out there then he’s hiding, bunked down somewhere! He’s certainly not out in the open anywhere!”
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