Ann Carr (19 page)

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”.

“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”.

“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 judgement 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.