by Janni Nell
I shivered as though something had walked over my grave. I looked at the neat houses lining the streets and the pleasure craft bobbing near the wharf. Someone in this village was going to die. I wondered who it would be.
Hoping it wasn’t someone I had got close to in the short time I had been here, I headed up the road that led to Maitland House. On the way, I took a detour through the wood in the hope of finding Justina there. But the clearing was deserted. Disappointed, I continued on to Maitland House.
Phillips opened the door. He had a scratch on his cheek and a black eye. I guess he hadn’t run fast enough last night. I tried not to smile.
I don’t think I succeeded because he frowned at me. When he spoke his voice was coldly polite.
“Sir Alastair isn’t available.”
“I don’t want to see him. I want to see Lady Justina.”
“I’m afraid she’s gone out with Sir Alastair,” he said formally. Yeah right, Phillips, pull the other one. He continued, “I have no instructions as to when they’ll return. Would you like to leave a note?”
“For her?” I knew Justina couldn’t read.
But Phillips didn’t know that I knew. When he replied, his tone could have frozen lava. “Of course for her. I’ll give it to her as soon as she returns.”
He had no intention of giving it to her, but I’ll bet he’d read it as soon as I left.
I decided to play along. “A note would be good.”
He led me into the hall and even provided a pen and some expensive looking paper. I wrote quickly.
Sorry you weren’t home. I’ll be leaving Scotland soon.
Hope to see you before I go. Call me at Mac’s.
Allegra.
I folded the note and gave it to Phillips. Let’s see what Sir Alastair made of that. Maybe the knowledge that I was leaving would give him a false sense of security. He might make a mistake. I could only hope.
For Phillips’s benefit, I pretended to leave. Then I ducked into the wood and circled around until I could see the patio and French doors at the back. Keeping to the safety of the wood, I scanned the windows in the upper storey. Which one was Justina’s? Maybe I could throw pebbles at the glass to attract her attention.
“Allegra.”
I jumped and whirled around. Justina was holding a finger to her lips and beckoning me deeper into the wood. I followed her.
When we were out of sight of Maitland House, I said, “Phillips told me you weren’t home.”
“He’s always doing that. It’s Sir Alastair’s instructions. I sneaked out the back way.” She sat on a log. “Why did you come here, Allegra? You can’t help me now.”
I sat down beside her. “I have a message from your brother. He misses you.”
“I miss him too.” She made a little noise as though she was stifling a sob.
“Everything will work out,” I said. “The selkies are leaving the loch. So even if Sir Alastair poisons it, they won’t be harmed.”
“I’m glad,” she said. Yet she seemed so sad. I guess she thought she wouldn’t see Harq again. I hurried to reassure her.
“Harq will stay with Scarlett Gordon until your skin is found. Then he’ll take you to rejoin the other selkies.”
“You’ll never find my skin.” She looked even sadder than usual. “Sir Alastair is too clever.”
“Don’t bet on him,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “You mustn’t give up hope.”
Who was I kidding? Even with the help of my itching toe the chances of finding her skin were minimal. But there must be something I could do. I wondered whether Casper knew anything he could let slip without the Powers-That-Be finding out.
Justina touched my arm. “I know you want to help, but it’s no good. I have to stay here for the rest of my life. Harq must understand that. Please tell him.”
“You can tell him that yourself,” I said. “Sneak out tonight and I’ll take you to Scarlett Gordon’s place.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that. Every night I eat dinner with Alastair. Afterwards we—” she suppressed a shudder, “—go to bed.”
The image of Sir Alastair forcing himself on Justina was not a pretty one.
“Come with me now,” I said. “You can stay with Scarlett until I—”
“Alastair will find me. His revenge will be terrible.” She fixed her dark eyes on me. “Tell Harq not to wait. Tell him to leave the loch with the others.”
“He won’t go without you.”
“You have to persuade him, Allegra. Please.” When I hesitated she repeated, “Please.”
I sighed. “Okay, I’ll try.” But maybe I wouldn’t try too hard.
“Thank you.” There were tears on her lashes. She twisted her head so I wouldn’t see them, but it was too late.
“Don’t cry,” I said, putting my arm around her. I wanted to tell her everything would be all right, but she was way beyond believing that.
“Thank you for all you’ve done,” she said between sobs. “You mustn’t blame yourself for what I’m going to do.”
What was she talking about? What was she going to do? Suddenly I had a sickening feeling she was planning to kill herself. Could living with Sir Alastair really be that bad?
I thought of him forcing himself on her. Yeah, it was that bad.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.
“Don’t give up yet, Justina. Promise you won’t do anything…rash.” What a stupid euphemism. I had to do better than that. “Promise you won’t kill yourself.”
Her soft brown eyes filled with tears. “I won’t make that promise.”
“Then don’t do it yet,” I said desperately. “Give me a month to find your skin.”
She shook her head. “I can’t bear another month.”
“Two weeks,” I said. “I’m sure I can find it in two weeks.”
“One week,” she said. “That’s all I can bear.”
I thought I could hear the banshee circling. But maybe I imagined it. I hoped so.
Chapter Twenty-One
A week isn’t very long when you’re trying to save someone’s life. Every morning you awake with hope in your heart, but each hour that passes erodes it until by nightfall you’re left with nothing but despair.
For five days I wandered the countryside hoping to feel that telltale itch in my big toe. I wore out a pair of shoes, and caught a cold, but I didn’t feel so much as a tingle.
Every night the banshee howled, thumbing its nose at my attempts to save Justina’s life. One night I got so angry I rushed outside and screamed right back at it. But the banshee didn’t shut up. There was only one thing that would silence it. Another death.
More than once during those days and nights I wished for Casper’s company, but he never appeared. Not once. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. He only appeared when I was in trouble, or more precisely, when my physical wellbeing was threatened. Preventing Justina’s suicide was not in his job description.
I met with her every day—in the clearing—and tried to keep her spirits up. She did her best to remain hopeful, but each day she grew a little sadder, a little more resigned to dying.
On the sixth day, I brought Harq to the clearing. I hadn’t forewarned Justina in case something went wrong, but everything went according to plan. He even agreed to wear clothes—an old pair of pants and a sweater I had borrowed from Douglas.
The moment Justina laid eyes on him she cried out and ran into his arms. He crushed her against his chest. For a while neither of them spoke. I crept away to give them a little privacy but I didn’t dare go out of earshot. If Sir Alastair arrived unannounced I might have to put my combat skills into practice. I hoped they weren’t as rusty as I feared.
Hunkering down behind some bushes, I heard what sounded like a seal barking. It took a moment to realize Harq was speaking to Justina in their own language. I hoped he was persuading her to give me more time to find her skin. That’s what he’d promised he would do.
/>
When he stopped speaking, Justina replied. I couldn’t guess what she was saying. I couldn’t even guess whether she was happy or sad.
I listened to them talk. First one then the other. Back and forth, back and forth. Eventually my ears must have become more attuned to their tones because I could hear pleading in his voice. Justina was another matter. Her tone remained as flat and unemotional as though she was already dead.
When at last they lapsed into silence I returned to the clearing. Harq was leaning against a tree. His back was toward me. His fists were clenched.
Justina was standing some distance away. Silent tears cascaded down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away.
“Thank you for bringing Harq,” she said.
At the sound of his name, he whirled to face me.
“It did no good,” he said. “Eark is determined to—to do it tomorrow.”
“Justina, please,” I said. “Don’t give up yet.”
The corners of her mouth curled in a little smile. She touched my cheek. “Don’t be sad, Allegra. You’ve done all you could.”
“It’s not over yet,” I said. “I still have one day left.” Actually I had less than twenty-four hours, but who was counting?
“I must go,” she said. “Alastair will come looking for me if I don’t return soon.”
She turned to Harq, who was still standing by the tree. His fists were no longer clenched but his mouth was compressed in a thin line, as though his anger was barely controlled.
She opened her arms and said something in Selkie that I guessed was an invitation to hold her one last time. Harq hesitated, but eventually he overcame his anger and enfolded her in his arms.
It was Justina who finally broke the embrace. “I have to go.”
We watched her slip away through the trees. When I turned to Harq his lashes were beaded with tears. I put my arm around him.
“Don’t give up hope,” I said.
His expression told me that, although he was grateful for my efforts, he didn’t believe I’d succeed.
I told myself Harq was wrong. I would succeed. I tried really hard to believe it too. If I lost faith in myself I’d be no use to anyone.
When I took him back to Scarlett, I promised there’d be good news next time we met, which, under the circumstances, was a promise I had no right to make.
* * *
I spent the rest of the day crisscrossing the terrain around Furness. Douglas and Stuart helped for a few hours, as did Mrs. Ferguson and Dr. Williamson, but soon only Anne MacDuff and I were left.
Late in the afternoon she slipped and sprained her ankle. I got her back to Furness, but her ankle was too badly swollen to allow her to continue the search.
After leaving the MacDuffs’ house I returned to Mac’s. Although Justina had promised she’d wait until the seventh day before killing herself, I couldn’t be sure she’d wait until daylight. I had a horrible feeling she might do it as soon as the clock struck midnight. That meant I had less than five hours to find her skin.
After grabbing a sandwich, a bottle of water and a flashlight from Douglas, I headed out again. I’d gone no more than a few steps when a car pulled up beside me. A woman got out. It was Jenny Clark.
She marched up to me. “Allegra Fairweather, stop right there.” I wondered what had made her so angry, but I was exhausted and right now I didn’t care. The clock was ticking. I had four hours and forty-five minutes to find the skin. “Not now, Jenny,” I said, and kept walking.
“This can’t wait,” she said determinedly. She stepped in front of me, effectively blocking my path.
I had two options. I could turn and walk away from her—she would probably follow me—or I could stop and listen. I figured the latter option would be the quickest.
“What’s up, Jenny?”
“Someone’s been poking around Leith’s Cairn.”
That was hardly my problem. She was the keeper of the cairn after all. But maybe she thought I’d been there again. As if. I’d have to have rocks in my head to risk losing my heart to Leith a second time.
I sighed. “I don’t know who’s been up there, but it wasn’t me.”
“I know that.”
Then why was she bothering me?
“Jenny, I’d like to help but right now there’s something I have to do and I don’t have much time. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”
“I’d like to settle it now,” she said. “It’s important to resolve this so it doesn’t happen again. I’ve been doing my best for public safety by fighting the urge to take people up to the cairn. But when people go there alone—well I can’t be held responsible if Leith attacks them, can I?”
“Of course not,” I said, struggling to remain polite. I tried to move around her but when she continued to block my path I lost my temper. “For Pete’s sake, get out of my way. There’s no point complaining to me. Why don’t you complain to the person who’s been messing around the cairn?”
“I’ve tried that,” she said. “But he won’t speak to me.”
“Then I can’t imagine he’d speak to me.”
“But he does.” She squared her shoulders. Standing on tiptoe, she managed to eyeball me. “Allegra, you must tell him to stay away from the cairn.”
“Who?” I asked thinking she meant Douglas.
Immediately I realized that was ridiculous. Douglas was a pub owner—he spoke to everyone. Another thought hit me and I reeled beneath it. Could she be referring to Casper? But what would he be doing messing around the cairn? Exasperated I asked, “Who on earth are you talking about?”
“That bloody man up there.” She pointed to the sky. She was talking about Casper. How could he be involved in this?
But Jenny’s next words made me realize she wasn’t talking about Casper at all.
“I’m talking about him,” she said, pointing again. This time I realized she wasn’t pointing at the sky but up the road to Maitland House. “I’m talking about Sir Alastair.”
I stared at her in disbelief. Much as I disliked Sir Alastair, I didn’t believe he’d have any business with an unquiet shade like Leith.
“You must be mistaken,” I said. “Why would Sir Alastair—?”
“I don’t know,” she snapped. “But tell him to keep away. Leith is angry. He doesn’t like the land near his cairn being dug up.”
I grabbed her shoulders. “What did you say?”
“Sir Alastair has been digging in the land near the cairn. Not close enough to allow Leith to take his heart, more’s the pity, but close enough to be a nuisance. If Sir Alastair is looking for buried treasure you can tell him there isn’t any. That myth was debunked years ago.”
But I knew Sir Alastair wasn’t looking for buried treasure. Unable to keep my joy to myself, I hugged Jenny and danced her around on the spot.
“What’re you doing?” she gasped.
“Thanking you,” I said. “I know exactly what Sir Alastair was doing at Leith’s Cairn. He wasn’t digging anything up. He was burying something. I promise I’ll remove it. By tomorrow morning it’ll be gone.”
“Well, thank you.” Clearly she was taken aback by my response, but slowly her voice grew in confidence. “Thanks for your help. Drop by next time you’re in Beag Glen.” She got into her car and drove away.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I punched the air like Rocky on speed. It must’ve looked really lame. But it’s hard not to celebrate when you’ve solved a case. Okay, this time I solved it through a bit of luck—well, maybe a lot of luck—but it was solved and that’s all that mattered.
From now on it would be smooth sailing. I just had one last decision to make. Should I dig up Justina’s skin and take it to Maitland house? Or should I go immediately to Maitland House, collect Justina and take her with me to dig up the skin?
It would be quicker to get the skin by myself, but I couldn’t risk Justina committing suicide before I got back. I decided to go to Maitland House first. That way nothing could go wrong.
* * *
I went to the clearing. I didn’t really expect Justina to be there but I hadn’t expected Jenny Clark to lead me to the skin, either, so it was worth a try.
The clearing was deserted so I hurried through the wood until I approached Maitland House from the back. There were lights on in the first floor windows but I couldn’t see a silhouette that might have belonged to Justina. That ruled out throwing pebbles at her window. I’d have to take a more conventional approach and knock on the front door.
Sir Alastair wouldn’t be happy to see me, but when had I ever cared what he thought? I jogged around to the front of Maitland House and took the steps two at a time. Stopping outside the massive front door, I rang the bell.
Chimes sounded inside. I waited for the door to open but it remained firmly closed. Maybe it was Phillips’s night off. I pressed again. At exactly the same moment, the door swung open.
Phillips gave me a look that said, You Americans are so impatient. But he maintained enough courtesy to wish me a good evening.
I didn’t bother to reciprocate. I cut right to the chase.
“I want to speak with Justina. Now.”
“She’s not available, madam.” Once again he made “madam” sound like an insult. “Perhaps you could come back tomorrow.” He began to shut the door.
I was tempted to insert my foot between the door and jamb but something about Phillips’s expression told me I’d regret it.
Instead I said quickly, before the door closed in my face, “It’s really important. I have to speak to her tonight.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible. She’s not at home.”
“Where is she?” When Phillips didn’t answer, I could no longer keep the desperation from my voice. “This is really urgent. Please. Let me speak to her.” I don’t know why I thought Phillips would help me. He was Sir Alastair’s man, after all.
“Ms. Fairweather, I suggest you go home and collect yourself. If you return tomorrow, at a reasonable hour, I’m sure Lady Justina will—”
“You don’t understand.” Surely even Phillips wouldn’t want Justina to die. “This is a matter of life and death. Literally.”
