“My pleasure. Are ye sure ye dinna want anythin’ else on trade? These are some fine pieces ye’ve whittled here.”
When they started to walk to the back of the wagon, Rhoswen could no longer hear or see them. So staying hidden, she crept along the side of a hay wagon, trying to get even closer.
“Logan, did ye see this?” asked Bug. The plump, bald man was on the other side of his merchant’s cart with Logan now and Rhoswen had no idea what they were looking at.
Logan whistled. “That’s a beaut. Where did ye get it?”
“I found it along the road on my way from Glasgow. I have a feelin’ whoever owned it didna make out so well since there was bluid on it when I picked it up.”
“So it must be stolen,” said Logan.
“I didna steal it,” Bug protested. “Ye ken I run a clean business.”
“How much do ye want for it?” asked Logan.
“I’ll give it to ye in trade for this box of goods,” said Bug.
Rhoswen was dying to know what they were talking about, and crept a little closer. But she still couldn’t see a thing.
“Nay, that’s no’ a fair trade for ye,” said Logan.
“What did ye say?” asked the nearly-deaf man.
“I said, this is worth so much more than what I gave ye,” Logan told him.
“Ye’d be doin’ me a favor by takin’ it off my hands,” said Bug. “Ye ken I am superstitious about things like this. I dinna want it to bring me bad luck. I get a bad feelin’ about it and dinna want it in my possession anymore. If it is stolen and the owner finds out and thinks I took it, I’ll wind up dead.”
“Ye always did worry too much, Bug. But I’m glad ye’re an honest man,” said Logan. “All right, I’ll take it off yer hands for ye. But I’m goin’ to need to ken a few more things first.”
“About the Drummonds,” said Bug, knowing what he meant.
“Aye. Tell me, do they have a secret entrance to get inside their fortress?”
“Ye ken I shouldna tell ye that.”
“Bug, we’ve been friends for a long time now,” said Logan. “Please dinna let me down.”
“All right, I’ll tell ye. Come closer, because I dinna want anyone to overhear this.”
Rhoswen couldn’t hear what Bug said, and this bothered her immensely. If she was going to be able to sneak into the Drummonds’ castle to look for her nephew, she needed to have a plan and this could be the way to do it.
“Thank ye,” said Logan, walking away as a crowd of kids started running toward the wagon. “Oh, I almost forgot,” said Logan, turning back. “Do ye ken if Ranulph Drummond has a baby boy named Lockie?”
“A baby boy did ye say?” asked Bug, holding a hand to his ear. “Aye, I believe he does,” said Bug. “He kept the baby that wasna even his after he killed off that Sassenach wife he had. Everyone kens that.”
“How would I determine this baby from others?”
“Well, let me think,” said Bug scratching his head. “The boy is probably about six months old by, now I’d guess. Oh! He has a small, dark birthmark on his right cheek that is shaped just like a heart. It’s the oddest thing. Ranulph complained about it to me because he hates it.”
“Thank ye,” said Logan with a nod, walking back to his hut as the children all surrounded the man. Rhoswen nonchalantly strolled out there, pretending she was inspecting his wares in the back of his wagon while the clan traded and bought things from the man. It was a wagon with tall wooden sides, kind of like the ones that gypsies used. It had a roof on it, and also a wooden door that opened up on the back, probably so people couldn’t steal the man’s goods.
“Hmm,” she said in thought. Didn’t she hear that the merchant was going to the Drummond Clan next? She had an idea. Bug closed the door to the wagon to leave once they were finished, but Storm called him over. The man left to talk to Storm, giving Rhoswen the break she needed.
Looking around, she made sure no one was watching and then she quickly ran over and slipped inside the back of the wagon. Her heart raced wildly in her chest. She reached out to close the door, stopping when she saw a little girl standing there, clutching her doll. She recognized her as Ethan’s young daughter, Isobel.
“What are ye doin’ in there?” asked the girl in a sweet, soft voice. Her innocent, wide eyes looked up at Rhoswen.
“Shhh,” said Rhoswen, putting her finger to her lips. “Isobel, you can’t tell anyone I’m here.”
“Are ye playin’ hide and seek?” asked the girl.
“Somethin’ like that,” she said. “Now, go on back and play with your friends,” she told her, seeing Bug headed in her direction.
“All right,” said Isobel, skipping away to join the children.
Hurriedly, Rhoswen closed the back door of the wagon, feeling like she’d finally found a way to sneak into the Drummonds’ castle. She’d slip out the back once the wagon stopped, and hide until she was able to find her nephew. Now that she’d heard what the baby looked like, he shouldn’t be hard to find. If she was fast, she might be able to find the boy and sneak back into the wagon with him, and leave the Drummonds’ castle without anyone knowing.
She smiled to herself. This was going to be easier than she’d thought.
“Guidbye, Bug,” she heard Logan call out to the man. “Thanks again . . . for everythin’.”
“Guidbye,” the man called back. “I’m off now to trade and sell my wares to the Drummonds.”
She was waiting to hear him climb up onto the bench to drive the cart but, instead, she heard something else that almost made her heart stop.
“Och, I almost forgot to put my padlock on the back,” said Bug. “I’ve had bandits on the road steal from me so many times that now I lock the door between my stops.”
“Guid idea,” Logan called out. “Ye can never be too careful.”
She heard the sound of a metal lock being put into place on the back door. Then she heard a clinking noise as Bug used the key in the lock, making her a prisoner inside his wagon.
“Nay,” she said to herself as the wagon rolled away. She tried to open the back door, but it wouldn’t budge. Then she put her shoulder against it and pushed but it would not open. “Let me out,” she cried. But by now, the horse was moving pretty fast and the noise of the wagon wheels crashing over rocky terrain muffled her cries for help. “Stop the wagon, please,” she called, banging on the side, but still the man didn’t hear her.
Then Bug started to sing, and it was off tune and very loud. Since the man was half-deaf he probably couldn’t hear himself well. He certainly would never hear her. Rhoswen sank down among the furs and blankets that the man had for trade, her back against the side of the wagon. She was so close, but yet so far.
Closing her eyes, she decided there was nothing else she could do but wait. There was no way she was going to be able to leave this wagon until someone unlocked and opened the door.
Chapter 18
Logan hunkered down at the edge of the water, rinsing off the women’s ring he’d gotten from Bug. It looked to be a plain silver band, but there had been so much mud caked into it that, until now, he hadn’t seen the small engraved hearts or the tiny pink stone in the middle. There had been a little blood on it, like Bug said, and he hoped that whoever the woman was who’d owned it hadn’t been murdered.
Something about the ring called out to him and he only took it because he wanted to give it to Rhoswen, if he returned from the Drummonds alive.
“There ye are, Logan, we’ve been lookin’ for ye,” said Hawke, walking down to the shore with Caleb and Ethan. They all wore traveling clothes and had an array of weapons strapped to their belts. Trapper and Jack waited up on the hill and Apollo screeched, making circles in the sky above them.
“What have ye got there?” asked Ethan, looking over Logan’s shoulder.
“It’s a lady’s ring I got from Bug.” Logan stood up and handed it to Ethan who held it up to inspect it.
“Nice. But it’s
a ring for a lassie. What are ye goin’ to do with it?”
“Hold on to it for me, Ethan. If I dinna come back alive, please give it to Rhoswen.”
“Ye’re givin’ Rhoswen a ring?” asked Caleb, feeding his pine marten that was sticking its head out of Caleb’s bag. “It sounds serious.”
“I am serious about her,” Logan told his friends. “I’m goin’ to the Drummonds and if I come back alive, I am goin’ to ask her to marry me.”
“Och, ye’ve got it bad, man,” said Ethan, handing him back the ring. “But ye’re goin’ to have to give it to her yerself. Because if ye die, I’ll die too since I am goin’ with ye.”
“Bid the devil, no’ ye, too,” said Logan, giving Caleb a nasty glare. Caleb smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s what friends do,” said Hawke. “And that’s why I’m goin’ with ye as well to help ye bring back the Sword of Triumph.”
“Nay.” Logan shook his head. “This is more than just a mission to take back what is rightfully ours. I’ve decided to bring back Rhoswen’s nephew as well.”
“Then we’ll help ye do that, too,” said Hawke.
“And what does Storm say about it?” asked Logan, knowing their chieftain did not agree.
“My da might no’ agree with us, but we’re goin’ to do it anyway,” Hawke told him. “There is no way we’re lettin’ our friend walk into the lion’s den alone.”
“Nay,” said Logan. “Hawke, ye and Ethan have wives and families now to think of. I willna put all that at risk by askin’ ye to help me.”
“Ye didna ask,” said Hawke. “We’ve decided. So dinna fight us – we’re goin’ with ye.”
“Damn ye,” said Logan, snatching the ring away from Ethan and dropping it into his sporran. “Now all I need is Rhoswen tellin’ me she is comin’ along with us as well.” Logan looked around, thinking it odd that he hadn’t seen Rhoswen all morning. “Have any of ye seen Rhoswen?” he asked. “I ken she was angry with me but it’s no’ like her to hide.”
“Nay,” said each of the men in turn.
“Shall we get goin’?” asked Ethan.
“I want to say guidbye to Rhoswen first,” Logan told them. “I dinna want to leave here before we’ve made amends.”
“Mayhap she’s in the hospice,” suggested Caleb.
“Aye, that’s where she must be. I’ll go say my farewells and meet ye all at the stables.”
“So ye’re lettin’ us go with ye after all?” asked Ethan with a wide smile.
“As if I could stop ye,” grumbled Logan, heading up the hill. He went straight to the hospice and walked inside. “Rhoswen,” he called out. “I want to talk to ye, sweetheart.”
He looked around the room but no one was there. So he headed out to the center of camp, asking everyone he saw, but no one had seen Rhoswen since yesterday.
“Logan, are we goin’ to stand here all day?” complained Caleb. “I thought we were leavin’.”
“I canna find Rhoswen,” Logan told him. “Help me look for her, because I have a feelin’ somethin’ is wrong.”
“All right. I’ll tell Hawke and Ethan.” Caleb ran off to tell their friends.
“Guid mornin’, Logan,” said Blaine, coming down from the hill of bluebells with her brother and Oliver.
“Guid mornin’,” he said. “Have any of ye seen Rhoswen?”
“Nay,” said Newell and Oliver, taking off in a foot race down to the lake.
“I havena seen her either,” said Blaine. “Why? Is somethin’ wrong?” Immediately, she started to rub the cross in worry.
“Nay, I’m sure she’s here somewhere,” said Logan, not wanting to upset the girl. He headed back to the stables where he found his friends.
“Has anyone found her?” asked Logan.
“Nay,” said Ethan. “I even had Trapper try to find her scent, but he just goes in circles like he’s confused.”
“Goin’ somewhere, men?” asked Storm walking up with his wife, Wren. A group of children, including Ethan’s daughter, Isobel, were playing on the ground nearby.
Logan and his friends all looked at each other but didn’t say a word.
“I ken ye’re goin’ to the Drummonds so dinna even try to deny it,” said Storm in a gruff voice. “I thought I told ye I didna want any trouble.”
“The Drummonds have the Sword of Triumph, that was stolen from us, then stolen by the English, but now they have stolen it back again,” Caleb told him. “We’re goin’ there to get it since it is the clan’s lucky charm.”
“What?” Storm cocked his head trying to decipher what Caleb just said. “Dinna forget what happened the last time we tried to get it. And how do ye ken any of this is true?”
“It’s a long story,” said Logan. “But Bug assured me he saw them with the sword a few days ago.”
“And they have poor Rhoswen’s little nephew, too, don’t forget,” Wren reminded them. “I think that is more important than any sword. Where is Rhoswen? Does she know you plan on going there?”
“That’s a guid question,” said Logan. “Rhoswen seems to have gone missin’. Has anyone seen her?”
“I have,” said little Isobel, running over holding her doll by its hair.
“Ye have?” asked Ethan, picking up his daughter and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Where is she, Isobel?”
“I canna tell ye,” she said, holding one little finger to her lips. “She is playin’ hide and seek, and it is a secret.”
The men all exchanged worried glances. “Isobel, tell us where she is,” Logan demanded, feeling a knot in the pit of his stomach. He had the feeling Rhoswen did something stupid. “I hope she didna leave here.”
“Her horse was in the stable,” Caleb told him. “Mayhap she’s in there as well.”
“Nay, she’s no’,” said Isobel. “Her hidin’ place is much better.”
“Ethan,” said Logan impatiently, wanting him to get his daughter to tell them. Every second they waited seemed like a lifetime to Logan.
“Isobel, sweetheart, it’s all right if ye tell me where she is,” said Ethan.
The girl whispered something into Ethan’s ear and he made a face.
“Sweetheart, tell Logan and the others what ye just told me. They need to hear this.”
“All right,” said the little girl. “Rhoswen is hidin’ with the bugs.”
“What the hell does that mean?” growled Logan.
“Logan, take it easy,” said Ethan. Then looking back at his daughter, he said, “Can ye take us to her?” Isobel shook her head, putting the hair of her doll in her mouth.
“Why no’?” asked Logan.
“Because, the bug is gone,” said Isobel.
Logan was about to explode with anger at playing this silly game, until it dawned on him what the girl meant.
“Wait a minute,” he said, raising his finger in the air. “Isobel, are ye talkin’ about Bug, the merchant who comes here with his wagon to trade with us?”
Isobel nodded. “But dinna tell Rhoswen I told ye. When she closed the door, she said it was a secret.”
“The door?” asked Ethan.
“God’s eyes,” spat Logan, knowing exactly where she’d gone. “Rhoswen must have kent Bug was goin’ to the Drummonds next and she hid away in the back of his wagon to get there.”
“Oh, no!” cried Wren. “That is terrible. Storm, you need to do something to help her before the Drummonds find her and kill her.”
“I told ye those Sassenachs were goin’ to be nothin’ but trouble,” spat Storm. “Get the men together,” he said, shaking his head. “We leave for the Drummonds in an hour.”
There was a lot of hustle and bustle in camp when word got out of Rhoswen being gone and Logan planning on leaving as well. Most of the clan was eager to help, being Highland warriors and always ready for a fight. But Logan could see that the wives and children of the men didn’t want them to go.
He felt terrible for the way things were turning out. So he did t
he only thing he could to try to help Rhoswen, save the boy and the sword, and also protect his clan members. As soon as everyone walked away, he turned on his heel and headed for his horse.
“Come on, Jack,” he commanded his wolf. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we have no time to lose.”
* * *
Rhoswen awoke with a jerk as the wagon came to a stop. It was dark inside the enclosure, but sunlight streamed in from the cracks in the wood on the sides. She got to her knees and put her eye up to one of the cracks, able to see they were in the courtyard of a castle.
Her heart sped up when she saw Highlanders with very big swords strapped to their sides approaching the cart.
“Bug, what the hell have ye got for us today?” asked one of the men who wore the clan badge on his shoulder that identified him as their chieftain, Ranulph. He also wore the Sword of Triumph strapped to his side.
“Chieftain, I have got a surprise for ye. Just wait until ye see the wooden bowls and goblets and even whittled toys for the young ones,” Bug told him. “I have a wooden horse for that little son of yers that he is just goin’ to love.”
“A toy for Lockie?” asked one of the women, walking up to the chieftain, holding a baby boy. “He would love it.”
Rhoswen’s heart about broke when she noticed the heart-shaped birthmark on the boy’s cheek, just like Bug had told Logan. So this was her nephew. Her sister’s son! Tears filled Rhoswen’s eyes. She’d finally found him.
“Nay. No toys for the bastard boy, he doesna need them,” grumbled Ranulph Drummond.
“But my laird,” protested the woman. “The boy is young and needs to play.”
“No’ another word!” Drummond’s hand shot out and he slapped the woman across the face, managing to graze the baby as well. The woman gasped and the baby started crying. “Shut that thing up before I’m tempted to do it myself.” Drummond pulled his sword from his sheath. The baby cried louder.
“My laird, please,” said Bug. “Dinna bother yerself with trivial things like bairns. Why dinna ye come and choose somethin’ from my wagon – one thing for free today, just because I’m in a guid mood.”
Highland Steel: Highland Chronicles Series - Book 3 Page 15
