A Temptress in Tartan

by Gerri Russell

  His arms went around her and he pulled her close to his chest. She could feel the strength and warmth wrap around her for a long moment before he released her. “The king is not a patient man. And if you will not leave me, then we had best prepare ourselves for the day.”

  As he stood and moved to retrieve his clothing from the floor where it had fallen in their haste for each other yesterday, she said, “I believe in your innocence.”

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice rough as he dressed.

  Elizabeth took an extra moment to pin her hair up as was proper for a married lady. She readily accepted her status and was more than ready to demonstrate to the world that fact. When they had both finished dressing and prepared themselves for what lay ahead, Elizabeth held out her hand to her husband. He wrapped his fingers around hers and she hoped he could feel the love and support she extended to him without words.

  The time was near. They would both meet this moment with courage and dignity. “Are you ready?” she asked.

  Lachlan nodded. And together they proceeded toward whatever their future held in store.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Elizabeth would not leave him. Pain. Joy. Regret. The emotions tumbled through Lachlan in a wild cataract of feeling as he stood at the front of the narrow and long room in Berwick’s Old Parish church where his tribunal was about to begin. Numerous candles on the walls, windowsills, and magistrates’ table spread a somber yellow glow about the room.

  The guards had replaced his chains the moment he’d stepped outside Haddington Tower. The manacles rattled and clanked with every shift of his body as he stood before the magistrates. The five men dressed in scarlet robes and white wigs who were to determine his fate sat across from him: King James; John Swinton; Hugh Godfrey, the minister; the Lord Advocate, John Skene; and Lachlan’s own cousin, Reid. How his cousin had convinced the king to allow him on the panel, Lachlan was not certain, but he was grateful to have at least one vote of support among those who would decide his fate.

  The gallery in the tribunal chamber was filled with faces he recognized and some he did not. In the front row stood Lucy and Elizabeth, his cousin Quinn, Cameron Sinclair, Malcolm Hamilton, Alexander Ross, and Rhys Elliot. Behind them were the fishermen they had rescued from the Firth of Forth, including Thomas Cockburn. Also present were Roland Carswell, the innkeepers from the Cairn Inn and the Buckhaven Inn, Bessie Broun, Meg and Jane Wenham, Mariam Swinton. And set off to the side was a birdcage harboring a thin, black cat. The animal turned round and round in the small space, with regular frequency letting out a mew of displeasure at being held.

  They were all there. All of those whom he and Elizabeth had encountered on their journey to Whittingehame from Falkland Palace. The people who might help him prove his innocence.

  Then, in the very back of the chamber stood Donald and Keddy Ruthven, as well as four others from their clan. In between the witnesses and the Ruthvens, many of the Haddington and Berwick townspeople had come to watch this latest spectacle in King James’s hunt for witches and sorcerers.

  “Let us proceed,” the Lord Advocate said, his deep voice rising above the noise in the chamber.

  The room suddenly went quiet and the air, too, felt as though it had ceased when not even the slightest breath of the wind stirred within the chamber.

  “Lachlan Douglas, you are charged with multiple counts of sorcery.” From the heavy record book upon the magistrates’ table he read the four remaining charges against Lachlan. The fifth had been dropped after Elizabeth’s examination, as promised. “We have several depositions on record that support the charges against you.” He paused in his reading and looked up. “How does the accused plead?”

  “Not guilty,” Lachlan said without hesitation.

  “Witch! Witch! You are impudent. You lie!” came shouts from the back of the chamber.

  “Silence,” the Lord Advocate demanded. “We shall proceed through the charges against you one by one.” He cleared his throat and read: “You gave a potion to Bessie Broun of the Buckhaven Inn that sent her into convulsions as though she was possessed by demons. Witnesses saw you use magical chants to calm her.” He looked directly at Lachlan. “Do you admit this is true?”

  “Nay. What is true is that the morning after my wife and I arrived at Buckhaven Inn, I came downstairs and found Mistress Broun collapsed upon a table. She was unresponsive and when I placed a hand on her forehead, she was feverish. I then asked Jane Wenham to help me prepare a tonic of elderflower and peppermint that is known by many healers to reduce a fever.”

  “Are you stating you are a healer?” the Lord Advocate asked.

  “Nay. But I know a very qualified healer who once served in the king’s court.” At Lachlan’s reference to his cousin Vivian both Quinn and King James paled. Lachlan had to admit he did not himself have the knowledge to heal, but he would never reveal Vivian’s name to the court. To do so might endanger his cousin after she had already suffered so much.

  The Lord Advocate continued. “You forced this ‘tonic’ down the woman’s throat?”

  “I encouraged her to drink it. There was no force involved.”

  “And what was the desired outcome?”

  “That her fever would reduce and then she might recover completely.”

  The Lord Advocate’s gaze narrowed. “Did you at any time chant over this woman in order to calm her, unbaptize her, or cause the Devil to take over her soul?”

  “Nay. If there was any dialogue whatsoever, it was with Jane Wenham about how to further care for Mistress Broun when my wife and I departed the inn, which we did shortly after Mistress Broun’s fever seemed to abate.”

  The Lord Advocate set his papers on the table before him and straightened. “Bessie Broun, please come forward to the witness box and tell this court what you remember about that day.”

  The redheaded woman he remembered as Bessie Broun came forward and stepped into the witness box. Her features were strained and her face pale as she stood before the tribunal judges. The friendly smile she had worn so effortlessly while he and Elizabeth visited the inn had vanished. Instead of looking at Lachlan, she gazed at her feet.

  “Tell the tribunal, Mistress Broun, was there anything unusual that happened between the time Lachlan Douglas arrived at your inn and when he left?” the Lord Advocate prompted when she remained silent.

  She grasped her trembling hands before her. “’Twas a fairly normal day fer me and the girls, cleanin’ and cookin’ fer the guests and fer travelers passin’ by.”

  “Other than Douglas, were there any other unusual guests?”

  Her frightened gaze darted to the back of the room, then back to her feet. “Two other men came in that evenin’ and ate supper. They came in, ate, and left in a hurry.” She shrugged. “Nae unusual fer travelers who have places tae be before nightfall.”

  “Do you remember becoming ill?”

  She nodded. “It was shortly after the two men left.”

  A rumble of conversation broke out throughout the chamber.

  “Did you at any time, while Lachlan Douglas was at your inn, feel threatened by him? Coerced into doing anything you did not want to do?”

  Mistress Broun drew a shaking breath and looked up. “I was not myself when he supposedly gave me the potion. But Jane assures me he was only tryin’ tae help when I fell ill.”

  “Are you now possessed by the Devil, Mistress Broun? Is he the one guiding your tongue? Because shortly after the incident happened, you gave a statement saying Lachlan Douglas had cast an enchantment over you. Are you recanting your statement?” The Lord Advocate’s face reddened.

  “Nay! I . . .” Mistress Broun turned a ghostly white. “I was paid tae give that testimony,” she said, her voice trembling, “by the same man who returned as soon as m’laird and milady left the inn. There’s nae Devil inside me. I was ill. I couldna work in my state, and an offer of coins was too hard tae resist.”

  Waves of shocked disbelief rippled through t
he chamber. And Lachlan breathed his first easy breath since his arrest as the questioning turned in his favor.

  “Who was this man? Do you know him?”

  She shook her head. “As I said, I was ill, and nae myself. Maybe Jane or Meg could tell ye more. They were with me when he returned.”

  “Thank you, Mistress Broun, you may step down.” He paused to let her return to her seat before he said, “Jane and Meg Wenham, please come forward.”

  The two young blonde-haired women advanced. Meg, the older of the two, took her sister’s hand in her own as they stepped into the witness box and faced the tribunal judges.

  “What was your experience with Lachlan Douglas? Did you at any time feel threatened or as though he was there to steal your souls?”

  In a quiet voice, Jane said, “Nay, good sir, m’laird was only very kind tae me, tae us, while he was there.”

  “Speak up, young women,” the king interrupted. “We cannot hear you.”

  Jane startled. She clutched her sister’s hand more firmly before continuing in a louder voice. “He asked me tae help him make the tonic, and showed me how tae boil the elderflower and peppermint. ’Twas all that was in the mixture, I promise ye. He even offered tae help me with some trainin’ in the healing arts by findin’ me a teacher.”

  “You testified that Lachlan Douglas had used magical chants to take over Bessie Broun’s soul.”

  The two girls looked at each other, then darted a glance at the innkeeper and his wife before saying, “Must we say anything on that account? It could jeopardize our future.”

  “Aye, you must,” the Lord Advocate stated. “If you do not answer my questions, I might be forced to use more forceful means of gaining your cooperation.”

  John Swinton smiled his pleasure.

  Lachlan tensed. He would rather admit guilt where there was none, than allow Swinton to touch either of the two young women.

  Meg and Jane both recoiled at the threat, but Jane nodded as she continued, “Our employer threatened tae release us if we dinna lie so he might keep the coins the two men offered us.”

  The innkeeper surged forward, breaking through the crowd in the gallery. “She does nae ken what she’s sayin’. She’s possessed by the Devil. M’laird Douglas has put her under a spell as well!”

  The Lord Advocate’s gaze riveted on the innkeeper as he signaled his guards to remove the man from the chamber. The innkeeper kicked and howled the entire time as they dragged him forcefully from the room. When he was gone, the Lord Advocate returned his attention to the girls before him. “How much money was offered and by whom?”

  Meg straightened with bravado, as though she no longer feared what her employers might do to her if she told the truth. “He paid the innkeeper and his wife ten merks, and offered another five fer our false testimony.”

  “And the man? Is he here in this courtroom?”

  Meg nodded, her gaze darting to the back of the chamber and to the Lord Advocate once more.

  A commotion sounded at the back of the gallery. Lachlan turned to see Donald Ruthven heading for the door. He was stopped by two guards, who grabbed him by the arms and pulled him forward.

  “Is this the man who paid for your false testimony?”

  She nodded.

  On the tribunal panel, Reid stood. “Lord Advocate, based on this new evidence that demonstrates quite explicitly that the charges against Lachlan Douglas are fabricated, may I petition the tribunal to dismiss all charges against the accused?”

  Lachlan’s heart skidded to a hopeful stop as the room erupted in cacophony of sound.

  “Nay!” the Lord Advocate shouted over the noise. He picked up a gavel and struck the table three times, silencing the chamber.

  A heavy tension seemed to scream through the room, and Lachlan’s body tensed in response.

  “I will hear testimony from Thomas Cockburn before anything is decided. Sit down, everyone, and let us resume our mission here.” He turned his attention to Donald Ruthven, who struggled against the iron grasp of the guards. “Did you pay the innkeeper and his wife and these young women for their testimony?”

  “I did no such thing. They lie under bewitchment to this sorcerer!” His fiery gaze speared Lachlan.

  The Lord Advocate pressed his lips into a thin line before continuing. “Do you admit to gathering the testimony against the accused?”

  “I did gather testimony, as was my duty as a concerned citizen and God-fearing man. Our own King James has spread word throughout the land that all citizens are to be vigilant in finding and prosecuting anyone and everyone who is either using sorcery or supporting those who do.”

  King James nodded curtly, but his jaw clenched. “My proclamations have stated as much; I will grant you that. But I will not have my purpose abused. Are you serious in your complaints against this man, or is this simply another stunt by the Ruthvens to seek revenge against an enemy?”

  Donald Ruthven’s face hardened into a mask of freezing rage. “I have never been more serious, Your Grace. This man is evil. He is a sorcerer. You will learn as much if you talk with the fishermen who have testified against him.”

  “Did you pay them as well?” the Lord Advocate asked.

  “Nay,” Donald Ruthven replied with a wicked smile. “They were eager to tell me of all they had suffered at Lachlan Douglas’s demonic hand.”

  Pandemonium erupted in the chamber while the Lord Advocate called sharply for silence. “We will continue with the witnesses to explore the charge of murder.” He turned to Donald Ruthven. “You, sir, return to your place and cease these outbursts. Do you understand?”

  “Aye,” Donald Ruthven said with contempt in his voice.

  “Thomas Cockburn, come forward.” As Thomas strode to the witness box, the Wenham girls hurried to a new place in the gallery away from the innkeeper’s wife at the back of the chamber.

  Thomas stood tall and erect, looking far more confident than he had after his fishing vessel capsized in the Firth of Forth. The Lord Advocate picked up the papers from the desk and read aloud: “Lachlan Douglas, it is stated by witnesses that while aboard The Golden Rose, you caused the sea to churn, using your sorcery skills, and that ultimately you were responsible for the sinking of the fishing vessel occupied by Thomas Cockburn, Dillon Kemp, and others in this chamber, with the exception of Dillon Kemp who is deceased. When the men were subsequently rescued by the sailors aboard The Golden Rose, it is said that you forced them to journey on to Aberlady where you transformed yourself into your familiar, a black cat, and came forward to curse them all on their return journey to Kirkcaldy.” He set the paper down and fixed Lachlan with a hard stare. “What say you to these claims against you?”

  “None of that is the truth.”

  “Then enlighten us, please,” the Lord Advocate insisted.

  Lachlan nodded, relieved to finally have a chance to tell his side of the story. “Elizabeth and I boarded The Golden Rose from Kirkcaldy in order to escape Donald Ruthven and his men who had been following us since Falkland Palace.”

  The accusation against the Ruthvens caused another outbreak of conversation, which in turn caused the Lord Advocate to call for order.

  When the noise settled, Lachlan said, “When we began our journey, the wind was stiff, but not a deterrent to a carrack like The Golden Rose. We set sail across the Firth. Halfway across, I spotted an already overturned fishing vessel with men clinging to the side. I ordered the captain to bring The Golden Rose alongside, and I and the sailors aboard who could swim went into the water to try and save as many as we could before they drowned. I was the one who brought Thomas Cockburn to the surface, and held him above the water until the men on the ship could hoist him aboard. After I released him, I dove back under the water in search of Dillon Kemp, but I failed to find him after many attempts below the surface of the choppy Firth.”

  Lachlan’s gaze shifted to the fishermen who were still standing among the crowd. “Back aboard The Golden Rose, I bid the men go be
low deck to keep warm and regain their strength. There was no force of any kind applied to encourage them to go except for the constant pitching of the ship as we hit another patch of rough weather. Then once we arrived in Aberlady, we had to tender in because of the shallow harbor. The men were not forced into boats, they chose to go of their own free will. I offered to feed them and put them up at the Cairn Inn for the night, but while I was settling the horses in the stable, they returned to the shore. They are all men who know their own minds.” He shrugged. “I let them go, and by no means whatsoever did I turn into a cat. My wife was waiting outside the stable with a black cat when I returned to her.”

  The Lord Advocate’s gaze pierced Lachlan’s. “Is that black cat in the tribunal chamber now?”

  “’Tis the wee beast in the cage over there.” Lachlan pointed to the restless animal still pacing in the confines of its temporary home.

  The Lord Advocate turned to the king. “Your Grace, do you consider yourself an expert when it comes to the tricks and antics of demons?”

  The king shot a scornful look at the older man. “You know that I am.”

  “Begging Your Grace’s pardon, would you, in your expert opinion please tell the tribunal if a warlock and his familiar can exist in two separate states—man and beast—or would it be more likely for the warlock to appear as either a man or his familiar.”

  King James fell silent for a moment, considering, and Lachlan felt icy fear ripple through him as the entirety of the charges against him now came down to the king’s opinion about the laws of witchcraft. The king scrutinized the faces of the others at the table alongside him for signs of distaste or displeasure. John Swinton’s face was filled with contempt. Hugh Godfrey released a sigh of resigned disgust. A muscle in Reid’s jaw began to twitch as he returned the king’s glare as though compelling him to speak in favor of his cousin.

  Finally, the king said, “In my learned opinion, if the animal is not a demon itself, then as a familiar, the witch or warlock must choose between the two forms—human or spirit, but not both at the same time.”