Chapter 12
T hat evening, with Sandy and Tam returned from their errands around the estate, the four of them sat around the big dining table and began to plan. The great hall was dark and a little chill, but the huge roaring fire warmed Brigid’s bones - and the jugs of red wine didn’t hurt, either.
Unfortunately, their plan had not progressed very far.
“We need to rescue Finn as soon as possible,” Brigid kept insisting. Everyone else seemed to agree in theory, but she was less than impressed with all the plans that had been suggested so far.
Basically, Sandy and Tam wanted to rush straight in to Edmondson’s camp, using the element of surprise. That seemed to be as far as the plan went. In terms of detail, it was rather lacking.
“Before they even know what’s hit them, we’ll have your Finn, and this valuable equipment you keep talking about,” Tam said with a broad smile.
“I’m really not sure it will be that easy,” Brigid said uneasily. “And how will we find Finn and the equipment at once?”
“You’re sure we need this equipment you keep talking about?” Tam asked.
Brigid could hardly explain time travel to him.
“It’s very valuable,” she said. “We’d be fools not to take it.”
That seemed to be all the convincing Tam required.
“Then we’ll be certain to find it,” he said comfortably. “It sounds like a sound plan to me.”
Sandy and Mary nodded in agreement, but Brigid wrinkled her brow.
“It just seems so… reckless,” she said. “Too risky. We could all be caught in an instant, and who knows what Edmondson would do to us? Besides, it didn’t work last time you two tried it, Tam and Sandy. Why should things be any different a second time?”
“I suppose you have a point there,” Sandy conceded grudgingly. “Maybe we need to change our tactics a little.”
“But this time, we have you,” Tam pointed out. “You know what to look for, and you know the layout of the camp better than we do.”
“I’m not sure I can help much,” Brigid said. “I was there for less than an hour.”
“Last time was practically a scouting trip,” Tam said. “Things will go much better this time.”
Sandy nodded in enthusiastic agreement. Clearly, his idea of a plan was very different from Brigid’s.
“Mary, what do you think?” Brigid asked, hoping that the other woman would take her side. Surely she could see that the men’s ideas were not sensible.
But Mary’s eyes were already bright with excitement.
“It sounds perfect to me,” she said. “Get in, get what we need, get out. No point in complicating it with schemes that are bound to go wrong.”
Brigid didn’t see much alternative but to agree. After all, she could hardly attack the camp by herself, plan or no plan. She had to trust Sandy and Tam - they’d done this kind of thing before. Her almost-finished fashion design degree hardly qualified her to offer an opinion.
“Besides,” Mary said cheerfully. “It was only the two of you before. This time, you’ll have me and Brigid to help you. Everything will be much easier.”
Sandy looked horrified. “Absolutely not,” he said. “Edmondson’s camp is no place for women. He’s ruthless, and his men might hurt you if you were caught. You both need to stay here at Gillies Tower, where you will be safe.”
Mary jumped to her feet with a gasp of outrage. “I can do everything you can do, Sandy, and you know it!”
Before anyone had a chance to answer, she strode to the far side of the hall and grabbed a bow from where it hung on the wall. In front of their amazed and slightly confused faces, she pulled a coiled bowstring from her pocket and strung the bow. Brigid didn’t know much about eighteenth-century weapons, but she suspected that most women couldn’t string a bow so easily.
Some arrows hung where the bow had been. Mary seized a few of them. She glared at Sandy, then began to fire.
A tapestry hung on the wooden panelling above Sandy’s head, with some kind of military scene. Mary’s arrows thudded into it, and Brigid’s jaw dropped open. The arrows formed a neat circle around a man’s head on the tapestry.
Mary lowered the bow and smiled smugly.
“Would you like to tell me again how I would only get in the way, brother?”
Sandy glowered, but said nothing.
Mary turned to Brigid. “And I’m sure that Brigid also has something to contribute to our mission.”
Brigid hesitated, pursing her lips as she tried to decide. She usually kept her skills secret, but perhaps this was the perfect time to show them off. Her father, with his mysterious military background, had taught her a few useful tricks.
She lifted two of the wickedly sharp knives from the table and weighed them thoughtfully. Not perfect, but they should do for a quick demonstration. Pushing back her chair, she stood up and tried to ignore Sandy staring at her.
She focused and steadier her breathing. Then she threw. One after the other, the knives thudded into the centre of Mary’s arrow ring. Mary whooped, Tam whistled, and even Sandy looked impressed.
“See?” Mary said. “We can help. You need us.”
But Sandy shook his head.
“It’s not about fighting skills, Mary. I know you’re good enough. I’ve seen you in action often enough before. It’s about the added risk. We’ll have to worry about you, and Edmondson might see you as a weak point.”
Mary scowled, but Sandy wasn’t done.
“I’m sorry, Mary, but it’s better if the women stay at home. I won’t be swayed on that.”
Even Brigid glared at him. A weak point? She’d never heard anything so stupid. She glanced at Mary and saw the same determination in the other woman’s eyes. They would find a way to convince Sandy that they were good enough.