by Jane Stain
Luag walked through town next to the lady’s litter with his head covered —ostensibly against the chill, this time. They swept right into the Regent’s Aberdeen residence, a sizable manor house. Once inside and out of earshot from the street where a mob might be assembled, he uncovered his head, interested to see who among all these lesser nobles present would recognize him —and still more interested to hear who would call him out for his presence.
He found out quickly.
“My, my, my, isna that the MacDonald who attempted tae stop us from defending oorselves at the recent battle?”
“Bide a bit,” said Luag. “If I could stop ye from defending yerself, then ye are na much o’ a warrior, are ye?” He looked up into the buffoon’s face and held the man’s gaze until he looked away.
Satisfied, Luag then proceeded down the hall, where he had several more such exchanges, winning every last one. It was is all well and good for these nobles to hang back behind their clansmen and let others do their dirty work. That was their prerogative, but Luag was the sort who did his own fighting, and everyone knew it. Most respected it. Those who didn’t at least feared it, and that gave him a self-satisfied grin.
He spent so much time pausing and talking that the Lady of Bath caught up to him. “You certainly do run off a lot for a man who wants me to make an introduction,” she said with mock irritation. “I almost think that wasn’t your intention at all.” Here, she looked him in the eye and raised her eyebrows, inviting him to confess the true nature of his visit to the Regent.
He couldn’t do that, and so he held out his arm for her.
With a playfully superior look toward Katherine, the lady took his arm. “Come. I found out where the Regent is. I’ll take you to him straightaway.”
Dutifully, Luag slowed down to the auld lady’s pace, resisting the urge to turn and see what Katherine thought of this.
He could hear Katherine following them, so she couldn’t be in too bad of spirits over it. Why he cared was beyond him, but he found that he did. Couldn’t let it trouble him though. He needed his wits about him.
The lady gestured to the double doors they wanted, smiling at the two guards.
They smiled back and opened them for her, one of the them announcing, “the Lady of Bath.”
Even in the Regent’s inner sanctuary, an ordinary sitting room not unlike where Katherine and Luag and waited for the Lady of Bath, a dozen people doted on him.
The Regent took note of their entry and visibly excused himself from the small crowd of people gathered around him in order to look up at the lady. “My dear, welcome. Ye are early. Yer husband said ye would na be coming till supper, but yer presence is welcome now nonetheless.”
The Lord of Bath excused himself and came over to take over escorting his wife.
Before he got there, she spoke up, curtsying. “Robert, I bring you Luag MacDonald, nephew to Donald MacDonald. He has news for you that he thinks will help solve the conflict with Donald, using less bloodshed. I know it was rash of me to bring him.”
Everyone in the room gasped.
“Ye dare bring a MacDonald in here?”
“He and whoever came with him must be thrown out straight away.”
“They retreated, and now they send one warrior tae negotiate?”
The Regent opened his mouth to speak and was gesturing toward the guards.
Luag took a big breath and as quickly as he could, said what he’d come to say. “Donald is na gaun’ae stop at that one battle. Even now, he marches on Aberdeen. Ye need tae prepare and meet him, or I fear ye will lose everything.”
The guards grabbed him and Katherine and were carrying them out.
The Lord Regent was saying, “They may stay in Aberdeen for now, but get them oot o’ my house.”
Before the door closed and the Regent couldn’t hear him, Luag managed to call out, “The English are with Donald. They are working together. They already hae James captive, and now they want ye. Be on yer guard!”
The doors closed with a final bang.
Katherine and Luag were taken to the front gate and summarily dumped into the street.
Luag held his hand out to help Katherine up.
But Katherine pushed it away and pushed herself up off the ground. “What dae ye call that?” She asked, her face all twisted up in anger. “Ye always take ower, talking at the most inopportune moments. I had a plan for selling the Regent on oor situation. He would hae listened tae me. I’m way more charming than ye are, in case ye hadna noticed. And then ye went and ruined it. Ye are tae stubborn and full o’ yerself for yer own good, dae ye ken? Has na anyone ever telt ye that?”
Luag waited for a pause in her blathering before he said anything. He knew from experience with such matters that she would have to stop for breath. “I got said what needed tae be said,” he told her. “As for letting ye sell it, ye are a lass, and a stranger at that. Ye didna hae a chance o’ being heard in there. ‘Tis different at home in Inverurie where everybody knows ye are under my protection —er, and Leif’s protection, and Taran’s. Leif is the laird there, a big fish in a much smaller pond. Here, ‘tis far better I said it. I warned him. If ye had spoken up in yer usual shrewish manner, we would hae been thrown oot much sooner, dinna ye ken?”
She gave him a much sterner face. “I only came back tae this forsaken place tae help Jessica and Lauren. Ye will let me help them. I will be gone soon enough, and then ye willna hae tae fash about me anymair.”
He put his foot down. “Helping yer friends ye may be, but ye must understand that I am gaun’ae help my friends. Leif and Taran are my friends, and dinna ye forget it.”
They were out in the middle of the street where they had been tossed, and the yelling had drawn a small crowd. It was not the kind of crowd Luag wanted to draw, so he started walking toward yet a third gate, hoping they could make their exit without too much of a scene.
But even as he walked, she wasn’t catching on. “What is this aboot ye being the nephew o’ Donald Laird o’ the Isles? I mean, I kenned ye were kin tae him, but his nephew? How dae I ken I can trust ye? I ken I hae asked that afore, but this makes it even more o’ a question—”
A young man ran up. “Luag! Alasdair bids me take ye tae him. Quickly!”
Luag started to pull himself away from the boy, but when he looked closer, he recognized the messenger who had been with the Wolf of Badenoch’s son Alasdair Stewart the night before that scene on the battlefield.
The messenger took them to a small house on the edge of town and stopped at the door to call in through the window. “Open up, Sorcha! These people need tae get off the street quickly. Please hurry!”
The door was opened by an older woman in a cook’s apron, drying a tankard. “Verra well, gae on and hurry in.” She gave Luag and Katherine curious looks but didn’t say anything about them before going back to her bin full of dishes.
Luag took this as a good sign —not that she approved of them, but that she was loyal to Alasdair and wouldn’t meddle in his affairs. That was the best that could be hoped for.
The messenger went to get his master.
In moments, Alasdair came bustling into the room with a sense of urgency about him. When he saw Luag, he stopped and put his hand on the pommel of his sword, though he didn’t draw.
“Luag McDonald.” He paused a moment, holding Luag’s gaze with his own. “There has been much talk o’ the unusual circumstances under which ye disappeared from the battlefield tae days hence. Dae ye care tae explain yourself.”
It hadn’t really been a question, but Luag chose to interpret it as such. “‘Tis much more important we tell ye Donald Laird o’ the Isles even now marches on Aberdeen. He brings with him at least as many warriors as he had back at that battlefield. Aberdeen needs tae prepare or be taken ower completely, and the Regent tae.”
Alasdair raised up his other hand, keeping a firm grip on the pommel of his sword, Luag noticed. “Whoa. Ye must hae some inside knowledge o’ this. Ye wull n
eed tae tell me where this is coming from afore I wull heed, ye ken?”
The cat was already out of the bag, so there was no harm in telling one more person. Alasdair would hear it through the grapevine before the end of the day anyway. “I am Donald’s nephew, is how I ken his plans.” He raised his hands up in a sign of surrender and as a plea for Alasdair to keep listening to him. So far it was working. “But all that Leif telt ye is true. My loyalty is tae Leif, na tae my uncle. I truly hae come in all urgency tae warn ye o’ my uncle’s plans. I dinna care if ye believe anything else sae long as ye believe that ye need tae reinforce the Regent’s position, lest he be also captured as James has been. For Donald is in league with the English. Ye canna trust them either. Ye need tae ken this..”
Alasdair watched Katherine’s face to see her reaction to this news, looking more and more impressed that she showed no reaction at all. In fact, this visibly turned the tide of his mind. “And ye flee now from?”
Luag lowered his eyes. “We flee now from the Regent. I telt him what I just telt ye. He did na believe me.” He raised his eyes again and looked Alasdair in the face. “But now I hae hope that ye will get the message through tae him.”
Alasdair sighed deeply and withdrew his hand from his sword. Now pacing the room, he gestured to some seats but didn’t look to see if they sat down. “I wull dae what I can tae get the Regent on board, but that isna much, ye ken. Where are ye staying, in case I need tae get word tae ye?”
Taking hold of Katherine’s hand to loop her arm through his, Luag told the man the name of their inn and then quickly escorted Katherine out of there, sensing there were things Alasdair had to do which he wouldn’t do in front of them.
But Katherine resisted, giving Alasdair that winning smile of hers. “Hae ye plaids we could borrow?”
So they left in their disguises as auld women, which worked perfectly. Everyone in the crowded streets looked right through them on their walk toward yet another city gate. They would have to walk around the outside wall of the city back to their inn, but that was better than being recognized, especially at this juncture.
“I guess we are keeping the Lady o’ Bath’s clothes and she is keeping yer ring,” Luag said to her softly with his best look of apology.
She shrugged, making her plaid dance around her. “Dinna fash on it. I thought something like this might happen, and I can afford another ring.”
This heightened Luag’s sense of urgency concerning her, because she could only afford such a thing in the future. She was going back. Why did this trouble him so?
“We said what we came tae say,” he told her anyway. If leaving would make her happy, then leave she should.
11
Now that they had spoken to Alasdair, Katherine felt better about going home soon. Things were in motion. Luag would be fine eventually, once history was confirmed and Donald gave up trying to take over all of Scotland. That man needed to be happy with all the isles he already had under his control.
Luag was even hinting at it being time for her to go.
The idea of leaving bothered her now, though. Why? Must be her suspicion of Luag. She’d better make sure he was on the up and up before leaving Jessica and Lauren at his mercy. Yeah, that was it.
They were walking to their inn the long way, through the town that had grown up around the outside of Aberdeen’s wall. Their auld woman disguises were working perfectly, and they could speak to each other in hushed tones without anyone taking notice of them.
“Sae ye are Donald’s nephew.”
“Aye, that I am. I canna change my parentage, ye ken.”
“Trying I am, tae ken. If ye are direct kin tae Donald, why did ye leave?”
“Did na Lauren tell ye what a scoundrel my uncle is?”
“Aye, howsoever, he couldna been sae bad tae his kin. Ye must hae had it good.”
Luag scoffed and was silent for a time. And then all he said was, “Ye canna imagine.”
“Tell me, then,” she said, not really expecting him to comply.
But he huffed out a breath and spoke. “Donald raised me tae be his protégé. All through childhood, I was his favorite. And ye hae the right o’ it in a way. I never wanted for anything, growing up. I had it much better than many people.” He was silent then.
She let the silence go on for a while, but patience was not her strong suit. Sooner than she knew was wise, she was asking him questions again, unable to curb her curiosity.
“Sae far, ye hae na made a verra good case for why ye left.”
He laughed. It was a forced laugh, though. “This is something I dinna fancy speaking o’.”
“Och, it must be verra bad. I never took ye for someone who had trouble with words.”
“Wull, ye hae kenned me a year, howsoever all that time has been away from my uncle’s home. He is a cruel man, Katherine. He wages war against his wife’s kin. I could na stand for it. As soon as I was a warrior in my own right, I left. I roamed awhile, but then Leif’s parents hired me tae train Inverurie’s militia. ‘Tis na secret that my people are better warriors that his, coming from Viking stock as we dae.”
Despite herself, Katherine grinned a little at this last bit, raising her plaid cowl to meet his eyes even as he raised his to meet hers. “Even in my time, we revere the Vikings, so I wull give ye that.”
He gave her the barest of grins back, searching her eyes.
She looked away, unwilling to hear his confession of the feelings he had for her.
They arrived at their inn just as the sun was setting over the stone buildings of Aberdeen. It had been a long walk, and Katherine sorely wished for a hot bath. Why couldn’t she have one anyway? All the movies she’d seen of this time involved people hauling buckets of hot water upstairs to your room and filling a big tub so you could have a bath. One look at the people inside told her this was not accurate. They were all greasy, even the proprietor, who she thought for sure would take baths if they were available. Yeah, she was going to leave this time as soon as humanly possible.
Her friends were all eating dinner, so Katherine and Luag joined them. They couldn’t say much down here in front of the locals of course. No need to embroil themselves in rumors.
As usual, the food in this time was wonderful: fresh bread, vegetables, and meat. Katherine had seconds, unsure how many more of these meals she would get to enjoy. Finding a local farmers market moved up a notch on her mental to-do list for when she got home.
So far, the Aberdeeners weren’t showing any sign of realizing they were under imminent attack. The talk in the tavern below their inn was all about the upcoming grand market fair.
“Aye, and Cordy McVeigh is making her famous mutton stew again this year.”
“I heard the Morris dancers were coming back, all the way from Wales.”
“Aye, I heard that as wull. This year’s fair should be every bit as good as last year’s.”
“Better, from the sound o’ it.”
Once they were done eating, Leif looked up toward his room.
One by one so as not to make a scene, Katherine and her friends all went to it.
Leif closed the door and the window, despite the July heat. Even then, he used their Charades sign language as much as possible, only saying words they didn’t have signs for, in tones as low as could be heard by the rest of them.
“What news, Luag?”
Luag made the sign for them all being in danger before he explained what had gone on that day. “The Regent threw us oot. He says for now we can stay in Aberdeen, but that’s only for now, mind. I dinna think either o’ us should show oor faces in toon. Good news is before he threw us oot, I telt him aboot the impending attack. Also, Alasdair is here. We telt him as well, and unlike the Regent, Alasdair believes us. He will dae all he can, but the situation remains perilous.”
Taran signed, “I can take Lauren and Jessica home and tell the militia not to come.”
Jessica and Lauren both shook their heads furiously, signing “We’re
staying here with you.”
“Send Luag also,” Taran signed frantically. “He’s the one who canna bide here, and I ken ye need tae bide in case ye can smooth things ower with the Regent.” He quit signing, and out loud he said, “Laird Leif.”
This brought a few half-hearted chuckles.
Katherine chuckled, and she noticed Lauren did too.
Not Jessica. Jessica’s eyes were proud of her husband and full of determination to protect her people.
Leif still had not answered, and so Taran frantically signed some more. “Our duty is tae Inverurie. Let Aberdeen take care o’ itself. Was na sae long ago that each clan was on its own.”
Leif looked like he was considering it.
Jessica moved closer to her husband, and Katherine thought she was holding his hand a little too tightly for it to be simple affection.
With a sad but determined look on his face, Leif signed, “Inverurie will na be safe if Aberdeen is taken. When the militia come, oor best course o’ action is tae face the threat with as many men as we can muster. And pray this time will be the last.”
Everyone but Luag nodded in agreement at this.
Luag kept to himself, plainly mulling something over. Deep thought was not in his nature, so Katherine knew something was up.
The two of them stayed and visited with their friends for a few more minutes, but the married couples were obviously anxious to be alone, so she and Luag left.
“Want tae go doon tae the tavern and hae a drink?” He asked her with a bit of an awkward grin.
She smiled up at him conspiratorially, the unspoken agreement not to be alone in their room longer than necessary lingering in the air between them. “That sounds lovely.”
When they got downstairs, the day crowd had left. The tavern’s evening crowd was more boisterous.
Luag’s protective hand drew her arm through his so that they locked elbows, making Katherine smile despite herself. “‘Tis best ye pose as my wife for propriety’s sake, ye ken.”
