Chapter 25
B rigid and Mary paced around the great hall, their skirts swishing on the flagstone floor. Brigid tried to keep her face calm and her movements controlled, but inside she absolutely fizzed with nerves.
“I think we have everything done,” Mary said, counting on her fingers. “Securing and double barring the gate. Setting out buckets of water in case of fire. Closing all the shutters. Getting as many people as possible safely inside.”
A small group of women and children sat huddled at the far end of the hall, talking in hushed voices. Their menfolk were all out working in the fields - Brigid could only pray that nothing untoward would happen to them.
“You’ve done a good job, Mary,” Brigid said reassuringly. “You’re very well prepared. Besides, it’s unlikely that anything will happen. Sandy and Tam should ambush the men long before they reach Gillies Tower. This is all just a precaution.”
“I know,” Mary said, fidgeting with the fabric of her skirt. “I would just hate for anything to go wrong when I could have prevented it.”
Then a scream, faint but distinct, cut through the quiet air. Brigid and Mary froze for a second, staring at each other.
Then Mary ran for the door, pelting up the staircase towards the window that looked out over the gatehouse. Brigid followed her, and the two of them almost ran head-first into a panicked servant coming the other way.
“Men at the gate, my lady,” he gasped.
And, as Mary and Brigid squeezed together to stare out of the narrow window, they saw with horror that it was true. A large group of men were outside, already hammering on the gate. This was no small scouting party. This was the bulk of Edmondson’s camp.
“Can the gate hold out against that many men?” Brigid asked.
Mary’s face had gone utterly white. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “We just have to hope.”
They rushed back to the great hall.
“Call everyone back inside,” Mary ordered. “If the gate falls and the courtyard is lost, at least we will all still be safe in the keep.”
All the nearby servants scrambled to obey. People poured in from the courtyard until the hall was crowded and busy, and Mary judged there was no one left outside.
“Secure the main door,” she ordered, and the huge wooden bar fell into place. As an extra precaution, they wedged one of the heavy wooden tables in front of it.
Everyone was flustered and panicking now. The hall reverberated with noise, right up to its rafters. Loud sounds came from outside - had the men made it through the gate? It was impossible to tell.
Mary turned to Brigid. “We need to act,” she said, her face still white but very determined. “We can’t just sit here and wait for the worst to happen. This defence needs to be active, or we don’t stand a chance.”
Brigid just nodded. She trusted Mary to know what she was doing.
Mary jumped up onto one of the remaining tables and shouted to get everyone’s attention. The hall gradually fell silent as the servants and tenants turned to look at her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need to work together,” Mary announced. “You three, you are in charge of boiling water. Toss buckets of it from the gatehouse. If those men get any closer, we’ll throw it from the upper floors of the keep.”
The three ladies she’d indicated rushed off to the kitchen, looking scared but determined. Brigid wondered how long it took to boil water in the eighteenth century, without the advantage of kettles.
“The children can help,” Mary continued. “All of you, throw stones and whatever else you can find from the upper windows. It might not do much damage, but it should keep the men outside confused and off balance.”
Children scampered off with glee in their eyes.
“The rest of you,” Mary said. “Stay in here and do your best to keep this door shut. Find more furniture, if you want to, and build up a barricade. Whatever happens, no one is to get into this room. Understood?”
Everyone nodded and rushed into action.
Finally, Mary turned to Brigid. “Can you shoot a musket?” she asked.
Brigid winced. She had no doubt that all the guns in Gillies Tower would be very different from modern firearms.
“I’ll give it a go,” she said. “But I can’t guarantee I’ll be any good.”
Mary grabbed her bow and arrows, then handed Brigid two loaded muskets. They rushed up the stairs to Mary’s room, where two old arrow slits gave them a view of the attackers.
Brigid shot first, sliding the barrel of her gun through the arrow slit. As expected, the gun was unpredictable, but she managed to knock a man’s hat off. The attackers paused for a second, evidently trying to work out where the shot had come from. Her second attempt got a man in the arm and he staggered sideways, clutching at the wound.
Mary laughed grimly. “Is this something else your father taught you?” she asked.
Brigid grinned. “Actually, it was my mother who taught me,” she said. Kara had always liked guns. Mary laughed outright at that.
Next, Mary took over with her arrows. She got one man in the arm, and another in the shoulder. The men had spotted them by now, and tried to take shelter, but the gatehouse was designed to leave attackers exposed and vulnerable.
Mary’s third shot took a man in the throat. He fell, gurgling blood, then went still. Mary’s hand flew to her mouth and she took a step back, her eyes wide with horror.
“I’ve never killed anyone before,” she whispered.
Brigid clutched at her arm. “Don’t feel bad about it,” she said urgently. “You’re only doing what you have to, to keep your home safe. Think about all those people downstairs, depending on you.”
She let off another musket shot, determined not to give up. Gillies Tower needed both of them.
And their assault seemed to be working. The men were arguing among themselves instead of attacking - and then they broke and run, heading back to the woods. Among the trees, they would be well sheltered, and out of easy range.
“Hah!” Brigid shouted after them. “That will teach you!”
“They could come back at any moment,” Mary pointed out. “This isn’t over quite yet.”
She and Brigid stayed at their posts, scanning the forest edge for any sign of movement. If the men returned, they would not succeed in taking so much as a single step towards the gate.
Brigid knew that she and Mary could not fail now, no matter how tired and afraid they were. They must keep Gillies Tower and its people safe.