The Twisted Laird

by Cherime MacFarlane

  There was a chuckle from the shadow on the chair. "'Tis good enough. I'm going tae let ye live." Ian started to move, but the knife in his groin caused him to go still again. "Only, if I never see ye again. I cannae guarantee yur safety if I see yur face. Ye ken?"

  "I ken. Swear tae ye, if ye check tha manifest after tha Dutchman delivers. Oh, wait, we'll need ah few days tae gather up tha shipment, deliver it an flit with Tally's money."

  "I'll be busy with burying my wife for ah few days. Remember what I said, ye're nae safe if I see either of ye. I'm going tae leave ye now. Dinnae move for a bit."

  Ian closed his eyes to give thanks to God for his life. When he opened them again, Edan was gone. Trembling all over, Ian could not have moved if he wished to. He would catch his breath, then go free Jock. They had no choice. They must leave.

  Chapter Forty - Three

  Edan carried on a one sided conversation with his dead wife all the way to the glen. He did not stop to rest or eat. When he passed the place they had first lain together, Edan found he was crying. Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, Edan told Daracha about his conversation with Ian.

  Telling her about the dream was a bit harder. As was telling her, he had not been as careful with Ailene as he should have. On reaching the place where Gideon was supposed to have nearly lost his life, Edan sat on his horse contemplating the burn and the scree slope.

  How had the man managed to get down the slope without tumbling off into the burn? Edan wondered as he stared into the water flowing past, was there something he was missing? Was there something wanting in his character? Was he a coward for wanting to be tumbling down the slope away from everyone and everything he was supposed to be responsible for?

  Discussing the matter with Daracha did not help. She did not answer him. Knowing she could no longer reply to his urgent questions, did not stop him from asking. When he topped the last ridge before the descent into the glen, Edan halted.

  All looked quiet enough. No smoke came from the chimneys. There was none from the keep either. Still, caution dictated he turn aside from the main track. Crossing the burn far below the cottages, Edan made his way carefully along the game trail. On a level with the stable just across from the old stone building, he sat on the horse and surveyed the area.

  A raven soared in a thermal above the glen. A gentle breeze blew through the tops of the trees on the hillside. It was quiet, but not the deathly silence of an ambush. A hare darted out of the wash shed beside the keep and skirted the barmkin.

  Sliding off the animal, Edan tied it to the stub of a bush and silently eased down the slope to the stable. The very first thing he went for was his sword. Although dusty from sitting in the rafters, it was as sharp as the day he had tucked it away.

  The leather harness looked as if it had been gnawed on by some small creature. He did not care, there was no real damage to the leather. The next thing he grabbed was a shovel.

  On the lip of the quarry, a few feet in was a small lump of ground. It could be easily seen from the ledge where his brother lay. A small part of his mind tried to tell Edan he was beyond hope. There was no way his dead brother could guard his wife's body.

  Ignoring the voice, he continued with his mission. He took care of her, the woman who was married to his brother, Hamish could take care of Daracha. The small voice complained that his care of the woman the day his love died, was less than it should have been.

  "Leave off! I'm beyond hope. Ye complained about it yourself." Edan grumbled aloud to the voice. The shovel was thrust through the bindings that held Daracha to the other horse. Crossing the path out of the head of the glen, Edan made for the quarry.

  The sun had traversed the sky and was low on the western horizon when Edan reached the spot he was looking for. In confusion, he looked around him. How was he to dig the grave with the light gone? The voice told him to give it up, go to the old cottage, rest and begin on the morrow.

  "Nae, ye bloody lump of cac! She needs tae sleep. I must get this done." The voice weakly offered the idea that a few pine pitch torches would probably work. That suggestion, Edan took.

  By the light of the torches he dug the grave. All the while the man complained to whoever might be listening, how greatly displeased he was to be giving her up so soon. They should have had many bairns. He should have been able to lie abed with her until they were so old and wrinkled they could barely move.

  Cursing and ranting, Edan dug. Finally, when the second torches were beginning to burn to nothing, he was finished. Her body was flacid when he removed it from the horse. He wanted to remove the wrapping and look on her one more time. The voice cautioned him to let her stay wrapped.

  His leg would barely hold his weight when he lowered himself and the body to the moss beside the hole. Edan could not lower her into the grave. His arms refused to drop her into the earth. Lying full length on the edge of the grave, he clasped the bundle in his arms and lay there.

  "Edan!" A voice he knew called out to him.

  "Aye. Hamish? Why are ye here?" Edan lifted himself up onto one elbow to stare at his brother on the other side of the mound of dirt.

  "To help ye. Put her down, laddie. Ye cannae go on like this. Ye've ah family depending on ye."

  "They can depend on someone else, my head tells me I'm beyond hope. I'll just stay here, in tha old cottage an care for yur graves."

  "Edan MacGrough, pull it all back in, lad. Who's tae care for Ailene?"

  "I dinnae care. She has tha witch, tha foul mouthed bitch is sure tae teach her what ah miserable, bloody bastard I am."

  "Rhona is nae responsible for what happened tae Daracha. I wasnae happy with tha way in which ye mistreated someone who was only trying tae help." Hamish squatted down on top of the pile of dirt.

  "Ye always did take her part over mine. Tossing tha wench made ah difference, surely"

  "Edan, Edan. That is such an untruth, it pains me tae point it out tae ye. Worse yet, ye ken in yur heart, what ah lie it is, an still ye're letting it past yur lips." Hamish tossed a clod of dirt toward Edan.

  "I dinnae want tae talk any more with ye." Edan buried his head into the folds of the woolen cloth wrapped around his wife. A strange odor caused him to move his head away.

  "Put her down, Edan. Ye cannae keep her any longer. Let her go!" The next clod of dirt Hamish threw, landed on Edan.

  Sitting up, Edan tried to pull her body closer, but a rain of dirt hit the bundle and his wife's body fell into the grave. "Nae! He shouted. I cannae give her up!"

  Wiggling toward the open grave, Edan tried to swing his legs over the lip of the hole. At that moment, all the loose earth on the pile began to slide downward into the grave. It looked to Edan, as if Hamish was dancing on top of the pile of dirt. Before Edan could move the earth tumbled into the grave on top of the bundle that had been his wife.

  Out of the loose earth, Daracha rose. She turned to smile at him before reaching for Hamish's open hand.

  "We are headed home now, brother." Edan told him. "Understand, loving another will never be held against you. Daracha understands, as do I. This is just a dream, Edan. Only a dream. On the morrow, fill in tha hole tha rest of the way if ye choose. Then go home. Luv is always our hope an saving grace, brother. Dinnae turn away from it."

  They turned away from him and were gone. Edan put his hands over his face and cried. A light rain began and slowly the rest of the mound of dirt washed into the hole.

  In the morning, Edan woke to a sunny day. There were puddles here and there that testified to the rain of the night before. Wet and cold, Edan looked into the hole and found it nearly full of the dirt and some water. Across from the knoll, he could clearly see the ledge where Hamish's bones lay.

  In the light of day, his experience of the night before was hazy and washed out. Had it really happened? Hamish told him it was a dream. But how could Hamish tell him it was a dream, if he were part of the dream?

  The small voice in his head told him it was nothing but a grief
induced aberration. But he remembered Daracha's smile. He also remembered what Hamish had said about love. Was there a hope of love for him? Edan did not want to think about that so soon after losing his bride.

  He was not sure if he would indeed return to the holding in Grahamston. What he was sure about was that three men were going to die. Edan was quite certain about the matter. Stiff and sore from sleeping on the hill in the rain, Edan used his sword to help him to his feet.

  Today and tonight he would spend in the old cottage. Then he would return to the lowlands. Scrubbing his hand across his face, Edan found he had grown a beard. It did not matter to him any more. He had shaved to please his wife. Edan no longer had a wife to please. The more he looked like a refugee from some miserable village somewhere, the easier his task would be.

  Three men, Angus Williams, Cam Moran and Dougie Moran were already dead. Edan had only to put them in the correct position for burial.

  Chapter Forty - Four

  Jamie sat with Rhona in the shop at the yard. The debris of the fire had been cleared out. Jamie arranged for his workers to join with the two yard men to haul the ash over to the field and spread it. They might as well get some benefit from the loss.

  Lara was busily adding columns of figures, so they knew what the actual losses were. Rhona and Jamie were compiling a list of the wood that sold the best. They were going to restock with those first. A small amount of mahogany would be stockpiled for Edan.

  Edan had been gone for more than a fortnight. Jamie spent the previous day riding around and asking questions. No one had seen Edan. Unwilling to be gone long, Anderson didn’t try to reach the glen.

  One very interesting tidbit of information he gleaned had to do with the Smith cousins. "It seems tha both of them have vanished. Tally is fair frothing at tha mouth trying tae find them. But he willnae give ah reason."

  Rhona smiled. "Ye think mayhap there is some coin involved?" Then a frown creased her forehead. "Or mayhap, do ye think Edan has ah finger in tha pudding here?"

  Jamie looked up at her from the list he was making. "I surely pray 'tis nae tha case. I've nae wish tae deal more with Tally. We've already lost one on his account, another would be more than I can stand."

  "Thinking of evening tha score are ye?" Rhona asked him.

  Jamie threw down the quill and wiped his fingers on a rag. "Aye. Tha thought has dug at me ah time or tae. Are ye sure Edan will be back? Surely, he has buried Daracha by now."

  Rhona picked up the paper and ran one finger down the list. "Och! We'll start here. Are ye going down to Broomielaw tae see what ye can find?"

  "Ye dinnae answer tha question. Why are ye so sure he will return? I'm thinking he's gone off his head. There's times men never come back, ken?"

  Turning in her chair, Rhona looked behind her to the two baskets on the floor. Pointing at the sleeping children, Cadell and Ailene, she nodded slightly. "Those tae are tha reason tha lad will be back. I ken what's in his heart. Until that's settled we're nae likely tae see him."

  Jaw tight, Jamie glanced at the children peacefully asleep in the baskets and turned back to her. "Revenge. Edan is planning on doing some killing."

  "Would ye go merrily on yur way with nae ah thought for it, after putting yur Rut intae tha ground?"

  Closing his eyes, Jamie squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Nae. An I've been arguing with Rut for days over tha thing. I want tae go an demand Tally give an accounting of himself."

  "An get what for yur trouble? Thrown in tha tol? Rut's right. Let Edan handle this. He is able an more than willing. Ye've never watched tha lad train. Tha leg means naught tae him. Edan is a shadow in shadow. Help me here, an wait."

  "What if ye're wrong?" Jamie growled at her. "What will we do then?"

  "Move along. What choice do we have? Are ye forgetting I lost my Hamish? There's nae ah one of us here who hasnae suffered. An, we left tha only home any of had tae come to this place. Tha wolves are worse here than ever they were in tha hills. Worse, those wolves ye could tell were beasts. These, like tha bloody bastard, Tally, dress fine an speak softly before they rend tha flesh from yur bones."

  "Aye then. Give me tha bloody list an I'm off tae Broomielaw. But, ye had best be considering what tae tell tha customers when they come seeking Edan. None can take his place in tha furniture shop." Jamie rose and the tall stool tipped back sharply before rocking back onto four legs.

  "I've been thinking on it an may have an idea. We'll say he's nae well an has gone tae seek rest. I was thinking we can say he's gone tae tha West Indies. Think on it." Rhona called out as Jamie strode out of the shop.

  Lara looked up from her ledger and glanced over at Rhona. "What's tha bee in his bunnet? He's nae angry at ye, is he?"

  "Nae. Jamie's worried over Edan. He’s feared our laird has landed himself intae ah pit he cannae crawl out of."

  "Do ye think tha same? He wouldnae let anyone touch Daracha." Tears pooled in Lara's dark eyes. "I've never seen him so...so strange."

  "Och, well now. Do ye recall tha state I was in when Edan returned with Hamish? I'm thinking, I was ah wee mite wild. Would ye call it wild?"

  The dark braid bounced as Lara nodded her head in agreement. "Aye, 'twas wild, right enough."

  "Then dinnae fash yourself, Edan's nae been gone that long. It takes time tae plan some things." Rhona glanced back at the sleeping children. They would both soon be waking, wanting to feed. She could feel the milk beginning to swell her breasts. Rhona had a great deal of sympathy for cows now, nearly having become one herself.

  The tiny infant worried her, as Ailene was far too timid. The least little thing caused her to start. Edan had held her first. Rhona suspected Edan's daughter needed him more than he realized. For now, Rhona did the best she could to keep the child calm.

  Another item she wished to discuss with the clan tonight was the question of rooms. She wished to move into Edan's room with the infants. Ailene was not doing well in the noisy room she shared with the other women and children.

  Gara was also on her mind. Rhona suspected the older woman was ready to leave. Gara was tired. Daracha's death hit the healer hard, as it had Daracha's granny.

  Cadha was feeling her age. Rhona sighed. She would need to get the formula for the salve for Edan from Gara. Hopefully, Edan would not stay away too long. Holding the clan together without him, would not be easy.

  Her relationship with the other women was vastly improved, but she was not Edan. She did not have his grace when dealing with people. The ease with which he soothed others, was not in her. Her skills had improved, but Rhona knew it was Edan who was the glue that held the clan together.

  Daracha's death, Ailene's birth and the manner in which Edan disappeared, had stretched the bond. If he did not return in a reasonable time, the clan could easily deteriorate, blow away, like leaves in the wind.

  With nowhere else to go, Rhona knew she would be here. Jamie and Rut were committed. Anderson had Rut, the field and his share of the yard.

  Another matter which needed to be addressed was the marriage of Rut and Jamie. It was not fair to either of them to delay any longer. With or without Edan, the wedding needed to go forward.

  Ailene was the first to wake. Her cries were always tinged with an edge of panic, until the little girl was safe in Rhona's arms. Even while cuddled tightly to Rhona's chest, the infant's first few gulps of milk were hurried. As Rhona crooned silly things to the child, Ailene slowly settled.

  Grateful for Cadell's relaxed attitude to things in general, Rhona gave an extra measure of loving touch to Ailene before asking Lara to hold her for a moment. Cadell smiled up at his mother, before getting down to the business of suckling.

  There was a good deal of Hamish's temperament in the boy, something for which she was grateful. Rhona nuzzled his small palm with her nose. Cadell's little mouth opened for a moment in pleasure. A tiny bubble of milk seeped out of his open mouth, before he went back to sucking heartily.

  Now experienced with Ailene's ne
eds, Lara wrapped the swaddling blanket tightly around the infant. Rubbing gently, Lara smoothed circles over the tiny back. All the while, the little girl sang lullabies to Ailene.

  The possibility of losing Lara actually frightened Rhona. The girl's help was essential to Rhona. Her skill with the books, Lara's willingness to help with the infants was far more valuable than others might realize. If Glynis chose to leave with her mother, Gara and take Lara...Rhona squirmed a little thinking of the consequences of such a move.

  Talking to Glynis to discover her feelings on the matter was probably best. Somehow, Rhona could not quite bring herself to open the topic. The two of them were never friends, as she had been friends with Daracha. Rhona acknowledged that was her fault far more than Glynis'.

  Assigning blame for the matter was not going to help the present situation. Nor would a sudden show of good will on Rhona's part. It was likely to be seen for what it was, an attempt to cajole Glynis into staying.

  One soft sigh escaped Cadell as he fell asleep at her breast. With a smile, Rhona lifted the infant to her shoulder. Finding that she was actually a good mother, a caring mother, amazed her. Discovering how much she loved being a mother, was truly a gift from God.

  Had anyone even hinted at such a thing while she was running wild in the glen, Rhona would have cursed them for being a fool. The smell of the child, the feel of either infant brought a quiet joy to her world, Rhona had never experienced before.

  Acknowledging this made her wonder how the other women coped with being alone, without hope of bearing another child. Doing without Hamish, was in every way a wound which did not heal. The possibility of never carrying another child caused an ache in her heart.

  Edan needed to come home. Although he had only bedded Daracha, his presence alone helped to lessen the pain. She did not understand it, it was far out of her ken. But, she knew it was the truth. Edan was MacGrough. Without him, the clan might fracture and turn into ashes, as the logs in the yard had.