Broadsword

by R. W. Hughes

  His shout of ‘Stop! Or I’ll shoot’ had no effect, and the dark shapes were now almost on top of him. From the light of the explosion of his pistol, he could see that there were four would-be footpads They had followed him at a distance waiting until his cries for assistance would go unheard before they decided to rush him. There were curses from the group as those following the first man fell over his body as he collapsed to the ground with a musket ball in his shoulder. George should have then taken the opportunity during the confusion to turn and run, but to flee was not in his character. He was fuming with himself for his sloppy performance at the doctors in asking the doctor for his daughter’s hand in marriage, and the way he had been skilfully outmanoeuvred and rebuked. In his present frame of mind, these four would-be robbers were vastly outnumbered.

  Taking the small pistol from its resting place in his inside pocket, he advanced towards the group who were now rising from the floor. The shot from the firearm removed the bottom half of one of the rising men’s ears causing a scream of pain from his would-be attacker. The shot then carried on to shatter the kneecap of his fellow assailant rising behind him. The fourth member of the gang took a swing at George with a short vicious looking cutlass but was obstructed by his companions and the cutlass blade was short of its intended target. George stepped forward before the man could recover, and using the large pistol as a club, he swung it at the man catching him on the side of the temple. He promptly crumpled over on top of his two now screaming companions. The fourth man was scrabbling in the half-light searching for his cudgel; he looked up as George’s knee caught him in the face. The man reeled backwards the blood from his shattered nose now mixing with the blood running down his face from his missing earlobe.

  George had barely walked three hundred paces away from the confrontation when he was confronted by a breathless Douglas pistol in one hand and a dirk in the other.

  ‘I was concerned for your safety at the long delay and was making my way to the city when I heard the shots! I recognised the report of the pistol; how are you George?’ his friend gasped.

  ‘I’m fine now, Douglas,’ he replied smiling broadly, ‘but I cannot say the same for the gang of would be robbers I’ve just left a short way back along the track.’

  During what seemed a never-ending night, both men took turns acting as guard while the other attempted to obtain some sleep, but they had little success fighting off the cold of the night having not had a warm meal for two days.

  Both men had saddled and were mounted and on their way before dawn, as George wanted to be at the docks and on board the ship leaving for Wick on the morning tide before the city of Edinburgh had fully awoke. The sound of their horse’s hooves on the cobbled narrow empty streets of the city was deafening at such an early hour in the morning, and both men expected to be confronted at every bend in the road by the City’s patrols But the only other life they encountered was a small covered carriage leaving the dock area as they approached.

  The transport available via the agent leaving that morning from Edinburgh for the town of Wick was larger than the ones in which they had made their first traumatic journey down the coast. It contained several small cabins which were occasionally let to paying passengers; these were usually businessmen travelling along the coast.

  ‘Our return journey will be more comfortable than previous, Douglas. We will have the luxury of a cabin, and this ship will be flying the Red Duster so we should suffer no trouble from the British Navy.’

  ‘I would risk all the British Navy could throw at me for a dry bed and a hot meal,’ replied Douglas showing a dry sense of humour.

  The boat was a multipurpose vessel capable of carrying merchandise or being adapted for transporting livestock, so there would be no problem accommodating the two Highlanders’ horses.

  When they introduced themselves to the ship’s captain, he was very wary of the two-rough looking and well-armed men with two excellent well-groomed horses, whose ownership he was obviously doubtful about, until they produced a letter from the shipping agent plus a bill of sale for the horses which helped allay his fears.

  ‘I hope you two men know how to act as gentlemen, as you have a young woman in the next cabin, the lady with her maid arrived prior to yourselves, and they too are travelling to the town of Wick. He said rather nervously, before they could enquire further of the other passengers, and what prompted two females to travel unescorted in such violent times. The captain had turned away shouting orders to his crew as the boat was released from the capstans on the quay, and the ship was pulled slowly away from the dock by two longboats. Douglas was led by one of the sailors who had taken their belongings to their cabin, but George meanwhile stood at the stern of the ship looking longingly in the direction of Edinburgh. The city was slowly coming to life with the dawn light of a very dull winter’s morning. He wondered to himself as the wind caught the sails being raised by the crew and the city slowly slipped into the distance if he would ever see Fiona again; he shook his head. It was difficult to put her out of his mind, as his feelings for her were so strong he could even in his mind smell her perfume.

  But now he must gather his thoughts together. The information he had acquired from the French man’s document meant he had much to arrange in a very short space of time. With the knowledge from those papers and what he had in mind, it was extremely doubtful if he would ever see the city of Edinburgh again.

  Hearing a rustle behind him he turned, expecting Douglas; he froze; facing him was a frail female, with a shawl covering her shoulders and the bottom half of her face from the cool wind, leaving only the top half exposed, but he could recognise those green eyes and the perfume anywhere. The women standing quietly in front of him was Fiona.

  Twelve

  After many passionate kisses, and many minutes holding one another closely in a tight embrace, which made him feel like he was in heaven, Fiona explained to him how she had arrived on the ship. It had materialised that the maid had overheard him mention to the doctor that he would be leaving Edinburgh by ship, and she had passed this information on to her. She in turn had sent the maid to his friend, Kean, the shipping clerk. He had then been persuaded to arrange for two extra passengers on the same boat, a lady accompanied by her maid. She had decided that she would disobey her parents and run off to marry the man who she loved, rather than be pressured by her parents into marrying a much older, though much wealthier, suitor.

  ‘I fear, George,’ said Fiona as they were standing on the prow of the boat discussing their future as the evening breeze blew gently over the ship, ‘that when we eventually arrive at Tongue House, we may well be met by my parents, who I am sure will do their upmost to persuade your uncle not to marry us.’

  George knew what Fiona was saying could well happen. Plus, his uncle would lambaste him most severely for enticing a young lady away from her home and highly respected parents, plus the embarrassment and disgrace it would bring on the MacKay family name.

  ‘There is a solution,’ he replied, momentarily quiet as they watched the waves parting on either side of the prow of the ship. ‘We could ask the captain to marry us here, out at sea.’

  There was a gasp from Fiona, before she replied, ‘Is that possible, George?’ He was still not sure of the legal position not being trained or having any experience of maritime law. But as he had confided to Douglas later when he had told his friend of his intentions, it was common knowledge that captains could perform marriages while at sea. Douglas having no knowledge whatsoever on this matter could only be led by his enthusiastic friend.

  ‘You are like a horse with the bit between your teeth,’ commented Douglas, observing that it was most unusual for his friend to allow his heart to overrule his head.

  His approach to Captain Grant later confirmed that he could and would perform the ceremony, but there was a standard fee to be paid of half a guinea.

  The most George or Douglas co
uld raise even by pooling their funds was just a few copper coins. The fee for their passage had been met by leaving Kean, the agent’s clerk, their spare horse to sell to cover the cost of their transport. Any surplus from the sale of the horse would be passed on to George via the shipping agents. But that arrangement did not help him in his present predicament.

  The captain eventually agreed after some hard bargaining to perform the wedding ceremony in return for the few copper coins and some pieces of jewellery offered by Fiona which had been left to her by her late grandmother.

  ‘That man strikes a hard bargain,’ said George to his friend after talking to the captain.

  ‘Well he can afford to raise his fee; he has no competition,’ replied Douglas with a broad smile.

  George or Douglas did not possess any clean clothes the best they could do was to scrub themselves with soap and cold water. Fiona on her part did have a flowing lace dress. For the short ceremony Douglas acted as George’s best man, while Fiona’s maid, Hannah Snell, gave Fiona away. Captain Grant seemed rather vague of the proceedings during the ceremony, with George having to prompt him on several occasions and also helping to register and have the wedding witnessed in the ship’s log by Douglas and Hanna and then writing and having witnessed a wedding certificate on a sheet of plain paper also taken from the same log book. But he put all this down to the man’s inexperience. It was not every day that a captain of a small cargo schooner was asked to perform a marriage at sea.

  Both he and Douglas, over their period in the Highlands and their more recent travels in England, had eaten some atrociously cooked vitals. But none of these matched the first meal that was served by the second mate, who also doubled as the ship’s cook. From then on, Fiona and Hannah took over the preparation of the rest of the food served on the ship for the duration of their voyage, much to the delight of George, Douglas and greatly appreciated by Captain Grant and the rest of the ship’s crew.

  The rest of the couple’s journey travelling on the carrier along and keeping close to the east coast of Scotland were the happiest that he and Fiona had ever experienced. But their idyllic time together was soon to come to an abrupt end, as they made their way on the final stage towards the port of Wick.

  The British vessel from its first appearance on the horizon quickly overhauled the sluggish cargo ship.

  ‘Can you not race for the mainland, Captain?’ shouted Douglas grabbing the captain by the shoulders having visions of the last confrontation with the Royal Navy, and looking at the dark line on the horizon that indicated the strip of land that projected into the sea between Dornoch and Moray Firth.

  ‘To try such an exercise would be a foolhardy venture my friend, and we would be blown out of the water before we came anywhere near the coast. There is no need to be concerned. My ship’s papers are in order,’ came back the shouted reply, as he continued issuing instructions for his crew to lower the sails.

  George, Douglas and Fiona could feel the tension amongst the crew increase as they waited for the frigate’s longboat to pull alongside the now drifting cargo ship.

  It was then they were joined by the captain.

  ‘The English are looking for sailors; I hope your papers are in order,’ he said looking at the two Highlanders staring purposely at Douglas, before continuing.

  ‘If not, you could find yourself Shanghaied onto the English frigate.’ The captain turned and walked off, a half smile playing around his lips, winking at Fiona as he passed by on his way to great the young English Navy officer who was in the process of nimbly climbing over the ship’s side.

  On seeing the alarm on Douglas’s face, he was quick to respond to calm his companion, having visions of his friend shooting an English officer, and risk placing them all in chains. ‘Have no fear Douglas; I have every faith in my colleague, Kean. I have always found him to be a very thorough and diligent clerk.’

  He was proved to be correct; theirs and the captain’s documents for their journey provided by the shipping agent in Royalist Edinburgh were in order including the bill of sale for the thoroughbred horses that were stabled in the ship’s cattle pens; these had been greatly admired by the officer in charge during his inspection of the ship’s hold, and he had seemed visibly disappointed when the papers presented by George for the animals were seen to be correct, much to George’s relief.

  It was after the English sailors and their officer had departed in their longboat back to their frigate, that the captain approached the smiling trio. ‘Gentlemen, Madam, information from one of the English sailors; the frigate is one of many patrolling the coast. There’s a rumour afloat that the French Navy have left Dunkirk carrying French soldiers to support the Jacobite’s cause.

  The news dampened their high spirits; if the rumour was true and French troops had landed in Scotland and they were allowed to join forces with the Prince’s Army, it would place sever pressure on the clans of the far north who were supporting the Royalist cause. He realised it was imperative he now returned to Tongue House with all possible speed’ the delay like the one they had just encountered was just increasing the pressure and frustration he was feeling. The situation was becoming more serious by the day and he spent many hours pacing the ship’s deck irritated by the slow pace the vessel was making. ‘Can we not make more speed, Captain? Are there no more sails you can rig?’ he enquired in exasperation as he looked at the landmarks on the distant coast that seemed to have been in the same place for hours.

  ‘I can’a alter the angle or rig more sail or change the course I have set my helmsman, while the wind is in this direction, young man,’ replied the captain rather curtly, taking offence that a landlubber should question his seagoing skills.

  They sailed into the harbour at Wick on the evening tide the following day, and it was dark by the time the baggage of Fiona and her maid had been unloaded.

  ‘The horses will need at least one night on land before they can be ridden in order to find their land legs according to the captain,’ said Douglas to George, as they gingerly led the nervous animals down the extra wide gangplank from the ship to the quay. ‘We also need to arrange a horse and carriage for Fiona, her maid and their luggage. I suggest we take lodgings in the town. My family have contacts here, and I should have no problem arranging credit.’

  ‘Your suggestion is a sensible one George,’ replied Douglas as he looked at the animals swaying slightly a puzzled look in their eyes as they struggled to maintain their balence.

  Lodgings with stables were found near the harbour, and it was accommodation that had been used by the MacKays over the years so payment was not difficult for him to arrange. His enquiries to hire a horse and carriage were not, however, so fruitful because of the situation in the country, tradespeople were reluctant to travel any great distance from their local area or part company with their possessions that earned them a living. Eventually with the innkeeper standing surety and the fact that he and Douglas would be accompanying him, and with a promise he would also have an escort on his return journey, a cab with a driver was found who was prepared to take the women and their luggage all the way to Tongue House.

  Having secured accommodation for Fiona and her maid and for a hot meal to be sent to their room, he indicated for Douglas to follow him as he made his way through the rear entrance of the inn into the courtyard.

  ‘I think, Douglas, we have some unfinished business to attend to. Did you notice the other boat tied up at the quay?’

  ‘Aye! I did indeed,’ replied Douglas as he primed the cup of his pistol before returning it back in his belt. ‘It was the Dolphin, the ship of that slithering snake Captain Barnes and Co.’

  ‘I think we should spend a little time looking for our friend, after all, he owes us the fee for an unfinished journey.’

  ‘That’s true, and the delay could well have cost the life of young Collain, the drummer boy.’

  Douglas noticed that a h
ard glint appeared in the eyes of George as he finished his sentence, something he had not seen in his friend before.

  ‘There can’t be many inns around the harbour Douglas. Barnes will be in one of them for sure.’

  It was the third tavern they entered that the two Highlanders recognised the loud shout of glee as that of Captain Barnes. He was hidden from view by a crowd of men three deep surrounding what was obviously a game of cards. As he and Douglas eased their way through the crowd, they saw the captain laughing to himself, as he scraped towards him with both hands his substantial winnings.

  A look of disbelief replaced the captain’s look of joy as George’s dirk pinned his coat cuff to the wooden table, and he looked up into the face of the dirk’s owner. There was a stunned silence from the men around the table, allowing Douglas to quickly step forward and take the opportunity to scoop the winnings off the table and into his open bonnet.

  But the captain was not going to let his winnings slip away lightly. He had been in many a bar room brawl and he also knew several of his crew were in the crowd of men in the room. Between them, they would give these two men from the hills something to remember them by. Snatching the dirk from out of the table, the captain started to rise, but he was met by the butt of a pistol on the side of his ear.

  As the captain’s head fell with thump face down on the table, George pulled back the hammer of the weapon and at the same time turned to face the crowd of men, taking the dirk from the grasp of the unconscious seafarer, at the same time he turned back the cuff of the captain’s jacket with his dirk exposing a hidden playing card.

  Meanwhile Douglas had also pulled out both his pistols. The sight of the two well-armed men obviously prepared to put up a fight took the wind out of the sails of those of the captain’s crew who were in the room. The rest of the men around the table quickly melted away; after all, it was not their quarrel, so why risk taking a ball for someone else’s fight, especially as he had just been exposed as a card cheat.