Highland Guard
Page 9
Chapter Seven
It was not easy to ignore the four big men flanking her as she walked to the butcher’s, but Annys did her best to do so. Annoying though it was to be smothered with protection there was one advantage to it all. There were a lot of eyes on Benet, keeping her son in sight at all times. The boy was skipping along next to Sir Callum and as safe as he could ever be.
Benet was also chattering away so much that Annys was surprised he found the time to breathe properly. What truly astonished her, however, was how pleasantly Sir Callum dealt with the child’s unceasing talk. The man even took the time to discuss the goats Benet pointed out as if it was some new, fascinating subject to him, one worthy of all his attention. Her son, who was so often shy with men he did not know well, had taken to Sir Callum from the very beginning. So had most of the other children at Glencullaich. The man had a true gift with the young although she had to wonder if he thought it more of a curse at times.
“Callum loves the bairns,” said Harcourt, seeing where she was looking and burying a twinge of jealousy over how well Benet got along with Callum. “He made a vow when nay more than a child himself. He said he would always keep children safe, that he intended to become the one to defend them. Lad had a hard beginning himself.”
“Mayhap that is what draws the children to him,” Annys said. “The children ken it in that way they have.” She met Harcourt’s gaze, ignoring the way her pulse increased when she looked into his golden eyes. “And mayhap ’tis for the best if Benet doesnae spend too much time with you,” she added quietly and tried to ignore what looked like hurt darkening his eyes.
Harcourt pushed aside the pain her words caused him. He had just begun to believe that he had accepted the fact that he could not come to know his son as he wanted to, and then something would be said to make him regret the loss all over again. She was right. The less he and Benet were together, the smaller the chance that anyone would grow suspicious. Too much could be lost if anyone outside of Glencullaich guessed David was not the boy’s true sire. It would give weight to Sir Adam’s claim that he was the true heir. The people of Glencullaich deserved far better than Sir Adam as their laird.
Benet was alive, much loved by his mother and the people of Glencullaich, and he was both healthy and bright. He also was the laird and had a future ahead of him as a powerful and wealthy noble, something Harcourt could never give him. Harcourt found that he needed to remind himself of that far too often the longer he stayed at Glencullaich. Openly claiming Benet as his might make him feel better but it would take from Benet far more than he could ever hope to replace.
There were times he cursed the customs and teachings of his family. Many men were all too ready to walk away from a child they bred despite how often they condemned that child to a hard life. Harcourt could never do that. Leaving a woman carrying his child had proven hard enough but he had known that child would be loved and cared for, and would prosper. Now that he had seen his son, come to know the child, that was no longer enough but his vow to David held him silent. Murrays did not break a vow.
When Annys entered the butcher’s small shop with Benet, Harcourt took a careful look around before leaving her to do her business with the man. He rejoined his companions and surveyed the village that hugged the hillside. It was a good place. Harcourt made careful note of a few things he would like to do at Gormfeurach.
“’Tis a fine place for a lad to grow into a man,” said Callum.
Harcourt winced. “I ken it. Kenned it all those years ago when David asked me to do that one thing for him. After all, I owed him my life. Doesnae make it any easier.”
“Nay, I suspicion it doesnae.”
“And now? Weel, now I ken more fully why he asked such a thing of me. The kinsmon who wants to take his place as laird cannae be allowed to hold Glencullaich. This land, these people, deserve better than that.”
“Aye, they do. That doesnae mean ye couldnae still be a part of the lad’s life.”
Harcourt smiled faintly. “That could cause as many problems as it might solve.”
“Because others might soon suspect what the lad is to you?” asked Callum. “Or because it would be difficult to leave the lass alone?”
“I have been told that most of the people here have kenned that the lad was ne’er David’s get.”
“And they dinnae care?”
“Nay. They loved David and David claimed the boy, took him straight into his heart. Now that I have seen what awaited them if there was no heir, I can understand such acceptance. As for the lass? Nay, I wouldnae be able to leave her alone. I find it most difficult to do that even now.”
“And, of course, if ye stayed here it wouldnae take long for your kin to discover the lad, aye?”
Harcourt grimaced. “They would and that would be a complication I should verra much like to avoid.”
Callum nodded. “They wouldnae be able to act as if he was just some other woman’s child, a woman ye ken weel and whose husband was a good friend to you. They would treat Benet as what he is—blood kin. But then, they are weel kenned to readily accept stray bairns into their family.”
Recalling how Callum came to be so much a part of their family, Harcourt frowned. His clan was indeed well known to take into their homes the children that others cast aside so callously. It was that reputation that had landed Callum in his brother Payton’s home so many years ago. The woman Payton now called wife had hunted him down to aid her in the rescuing of Callum and his friends. Payton and Kirstie still rescued children, a crusade Callum had taken up as well. It could mean that he could tell his kin about Benet yet not risk the boy’s place as David’s heir. His kin were also very skilled at keeping secrets.
“I need to decide what I do and dinnae wish to do about Annys ere I decide on how to deal with my kin,” he said.
“What is there to decide? Ye want her. That isnae much of a secret. Ye wanted her five years ago and ye still do. A wanting that lasts that long is much more than a simple lusting.”
“I ken it. Just dinnae ken if it is enough. And, she isnae rushing into my arms now, is she. My vanity has taken a mighty beating as she remains unmoved by all my seduction skills.”
Callum laughed softly but quickly grew serious again. “I can see the want in her eyes when she looks at you. But, do ye ken what else I see? Guilt.”
“She has naught to feel guilty about.”
“Nay, but that doesnae means she believes that. The rules are written clearly, old friend. The Church preaches them to one and all from the time we are all too young to e’en ken what they are actually saying or what they mean. She broke a verra big rule and it doesnae matter much if her own husband told her to do it. Big sin. Big guilt.”
Harcourt cursed. “I wondered on that. Cannae say I dinnae feel the bite of it myself from time to time. Ne’er mind what the Church preaches. Adultery is darkly frowned upon by my kin. I didnae break a vow to a wife but that wouldnae completely save me from their censure.” He frowned as he caught the glint of sun on metal on the side of one of the many hills surrounding the village.
“What is it?” asked Callum as he looked in the same direction Harcourt was intensely staring in.
“Someone is up there.”
“One of the herdsmen or shepherds?”
“Would they start a fire on such a fine day?” Seeing how Callum squinted, Harcourt pointed to where he had seen a thin curl of smoke rising above a cluster of big stones. “There. Just behind that wee cairn.” He soon saw two more signs of smoke.
“Ye have eyes like a falcon. Ah, aye, now I see it or something akin to what ye say ye are looking at. What are they doing? And, aye, now I see the other two.”
“I dinnae ken. Spying on us. They are close enough to see a lot if they have good eyes. But why the fire? ’Tis a warm day.” He mulled over that very question for a moment and then cursed.
“What?”
“How close do ye need to be to hit one of these roofs with an arrow?”
“Two choices. Warn the village or try to get to them before they shoot any arrows.”
“We can do both. Only need to bellow out an alarm and make sure they dinnae get so afraid they hurt each other in fleeing.” Callum whistled, bringing Tamhas and Gybbon to his side.
Both men cursed freely when they saw the problem and raced for their horses, held by Joan’s boys at the edge of the village. Harcourt was just trying to think of a way to quietly spread the word that people needed to move when the first arrow came toward the town in a pretty if deadly arc of flame. He slapped Callum on the shoulder and the man began running to warn people as he turned and raced into the butcher’s to get Annys and Benet out of the shop.
Annys turned quickly to see who had just slammed into Master Kenneth’s shop. The look on Harcourt’s face had her reaching for Benet who was patting a lamb, blissfully unaware that it was soon for the block. Something had gone terribly wrong, she thought, and a heartbeat later she heard the sounds of alarm outside the door.
“Out of the building,” Harcourt ordered. “Someone is trying to set the roofs alight.”
Master Kenneth grabbed what he cherished most and headed straight for the door, snatching up the lamb as he walked past it. Annys clung to Benet as Harcourt pulled them out onto the street. For a moment it looked like complete chaos but she quickly began to see that Callum was working to get everyone out and to begin work to save as much as they could.
“Get to the edge of the village but stay in sight so I ken ye are safe. By Old Tom’s rowan tree.”
“I should help.”
“Ye will. I mean to send the women and children to gather there with ye.”
A cry and several people pointing caused her to look up. Even though she knew that what was headed their way was viciously dangerous, Annys was fascinated as it sailed over her head and landed on the roof of Old Meg’s little home. That woman was already hurrying out of the house dragging two sacks of her meager goods. Annys hurried to her side, grabbed one of the sacks, and then led the woman to where Harcourt had told her to wait.
“My bonnie wee home will be gone,” cried Old Meg, tears streaking the dirt on her wrinkled face. “What will I do?”
“If they cannae save it, Meg, then ye shall have a new one,” Annys promised.
She soon saw that she had been given an important job, alleviating the last of her unease about not being right there in the midst of it all alongside Harcourt and the men of the village. The women who had the strength and agility to help, stayed with the men to try to save what could be saved but they readily sent their children over to Annys and the older women. Annys soothed whom she was able to but her anger over the destruction was a hard knot in her belly. Keeping children and old women calm and corralled at the tree took all of her energy and she was grateful for that. Something inside of her was demanding she have a screaming, fists-and-heels-pounding-on-the-ground fit, the kind that had been quickly beaten out of her as a child. Giving in to that would be too humiliating.
Men from the keep raced into the village and swiftly moved to help. Annys tried to see where the fire had come from and saw Callum send a few men toward the hills. She then recalled seeing Tamhas and Gybbon ride that way as she had hurried to get Old Meg to the tree. It frightened her to think that men that far away could wreak such damage but she could not move the village or flatten the hills. She was worrying about that danger when she was distracted by a wrinkled, dirty hand patting her on the arm. She realized she must have let her alarm show for Old Meg was trying to comfort her.
“Everyone got out, m’lady, and that be what matters.” The old woman squinted toward the hills. “I suspicion those fine knights ye fetched for us will think of something to fix that weakness now that it has been seen clear and all.”
“I suspicion they will indeed,” replied Annys as she finally set Benet down. “Stay right here with all of us.”
“I will, Maman,” he said, his bottom lip trembling. “I dinnae like the burning. Why would someone want to burn our village?”
“A mon who wants us to leave so he can have this land for his own,” she replied. “All the people got out of the houses, love. We will be fine.”
“The animals are running about all scared. They could get hurt.”
Annys had noticed that. Needing to flee quickly meant not being able to gather up one’s pets or livestock and it appeared the solution had been to just open wide the doors, gates, and hutches. The bigger animals had swiftly moved to the edge of the village away from the smoke, milling around nervously as each kept a close watch on the fire. The smaller animals scurried around squawking, quacking, barking, and just making a general, dangerous nuisance of themselves.
“I dinnae think there is much we can do about that, Benet. We cannae get in the way of the ones fighting the fire.”
She yelped and leapt out of the way when a large cat raced between her legs followed by a barking dog. Spinning around she watched the cat leap into the tree while one of the boys grabbed the dog by the ruff and pulled it away. Several people laughed and Annys’s concern for everyone eased a little more.
“We can go down and gather up some of them, m’lady,” said a young girl with a face splattered with freckles. “We willnae get in the men’s way. We ken how to get most of them to come to us.” She pointed at the two girls with her.
“Be verra certain ye stay away from the burning areas and the men, Annie. Ye as weel, Una and Beth. None of those poor animals are worth any of you getting hurt.”
“We will be careful, m’lady.”
With so many women watching the children, Annys felt safe keeping her attention on the girls slipping around the edges of the area that was on fire. They had collected two boys to help them. Soon the small livestock along with dogs and cats, most of which made a quick retreat up a tree as soon as they reached one, joined the women and children by the rowan tree. She made certain to congratulate the girls and boys on a job well done and meant every word of it. Without all of the smaller animals cluttering up the road in their mindless panic the men working to put out the fires moved a little faster.
Soon no flames could be seen although a few things still smoked. The ones who could see that their homes remained untouched began to cautiously return to them and the crowd gathered by the rowan tree began to thin out. Holding firmly to Benet’s hand, Annys carefully made her way to where she could see Harcourt and his men studying the damage, occasionally ordering a few men to throw some more water on something that appeared to be still smoldering. She had just reached his side when Gybbon and Tamhas returned with three men from the keep who had raced to help them hunt the ones who had committed this crime. Annys needed only one look at their faces to know those men had gotten away from them.
“They were already mounted as they shot their last arrows and rode off the moment we started up the hills,” said Gybbon. “I think those three men were hired because they were so skilled. It was only a wee lead they had on us but it was enough.”
Tamhas nodded his agreement. “And they rode off leaving their fires still burning which meant someone would have to stop to put them out. Aye, these men were far better than any of the others we have faced.”
“No trail?”
“A wee one. We decided to nay go too far ere we discussed it with you.”
“I think we should make some attempt to hunt them down,” said Harcourt, his anger evident on his face as he looked around at the damage done to the village. “Aye, we cannae go far from here but we might get lucky and catch one, or gain some useful information just by seeing which way they were going.”
“Then we must try,” Annys said. “We can keep working here. Ye go hunting.” She, too, looked around, counting six destroyed structures and nearly that many needing extensive repairs. “There is certainly more than enough t
o keep us busy. Between the ones who still have a home and the keep, we also need to make certain everyone has some shelter.”
“Oh, look, Maman! ” cried out Benet. “Master Kenneth saved my lamb.”
Annys sighed as she watched the butcher stop, his broad shoulders tensing. The little lamb tucked under his arm looked round at Benet and bleated, its legs moving as if it wanted to get down and run to the boy. Benet pulled free of her grip and ran over to pat the lamb. Whatever the child was telling the butcher, it made the man look even more morose.
“I best go and fetch Benet so that Master Kenneth can put his belongings back,” she said and started to walk toward the sad-faced butcher.
“Ye do that,” said Harcourt. “I will go fetch a horse to join in the hunt and tell Dunnie to expect a lamb soon.”
Ignoring the snickering of the men, Annys kept walking, reaching the butcher’s side just as he set the lamb down on its feet. It ran straight to Benet who laughed with delight. Benet began to talk to the lamb, testing out names, and Annys softly cursed.
“I ken it, m’lady. Could see the threat of it when ye were in my shop,” the butcher said.
“Is it a boy or a girl, Master Kenneth?” asked Benet.
“’Tis a ewe, laddie.”
“Nay, we cannae do that; we cannae take a sheep in. Ye were prepared to butcher it,” she added, lowering her voice so that Benet could not overhear her words.
“Truth is, I wasnae looking forward to that. My own fault. It was cast aside by its dam and none of the others wanted it so I got it for a pittance. Fattened it up a bit but the cursed thing is too friendly. Kept telling it it was for the pot but kept telling myself it needed just a wee bit more fattening up before I killed it.”
“Roberta! Maman! I am going to call her Roberta.”
She silently echoed the butcher’s mild curse. “How much is it worth?” she asked the man and he named a price so low, she frowned suspiciously at him. “I mean to pay ye the fair value.”