“They’re already inside of the outer walls!” Richard blurted, not wanting to relay that piece of information but knowing that it was vital.
“You let them into my lands!” Duncan roared, reaching out to grab a fistful of Richard’s shirt and lifted him off the ground with little effort.
“No...No I....” Richard stuttered, now seriously frightened for his life.
“The truth damn ye! No more lies!” Duncan shook him to forcefully underline his point.
“O.K.! O.K.!” Richard shrieked, “That is the reason why I came to stay with you! I was supposed to wait for my brother’s signal and then open the gates from within!” he blabbed.
“Ye no good English bastard!” this time it was Malcolm who lost control of his temper.
“But I didn’t do it!” he continued, “I couldn’t! I couldn’t betray Elizabeth! I told them I wouldn’t do it! When I returned to the stables someone knocked me out from behind, the next thing I knew I woke up bound and gagged, it took an age for me to get loose! They had hidden me up in the hay shed above the stable.” When their expressions didn’t change he quickly raced on, “I managed to get to Elizabeth just in time to warn her, and she got everyone inside of the inner gates before my brothers could get in!”
“If not ye, then who opened the gates?” Malcolm questioned, not yet ready to believe him.
“William!”
“What!” both men exclaimed together, “If ye want to make up a story, ye’d better create a more believable traitor than old William!” Malcolm raged in disbelief, Duncan couldn’t find words to speak.
“I’m not lying I tell you!” he knew he had to convince them of the truth, “I have the proof!” he pulled out the letter from his pockets and reached out. Duncan snatched the letter with one hand and with the other threw the boy to the ground as he read.
“This isnae proof of William’s guilt!” he exploded, relief rushed through his body, “this could have been written by ye!”
“No! Elizabeth sent Ewan with William to bring word to you! It was only later that we realised William’s involvement! That’s why John sent me! To warn you! Bring you back!”
“I still dinnae buy it!” Malcolm commented to Duncan.
“He’s not here is he?” Richard asked, “he left before I did so he should have arrived here by now!”
“How do we know ye aren’t lying? This might all be a trap!” Again Malcolm did the talking.
“Because of that ring. Elizabeth gave it to me so that you would know she sent me here to you! You must believe me Duncan!” he beseeched, “If you don’t return home swiftly you will lose all you hold dear, my brothers will show no mercy towards your people! How can you risk that I am not lying?”
Duncan’s heart turned cold, he hoped with all his soul that Richard’s words were lies. He could deal with that! But not William’s betrayal....
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Wearily Elizabeth rubbed her aching neck as she shuffled out of the kitchen, her body needed sleep but her mind would not give her that relief. During all of her tasks and responsibilities of the past day her thoughts had continuously circulated from Ewan to Duncan. Hope was all that she had to cling onto. Hope that Ewan was still alive, hope that Duncan would return soon. The only positive of the day was that the English, she had now aligned herself with her adopted people the scots, had seemed content to sit and wait. For what? Elizabeth didn’t know and she fervently hoped that she wasn’t going to find out. As a consequence the day had passed by slowly without any drama, although no one had been able to relax.
As she walked through the large dining hall she stepped around the obstacles of bodies lying on the ground trying to snatch some sleep so that they would be ready and able to face what the next day would bring with it. She envied them their peace unable to find any herself, no matter what she did.
“Oh sorry” she murmured automatically as she bumped into someone in the hallway as she left the dining hall.
“Not to worry dearie” Mrs MacTavish soothed as she bent down to retrieve the bundle of clothing she had dropped in the collision.
“Let me help!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
Before she could act out her intention Mrs MacTavish bobbed back up, arms fully loaded, draped in a mound of material. “No need, ye have enough to worry about! I’m taking these clothes into the courtyard. We’re making a pile out there which some of the village women are going to start washing at first light.”
“Good idea. If nothing else then it’ll keep the women occupied, stop them worrying so much.”
“That’s what I thought. How are ye holding up?”
Elizabeth gave a weak smile, Mrs MacTavish had been a wonderful support to her since this whole terrible episode began “as best I can, but I hope Duncan returns soon!”
“I’m sure he will, once word reaches him he’ll waste no time in returning!” she reassured, “I’d better keep going, there are another couple of loads to bring down. And before ye ask. No, I dinnae need yer help. Run along and try to get some rest for the both of ye”, without waiting for a reply she bustled away down the hall and into the darkness.
Elizabeth found herself left to wonder at the energy that Mrs MacTavish possessed, but decided to take her advice and try to get some rest, so she turned towards the stairs that would lead her up to the sanctuary of her bedroom.
Before she reached them, she found herself grabbed from behind, letting out a terrified scream which was swallowed by the hand now covering her mouth she frantically struggled against her captors hold. Oh Lord! How could she have forgotten! Hadn’t Richard said that there had been two traitors inside of these walls, she had somehow managed to completely forget that during the chaos and turmoil of the last few hours since Ewan had been taken.
“Shh Elizabeth! It’s me!” Even though she could only just make out the words for they were whispered so quietly, her body immediately reacted to the unforgettable voice of her husband and she found herself dissolving into his hold.
“Oh! Duncan!” she cried as his hand uncovered her mouth, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, she was just so happy that he was actually here, standing right beside her. Twisting, she turned in his embrace and reaching up she pulled his head down to hers to take a life giving kiss fuelled with desperation and despair. “I’ve lost him” she whispered in torment, “I was supposed to take care of him and I sent him away with our enemy! Oh God help me! It’s my fault he’s not here, not with us! He’s probably so frightened out there, feeling so alone!” as the words ran out the tears gushed forth like an unstoppable tide.
“Shh Elizabeth we’ll find him!” he worked hard to keep the anger out of his voice; he didn’t want to frighten her with it when it wasn’t directed at her. He had been the blind fool not Elizabeth, William had lived in this village all of Duncan’s life and he had never once suspected that he was capable of doing something like this. The most niggling part of the whole thing was why? Why had William betrayed him at all?
“But how will we find him Duncan?” she whispered, gaining strength from his strong arms, “we have no idea where William took him!”
“We know where he dinnae take him, and that’s a start”, at her confused look he elaborated for her benefit, “my men and Malcolm’s men have surrounded the English, we’ve been watching their camp for some time now and can see no evidence that Ewan is there amongst them, that means wherever William has taken Ewan they are alone with no protection which will make it easier for me to kill that traitorous bastard!” he couldn’t stop the anger from seeping out! William had been like a father to him, the betrayal cut deep, however Duncan believed in his heart that no matter how low William had fallen he would not kill Ewan, at least not directly! They still had time!
“How will we find out where they took him?” Elizabeth had been racking her brains with that question all day now and so far had come up with one trail of thought “by finding the accomplice!” she spoke out loud. That task however seemed j
ust as daunting, they now had hundreds of men, women and children inside of the castle walls and any one of them could be the traitor.
“Exactly! Now come!” he took her hand to pull her behind him along the shadows in the hallway.
“Where are we going?” she whispered anxiously.
“Shh!” he paused and pushed against the stone wall with all of his might. To her amazement the wall gave way beneath his strength and with a low groan swung inwards, creating enough room for them to pass through. Another secret passage, she thought in awe, wishing she could have discovered this at some other time when she would have had time to explore the secrets of the dark.
In no time Duncan had closed the wall back into place and was once again leading her through the darkness with an assurance that suggested he had walked these passageways many times before. Before long they came to a stop and with some more pushing and groaning the wall opened up again and they walked straight into the library which was now dimly lit with candlelight.
In front of them, standing around the large desk were two tall figures, Elizabeth felt herself shudder when she noticed their presence, surely not! she thought as she managed to make out the profiles of John and Colin. Not these two as well!
Chapter Thirty-Eight
With a thud William dropped a cup of water onto the table top in front of the boy and turned away to finish cooking on the small fire. Another loud thud made him jump, this time it was caused by the cup slamming into the wall.
Ewan didn’t jump, he only felt satisfaction at the small show of disobedience. He still didn’t fully understand why William had brought him here, all he knew was that Elizabeth had asked them to take word to his father so that he could come to their aid, and they had not. He had failed to carry out the one thing that Elizabeth had asked of him all because of William. Now his legs were tied to this chair and all he could do was sit and wait for his father to come and rescue him.
“Ye do know my father will kill ye when he finds ye?” Ewan asked calmly, even after everything that had happened today he wasn’t afraid of William. Not yet!
“Yer father willnae even know yer missing yet!” William boasted as he bent over the boiling pot above the fire, “and when he does find out I’ll be so far away from here that he’ll never find me!” he boasted, but the sound of a gnarled old branch scratching against the roof of the little hut made him jump, proving that he was more on edge than he would have anyone believe. Ewan saw this weakness but didn’t comment.
“Why are ye doing this? Why betray my father after all of the loyalty he’s shown ye over the years?”
“Loyalty?” the old man cackled, “ye know nothing of loyalty!” he turned on the young boy but did nothing more than dump a bowl of porridge in front of him, “eat!” he ordered but didn’t care if he did or not. He hated kids! Always had. The last eight years had nearly been his undoing, having this young brat trailing his every move. He shuddered in distaste. Not long now and the young lad would be out of his hair forever.
The sound of the door opening drew both pairs of eyes in that direction, William grinned as he watched his accomplice walk into the room, Ewan too began to smile at the familiar figure walking through the door before realising his mistake, because this was no friend!
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Duncan”, John smiled at their entrance and casually extended a glass of whiskey in his direction. Neither John nor Colin showed any surprise at their sudden, unorthodox entrance into the room.
Duncan took the drink and swallowed the contents in one gulp, “what have ye discovered?” he asked, shaking his head at John’s silent offer to top up his glass.
“I’m afraid, nothing!” he stated in angry frustration, “but the traitor has got to be right under our noses! He must have made frequent visits to the stables to plot with William, it’s very likely that we’ve all witnessed the two of them together at some point!” he spat.
“Or perhaps not!” Colin injected, “surely if they were plotting together then they would take special care not to be seen with each other”.
There was silence in the room as all of the occupants took a moment to digest this line of thought.
“Is everyone accounted for? No-one’s missing?” this was directed towards John.
“No!” Elizabeth inserted, “Mrs MacTavish and I discretely asked around to make sure no one was missing but...”
“A woman!” Duncan declared, why hadn’t he thought about this sooner, why, it made perfect sense! “That scrap of material ye found in the stables!’ he exclaimed.
“You think the accomplice is a woman?” John questioned in amazement.
“Who could it be though?” Elizabeth queried, not so shocked that a woman was capable of such a thing.
“The material was of fine quality, which in itself should narrow the list of possible suspects.” John remembered.
“I hope you’re not accusing me!” Elizabeth fumed; “Again!” she added for her husband’s benefit, she still hadn’t forgiven him for not trusting her.
“Who else.....”
“Mrs MacTavish!” Colin exclaimed triumphantly.
“No!” Elizabeth wouldn’t believe it, “she’s been helping me all day today!”
“You told her about William taking Ewan and that we suspected another traitor inside these walls”, Duncan explained gently, “she knew every move we were making”.
“But why?” she beseeched.
“Why William?” Duncan added, “before much longer we’ll have the answer to both of those questions” his determination was evident for all to see, his bewilderment and pain was not.
“Where’s Mrs MacTavish now?” Colin’s question was uttered quietly but everyone heard it.
“I saw her in the hallway just before Duncan found me” Elizabeth supplied.
“Doing what?” John jumped in.
“Taking dirty laundry to the courtyard” she missed the glances the three men exchanged.
“Where will they be now?” John was thinking aloud.
“Hiding!” came Duncan’s succinct answer.
“Didn’t you hear me! Mrs MacTavish is still here!” Elizabeth was becoming agitated, “shouldn’t we find her first?”
Duncan reached out and taking her hand in his he gave her a supportive squeeze, “she was leaving. She’ll be long gone by now!”
“Oh God! I could have stopped her! It’s my fault she got away!” Elizabeth wailed. This on top of everything was too much for her.
“Shh” he pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head. The other two men in the room discretely looked away, not needing to witness the newfound bond between husband and wife. “Where do ye think they are?” his voice was a husky rumble so as not to disturb Elizabeth.
“We know they are not with the English, so my guess is that they are hiding somewhere, waiting.” Colin voiced his suspicions.
“The cabin!” Elizabeth mumbled into Duncan’s shirt, and then struggled out of his embrace to say more forcefully, “Duncan, the cabin in the forest! It would make a perfect place to hide!”
“We know about the cabin, they would know it would be one of the places we would search!” John dismissed.
“But they’d also assume that our focus would be directed towards the English outside of these walls” Duncan backed Elizabeth, “It’s the best guess that we’ve got at the moment. No harm will be done by checking it out!” Unable to stand still any longer, Duncan began to pace, he was a man of action and was eager to act on their suspicions. “We’ll leave now while it’s still dark. Even if Mrs MacTavish has relayed all she knows to William I dinnae think they’ll move camp tonight, they’ll wait till morning. The darkness will give us an advantage over them, providing us with extra cover. John ye stay here with Elizabeth, control things here, Colin and I will go and bring Ewan home” he decided.
“I’m coming too!” Elizabeth followed him to the door.
“No! I want ye to stay here”.
&
nbsp; “Either you let me come with you or I’ll leave alone! I promise you, I’m not staying here! I want to help!” The stubborn set of her whole body told Duncan that everything she said was true, she’d waste no time in following them once they’d gone. Wanting only her safety he knew that this time he would have to back down, agree to what she wanted, at least if she was with him then he would be able to protect her.
“Ok but we need to leave now!” he opened the door, checked the hallway and then signalled for the others to follow.
“My horse?” Elizabeth questioned.
“You dinnae need him, we have spares outside” he whispered and in silence led the way out of the safety of the castle.
Chapter Forty
“Shh!” Duncan cautioned Elizabeth and Colin as they crouched down low in the bushes not far from the little cottage which was being used as a base by William and Mrs MacTavish. His muscles bunched tightly underneath his skin as he thought of the coming confrontation, he must push aside any feeling of kinship he felt towards the two people inside of that dwelling, they had betrayed him as if they had stuck a knife in his back with their own bare hands. Any feelings of loyalty towards them were foolish now, although he couldn’t quite prevent the tug of that emotion as his thoughts drifted back over his life and the fact that William had stood beside him for all of it. Disillusionment was a difficult feeling to push aside, however he knew that for the sake of his son, right now he had to do just that.
The old cottage was full of life, indicating that he had been correct in assuming that the inhabitants would feel safe enough to spend at least one more night there. Good! Duncan thought, which meant that they wouldn’t be expecting any trouble and the element of surprise would be on his side. As Duncan watched, a shadowed figure walked in front of the brightly illuminated window, and his blood slowly began to boil. Trying to keep a strong hold on his anger, he turned to his two companions and whispered, “stay here. I’ll go inside”.
Ann Carr Page 18
