Chapter 1 #2
“I ken fine how far we’ve come,” Will snapped.
“Rather careless of you to lose such a lass,” Kirkurd replied evenly, doubtless wondering at Will’s curtness. “Do your maidservants often go missing?”
“Dinna be daft,” Will retorted. “It be dangerous for a lass in these woods.”
Molly could imagine the sour look on Will’s face as he spoke and prayed that heaven would keep him from getting his hands on her after chasing her such a distance.
He’d get his own back first. Then he’d turn her over to Ringan Tuedy, and Tuedy had told her what he’d do to her.
A shiver shot through her at the memory.
“You won’t find your serving lass here,” Kirkurd said, his deep voice reassuringly calm. “My dogs would alert me to any stranger within a mile of here, just as they did when they sensed your approach.”
A snarling voice that Molly identified with renewed dread as Tuedy’s interjected, “So ye say! But since ye’ve no said what ye’re doing out and about at such a late hour, how do we ken that ye didna come out tae meet some lass yourself?
Ye kept them dogs o’ yours quiet, for I didna hear nowt from them. ”
A heavy silence fell.
Molly had never met Walter Scott of Kirkurd, but her father had mentioned once that he was just six years older than she was.
Tuedy, on the other hand, was older by nearly ten years.
He was of powerful build, an experienced warrior, and a man ever-determined to have his own way. Would Kirkurd defer to him?
Shivering again, she hoped not.
Recalling then that Kirkurd’s authoritative tone had stopped Will’s dogs before they could surround her and reveal her presence to Will, she told herself she should be thankful for that one blessing and not be praying for more.
At last, in a tone that revealed only mild curiosity, Kirkurd said, “Tuedy, is that you? I thought you looked familiar, but it must be five or six years since last we met. Do you often help others search for lost maidservants at midnight?”
Molly’s lips twitched wryly, but her fear increased as she awaited the reply.
To her surprise, Tuedy said only, “I was visiting Piers Cockburn.” He made it sound as if it had been an ordinary visit and not one that had turned her life upside down. “But ye’ve no answered me question, Wat. What be ye doing out here?”
“It is unnecessary for any Scott to produce his reason for a moonlight stroll on Scott land,” Kirkurd said.
“However, you may not yet have heard that my lord father died last night. We buried him today, so it has been a grievous time for us here. I came out into the forest to seek fresh air and peaceful solitude.”
Robert Scott of Rankilburn was dead? Sadness surged through Molly at the news.
She had met him only a handful of times, but unlike her brothers and her father, Rankilburn had treated her with the respect due a lady.
He had been younger than her father, and she had thought him kinder, too.
She wished she could see the men as they talked, but she was facing away from them and dared not move.
Tuedy said mockingly, “Ye come seeking peace, ye say. Yet ye come fully armed and wi’ Jock’s Tam and Lady Meg’s Sym behind ye, also full-armed.”
“Most Borderers carry weapons wherever they go,” Kirkurd said.
Nay, but she must stop thinking of him as Scott of Kirkurd, Molly realized. Walter Scott was now Lord of Rankilburn and Chief of Clan Scott.
He added, “I certainly won’t ask why you four are armed or why you seek a missing maidservant instead of sending minions in search of her. But you, Tuedy, do seem over-familiar with my people.”
“Sakes, everyone kens that Sym Elliot is your grandame, Lady Meg’s, man. We also ken Jock’s Wee Tammy and that he be captain o’ Rankilburn’s guard.”
“Enough argle-bargle,” Will declared curtly. “Ye willna object if we have a look through the forest hereabouts for our lass, will ye, Wat?”
Molly held her breath again.
“I do object to such an unnecessary intrusion,” Scott replied, “especially whilst we here are grieving our loss.” His tone remained even but had an edge to it, as if he disliked Will but tried not to show it.
“Tammy and Sym were nearby,” he added. “A few of my men always are. If I whistle, two score more will come.”
Molly relaxed, although the thought of more men coming was daunting.
Another silence fell before Scott added amiably, “Methinks you should train your sleuthhounds better, Will, because they must have followed a false trail here. Moreover, you ken fine that you had no business hunting man or beast in Ettrick Forest without Scott permission. You would all be wise to turn around now and ride peacefully back to Henderland.”
“What if we don’t?” Tuedy demanded provocatively.
“You are on my land, Ring Tuedy, and you must know that I now wield the power of pit and gallows. Do you doubt I’d use that power against troublemakers whilst my lady mother, my sisters, and my grandame endure deep mourning?”
When yet another silence greeted his words, Molly bit her lip in trepidation, fearing that Will and Ned might react violently to such a threat.
Then, to her deep relief, she heard Will mutter something to the others, followed by the shuffling sounds of horses turning.
Calling the dogs to heel, Will shouted, “Ye’d best not be lying to me, Wat.
If ye’ve given shelter t’ the maid, ye’ll answer to me. ”
“I am not in the habit of sheltering misplaced maidservants, Will. If such a lass shows herself here, I’ll get word to Henderland straightaway.”
Although Molly was sure that Will had heard him, he did not deign to reply.
She listened intently until she could no longer hear any sound of horses, dogs, or men.
When utter silence reigned throughout the nearby forest, she decided that Will and the others had indeed departed.
Moreover, she had begun to feel the icy chill again.
Tension stirred, nevertheless. Had everyone truly gone away?
Gathering her courage, she decided to risk moving and carefully wiggled the toes of one bare, chilly foot, grateful to find that her toes had not gone numb.
“They’ve gone,” Walter Scott said quietly. “You can come out now.”
Every cell in Molly’s body froze where it was.