Rumors Among the Heather (15 page)

“Yep, jest as wild as
his grandfather. Lord Bonnleigh looks the spitting image of the old
sinner too. Same cold eyes. From what I hear, same rake as the old
man. Every time he comes home to lick his wounds, every Christian
woman on the island knows to keep her daughter close at hand and
that’s a fact.”

“You’ve been a
gardener here a long time. What did the old man do that caused such
a scandal?”

“Not just him, but
most of his ancestors before him did the same thing. One favorite
trick they were famous for pulling was this. If there was this
comely lass from the village, or a governess, say, that he took a
fancy to, he wanted her favors, and most of them were good
Christian girls and not likely to give their favors freely, if you
know what I mean,” he said with a smirk. “He would promise ta marry
them. The reluctant ones he even went so far as to take to the
church and have a fake marriage ceremony performed,” he said,
shaking his head.

“Lord, man, that’s
sacrilege. Did the poor stupid lasses really believe all this?”

“Why wouldnae they
believe it? They’d go to the church at night. His lordship would
pretend to have a special license. The regular minister would
conveniently be out of town, and a new minister would go through
the ceremony. Then he would invent some excuse not to announce the
wedding. Back in them days there was always some war or feud going
on. It was easy to think of a reason,” he said with a laugh.

The men walked away,
and Julie sat still as a statue, unable to move. What the men said
was her story. The knot in her throat threatened to choke her.

Getting up to walk,
her head reeled. She took several steps toward the castle before
she collapsed in a heap. Sometime later, Julie wasn’t sure how much
time had passed, Ribble found her and helped her to her feet.

“Ribble, I’ve got to
go to the mainland immediately! Please get a boat ready for
me.”

“Ye cannae go by
yourself!”

“Get a boat ready. I
have to go right away,” she said urgently, grabbing him by the
lapels of his coat. She would not release her grip until he
promised to help.

“I’ll take ye across
myself.”

She relaxed her hold
and with Ribble to steady her, she walked down to the beach.

Silence covered the
boat as they made their way to the mainland. When Ribble beached
the craft, she got out immediately and started walking. Julie
barely noticed her surroundings. When Ribble caught up with her,
Julie was at the church’s door. She needed to see the registry. The
pages contained all the records of marriages, births, and deaths.
Her hands shook as she searched each page, but she found nothing
showing a listing of her marriage to Matthew.

“May I help you?”

Julie stifled a cry
and turned around. “You frightened me!” Putting her hands to her
cheeks, she took a deep breath to restore her composure and
continued. “A wedding was performed here the first week in August
of last year, but I don’t see a record of it,” she said, pointing
to the page where it should have been.

The young curate
immediately responded. “I wasn’t here at the time, and the previous
vicar wasn’t here either. He has since retired, you know. I don’t
see how this marriage could have been performed on that date.
Perhaps you are mistaken.”

“No, no, I’m not
mistaken.” Her words tumbled out in a desperate gush.

“Perhaps you could
check with the caretaker. His cottage is behind the manse. I’ll
take you there.”

“No, that won’t be
necessary. I know where it is. Thank you for your help,” she said
over her shoulder and hurried out.

Julie ran to the
caretaker’s cottage and pounded on his door. Her shoulders slumped
in relief when he opened it—the man standing before her was the
other witness. Her legs felt like undercooked fruit, but she
steadied herself by holding onto the post by the door. “What can I
do for ye?” he asked.

“There are some things
I must know. You were a witness at my wedding. You have to tell me,
was the minister a real minister? Please, I have to know,” she
pleaded.

“I don’t know what ye
be talkin’ about. I’m a caretaker, not a mind reader. Go on about
yer business. Why are ye trying to get an honest man like meself
into trouble? I got paid to keep my mouth shut about what happened.
That’s all I know. That’s all I want to know. Get away from my
door,” he said nastily and slammed it in her face.

Tears burned her
cheeks as she stood staring at the closed door. Ribble touched her
hand and gently pulled her away. They walked back to the boat
landing, but Julie did not speak until they were halfway to the
island.

“I thought you were my
friend, Ribble. How could you let such a thing happen without
telling me?”

“Never said I wasn’t
yer friend. What are ye talkin’ about?”

“My marriage is a
fake. It’s all been done before. I’m ruined, Ribble. I trusted
him.”

“Don’t you remember me
being there? I witnessed the marriage and signed the book. What’s
the matter with ye?”

“There’s no record of
our marriage in the church. I heard the gardener talking. He said
Matthew’s grandfather had done this before. He said Matthew’s just
like his grandfather.” She broke into sobs.

They drifted for a
while before Ribble spoke. “It did happen in the old days, but I
dinnae think his lordship would do such a thing. I’ve known the man
since he was a bairn. There must be some other explanation. I’ll go
back myself tomorrow and look in the registry. The entry must be
there. Maybe he put it on the wrong page. It was dark, and we were
in such a hurry.”

“I won’t be able to
stay here much longer. No one knows how long the redcoats will stay
in Scotland. Matthew and the prince are hiding out. I don’t know
where they are, and I have to go before anyone finds out.”

“Finds out about the
bairn,” Ribble said shyly.

“Who else knows? I
can’t stay. I must leave right away,” Julie said in a panic.

“Calm down, lass.
Nobody else knows. I just put two and two together. I’ll not hear
of ye leaving until his lordship comes back. He’ll straighten this
all out.”

“If I stay until he comes back, I won’t be
able to go. I love him too much. Even now that I know what he’s
done, I can’t be angry with him. I have to leave. I couldn’t stand
the looks of shock and pity when everyone finds out.” She began to
sob again.

In the weeks that
followed, misery and betrayal threatened to drown Julie. Helpless
in a sea of emotional turmoil, she fought for control of her
feelings. She tried desperately to go on as if nothing was wrong.
Woodenly she went about her lessons with Ian and then shut herself
away when the lessons were over. Her face did not betray her inner
turmoil or emotion, but she had lost any sparkle of life. When
someone spoke to her, they had to repeat everything.

Into her fourth month
of pregnancy, the morning sickness left her. Although she still had
no desire for food, she forced herself to eat because of the baby.
Her body had started to change, and she knew she would have to
leave soon. Her pride could not bear to let anyone know what a fool
she had been.

Her cousin Hannah and
Robert St. Clair would be back from their honeymoon in another
month. They had spent a year traveling through Europe and missed
the rebellion.

Julie knew she should
wait and confide in Hannah, but she could not. Hannah would do
anything for her, but she would not burden her cousin with her
problems. Neither did she want Hannah touched by the shame and
reproach she would have to bear. The best thing to do would be to
leave on her own without telling anyone. The days were becoming
nicer since winter had fled. The spring rainstorms had begun to
wane, and she felt now would be the time to leave.

She had almost all the
money from the sale of her parents’ belongings, and she had her
wages as governess. If she left within the next month, she would
have enough to keep her until the baby came, and if she found
employment immediately after the birth, they would not starve. She
only had to decide where to go.

With her mind made up,
she went in search of Ribble. Julie found him down by the boats
repairing one using a combination of tar and oakum.

“I’ve decided to
leave. I can’t wait much longer. Will you help me?”

Ribble looked at her
for a long time before he spoke. Nodding his head, he said, “Aye,
that I will. If ye’re intent on leaving, I know some people would
keep ye. They’re common country folks, but they’d be good to ye…and
the bairn.”

Before Julie could say
anything, his face took on a more serious look. “He’s coming
tonight. I’m going over to the mainland to fetch him when I spy his
signal,” he said matter-of-factly as he continued repairing the
boat.

His words rocked Julie
from head to toe. Her heart beat faster. She felt weak, unable to
stand. The ground seemed to whirl up in front of her. She reached
out her hand to hold onto the boat to steady herself. She did not
know what she expected from the confusion in her life, but
certainly not a confrontation with Matthew so soon. Still, it
needed to be done. He was the father of her child.

“I’ll go in your
place. I have to speak to him…alone,” she said unsteadily.

“Aye, I figured as
much. It’s why I waited to tell ye.”

Ribble came for Julie
just as the midnight bell pealed. “’Tis time, lass. He’ll be
reaching the shore about the same time as ye, if ye leave at
once.”

She stood up and
followed him without saying a word. When they reached the beach, he
gave her some last-minute instructions about where to meet Matthew
and about steering the boat. Julie listened but thoughts of Matthew
crowded out the words.

Soon she would see
Matthew. Her heart rose up in her throat. Her legs felt too shaky
to hold her up, but somehow she managed to get into the boat.
Ribble pushed her away from the shore and watched as the wind
filled her sail, pushing her stiffly toward the mainland.

Julie looked back just
as a flash of light shot up from the island. She continued to look
but could see nothing else. Could it have been lightning, although
she did not see a cloud in the sky, or possibly Ribble signaling to
Matthew to watch for her arrival?

She reached the
appointed meeting place a mile down the beach north of Gairloch.
Julie beached the boat and sat down to wait. An hour passed without
any sign of Matthew. Growing more nervous as the minutes ticked by,
she jumped as the crunch of a footfall broke the serenity of the
deserted beach. Julie saw movement out of the corner of her eye. To
her left, a man appeared. He moved quickly toward her from the sand
dunes.

Her heart constricted
watching him approach from out of the mist. His smile suspended
time. She could not move. She stood rooted to the spot waiting for
his kiss, his touch to awaken her.

Matthew’s heart leaped
in his chest when Julie looked up at him and smiled the sweetest
smile he had ever seen. He held her close then held her at arm’s
length to get a good look at her. She had lost weight and looked
pale. This caused him concern, but his joy at seeing his wife again
drove all questions from his mind. He would have time enough to
find out about all she had been doing while he had been gone.

“Julie, I’ve missed
you more than you’ll ever know. I’ve been through a nightmare
trying to get here. Soldiers are everywhere. I narrowly missed
being picked up coming through town. One of them reacted as if he
recognized me, but he said nothing. Quickly, let’s get out to sea
before anyone else sees us,” he said urgently as the hair stood up
on the back of his neck. He turned around to see the beach being
overrun with an angry, drunken mob.

A man from the crowd
swung and connected with Matthew’s jaw. He fell to the ground,
rolled, and came to his feet. Someone else grabbed him from behind
and held him while another started punching him in the stomach.
Matthew braced himself against the man holding him, and when the
man drew back to deliver another blow, he kicked out and knocked
him down. Matthew threw the man holding him over his shoulders, and
drew his sword and killed one of the men coming at him. The men
formed a circle, and step-by-step they closed ranks. One of the men
took up a piece of driftwood and struck the sword from Matthew’s
hand. Two more of the mob grabbed Matthew while the others took
turns beating him into submission.

When the fighting and
yelling stopped, Matthew found himself held in vise-like grips by
two of the men, and facing the sudden appearance of Geoffrey
Hamilton. The nattily dressed doctor pranced around the little
group holding Matthew, with his chest puffed out and his hand on
the hilt of his sword. No one bothered to ask him where he had been
when the fighting started. With a sneer on his face, he stared the
crowd into silence.

He crowed, “Look here,
me lads. We have in our midst one Matthew MacDonald, the biggest
Jacobite of them all. He doesn’t look so formidable after all.
MacDonald, where’s your prince?” Geoffrey taunted. “I’ll tell you
where he is. He’s trying to leave Scotland with his tail between
his legs like the whipped dog he is. What do you think of your
Highlanders since Cumberland put the run to them?” He began to
laugh like a banshee in the moonlight.

White hot rage speared
Matthew’s body. He struggled and broke free from his captors and
lunged at Geoffrey. They had to pry his hands from Geoffrey’s
throat before he could be pulled off him. Once subdued, the crowd
beat him to the ground mercilessly, with Julie shouting for them to
stop. She tried to enter the fray, to throw her body over
Matthew’s, but was jerked backward.

The other men chimed
in menacingly. One spoke up, “Do we hang ’em now? I’d like to see
his aristocratic carcass swing from the nearest tree. There's an
oak tree with a good sturdy limb back at the gaol.”