Chapter 26
“M’Laird!” Sawyer burst into the council chamber, where Owen was deep in discussion with the members of the gray guard. A vanguard had already been sent out to greet the Englishmen in a clash of swords and musket fire, but final preparations were still being decided.
Owen’s head snapped up. “What is it?”
“The lasses, M’Laird.” Sawyer ran forward, brandishing a piece of paper.
He slid it onto the table, in front of Owen.
“Edith has gone, M’Laird. She’s gone to kill Elias, and…
I think Heather has gone after her. She wasnae in her chambers, and a couple of lasses who were in the courtyard said they’d seen two women runnin’ for the loch. ”
Owen’s eyes flitted across the letter in a hurry. It was a short, blunt note, that simply said:
Thank ye for all ye’ve done. It’s time for me to join me beloved now, for I doubt I’ll escape killing Elias Spencer with me own life intact.
I’m acting alone and I pray ye daenae try to prevent me, but I hope that I might be able to prevent Elias from reaching this castle.
I meant what I said, Heather. I cherish ye and I’m sorry that this might be the end.
Yers,
Edith
“Why would Heather go after her? There’s nay mention of Heather joinin’ her in this.” Owen scraped back his chair, crumpling the letter in his hand.
Sawyer shook his head. “I daenae ken, M’Laird. She must’ve seen Edith or suspected her of doin’ somethin’ like this.”
“We must go after her.” Owen addressed the gray guard, as fury gathered inside him like a winter storm. “Instruct the cavalry, the archers, and the musketeers to prepare. We’re nae waitin’ for the Sassenachs to attack anymore. We’ll take the attack to them.”
The gray guard got up and nodded in unison, before filing out of the council chamber to do as their Laird had commanded.
Before long, a small army would be leaving the castle, but Owen did not know if it was going to be enough.
He could not think about that, now. If Heather and Edith were out there, they needed to be retrieved as soon as possible, no matter what odds were stacked against Owen and his men.
After almost an hour of determined running, Heather came to a lumbering halt on the edge of the dense forest that stretched away from Castle Dunn, for miles upon miles. Edith had paused, too, still unaware that she was being followed.
“Edith?” Heather hissed, walking on toward the woman.
With a jump of fright, Edith whirled around. “Heather? What in heaven’s name are ye doin’ here?”
“I saw you.” Heather held onto her aching sides, as she fought to catch her burning breath.
“I came after you. I know what you intend to do, and I am here to prevent you from making a grave mistake. This is not what William would have wanted from you. He would want you to be safe, as he did in life.”
Just then, Edith grabbed Heather and pulled her back into the defensive shadows of the forest, clamping a hand around her mouth. At first, Heather did not understand, but then she heard it: the steady percussion of countless footfalls, thudding along the forest path.
A moment later, pools of light cascaded down from the front row of a battalion of infantry, wielding torches to find their way through the woodland. They wore gruff and weary expressions, their steps reluctant yet obedient. Clearly, they did not want to be here.
They are so close. Owen does not know. I must get back to him.
I must tell him how many men he is about to face.
Heather knew that she was the one who had made a mistake by following Edith, without informing her beloved of where she was going.
On horseback, they could have caught Edith within ten minutes of her leaving, but she had forgotten such things in her rush to save her sister-in-law.
Concealed by the thorny web of a briar, Edith kept her hand over Heather’s mouth, as they watched the parade of seemingly endless soldiers. Indeed, it was not just a small battalion of Elias’ men, but a considerable army.
He summoned his bannermen, just as Edith suspected he would. Horror made Heather’s blood run cold as she tried to count the number of soldiers, but there were too many for her mind to keep up. Surely, there was no way that Owen could emerge victorious against such a quantity of fighters.
Eventually, the regiments thinned to a small collection of cavalrymen.
Twelve horses in total, riding three abreast. Not particularly intimidating, Heather supposed, for she knew that Owen had far more in the way of cavalry.
But would that offer Owen the advantage against an army of at least two hundred? She did not know.
At that moment, Edith broke away from her, running full pelt toward one of the riders at the rear of the marching columns. A glint of metal flashed in her hand—a concealed blade, that she wholly intended to use upon one of the cavalrymen. The one riding in the center of the last three.
Heather’s father.
“Edith, no!” Heather roared, charging after her newfound sister.
The desperate cry caught the attention of the riders, but a moment too late for them to do much about the dervish who whirled toward them.
With all the strength of her fury, Edith leaped up at Heather’s father. The horse spooked first, rearing up and sending the wretched old man crashing to the ground, before it took off into the trees. A second later, Edith was on Elias, trying to sink her blade into the despicable man.
But he was stronger than he appeared, wrestling with Edith. “Help me!” he bellowed to his accompanying soldiers. “Get this creature off me!”
The command appeared to remind the other soldiers why they were there, and they jumped into action.
A few of them slid down from the saddle of their horses and surrounded Edith, hauling her away from her prize.
Yet, she would not give up so easily, and though the men were larger and more numerous than her, she managed to wrench away from them and resume her attack upon Elias.
“Do something!” Elias howled, as the blade caught him across the chest. A deep scratch, but not fatal.
The rest of the cavalrymen dismounted, and though Edith managed to cut Elias a few more times, she was soon dragged away. One of the soldiers had the sense to twist the blade out of her hand, in case they met a similar fate to their commander.
On the edge of the tree line, Heather hesitated.
She could not fight against so many men, yet it did not seem as though they knew she was there.
If she slipped away, to warn Owen, no one would know.
But something held her there. A duty to Edith.
If she left and her father killed Edith, she would never forgive herself.
“Unhand her!” Heather strode out onto the path: her heart in her throat. She knew this was foolish, but what choice did she have? She would not watch her father hurt Edith.
Elias was just getting to his feet, when his cold gaze met hers. “Is this your barbarian’s doing?”
“No, Father, this is your doing,” Heather hissed, balling her hands into fists. “You killed your own son. Her husband. She has every right to want to see you dead for that crime, just as you tried to ensure that my beloved would die. Only, unlike you, my beloved committed no crime.”
Sheepish expressions passed across the faces of the other cavalrymen, revealing their guilt to Heather. She could not tell, just by looking, which ones were responsible for injuring William so badly that nothing could save him, but she knew they were among this group.
Elias sneered. “What nonsense is this? What lies has that Scottish wretch been feeding to you?”
“They are not lies, Father.” Heather mustered a bitter laugh. “Might we desist with the attempt at subterfuge? I know everything. I know what you did to William. Brandon discovered it all, so you tried to have him killed, too. Is that your solution to everything, Father?”
Elias faltered for just a moment: his mask slipping. “Brandon is alive?”
“No doubt you thought your men had dealt with him but, yes, he is alive. With his evidence, you will be punished for your crimes.” Heather felt a swell of courage in her chest. “Halt where you are, turn around, and retreat to Gallagher Castle while I am still in a lenient mood. You will not attack the castle of the man that I love. My husband.”
Rage flared in Elias’ eyes. “Pardon?”
“I believe you heard me, Father. My husband. If you attack him, you are attacking me—the Lady of Dunn.” Her father did not need to know that the wedding had not yet taken place. Indeed, if he left now, she would be married in two days’ time, as planned.
The columns of soldiers had come to a standstill, the rearmost men listening with curiosity, as whispers found their way back through every regiment. Gossip could spread faster than artillery fire, especially when it was juicy.
Elias turned puce with fury, as he marched right up to Heather and grabbed her by the wrist, all but throwing her toward the men who restrained Edith. The cavalrymen caught her, but they held her limply, as if they did not quite know what to do with her.
“Ye’ll die for what ye did to me husband,” Edith seethed. “I daenae care if it’s nae by me hand, but ye will die for it. What would Cromwell say about a father who has murdered his own son? Do ye think ye’ll be spared the gallows?”
Heather nodded as one of the soldiers pushed her to her knees.
“Do you hear this, everyone?” she shouted, loud enough for the nearest regiments to hear.
“Elias Spencer, Earl of Gallagher, is guilty of killing his own son! There is evidence aplenty, and if you would stand by such a man, then you may remain. If you find it as despicable as I do, as the sister of that son, then I urge you to leave!”
Doubt flickered across the faces of the soldiers, as a rumble of discussion rippled through the ranks. Heather could see that many of them were considering her suggestion, for they had fought enough for causes that did not concern them. Why should they give their lives for a killer?
“You will hold your ranks and continue your march!” Elias bellowed, gesturing to his cavalrymen. “And you will bind these two women and lead them behind the horses. Let us see if they crow so loudly and deceptively after they have been dragged along for a while.”
The cavalrymen, no doubt thinking of their own involvement in William’s death, immediately did as they were told.
They hauled Edith and Heather to the horses, where ropes were found and tied around the women’s wrists.
Then, they were hitched to longer ropes that trailed from the saddles, before the cavalrymen remounted and waited for Elias’ next command.
“Onward!” he roared, drawing his sword from its scabbard. “Anyone who does not will be cut down where they stand!”
That jolted the infantrymen into action, as they resumed their slow plod toward Dunn Castle. It appeared that, regardless of Elias’ crimes, they would follow him, for they would rather submit to an English murderer than flee from a Scot and his turncoat Lady.
“I am sorry,” Heather whispered to Edith, as the horses began to move, forcing them into a staggering walk.
Edith shook her head with a smile. “Daenae be. That was worth almost gettin’ meself killed. Yer brother would’ve been proud of ye.”
“But… it did not work,” Heather urged.
Edith chuckled. “Aye, it did, ‘cause now the soldiers daenae ken what they’re fightin’ for. If an army isnae loyal to their commander, they willnae linger to die for him.”
It was the tiniest glimmer of hope, and Heather cupped her figurative hands around it, determined to keep it alight. Evidently, there would be a battle this night, but perhaps it was not as futile as it seemed.
With that faith firmly set in her mind, she kept pace with the motion of the horse and edged closer to Edith, as an idea came to her.
Keeping one eye on the cavalrymen, though it appeared they had lost interest in their captives, Heather discreetly set to work on the knot of Edith’s ropes.
After all, if the horses bolted, they would drag the women with them.
Ten minutes later, after Edith’s knot was undone and she had been freed from her bonds, she returned the favor for Heather.
With deft hands, Edith had the rope loose within half a minute, but they continued to walk with the ropes held in their palms, as if they were still tethered.
Only when they saw an easy path to escape down would they make a run for it.
So, it came as a surprise when a tremendous shout went up from somewhere in the distance. The horse that had been leading Heather bolted, as she had feared it might, prompting her to drop the rope and step back.
“What is it?” Elias barked, but evening had a way of hiding things.
Edith dropped her rope, too, and in the confusion, she grabbed Heather’s hand and pulled the younger woman into the forest. Once inside the camouflage of the shadowed trees, the women ran as though their lives depended on it. Which, if the soldiers caught them, it would.