“They might be armed” Colin warned, not trying to change Duncan’s plan.
“So am I!” he reached down to rest his hand against his sword, “they are the ones who should be worried!” there was no mistaking the treat behind his words and for a heartbeat Colin found himself feeling sorry for the two people who had dared to cross this man. Then he remembered what they had done and hoped that Duncan would serve them their justice.
“I’m coming with you” determination was in Elizabeth’s tone.
"No!" Duncan started gently but firmly, but when he saw determination turn into stubbornness he continued more roughly, "now is not the time to argue. For once can ye just do as I ask without causing any trouble!" He didn't wait for her answer, only hoped that she would comply with his request, and started walking gently towards the one and only door leading into the cottage. When he reached it, he lay a hand on the doorknob but paused just long enough to share one last glance with his wife before he pushed and walked into the den of his enemies with a show of bravado.
“Well! Well! Look what the cat dragged in?” William sing-songed, leaning back in his chair, one booted foot resting on the table in front of him. Duncan’s angry focus had been directed solely in his direction until he heard the startled gasp which left Mrs MacTavish’s lips. She was standing in the corner of the room, to his right, hand raised to her mouth as if trying to stop any more noise escaping from her lips. At her feet was Ewan, he sat on the floor, hands bound behind his back, but even the gag covering his mouth couldn’t hide the relief that washed through his eyes at the sight of his father.
“I’m taking Ewan!” he declared, “anyone who stands in my way will be dealt with by the blade of my sword!” he threatened, raising his sword before him to back up his treat.
“Sit down Duncan. Sit down!” William sat up, dropping his foot to the floor beneath him. He filled a glass with whiskey and slid it across the table top. Holding up his hands, he leaned back, “The boy isnae what this is all about! Take him!” he offered.
It was curiosity which made Duncan step towards the small table, he should have taken Ewan to safety without seeking answers but he didn’t. Instead he reached down to touch the cold glass on the table, without raising it he looked up and pinned William down with a fierce gaze, “so tell me. What is it all about?”
“Revenge!” William waited for that to sink in before continuing, “It’s taken thirty years but finally revenge will be ours!” William roared with laughter as he watched the shocked amazement pass over the face of the others in the room. Their shocked reactions weren’t caused by what he had said, but rather by how he had said it, for he had spoken in a perfect English accent. He laughed joyously, it felt so good to speak in his native tongue once again, it was a pleasure he’d had to deny himself for over thirty years now, he couldn’t believe how free he now felt, free to be himself, to lift off the self-imposed mask which he had shrouded himself in for so long. They had been times over the years when he had doubted this day would ever come, but now all of the sacrifices he had made had finally paid off and he was free.
“Who are ye?” Duncan questioned this stranger in front of him.
“William Worsley, Lord William Worsley if you will!” he stood up and performed a flamboyant bow to his enemy as an actor might do at the end of his performance.
“Why all this subterfuge?”
“We are all aware of what happened here thirty years ago at the hands of your grandfather” William started disdainfully.
“My grandfather was protecting his lands from an English invasion. One which I presume ye were somehow part of”, Duncan couldn’t believe how calm his voice sounded to his own ears.
“He massacred my friends!” William shouted, all humour now gone, “I watched as he tortured and killed my friends one by one right in front of me!” his voice was filled with disgust, disgust at what the old man had done, disgust at what he had seen, the images which had frequently woken him in the middle of the night, but most of all disgust at his own lack of action. He had been too afraid to help his friends, instead he had stood on the sidelines pretending to support old Campbell’s action, yet inside he had been plotting his revenge, the revenge of his friends. Too bad it had taken so long to come to fruition and that the old man was now long gone. But that didn’t matter, his kin would pay!
Duncan didn’t comment, what could he say? So he waited, waited for William to continue his tale.
“Why dinnae they kill ye?” Mrs MacTavish gasped, obviously never having heard this story before. When William said nothing she thought that he hadn’t heard her, hoped that he hadn’t heard her because she was regretting allowing those words from escaping her lips at all.
“I came to Castle Campbell three weeks before my friends, I pretended to be Scottish and secured a job as a stableman. I was supposed to open the gates from the inside so that they could enter unnoticed before taking down the castle.” he sat down again, his body dropped with a sigh, “I received the signal that afternoon, was prepared to open the gates that night but somehow mad Campbell was made aware of the plan, I overheard him and his men taking in the stables and tried to get word to my friends but there was no way to do it.” he ran his bony fingers through his lank hair in remembered frustration, “I didn’t open the gates that night, but somebody did and my friends walked right into the old man’s trap!” his anger was evident.
“Dinnae they suspect ye?” Mrs MacTavish couldn’t help herself.
“Of course they did!” he was clearly disgusted by the question. “They made sure I was present during the torturing of my friends, when they gained no reaction from me time and again they eventually came to the conclusion that I wasn’t in cahoots with them! After that it was easy!” he gloated, “I became the stableman that I was pretending to be, all the while waiting for the opportunity to strike out in revenge”.
“Which came now?” Duncan added.
“When Elizabeth arrived I was hopeful. I knew it meant that what happened back then hadn’t been forgotten. At first I thought that she was part of the plot, but she never approached me or showed any indication that I could approach her. But when that boy arrived I knew why he was here. He didn’t contact me either so I figured that he didn’t know about my presence inside of the enemy lines. It didn’t take much for me to find the English and make contact with them. And then it was just a case of waiting. Again!”
“That’s when ye came to me!” Mrs MacTavish gasped, “ye’d discovered my secret and knew that I would gladly go along with yer schemes!” she found it difficult to believe that there was so much she hadn’t been told.
Before Duncan could confront her about her comment William continued, “Take the boy Duncan, see how far you get before we English catch up with you!” he dared.
“What was the objective here? To take over castle Campbell?” Duncan wanted to be clear of the facts.
“Yes! and to crush it beneath out feet. When we are done here there will be nothing and no one remaining! Take Ewan now but know that they’ll find you and then they will wipe out the Campbell’s once and for all!” He fell back into his chair, cackling again as if what he’d just said was a tremendous joke, “I said take him!” he waved to the boy between gasps.
Before Duncan could take a step in Ewan’s direction he felt a prick between his shoulder blades, cursing himself as a fool he remained still as he felt the cool steel pierce his tender skin.
“Dinnae move!” Mrs MacTavish ordered, taking a firmer grip of the dagger in her hand.
“What are you doing woman?” William scolded; this wasn’t part of the plan.
“He’s not taking Ewan!” she screeched, her voice not quite steady.
“You wouldn’t kill him!” William barked.
"Oh wouldnae I?" she questioned, and whatever William saw in her face caused all of his humour to disappear and he sat up straight in his chair, alert, ready to act if he needed to. Duncan only had William's reaction to base his own judg
ement on, and judging by it he was out of luck right now. This woman was some sort of wild maniac!
The sudden shattering of glass drew all eyes in the direction of the window to the left. “Not unless you want an arrow through your head?” Elizabeth! Fear gripped Duncan, he didn’t want her here, didn’t want her witnessing this scene, didn’t want her putting herself in danger like this. “Now drop the dagger!” she continued, not a tremor in her arms as she held them out in front of her, through the hole in the wall, bow and arrow cocked and ready to be released at her whim. She didn’t look at Duncan. Couldn’t. She needed to focus all of her attention on the woman now threatening the life of her husband. By God! She wouldn’t allow her to get away with it!
Elizabeth watched as Mrs MacTavish’s expression turned black, furious, and knew that she didn’t have much time.
“Ye cannae take him!” she screamed and her body moved ever so slightly, Elizabeth reacted instantly, and in a smooth, fluid motion she let go of the arrow and watched as it passed through the room in what seemed like slow motion before hitting its target. With a loud squeal Mrs MacTavish dropped to the floor, dumbfounded Duncan looked over to the window with wonder on his face.
“Oh God! Duncan! Have I killed her?” now it was Elizabeth’s turn to squeal, “I didn’t mean to kill her! Only to get her away from you!” panic was entering her voice as the consequences of her actions began to sink in.
He turned to look down at the prone woman now lying at his feet, when he heard a moan burst from her lips relief washed over him, for Elizabeth’s sake not for the sake of the woman lying there. “She’s still alive. Dinnae panic sweetheart!” he soothed.
“God almighty!” William exclaimed “whatever got into her?” he still couldn’t believe his eyes. So far Mrs MacTavish had been biddable to his every demand, he had had no idea that this sinister side of her had even existed!
“You’re sure she’s alive?” Elizabeth whispered as she entered the room.
“Sorry Duncan!” Colin burst through, quick on her heels, “I couldnae stop her!” He skidded to a halt, “Is that Mrs MacTavish?” he indicated the woman still slumped at their feet. She groaned again, rolled her head to the side and then cracked open her eyes slightly, “Ye never deserved her! It’s yer fault that she died” she managed to croak out. There was no confusion as to who her words were directed at. All four adults in the room were peering down at the woman with varying degrees of confusion on their faces.
“Who?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes now round with curiosity.
Mrs MacTavish ignored the question, “and ye dinnae deserve him!” she continued, “he belongs with us! With his real family!” Her words brought clarity to one person in the room and he bent closer.
“I never meant to hurt him!” she whispered, “I love him as his mother would!” she coughed and sputtered and in the next breath she was gone.
“Who was she?” it was Colin who broke the silence.
“Juliet’s sister” Duncan’s reply was quiet, contemplative.
“I’m sorry Duncan”, Elizabeth reached out to him, tears in her eyes, “it must have been so difficult for her living with this secret for so many years”, she felt sympathy for the woman but couldn’t condone her actions.
“You knew?” Duncan looked at William.
Nodding yes he added, “I figured it out some time ago. I suppose one person living a lie can spot the same qualities in someone else!”
Leaving the men Elizabeth hurried to Ewan’s side, she wished that he hadn’t had to witness all that had just taken place in front of him. Kneeling down, she made quick work at untying his bound wrists and then pulled him to her in a protective embrace. “I’m so sorry Ewan!” she murmured over and over, the burden of guilt for her part in everything weighing down on her conscience.
“Is he alright?” Duncan knelt down beside them and reached out for his son.
“Of course! I’m not a baby” Ewan murmured, and even though it lacked most of his usual conviction, Duncan couldn’t help the subdued chuckle from escaping his lips, Ewan smiled weakly at his father and enjoyed being enveloped in Elizabeth’s warm embrace. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but when he had seen Mrs MacTavish hold the knife in his father’s back he had been truly terrified.
"Are ye sure yer alright?" Duncan reached out to gently cup Elizabeth's face in his hand, she was pale and her eyes huge and bright, but she still managed a shaky nod in answer. He needed to get them back to the castle where they would both be safe.
It was the loud thud behind them which first alerted them to trouble. The second was Colin’s squirming body lying next to Mrs MacTavish’s on the hard, cold floor of the cabin.
Duncan jumped to his feet and hopping over Colin raced out of the door and into the dark forest surrounding them.
Elizabeth too ran to the door, but by the time she got there she could see nothing no matter how hard she strained her eyes, she couldn’t even tell which direction he had gone. Tilting her head she listened, for any sounds of the men but all she heard were the typical night sounds of the forest, wind whistling through the trees, limbs creaking and groaning under the movement, leaves rustling in an eerily soothing manner. The occasional sound of an owl hooting broke the rhythm of the trees and sent shivers racing up her spine. She didn’t know how long she stood there, waiting. “Duncan!” she screamed into the darkness, her desperation and despair ringing through his name.
“Elizabeth?” she turned, Ewan stood behind her with a pale and drawn expression. Quickly he glanced behind him to the man groaning on the ground. Reassessing her priorities Elizabeth rushed to Colin’s side and immediately saw the dagger sticking out of his arm.
“Shh!” she soothed while hurriedly tearing material off the bottom of her dress to use as a make shift bandaged, “I know it hurts right now but you’ll be fine” she reassured as she checked his wound. “We’ll have to get that dagger out, then I’ll bind the wound and we’ll have to return to the castle where you can be tended to properly”.
“I shouldnae have let my guard down!” Colin was furious with himself, “I know better! But I turned away from him, took my eyes off him for a moment. I deserve everything I got!”
“Don’t be daft!” she scolded, “you didn’t know he was going to stab you in the arm! How could you?” she didn’t have much patience for his self-pity when she was so worried about Duncan. He hadn’t returned yet. Not wanting to think about why he hadn’t returned, Elizabeth busied herself with the task at hand. Before long she and Ewan were helping a staggering Colin mount his horse, with little success. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief as a pair of strong hands reached around her to hoist him up into the saddle with seemingly little effort. Turning around Elizabeth wiped the perspiration off her brow with her arm and almost collapsed with the relief of seeing Duncan standing before her in one piece. She reached out eager hands to check, to make sure he was uninjured, and to feel his heartbeat pulse with life.
"I dinnae find him" Duncan explained, "he'll no doubt make his way to yer brothers for safety". He threw Ewan up onto his horse, "come on!" and jumped up behind him. He reached down and Elizabeth passed him the reigns of Colin's horse, before mounting her own and without wasting any more time they set off home.
Chapter Forty-One
Elizabeth stopped dead in the doorway blinking her tired eyes, and knew that she must be hallucinating. When her eyes opened again and the image refused to disappear she wasted no time in rushing across the room to wrap her arms around the forlorn man standing there gazing out of the window and into the night sky. She marvelled at the speed which her tired, aching body managed to cross the room when only moments before all it had wanted to do was melt into the soothing comfort of her bed.
“Duncan” she murmured, burying her face into his hard, chiselled chest and squeezed her arms tightly around his waist as if she alone could hold his weight and support his tired body.
She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and immediately th
e image of him, standing in front of the window as he had been when she’d walked into the room only seconds before pooped into her mind’s eye. The image of her strong, self-assured husband leaning tiredly, one shoulder supported against the wall, his usually erect figure slightly bent as he stared unseeing out of the dark window. Elizabeth had never seen him looking like this before, and doubted if he had ever allowed anyone else to witness his vulnerability. She loved him all the more for not hiding this side of his character from her, it induced in her a powerful need to protect, support and offer strength to him. She showed this now in her actions, knowing that he would never accept a verbal acknowledgment. Her lips kicked up with contentment as his arms squeezed her back, in his silent answer.
“I’ve never felt more terrified in my life as when Richard brought me the news this morning” he breathed, almost without sound.
“I’ve never felt so helpless in my life then when we figured out the truth about William!” Elizabeth sighed, and paused before adding, “I guess we make a fine pair!” This produced the desired rumble in his chest, the sound didn’t quite make it past his lips but she had felt his amusement.
“I dinnae know what I’d have done if anything had happened to ye or Ewan!” he hugged her until she could hardly breathe!
“Duncan!” she exclaimed as she tried to suck air into her restricted lungs.
The moment he relaxed his hold she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, looking up at him she couldn’t help the silly grin on her lips or the band of love around her heart making itself felt with every beat. “I love you!” she blurted without thinking, without regretting.
“I love ye too!” all energy seemed to return to him as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around the room amidst laughter and joy from both of them. He was amazed that this small, delicate creature in his arms had held the power to transform his life so enormously! He had never in his wildest dreams believed he could be this happy! That it was a woman who would bring him such happiness, and an English one to boot, befuddled his brain as nothing else could. There was no point in questioning it he had come to realise, the only way to deal with it was take it in both hands and accept it wholeheartedly as what it was. Love! He, Duncan Campbell was in love!
Ann Carr Page 19
