Chapter 12 #2
“Me name is Edna Campbell and as ye all ken, I am a witch. I'm also an innkeeper in the Scottish village of Glendaloch. I own The Thistle & Hive Inn and live there with me husband, Angus, me niece Maggie and her husband Dylan.” She took a breath and gathered her thoughts before continuing. “One of me gifts is the ability to see someone, understand what they are missing and give them a chance to change their life for the better. To find love. Aye, I will admit, there is a bit of meddling, but there is nae manipulation. I arrange for couples to meet. Whether they fall in love or no’ is completely up to them. What year they choose to live in is also up to them.” Edna looked out over those gathered.
She could feel their love and support bolster her as she spoke.
“The reason I meddle is that I'm no’ sure people always ken what's good for them, especially when it comes to love. Personally, I'm in love with love and have been since I was a wee lass. I ask ye, is there something wrong with that? Isn’t love the ultimate gift ye can give someone?” There was more shouting from the warriors assembled as they agreed wholeheartedly with what she was saying and wanted the jury to know. Edna surveyed the jury. They seemed receptive to what she was telling them. Some whispered to each other but still, she couldn’t be sure what they were thinking.
“Quiet!” Melusina’s gavel pounded the bench. She stood for extra emphasis. “Quiet!”
Once everyone had quieted down, Edna turned back to the jury.
There was a sadness in her voice that hadn’t been there when she spoke about love.
This was the difficult part. She understood Evanore’s grief and she did not wish to make it more difficult for her to accept, but the tale had to be told.
The jury and the council needed to understand what had happened and that it was unavoidable.
Edna gazed up at the blue sky above before she began again.
“I must now speak to ye about Brielle. I doona look back on what happened without feeling the pain and fear that was felt by all involved. Me memories of it are vivid. Brielle wanted the Mackenzie clan destroyed. She knew me relationship with them. Knew that they were like family to me. They were the perfect target. Her relentless attacks were no’ limited to them.
She went after me niece Maggie and her husband Dylan.
She almost killed me Angus. We thought he would die, but Maggie and I worked hard to save him and we did.
She had nae respect for human life. She wanted the bridge and would do anything to get it.
The day that she died, she went after Maggie.
She marshalled everything in her arsenal for what she thought would be one last battle. ”
You could hear a pin drop, the crowd was so quiet. As for the jurors, they were captivated by what Edna was telling them. She shrugged her shoulders and rolled her neck as she tried to relieve the tension she felt there.
“Brielle died that day because she used her witchcraft for evil purposes. It was her intent that anyone who stood in her way would end up dead. When she faced off with Maggie, it was the final straw. I knew she would no’ stop her assault without intervention from me.
She died because her anger and hatred made her blind to everything else around her.
She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted and I could no’ allow that.
Brielle died because she had to. Her death was her own doing. ”
Evanore jumped up from her seat. “Liar! Yer lying!”
Melusina’s commanding voice rang out. “Evanore! Sit back down. No’ another word from ye unless ye are asked to speak. Do ye understand me?”
Evanore did as she was told, but not before glaring at Edna.
Edna didn’t mention Maggie’s part in destroying Brielle.
There was no need for her to be on trial.
Edna would accept the consequences of her actions alone.
She bowed her head, looking down at the ground.
She was surprised that she could feel two completely different things about Evanore – anger and pity.
Evanore was right, she was not her sister.
The question was whether or not she would come to understand that her sister had done wrong and paid for it with her life.
“As for all of the couples I have brought together across this verra bridge, they should no’ be punished.
They’ve done nothing wrong. I was the one who brought them love across time and space.
I am proud of what I’ve done.” She looked at each of the jurors, meeting their eyes with her own.
“They have families now. Please do no’ separate husband from wife, or parents from their children. ”
Edna returned to her seat feeling the weight of it all resting on her shoulders.
She hoped she had done enough to prove that the couples should be together and that she should be exonerated for Brielle’s death.
Taking a peek at Evanore, Edna’s empathy almost overwhelmed her.
She could feel the pain and anguish Evanore was enduring and hoped that sometime soon she could let it go and come to a better understanding that Edna’s explanation of what had happened was true.
A soft murmur of voices could be heard as the warriors spoke to each other.
The jurors seemed to be doing the same. Angus caught her attention and mouthed the words, “I love ye.” She sent him back the same message, feeling the heart-to-heart connection that held them together no matter now far apart they were.
Melusina spoke softly with Mardella and Daire, occasionally looking up and out at the men seated in the open area and then back to the paper.
She banged her gavel once and said, “Next we’ll begin calling witnesses.
Maggie has kindly created a list for us.
” She looked out over the assembled group. “Robert Mackenzie.”
Robert stood. He seemed nervous to Edna’s eyes.
“Come forward, sir. We doona bite.” Mardella smiled and waved him forward.
“I am Robert Mackenzie,” he said, standing at attention in front of the Council.
“Sir, are ye one who has been matched by Edna?” Mardella asked.
“Nay. I am no’.”
“Then what is yer relationship to her?” Mardella looked down at the paper in front of her.
“I’ve known Edna for some time now. She is a good woman.” He caught Edna’s eye and smiled warmly as he spoke. “When Brielle tried to destroy me clan and me castle, Edna came to our aid. She sent her husband and niece to help us fend off Brielle.”
“Why did she no’ come herself?” Daire wondered, her lips pressing into a fine line.
Edna heard disapproval in that question and worried they disapproved of her management of the bridge.
“The bridge. She is the keeper of the bridge,” Robert explained.
“And as the keeper she can no’ leave?” Daire seemed puzzled by this and Robert’s answer didn’t seem to clear things up for her.
“I doona ken how the bridge works. I only ken that she has been good for our clan. She has helped us in many ways.” He looked back at his warriors for confirmation. Many could be seen nodding their heads in agreement.
Daire wasn’t finished with her questions about the bridge. “Have ye traveled across the bridge, sir?”
“Only the one time. She invited us to come for Christmas,” he smiled as he seemed to be remembering the trip.
“Was that a pleasant experience?”
“Aye. Verra. The whole family was there.”
The Council spoke softly to one another before Daire asked, “Is there anything else ye’d like to add?”
“Only that we love Edna. She’s a part of our family now and always.” His features softened as he gazed at Edna. “She’s a good woman and should be treated as such.”
Melusina glanced down at the paper in her hand. “Cailin MacBayne.”
Cailin was a striking figure as he stood and made his way to the bench.
Edna thought about the first time she’d discovered him as he sat around a campfire with his men.
She’d been taken with his handsome face, but more so with his kindness towards others.
He was a Highland warrior first and foremost, but when you peeled away the outer shell, he was every woman’s dream.
“I am Cailin MacBayne.” He stood before the jury and the Council with confidence.
“Tell us yer story, sir.” Mardella eyed him with obvious appreciation.
“Edna brought me me wife, Ashley.” He gazed at Edna as he spoke. “We have two bairns.”
“Yer quite a handsome man. Would ye no’ have found a wife on yer own?” she asked, leaning forward on the bench.
“Mayhap, but I doona believe I would have found one who suited me more than me Ashley.” He paused for a moment as if he wanted that to settle in before he spoke again.
This time, his tone changed and his voice deepened as he spoke of his wife.
“I love her more than I can say. She is the brightness in me days and the warmth of me nights.”
Edna scanned the jurors. Several of them were fanning themselves, appearing to almost swoon at his words.
“Is there anything else ye’d like to share with us?”
“Edna is a motherly woman. She cares for all of us as if we were her children,” Cailin explained.
“She treats ye like a child who needs guidance?” Daire seemed appalled by this.
“Nay.” Cailin’s brow furrowed as one eyebrow popped up. “’Tis no’ what I mean to say. We are capable of making our own decisions. Edna loves us and cares for us the way a mother loves and cares for her children.”
The three witches seemed satisfied with that.
“Thank ye, Cailin, ye may sit.” Melusina dismissed Cailin and then looked down at her paper again.
Cailin strode back to the others and every witch on the jury had her eyes glued to him. As soon as he sat down they began chattering away with one another.
Melusina once again banged her gavel. “Shall we take a short break?”
Mardella and Daire nodded in agreement.
“Come, then.” The Council disappeared back inside taking Edna and Evanore with them and leaving everyone else talking excitedly about what they were seeing.