31. Chapter 31 - Magnus
CHAPTER 31 - MAGNUS
CHARLOTTESVILLE - 1775
W e burst out the back door intae the alley in the dark night. “This way!” Archie dragged the body down the narrow alley tae a field in the back.
Kaitlyn’s head lolled against my shoulder.
“Stay with me, mo reul-iuil!” I raced behind him. “How many vessels dost ye hae?”
“Two!”
We emerged on the edge of a wide field with a small bit of moonlight showin’ the way. He dumped Asgall’s body in the dirt. “But I am supposed tae leave ye here and jump back tae Lady Mairead!”
Kaitlyn groaned.
I said, “Och nae, ye arna here tae rescue us?”
He shook his head. “Nae — Grandmother is goin’ tae reset the timeline… but — I daena want tae leave ye!” He looked right and left frantically.
He wasna here tae rescue us. He was only here tae kill Asgall .
I dinna hae time tae think. I had tae get Kaitlyn tae the doctor before I could decide what tae do. “Then go, I will take Kaitlyn tae the doctor?—”
“But I need tae be certain she is well! I canna leave without knowin’.” Archibald picked up Asgall by the shoulders and began draggin’ him tae the middle of the field. “I will send the body tae Lady Mairead, hold on, I need tae make sure Ma survives!”
He dropped the body down, crouched over it, and dug through his pockets, pulling out a vessel. Then I saw him turn on a flashlight and lean over the body for a moment. It seemed as if he were writin’ something. Then he shined the flashlight down on the vessel in his other hand. He yelled, “I daena ken how tae!”
I yelled, “I will do it!”
He jogged tae me, and I passed him Kaitlyn. He passed me the flashlight, sayin’, “Ma, ye okay, Ma?”
She nodded.
I raced over tae Asgall’s lifeless body, yellin’ over m’shoulder, “Get somewhere safe!” I looked down on Asgall. I had barely known him, yet he had caused so much pain and suffering, and had come close tae almost defeatin’ us.
Here he was diminished, dead, defeated, with the words on his shirt:
Archibald
Killed
Asgall
June 18, 1775
My son had avenged us.
Using the flashlight beam I looked over the vessel numbers — the code was right for the landing spot at Riaghalbane. The message would be received.
I put the vessel in the dead man’s hands and gave them a twist and leapt away, I froze, glancing back tae see if it worked.
It did. The body seized, vibrated, I scrambled away as a furious wind swept around the field, a blast hit me from behind, throwing me tae the ground. I wrapped my arms over my head and held tight while I was buffeted and blustered and the wind beat the hell out of me.
As soon as it died down enough tae get tae my hands and knees, I lumbered up and crawled. Then I got tae my feet and ran, followin’ Archibald who had fled tae the stables at the other end of the field.
As I ran up I said, breathlessly, “Ye hae horses?”
Archibald said, “Aye, two!”
The stable boy looked verra frightened by the storm and our bloody clothes and the pallor of Kaitlyn’s face and our frantic conversation. Archibald passed her tae me and began tae unhitch two horses from a post.
I asked, “Are ye still with me, mo reul-iuil? We are goin’ tae get ye tae a physician.”
Archibald said, “There is one on the opposite side of town and I hae a modern first-aid kit with me.”
“Good!”
He said, “Ma, will ye hold on?” He drew one of the horses in front of me. “We’ll get ye tae the physician and use the kit on ye.”
She nodded weakly. “That’s good, we can make it.”
I said, “Mo reul-iuil, is that the royal we? Because I ken I can make it, tis ye that I am worried on.”
“I’ll make it, I promise, it’s… it’s fine.” She leaned away and weakly retched on the grass.
Archibald said, “Nae, Ma, ye canna, ye hae tae be well.”
“I am, tis just a nervous stomach, the excitement…”
Archibald drew over a second horse who looked as if he were a descendant of Sunny. I was loadin’ Kaitlyn ontae the smaller horse when Archibald’s horse nudged m’shoulder. “Och, is this Stormy?”
“Aye, Grandmother gave him tae me from yer stables..”
“Where’s Mario?”
“I… I left him behind, so he can be rescued when I am much younger, because… ye ken…” While he spoke he tied his bags tae his horse. “I was goin’ tae return Stormy tae yer stable but now I hae sent Asgall tae Grandmother I might not need tae return…”
“We hae a great deal tae talk about.” I helped her ontae the pale brown horse, then mounted behind her, cradlin’ her against my chest. “Once we get her tae the physician, then we’ll talk over yer plan.”
Archie swung up onto Stormy with practiced ease, again causing my pride tae soar.
He urged his mount intae a canter, sayin’ over his shoulder, “Follow me!”
We rode swiftly through the streets of Charlottesville, keepin’ tae back alleys and less-traveled paths. The thudding of hooves seemed deafening in the quiet darkness. Kaitlyn’s head lolled against my shoulder, her breathing shallow. I could feel her blood seepin’ intae m’clothes.
“Stay with me, mo reul-iuil,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We’re almost there.”
We passed a large house with a sign in front. Archibald used a flashlight tae see it:
Dr. Charles Everett
Physician and Surgeon
We rode tae the back of the house, dismounted quickly, and Archibald tied our horses tae a post near the backdoor as I eased Kaitlyn down.
Archibald whispered, “We are gentlemen — they were highwaymen.”
I said, “Aye, I agree.”
We climbed the stairs and Archie pounded on the door urgently. It took a long moment and then a flicker through the window of a small light moving through the dark house, then the door opened and a middle-aged man with spectacles perched on his nose peered out. “What’s all this commotion?”
His eyes widened as he took in m’wife’s limp form.
“Please, sire,” I said, tryin’ tae hold m’voice steady. “M’wife, the Lady Kaitlyn, has been shot. We were set upon by highwaymen who tried tae rob us. She needs immediate care.”
The physician held the oil lamp up tae peer at our faces. “Ye are gentlemen?”
“Aye, I am the Duke of Awe, this is m’son.”
“Bring her inside, quickly now.”
We carried Kaitlyn into the physician’s front parlor where his office and examination room were. I placed her gently on a narrow cot. The doctor bustled about, lightin’ lamps, gathering supplies.
He sat on a stool beside her and asked me, “Where did it happen, Your Grace?” He began pushing away her bloodied skirts.
“We were set upon just outside of town, dragged intae the inn — I daena ken if ye heard the uproar there? The highwayman and his villainous men lost their lives in assaulting us.”
The doctor clucked his tongue disapprovingly as he examined the wound. “Nasty business, that. This is a shame, I am relieved Mister Jefferson was gone to the Continental Congress during this trying time, he does become vexed by disorder.”
I said, “Tis verra vexing, we shared drinks with Mister Jefferson at the Coachman’s Rest.”
“Wonderful, we are close associates, I am his preferred physician and am often invited to his home — Let us see what we can do for the lady.”
Archibald rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a red first-aid kit and whispered as he passed it tae me, “Grandmother sent this… I am nae certain what…”
I unlatched it on my lap and went through it, having had many lessons through the years. “Doctor Everett, we need ye tae clean with this cloth.” I tore the package open and passed it tae him. He looked at it quizzically. “Tis from home, ye use it tae clean.”
I pulled out a tube of antibiotic cream and cotton tae apply it. And I hovered anxiously as the doctor worked, cleaning the long open grazing wound on her outer thigh, and probing around tae make certain there was nae bullet. I gripped Kaitlyn’s hand tightly as the doctor cleaned the wound. She cried out, squeezing my hand so hard I feared she might break my fingers.
She winced and let out a small whimper, her eyes fluttering open. “Owie.”
“I ken, Kaitlyn, the doctor is cleaning it.”
“Stay still, my dear,” the doctor murmured. “My apologies for the pain... But there now, the worst is over,” he said soothingly.
I passed him the cream. “Apply this tae the wound, please.”
He inspected it in the light and then smeared some on the wound. I passed him a white bandage, and then he held the bandagin’ on the wound while I ripped strips of tape and sealed the edges. He was verra curious about all of it.
Kaitlyn mumbled. “Give him the supplies, as a thank you.”
I glanced at Archibald. His face had gone dark, his hands clenched, his feet jigglin’. He looked full of angst and ready tae fight the clouds, as I had done many times before.
He said, “Is Ma goin’ tae be… will she…?”
I said, “Aye, it looks like she will be well.”
She mumbled, “I’m sorry I worried you, Archie.”
He wiped his face with his sleeve.
I began going through the kit pulling out a few extra supplies. “I can spare some extra, but we need tae keep some for yer care.” I passed them tae the physician. “For cleaning wounds, sire. And an exceptional ointment tae help prevent pustulence.” I dinna want tae give up the antibiotic pills or the pain relief. I gave him some bandages and an extra spool of tape. Seeing it in his hands, though, gave me a feelin’ of dread: what if we needed it?
Kaitlyn looked as if she were falling asleep. Doctor Everett pulled a book from the shelf by his seat and spread it out on a desk. He sat down and prepared a quill pen for writing. “What is the lady’s name, sire?”
Because twas habit I reached in my pocket for another pen, this one was not as grand as the one I gave tae Jefferson. “I humbly ask ye, Doctor Everett, tae please use my own pen for the purpose.”
He held it up. “This is a pen? It is a marvel! Where is the ink?” He held it verra close tae his eyes as if he might see through it.
“Inside, tis a good pen for travel.”
He licked the point, pressed it tae the page, and made a verra small mark. “Perfection!”
I said, “This is Lady Kaitlyn Campbell, and I am Magnus Campbell. I am the Duke of Awe…” I paused, watching him write across and down the page. Twas always a relief. If ye were added tae the record, yer family could find ye, even if ye werna lost, even if yer son had already come.
He asked, “And you are…?”
“I am Archibald.”
He spoke as he wrote, “Gunshot wound, cleaned… set upon by highwaymen, on this date…”
Then he looked it over and said, while writing a bit more, “Gifted unguents and bandages by His Highness the Duke.”
He then held up the pen once more, admiring it. “I would greatly love one of these implements.”
“I wish I had one tae gift ye, but alas I must keep it as tis a family heirloom.”
“I see, sire, of course, pray, you may stay and rest for a bit. I will hae refreshments brought in, the lady is likely to be tired.”
He left for the other part of his house.