The Highlander's Secret

by Jennifer Siddoway

  Her eyes were wide with horror as she pointed back towards the water. “There’s a body!”

  “What?”

  “There’s a body in the water,” she gasped out determinedly.

  “Are ye sure?”

  “Go see fer yerself!”

  Alan stood and barely had to take two steps before coming to the horrible sight that Jain had stumbled upon by accident. It was partially hidden among the reeds, but Jain had managed to dislodge it when she fell. A gray, mottled face rose to the surface from being submerged in the river, the limbs and face all bloated.

  Tears streamed down Jain’s cheeks. She climbed onto her knees and tried to pull the body from the rock. She grabbed the body by an arm and pulled it from the water. Her nose was filled with the putrid smell of decomposing flesh. “Alan help me!” she pleaded in a sob.

  He quickly came to her side and helped Jain drag the lifeless body onto the grass. Carefully, Jain rolled the body onto her back and cried. Every sense was assaulted by the discovery that had taken place – her nose, eyes, and hands rejecting it completely. Jain’s need to purge the offensive contact was all encompassing and she could feel the bile rising in her stomach.

  “Is it Heather?” Jain asked him quietly. “Please tell me it isn’t her.”

  Alan shook his head. “I’m sorry, love, but I’m afraid it is. I recognize her face.”

  The visceral response hit Jain hard with a roll of nausea and she crawled away from him to vomit. Her stomach churned and unleashed the entire contents of her stomach. Dry heaves rocked through her body and Jain trembled from the physical toll it took on her slight frame.

  When the worst of it was over, Jain came back towards him to see it for herself. The side of Heather’s face was bashed in near the temple, caving in where the skin had broken. Jain reached out with a trembling hand to brush away the hair.

  “Who would do such an awful thing?” she sobbed.

  Alan’s brows puckered together with concern. She looked at him, though his image was hazy and partially blurred by tears.

  “I think ye and I both ken,” he responded somberly.

  When Jain was able to control her breathing and regain composure, she asked him plainly, “What do we do?”

  Alan sighed, glancing back over the hill. “When we left, Conrad was challenging yer father fer a seat of power. There’s nae telling what’s going on back there right now.”

  Jain shook her head. “We cannae let that happen. Conrad is a murderer and an opportunistic scoundrel. My father has the rightful claim. He’d be a good chieftain. We need to bring Heather back, so she can have a proper funeral and show the people what happens when a man like Conrad is in power.”

  “Aye,” Alan nodded in agreement. “If we can show this to some of the other villagers, they will finally see Conrad fer what he really is – a scoundrel. All those pretty words of his will mean nothing once they see the fruit of what his labors brought.”

  Jain sighed. “I cannae use her death as a bargaining chip. We have to bring her back, but it needs to be fer the right reasons – to expose Conrad as a murderer. It has to be about justice and not returning my father to his seat as chieftain. Our motivation will be correct, and in that way, Heather’s death will mean something.”

  “Ye’re absolutely right,” he assured her. “We’re taking her back, so that her family can have some closure and so the men responsible will receive judgment. Are ye willing to take that risk though in spite of the danger we may face by going back?”

  Jain cast down at the frozen form of Heather Gordon. “Aye, once they see the truth I’m sure our clansmen will be ready to listen.”

  Alan gently placed his hand underneath her chin, drawing her face away so that Jain would look at him.

  “Dinnae look at her, love. It will only make ye cry.”

  She wiped away her tears and told him, “Aye.”

  Without another word, Alan removed his cloak and wrapped Heather’s body in it. “We’ll fasten a sled out of some branches and hitch it to the back of the horse. That way we can bring her back with us.”

  Jain furrowed her brow as she stood up on the bank to wring some water out of her hair while Alan collected some branches from the trees.

  “Do ye think that will work?”

  Alan grimaced, glancing back towards the cloak and said, “I hope so. It’s our best shot at returning her body to the village. Rhona and Boyd deserve to ken.”

  She nodded, watching him lay the branches on the ground and construct the sled. He ripped a few strips of fabric from the sleeve of his shirt and secured them in place before pulling Heather’s lifeless body on top of it. The fabric of his cloak wrapped around her like a funeral shroud and covered her completely. Jain considered that, in light of their circumstances, that was probably for the best.

  She swallowed hard, trying to choke down a sob that came bubbling to the surface at the heartbreaking scene it made. Alan glanced up at Jain and sighed. “Are ye going to be able to do this?”

  Jain gulped again and said, “Aye. Let's just get this over with.”

  She followed him up the hill, still shivering from the wet and cold. She wrapped her cloak around her to try and keep warm, but it was impossible without the warmth of a fire to dry her off. Alan helped Jain onto the horse’s back and hitched the sled carrying Heather behind them. He walked along beside, urging the beast forward as they followed the stream back towards Elign. When the trees thinned, Jain turned to him and asked, “Do ye think this will change anything?”

  Alan sighed. “I dinnae ken. All we can do is try.”

  “What if, even after we show them what a monster Conrad is, the others still want to turn me over to the Vikings?”

  “Then we’ll deal with that as it comes.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Jain rode on the horse’s back, slowly making it up the hill. It was a slow journey back and they took special care not to jostle the precious cargo the sled was carrying any more than necessary.

  By the time their village appeared on the distance, her heart was heavy with the terrible news they were bringing back with them. Alan glanced up at her from where he was walking and sighed. The branches of Alan’s makeshift sled left deep tracks in the earth behind him from the weight of the load that he was carrying as they continued into the village. They continued on in silence for a little while longer until they reached the village gate. No one was on the road ahead and it was eerily silent.

  She cast her eye toward the keep and told Alan, “Everyone must be in the summit. We’ll have to take her to the keep.”

  He nodded and turned up the road that led to the great stone building at the top of the hill. The horse clamored up the path until they stopped at the foot of the steps. Jain climbed down off the horse’s back and helped Alan untie the sled. Together, they carried her up the steps and down the hall to where the village was in council.

  She could hear them talking up ahead, the entire village gathered in the great hall. Alan cradled the load of Heather’s weight in his massive arms and stepped into the room. Conrad and the village council were gathered at the front, along with her father Eamon and Keenan’s widow.

  When they arrived, a hush fell across the hall as people turned to them in shock. Jain saw people’s reactions change from the moment they first saw him, to when their eyes rested on the ominous figure he was bringing. They recognized the shape of a human body immediately and knew what it was.

  “Jain, ye’re back!” Eamon addressed her from his seat amidst the sound of growing whispers.

  Conrad and his men were dressed up in some expensive clothing as if to celebrate a victory. He sneered at them when he saw them come in from the back.

  “Ye’ve returned,” he addressed them with a sneer. “I didn’t think the two of ye would dare show yer faces here again.”

  With a tired groan, Alan carried Heather to the center of the room with villagers parting left and right to let him pass. He laid her on the gr
ound in front of them for all to see, and Conrad’s face went pale. Jain could sense his discomfort at the manner of their return and set her jaw defiantly. He must have known exactly what they brought.

  All eyes were on them as news of their return must have had spread.

  “What have ye got there, Alan?” one of the council members asked them. “It’s difficult to see.”

  “Jain and I stumbled upon a body in the forest. We brought it back here because it may interest some of ye. Where are Boyd and Rhona?”

  There was a flurry of commotion and Heather’s parents came pushing forward through the crowd. The woman was red in the face from crying and fell to her knees in front of the heap of fabric on the ground. “Out of the way! Let me see!”

  The woman’s hands were shaking as she pulled back the fabric to reveal the face of her dark-haired daughter. The face of Heather Gordon no longer held the delicate features Jain and the others remembered – but it was enough to identify her. With her mottled skin and damage to her skull, it was clear what happened. Rhona let out a bloodcurdling scream and cried uncontrollably until one of the men had to remove her.

  Boyd cried out in devastation and said, “Oh, my love! My wee darlin’. What happened to her?” he asked Alan tearfully.

  Alan hung his head and told him, “We found her in the river about halfway through the forest.”

  “Who would have done this to her?” he demanded between sobs.

  Jain shook her head with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I dinnae ken, Boyd. I’ve been asking myself that same question ever since we found her. Look at the side of her face, whatever happened to Heather was intentional. Ye wouldn’t get those kinds of wounds by accident.”

  During the exchange, Jain glanced over at Conrad to see how he’d react. She noticed he’d been oddly quiet since the discovery of Heather’s body and was backing away from them. “A pointless tragedy,” Conrad murmured. “But these things do happen. We’re in the middle of a council meeting, in case ye haven’t noticed. The threat of Norsemen on our border takes precedence, and we’re still without a chieftain.”

  “Ye should ken!” Alan snared at him in fury. “Ye were the last one seen with her. Do ye deny it?”

  Conrad smiled thinly. “That doesn’t prove anything. The entire village was at the festival. Who’s to say I had anything to do with this?”

  “I think ye did,” Jain responded. “I think ye raped her and then ye murdered her in cold blood.”

  “What proof do ye have?”

  Alan sneered at him and said, “Feeling defensive, Conrad?”

  As Boyd knelt down to hold his daughter, the fabric she was wrapped in fell loose around her neck, revealing a dark bruise. It was dark purple and visible enough that everyone around could see.

  “Oh, my sweet child, what have they done to ye?” the old man cried.

  “This is nothing more than a distraction!” Conrad boomed. “We should bury her in the cemetery and be done with it.”

  Jain reach out her hand and offered him the chain of necklace she and Alan had found inside the cottage. Boyd took it from her hesitantly. “Where’s the charm?” he asked them between sobs. “There was a triskele pendant that’s been in our family fer generations. She never left home without it.”

  Alan shook his head. “There was nae charm, Boyd, just the necklace”

  A small murmur rose from the crowd and Jain’s eyes flickered straight to Conrad. His face was like a stone as he slowly backed away from them. “Where are ye going, Conrad? I thought ye wanted to see this finished.”

  Alan glanced at him as well and the guilt was written all over his face. “Ye ken what they’re talking about?”

  “This is ridiculous,” Conrad told them. “How do we ken ye weren’t the one who killed her? After all, ye’re the ones who stumbled upon her so conveniently.”

  Alan balked at the accusation. “Because we’ve only been gone fer two days. Heather has been gone fer much longer than that. It would take time fer her body to decompose to the state in which we found her.”

  “I still find that awfully convenient.”

  “Ye would!” Alan snapped. “Now I’m even more inclined to think that ye are the one responsible.”

  Conrad stuttered, his eyes darting nervously from side to side. “I…”

  Conrad turned and ran, but Rodrick tackled him in the square before he was able to get away.

  “Search him!” Eamon called. “Have someone search his house as well. We’ll not have a single stone unturned.”

  Conrad grunted in opposition as two men joined Rodrick apprehending him and another searched his pockets. A pair of village locals headed over to his house in search of the pendant on the necklace she’d been wearing.

  “How dare ye!” Conrad sputtered. “I’m an upstanding member of this community. The village would starve without my contribution to the stores. Whatever happened to the pendant is irrelevant. The chain is clearly broken, so the charm must have fallen or gotten lost along the way.”

  “I guess we’ll see when the men come back,” Eamon responded through gritted teeth.

  Moira came running over to Jain in the midst of the commotion and threw her arms across her shoulders crying. Tears streamed down her face, holding her tight and peppering her cheeks with kisses. “Dinnae ye ever disappear like that on me again. I dinnae ken what to think.”

  “It’s alright, Mam. I’m here now.”

  Minutes later the men came back from Conrad’s holding a golden charm in one of their palms. “Is this it?” he asked Boyd carefully.

  Heather’s father choked back a sob and gazed at the charm, saying, “That’s it.”

  All eyes turned to Conrad, who had been so close to claiming the role of chieftain. “Lies!” he shouted. “They’ve planted that in my house to arouse suspicion.” “Ye killed my daughter!” Boyd shouted furiously. “Ye killed her!”

  Eamon put his hand on Boyd’s shoulder. “Calm down, friend, we’ll see that justice is served.”

  Boyd looked up at him with teary eyes and said, “Please, Eamon…she was all we had.”

  The crowd erupted in a cry of rage as Duncan made his way to the front. “Well, I think that very well settles it! Conrad is not the man we thought he was. I put it to ye to decide his fate.”

  “But who’s to become our chieftain?” one of the council members asked. “We still have yet to arrive on a decision.”

  Alan spoke up and said, “The choice is clear. We should put our faith in Eamon. Whatever Conrad told ye about him is a vicious lie. Ye cannae listen to the accusations of a murderer. Eamon is an honest and proper leader fer our people. And as far as Jain’s concerned, ye ken her character as well as anyone. She loves our people. She loves our village. There isn’t a malicious bone inside her. What else do ye need to ken?”

  While he was speaking, Conrad somehow managed to wriggle free and punched the man who was holding him. He drew his sword from across his hip and lunged at Eamon suddenly. Alan saw what was going to happen before Conrad had the chance to make contact. He jumped in front of Eamon with a blade of his own to defend him. In a flurry of blows they attacked each other, with Conrad becoming more and more unhinged. He lost control of his weapon and Alan struck the final blow.

  Conrad stumbled back with a red stain gushing out across his tabard. His eyes were wide and unblinking as he fell on the ground in a lifeless heap. A few of the women gasped, averting their gaze so they wouldn’t have to see.

  Eamon nodded solemnly. “I always feared this day would come. Not that I’m unwilling to take the job, but Keenan left a large seat to fill. I’ll do my best to serve our clan and keep it from harm’s way. From this day, until my dying day, I am bound to serve.”

  “Ye’re a good man, Eamon. Ye would do our clan a great service by accepting it. Ye’ve got my support.”

  “And mine,” another cheered.

  He glanced around at all the faces looking to him expectantly. “Ye still want me as yer lai
rd?”

  Duncan clapped his hand on the old man’s shoulders. “I can think of nae one better.”

  One by one, they kneeled in a show of support until the entire group was bowing. Eamon stared at them in surprise.

  “Aye, if ye want me fer the job then my service will be yers. And the first thing we need to deal with…” he said, looking back again towards Jain, “…is to figure out what we should do with the Viking hoard.”

  “Now let’s get to work.”

  ~ * ~

  Over the coming days, Eamon sent messages to a nearby clan asking for their aid. Riders went out to spread the word of the pending danger. Jain watched her father seamlessly transition into their clan’s chieftain.

  The people in the village seemed to like him and respected the claim almost immediately. Overnight their lives became less private and infinitely more complicated as her parents moved into the keep. It was impractical for them to remain out on the farm with everything happening. Any spare chance she got, Jain would secret away to the smithy so she could spend some time with Alan.

  He smiled when she came walking up and met her with a kiss. “I wasn’t expecting to see ye.”

  Jain shifted her weight and asked, “Alan…do ye still want to marry me? I mean even after all of this?”

  Alan pulled back from her surprised. “Aye, lass! More than anything.”

  Her smiled widened, exposing the dimples in her cheek. “Good, because I cannae wait to be yer wife. Ye’re sweet and good and everything I could every want fer myself in a husband.”

  Alan smiled back at her, reaching up to brush his fingers through her hair. “I will try my best not to disappoint ye.”

  She dipped her head to kiss him briefly on the lips and Alan breathed with a sigh.

  “I dinnae want to wait any longer, until after the Vikings have been dealt with,” Jain told him. “There will always be a reason to postpone. I want to start a life with ye as soon as possible.”

  He tucked a curl of hair behind her ear and sighed. “That’s a sentiment I completely understand. If yer da will give his permission, I would marry ye in the morning.”