Chapter 9
Next morning, Margot was woken by Catriona, who announced cheerfully that it was a bright and beautiful day.
When she looked out of her window, Margot saw that indeed it was.
The last leaves of autumn were falling, and the trees were now skeletal, but there was not a cloud in the sky, which meant that there would be a covering of freezing frost over everything.
It would be cold, certainly, but the sun was shining, and suddenly Margot's spirits lifted.
She had discovered that a cloudless morning in Scotland was a rare event indeed, so she decided to make the most of it and invite Eileen for an early walk.
That way they could avoid seeing Callum over breakfast, and Margot would perhaps be able to marshal her thoughts so that she could write a letter when she came back.
Eliza was always at the back of her mind, even when Callum was at the front of it. She never stopped recalling memories when they fought, played, teased each other and even got into fist fights, something that girls were expressly forbidden from doing!
However, she, Eliza and Juliet were not like any other family she knew. They were steadfastly devoted to each other in a way that she had never seen in any other group of siblings. Being parted from the two people she loved most in the world was slowly but surely wearing Margot down.
“Where are ye goin’ sae early in the mornin’, mistress?” Catriona asked as she set a breakfast tray down in front of Margot.
“Out for a walk with Lady Eileen.”
“But it is freezin’ out there, mistress!” Catriona protested. “Would ye no’ be better stayin’ inside where it is warm?”
“I have been inside the castle and the grounds since I came here,” Margot replied irritably. “I need some fresh air.”
“If ye say so, mistress,” Catriona said, sighing. “Lady Eileen has sent ye a warm coat.”
Margot ate her breakfast and made her way to Eileen’s room. She passed a number of servants and noticed that their attitude to her, which had been a little cold at first, was now thawing a little, especially since the playful exploits in the yard the day before.
She smiled as she thought of it, then her heart began to beat faster as the kiss she had shared with Callum came creeping back into her mind. She fancied that she could still taste him, even though she knew he was nowhere near her because she was very deliberately avoiding him.
She arrived at Eileen’s room, having sent word that she was coming, and saw her friend standing looking out of her window at the icy morning, finishing her first cup of tea of the day. She looked around as she heard the door opening and smiled.
“Good morning,” she said. “Are you sure your poor wee Sassenach body can handle this weather?”
“Well, I might not have been able to,” Margot answered, “but a good Samaritan gave me this lovely fur coat.” She beamed at Eileen. “Thank you, Eileen.” She gave her companion a warm hug.
“Can’t let my companion freeze, can I?” Eileen asked, raising her eyebrows and laughing. She put on her own coat, and they moved out, arm in arm, into the sparkling, frosty morning.
As they left the castle grounds, a mounted guard fell in behind them, the same one who had asked for a private audience with Eileen a few days before.
“Is he your personal guard?” Margot asked.
Eileen laughed. “No, he just happens to be on morning duty.” She looked around and pointed out a snow-covered mountain in the distance. “I climbed that once—it’s not as tall as it looks. We call it Ben Macdui.”
“Alone?” Margot asked, astonished. “That was brave!”
“No, of course not!” Eileen replied, laughing. “I had friends with me. My brother was most annoyed, he said mountain climbing was for men and ladies should be at home.” Her voice had become angry and bitter.
“My sisters and I would have done it together,” Margot claimed sadly. “We would have had such fun. I can imagine Eliza standing at the top waving a flag. I wonder where she is now?”
“You will see her soon,” Eileen told her gently.
“I am sure of it, Margot. Don’t despair.
” She sighed. “You have no idea how much I envy you and your loving family. From the way you speak about them, it sounds as though you would do anything for each other, and when I compare that with my brother Lachlan and me—well, it’s like night and day.
I mean nothing to him except as a means to an end, and I am beginning to hate him. ”
Margot could think of nothing to say to that, so they walked on in silence for a while, and the only sound they could hear was their own footsteps and the horse behind them.
Then suddenly they heard a loud crack of a tree branch breaking as three men stepped out from under the trees, each of them glaring at Margot.
By their shabby appearance and the way they moved, she could see that they were not trained warriors, but they each carried a broadsword, and one of them had a holstered pistol on his hip. He was the one who spoke first.
“So there ye are, ye wee red-headed bitch,” he growled, his lip curling with anger and derision. “Dae ye know how much coin ye cost the boss, ya wee besom? He has lost a fortune because o’ you!”
He strode forward towards Margot, raising his pistol, but before he could fire it, the Ferguson guard who had been following the women on horseback leapt from his mount and knocked him onto the ground.
Before the man could stand up, the guard thrust his sword into his chest, instantly killing him, then leapt to his feet, but the second thug had begun to advance on him.
The guard raised his sword to cut him down, but he was a fraction of a second too late and the bandit slashed him across his upper arm, momentarily disabling him.
Margot heard Eileen cry out—a piercing scream of agony—and saw her trying to run towards the injured guard. Somehow in all the confusion she managed to grab her friend by the waist and drag her backwards, out of the range of all the swiping, stabbing swords and knives.
The guard was still lying on the ground trying to struggle to his feet when the third bandit came towards them, roaring with rage.
Later, Margot would look back on the next few seconds with absolute astonishment, wondering how she found the courage to do what she did next.
She scrambled over to the man with the pistol, who was still on the ground, stunned, and picked up a knife that had fallen from his belt.
Then she slashed it sideways so that it tore across the last man’s shoulder.
It was not a deep wound, but it spurted a copious amount of blood, and he snarled in anger and pain.
However, it did not hinder him, as he grabbed Margot and tried to pull the knife out of her hand.
She saw his eyes dart to the pistol which was lying on the grass.
It would have made a formidable weapon even if he had been unable to fire it, for it was so heavy that it would have made a very effective club.
That gave Margot even more incentive to fight for her survival, so she somehow wrestled him around in a half circle until the pistol was out of his reach. However, he forced her down so that her leg was bent underneath her, and pain shot up her leg as her ankle twisted.
The guard had recovered; he jumped to his feet and slashed his sword through the second thug’s neck, almost decapitating him. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Then he stumbled over to where Margot and the third bandit were fighting, raised his sword, and with a mighty roar, plunged it with all his strength into the man’s back.
The thug slumped onto Margot, who rolled out from underneath him, her face screwed up in agony.
Eileen suddenly rushed to the guard’s side. He was holding onto his bleeding arm, and as Margot watched the pain on her face, she realised that there was a deep and tender relationship between the two of them—not that of a lady and her guard.
There was no disguising Eileen’s distress, but as the guard looked back at her, it almost seemed as though he was the one who was comforting her.
“Dinnae worry,” he said tenderly. “It is just a wee scratch.”
“Ronan, it is a lot more than a wee scratch!” Eileen snapped indignantly as tears began to leak from her eyes and pour down her cheeks.
Then, as Margot had done a short time before, Eileen tore a strip off the bottom of her dress and wound it around the guard’s arm to try to stem the bleeding.
Some blood soaked through and stained the fabric, but it stopped spreading after a moment and Eileen breathed a sigh of relief, then she strode across to Margot, her face a picture of concern.
“I should have helped you, Margot,” she said regretfully. “I am so sorry.”
Margot shook her head and patted her friend on the shoulder, then gave her a pained smile. “What could you have done?” she asked, then looked down at her foot, wincing.
“It really hurts, does it not?” Eileen asked, then she looked up at Ronan. “Can she ride back with you?”
Ronan looked down at the two women, clearly undecided. “It might make your injury worse,” he said, frowning. “And I willnae let ye walk home alone, Ei— Milady.” He stuttered over the last word, Margot noticed, as if he had been about to address her by another name.
“Eileen, go back with him.” Margot was decisive. “You can get help, and come back for me.”
“But it’s freezing!” Eileen protested. “And what if more men come?”
“I have my warm coat,” Margot reminded her. “And the more time we sit talking about it the more time we are wasting.”
“Indeed,” Ronan agreed, “but we can get ye intae somewhere less visible an’ a wee bit warmer.” He looked around then nodded and pointed with his uninjured arm. “There are some bushes over there that will hide ye an’ keep the wind off ye.”
He looked down at the robbers, each of whom had been wearing a thick cloak. They were still usable, although each was spattered with blood.
Margot followed his gaze. “No, I am not wearing one of those!” she barked. “I would rather freeze than have their blood on me.”
“Of course,” Eileen said mildly. “I think I might feel the same. Come, I’ll help you up.”
Ronan reached down with his good arm to help them, but Eileen batted it away. “You’re hurt, Ronan,” she said. “I can manage.”
Ronan was about to protest, but Margot tried to struggle to her feet unaided, hoping to avoid an argument. In the end, both Ronan and Eileen lent a hand, and they stumbled across to the bushes he had pointed out. He shrugged out of his cloak and draped it over her.
“Ronan, there is no need—” Margot began, but he held up a hand to silence her.
“I have a thick tunic an’ a leather doublet,” he said firmly. “I will be fine. Come on, Milady, we cannae waste any more time.”
He began to stride away towards his horse, but Eileen bent down to look at Margot, frowning with concern. “Are you sure you will be all right?” she asked worriedly.
“I will be fine,” Margot assured her.
Eileen looked between Ronan and Margot, feeling guilt and something else that Margot could not name. “We will be back soon.”
She ran towards Ronan, they mounted his horse and were soon out of sight.
Margot sighed and rubbed her ankle, which was throbbing painfully.
She was cold, but not freezing, as Ronan’s cloak still had some of his body heat clinging to it.
She rolled her body up so that her knees were under her chin, to make herself as small as she could, and pulled her clothes tightly around herself.
All she could do now was wait.