My Laird's Castle

by Bess McBride

  Colin nodded.

  “Aye, Malcolm. This is she.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, mostly supporting me.

  “Pleased to make yer acquaintance, yer ladyship,” Malcolm said. “Malcolm Anderson. I tend to the sheep here.” He fingered the edge of his dark-gray bonnet in a gesture of greeting.

  I nodded but said nothing. I wasn’t sure who knew what about anything, and I thought it best to remain silent.

  “I have told Malcolm about ye, Beth. Well, a great deal about ye,” Colin said, amending his statement as he saw my eyes widen. “Mistress Pratt has come to warn me that the soldiers will come earlier than I suspected. They sent a man on horse. If the rider made the fort today, they could reach the castle by tomorrow.”

  Malcolm looked over his shoulder as if at something specific, but I saw nothing. Clearly, he knew about the rebels. He nodded.

  “We must move quickly then,” he said.

  “I canna send ye back down the hills again alone,” Colin said to me. “Ye shall have to stay here, but I dinna like it. I didna want ye involved in this.”

  I looked up at him. “I know,” I said simply.

  The shepherd turned without a word and headed down the trail, Laddie and the other dogs following at his heels.

  Colin picked up my bags and took me by the hand.

  “Did ye say that Captain Jones didna want to see me hanged? How did he ken where I had gone?”

  “He guessed. He’s known that you aided the rebels, Colin. He says he doesn’t want to see any more of them executed, that this band is just some old men and boys. Is that true?”

  Colin nodded. His warm hand covered mine in a firm, reassuring grasp.

  “Aye. I ken most of them, several of my father’s auld tenants and their grandsons. A few lads from the village. Not all the clansmen agreed with my father’s views, and some chose to fight for the prince. I canna believe they didna leave the lads behind. Too young!” He shook his head.

  “You said grandfathers and grandsons. Where are the fathers?”

  “Dead...at Culloden. The auld men and lads didna fight, ye ken, but were left at camp to tend to the food and horses. When they heard the battle was lost, the auld men took the lads and ran, as well they should. The Duke of Cumberland gave no quarter that day.” Colin’s voice grew husky. “Young Samuel, who attacked Captain Jones, is only a boy of thirteen. Were he a grown man, he might have killed the captain, but his aim was weak. Nevertheless, the English will likely hang him...and the others.”

  “Can they run? Where to?”

  “They will have to flee if they’re going to live. If we can get them to Glasgow, they can take a ship to the colonies...to yer home.”

  Colin tightened his hold on my hand and brought it to his lips. My heart swelled with love for him.

  “How will they get to Glasgow? How far is it?”

  “It is a fair journey, two days on foot, maybe more if the auld men tire. I will pay for their passage.”

  He hesitated, and I didn’t think I would like what was coming.

  “But I must go with them to Glasgow, ye ken,” Colin said. “I dinna think they can manage booking the passage without suspicion. They’ve none of them been out of the Highlands afore.”

  “No!” I said. I clutched his hand tightly. “Oh, please, Colin, don’t go. It’s too dangerous! Can’t Malcolm go with them? He seems like a pretty confident guy.”

  “Noooo,” Colin said in that way of his. “Malcolm is a shepherd. He isna likely to leave the Highlands for the likes of Glasgow, not even for Anderson clansmen.”

  My heart sank. I could insist on going, and Colin would refuse. We’d been through all that.

  “When the soldiers come, and you’re not there, they’re going to know you had something to do with the Jacobites’ disappearance.”

  “Perhaps. Perhaps not. They canna prove anything.”

  “It doesn’t seem to matter if they have proof or not, Colin. You’re a Scot, a Highlander. Do you think they’re going to care if they have proof?”

  “Nay, Beth. It isna as lawless as that. I am a titled laird. They will nae do anything to me without proof.”

  I bit my lip. I desperately wanted him to return to the castle with me, to keep him safe.

  Malcolm and the dogs veered off the path toward a small rectangular stone building with a thatched roof. We followed. Sheep milled about the cottage and in a nearby meadow. The dogs ran off into the mist to, I presumed, tend to the sheep.

  “That is Malcolm’s cottage while the sheep graze in the hills during the summer,” Colin said.

  A pillar of smoke spiraled up into the air from a chimney at one end of the cottage. Malcolm went inside, and Colin led me in, ducking low through the arched entrance.

  The interior seemed tinier than the exterior, with room for a stone fireplace—over which a pot of something delicious cooked—a small bed in one corner, and a table and two chairs.

  Malcolm removed his bonnet and jacket and hung them up on a hook by the door. Colin, hatless as usual, divested himself of his wet jacket and hung it up as well.

  “Malcolm and I were just about to eat when we heard Laddie barking,” Colin said, pulling a chair toward the fire for me. “Let me take yer cloak. Sit here and warm yerself.”

  I had forgotten that my clothes were soaked through or that I had grown cold. Being in Colin’s embrace, in his company, had warmed me.

  I sat and gratefully accepted a bowl of some kind of hot soup from Malcolm. Colin took another bowl and came to sit beside me, while Malcolm seated himself on the bed to work on his own soup.

  “I must think what to do,” Colin said. “I have to see ye down to the castle and then return, but it is too late in the day to travel now. It will grow dark soon.”

  “I can make it back down by myself,” I said. “If you’re going, you have to go in the morning. Hopefully, you’re going in a different direction from Fort William.”

  “Aye,” Colin said. “We will go south. There is a way through the mountains.”

  “And I don’t suppose I can go with you?”

  Colin lowered his bowl and gazed at me.

  “I ken ye would ask, Beth. I ken ye want to go with me. I didna suspect that ye would be so protective of me, and I love ye for it. Ye have proven that ye are a strong woman, but I dinna want ye to travel with us. It is too long a trip, too arduous for ye, and I need ye at the house to speak to the soldiers, to lie for me. Can ye do that?”

  I nodded.

  “I know you’re right, Colin. I would only hold you back, especially in these clothes. And I guess it would be best if I returned to the house before the soldiers got there, if only to talk to Captain Jones so he can cover for you.”

  “Cover for me?” Colin repeated.

  “Lie for you,” I amended.

  “I ken he is a decent sort of fellow for an English soldier, but do ye trust him, Beth? I dinna want anyone to ken where we are going.”

  “I do trust him,” I said with a nod, “but not with your life. He can guess what he wants, but I won’t tell him where you’re going or that I’ve actually seen you. He can figure it out for himself.”

  Colin nodded.

  “Good,” he said. He picked his bowl up to resume eating but paused and looked at me. “Did I tell ye that I love ye?” His slate eyes twinkled in the firelight.

  “Aye, ye did, my laird,” I said. “And I love you too.”

  Malcolm coughed, and Colin and I chuckled.

  “Where are your clansmen now?” I asked.

  “They are safely camped nearby.”

  “So, they have to stay outside.” I looked around the small cabin.

  “Malcolm willna have them in here. He says the cottage is too small, and he is right. I am fortunate he has let me stay here.” He rolled his r’s with laughter.

  “Yer ladyship is welcome to stay here as well,” Malcolm said, rising to set his bowl on the table. “I can make do with the floor, as can ye, yer lairdship.”<
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  “Aye,” Colin said with a glance at the hard floor. “It will have to do.”

  I felt bad that both men would have to sleep on the floor so “yer ladyship” could sleep in the only bed. I could have volunteered to sleep on the floor, or better yet, offered to share the bed with Colin, but I knew that wasn’t about to happen, so I said the only thing possible.

  “Thank you.”

  “Ye’re welcome,” Malcolm said. “I’ll go see the lads now and take them some food.” He picked up a rag, grasped the pot and headed out the door. I heard the dogs bark and sheep bleat as he emerged from the cottage.

  I looked at Colin, feeling suddenly shy, and my appetite diminished.

  “Where should I wash the bowl?” I asked, rising to look for a sink.

  “Malcolm will wash it when he returns. I dinna ask how he keeps his house.”

  Colin rose, took my bowl and set both our bowls near Malcolm’s on the table. He pulled me into his arms and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

  “It isna quite proper to be together alone like this, my dear,” he said. He lowered his face to mine and kissed me. I couldn’t remember ever having been cold in my life at that moment, as warmth shot up my toes and throughout my body.

  He lifted his head and grinned.

  “I dinna ken what the future will hold for us, my love, but I am verra happy that I found ye.”

  “I’m happy you found me too,” I said, matching his smile.

  The smile faded from his face, and his expression grew somber.

  “I wish that our courtship could have been under more pleasant circumstances,” he said. “Not during such troubled times. I wish I had met ye several years ago.”

  I eyed him and blinked, thinking that a particularly odd thing to say. Hadn’t he been married several ago?

  He pulled me into his arms again, and I said nothing, always afraid to bring up the topic of his first marriage. Someday, I would have to ask him about his wife. Someday, but not now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning, Colin escorted me out of the valley as far as the crest of the hill. As we walked away from the cottage, I turned to look over my shoulder toward Malcolm, who stood at the door with his hand raised in farewell. The dogs, sitting at Malcolm’s side, suddenly ran off into the persistent mist toward a band of men who approached the cottage from the opposite direction.

  “Is that them?” I asked Colin. His warm hand gripped mine firmly.

  He looked over his shoulder and nodded. “Aye, we leave within the hour.”

  As the figures neared the cottage, I could see them more clearly.

  “They really are old men and boys, aren’t they?” Of the eight figures, all sporting plaids, three appeared to have disheveled grayish hair and slowed gaits with stooped postures. Even from here, I could see how exhausted they looked. The five boys, ranging from short to tall, walked with more energy, though they looked cold.

  Malcolm stood back and let them enter.

  “Is he going to feed them breakfast?”

  “Aye, he wouldna let them stay in the cabin, but he will feed them some porridge.” Colin looked over his shoulder again and smiled. “Because I told him to.”

  I squeezed his hand and smiled with him.

  “But he hasna allowed them to stay in the cabin with him, and I canna blame him. They are ripe and in need of bathing.”

  “Where did Malcolm sleep last night? I thought he was going to sleep on the floor of the cabin like you did.”

  “Nay, he told me this morning that he slept in the woods with the lads, didna think it proper to sleep in the same cabin with ‘her ladyship.’” Colin chuckled.

  “Why does he call me that? I’m not any kind of ladyship.”

  Colin pulled my hand to his lips. “Ye are my lady and soon will be in the eyes of the law when we marry. It is only proper that he address ye as such.”

  I couldn’t bear to be parted from Colin at that moment, and I wrapped my arm around his waist, clinging to him as we walked.

  “I know I have to go back to try and ward off the soldiers, but I don’t want to. I just want to stay here and wait with Malcolm until you come back.”

  “Nay, love, ye dinna want to stay up here where it is cold with naethin for company but a dour Scotsman, a dog and some bleating sheep. Even the company of an English captain would be better than that.”

  His lips curved again.

  “But not too much better, mind. Ye are spoken for.”

  I smiled widely, somewhere between tears and joy.

  “I am spoken for,” I repeated obediently.

  All too soon, we reached the crest of the hill above the valley.

  “Have a care going down, my love. I will think of ye and worry about ye while I am gone.”

  He pulled me into his arms and kissed me tenderly at first, and then more roughly. I didn’t mind, and I reveled in his embrace. He set me from him and pulled the hood of my cloak over my wet hair.

  I had declined any food and water as I descended the hills. I really hadn’t needed them on the way up, and I thought it might take me less time to get back than it did climbing, perhaps five hours. I could do without food and drink for five hours, especially in the mist and rain. I wasn’t likely to dehydrate, and Malcolm’s porridge really was sticking to my bones.

  “Good-bye, my love,” he said. “Please take care. I ken Captain Jones will protect ye, though I canna help but wish I were there wi ye.”

  “I know you do,” I said. “I love you. Hurry back. Everything is going to be all right.”

  “I hope ye’re right.” He kissed me one last time and watched as I began my descent, skirt and cloak pulled up above my ankles.

  I turned to look behind me, and he was gone. I could have just crumbled right there and cried, but I knew I had to get back before the soldiers arrived. I didn’t have time for a pity party.

  The descent was faster than the climb but not without its perils. I had to slide down on my backside a few times when I couldn’t stand erect. At other times, I had to pull my skirts and cloak up above my knees to find my footing on the slick trail.

  Somewhere in the distance, I heard the sound of the dogs barking. I looked up over my shoulder, but I could no longer see the top of the hill. I had entered the forest and could see nothing except thick trunks, leaves and mist.

  The faint barking comforted me, and I pressed on until at last I emerged from the forest just at the edge of the gardens. I ran into the gardens and ducked behind a few large hedges to see if anyone was out and about. Thanks to the gentle rain, no one sauntered through the gardens. I hurried to the back door and pulled it open. Rather than hang my filthy cloak on the hook for all to see and wonder about, I ran down the hall and toward the stairs as fast as I could.

  “Mistress Pratt!” Mrs. Agnew murmured as she came up behind me.

  “I have to get to my room,” I whispered. “Talk to me there.”

  She followed me up the stairs, and we made it to my room unseen.

  “I am thankful to see ye back safe and sound. Is his lairdship well? Didna he return with ye?” She started untying my cloak and pulling it from me.

  I shook my head. “No, he did not, and he is fine. He’ll be back in a few days. In the meantime, I need to talk to Captain Jones, and we need to be prepared to fend off the soldiers when they get here. I’m not sure what we’ll say about Lord Anderson’s absence, but I’ll work that out with Captain Jones, and I’ll let you know.”

  I helped her as she peeled my muddy wet clothes off.

  “Och, mistress, ye are a sight. It must have been a difficult journey for ye.”

  “It was, but I survived.”

  “Do ye want to bathe? I can send for some hot water.”

  “Oh, that sounds great. Maybe in half an hour? Do you have a robe or something I could wear while I run across the hall and talk to the captain?”

  “A dressing gown? Aye, I can get ye one. Just a moment.”

&nbs
p; She left the room, and I washed my face and hands with the cold water from the pitcher while I waited. I longed for a hot bath, but I had to talk to the captain first. I wondered where Elinor was.

  “Here ye be, mistress,” Mrs. Agnew said. She handed me a sapphire-blue silk dressing gown, and I slipped it on.

  “I will get yer bath filled up.”

  “Thank you. Where is Lady Elinor?”

  “Oh, I imagine she is with the captain. She spends many an hour nursing him in there.” Mrs. Agnew grinned.

  I smiled, though I wasn’t sure how Elinor’s father would feel about the budding relationship.

  “Thank you.”

  Mrs. Agnew left, and I stepped across the hall and knocked on the door.

  Elinor opened the door, gasped and pulled me into her arms. I hadn’t known we were on hugging terms, but I went with it. If nothing else, her body was warm, and I was cold.

  “Beth!” she cried out. “Ye’re safe and sound.” She pulled me into the room, looked over my shoulder into the hallway and shut the door.

  “What news have ye?” she said. “Come. Sit.” She guided me to the chair she must have just vacated at the captain’s bedside.

  “Mistress Pratt,” he said from the bed. His color was good, and he looked healthier than when I had last I seen him. “Did you find Colin?”

  I eyed him, suddenly unsure of his intentions.

  “We can trust you, can’t we, Captain?”

  “I think I have proven that you can trust me,” he said quietly. “But if you feel that you cannot, then at least assure me he is well and they are on their way to wherever they are going.”

  I nodded.

  “I hurried back to be here when the soldiers arrive. I need your help though, Captain. Colin will not return for a few days, maybe longer.”

  The captain nodded. “I feared as much. I will have to think of something.”

  “Where is he, Beth?” Elinor asked.

  I looked at her. “I prefer not to say, Elinor.”

  She scrunched her face.

  “Beth, he is my cousin.”

  “And he is my fiancé,” I said defiantly, though that was not how I thought I would be announcing my engagement, such as it was.