Rumors Among the Heather (24 page)

“What are ye boys up
to today?” he asked impatiently.

“We found ourselves a
spy. I wanted to hang him right where we found him, but Allan said
we had to bring him to you. I still think we ought to hang him,”
Tom said with a menacing glitter in his eyes.

Angus the Younger
looked at Julie for a long while. His face wrinkled in a frown.
“What say ye, lad, to this charge of spying?”

Julie turned around
and looked at her accusers before she stood up—daring them to push
her down again. Tom reached out, but Angus motioned for him to
stand still. She stood up and turned to look at Angus.

“I am not a spy! I was
sitting on a rock minding my own business when these two cretins
accosted me.”

Tom began to sputter.
“Wha’s he calling us? Why, I will…” He reached back to throw a
punch, but Angus intervened.

“Lad, ye say ye are
not a spy, but yer speech is that of the Englisher.”

“I’m English, but that
doesn’t make me a spy. Unfortunately, I was visiting school friends
when your rebellion started, with no way to get home. I’m trying to
cross the mountains to get to my aunt’s house in Stonehaven. I just
want to go home.”

“I can appreciate yer
predicament, but ye’re in a bigger one than ye ken. Ye’ve seen
where my hideout is, so I cannae let ye go. Ye might tell
Cumberland’s men where he could find me, and it wouldnae do at all.
Ye see, he’s kind of partial to my company, and I’m partial to my
head. I’m afraid we’ll have to keep ye for a while until I can
decide what to dae with ye,” Angus said with finality.

A hush fell over the
room when Julie opened her mouth to talk back to him. Even Tom
stepped back lest he be caught in the aftermath of her
indiscretion.

“I demand you let me
go. I promise not to tell where your hideout is. Time is short. I
have to find my aunt, don’t you see?”

Angus stared down at
Julie. “Well, lad, ye’ve got courage, I’ll say that for ye. My
answer’s the same. You’re staying, so make yourself ta home.”

He began to laugh. His
infectious laugh had the whole room laughing before long. Trapped
in these people’s madness, she began to feel like the only sane
person in a world turned loose into a maze of false doors and paths
of deceit.

Later, Allan came over
to where she sat and brought some salve and bandages for her feet.
His hands were gentle when he carefully applied the balm to each
sore. Her feet began to feel better with just his touch. He also
gave her a new pair of shoes. She tried to thank him, but he would
have none of her gratitude. When he finished, he took his healing
pouch and left.

Julie’s captors did
not bind and place her in a cell as she expected. They allowed her
to walk around the compound as any other member of their rag-tag
rebel band. However, she could not walk outside into the cool air.
There were two sentries guarding the door, and five fierce
Highlanders positioned strategically among the heather at all
times.

Julie walked around
the large room dug into the hillside. The outside gave no clue to
the roominess of the inside lair. It looked like part of a steep
hillside. Trees tenaciously clung to the landscape, and huge
boulders guarded the entrance to the room with a sod-covered roof.
Moss clung to the walls as if nature did not recognize the
difference between her own creation and man’s. Nature seeded the
sod with flowers, gorse bushes, and heather as she did the
hillside.

It appeared to be a
foolproof hideout, except there was only one way in and the same
way out. Strange that they would leave themselves no way of escape
if attacked. Chillingly Julie realized they fully expected to fight
to the death for their dream, for Scotland, and for Bonnie Prince
Charlie. They planned for this to be their last stand.

At the far end of the
room hung a large tapestry. Making her way casually over to the
wall hanging, she managed to look behind it. To her surprise, she
found another, smaller room with a huge round table and twelve
chairs but still no way out. Disappointed, she sat down in a corner
near the tapestry and watched the scene before her with growing
despair.

The men came and went.
They relieved the guards outside, happily chatting to each other in
Gaelic. Julie, after months spent in Scotland, had developed an ear
for the language. The only other activities the inhabitants of the
compound indulged in were maintenance of their weapons, sleeping,
and of course gambling.

Her stomach roiled
with hunger, and she wondered when or if they were going to feed
her or themselves.

She did not have long
to wait for her answer. As soon as the sun set, women began
drifting unobtrusively into the room and leaving just as quietly,
almost like phantoms. The men seemed to ignore them, and the women
did not seem to want recognition. Each left a platter of food or a
loaf of bread. In short order the groaning board filled to
overflowing. Julie’s mouth watered as the aroma of the food
tantalized her senses.

Angus made his
appearance before the table and bowed to his knees to ask a
blessing. Everyone else in the room did the same. “Merciful God,
grant a blessing on these, my men, loyal Scotsmen every one, the
preparers of the feast. May the food nourish our bodies. May the
saints protect us and our troubles be few. And God, may our enemies
be left in disarray. Amen.”

The men were obviously
hungry, and at the best of times, Julie would not have expected
them to be well-mannered, but she judged too quickly and with bias.
They waited patiently for Angus to finish his prayer and then to
fill his plate. After Angus, the men lined up according to
rank.

Timidly, Julie made
her way to the end of the line. Someone thrust a plate into her
hand. She did not notice who for she could not take her eyes off
the food. Agonizingly, she watched as the food quickly disappeared
from the table. When her turn came, she found a few potatoes, a
piece of venison with one side burnt, and an apple. She took her
feast to her corner and ate it quickly, lest someone take it away
from her.

After their meal,
Angus mixed up a hot rum punch consisting of lemons, cinnamon,
honey, and a generous portion of rum. All this he prepared in a
huge silver bowl and stirred the concoction when the right moment
came with a red-hot poker. The men filled their cups and once more
pulled out decks of cards. They gathered in small groups to gamble,
tell jokes, and pass the time. After several trips to the punch
bowl, the party became more and more ribald and unruly.

Angus sat upon his
large chair in a corner of the room watching his men through
half-closed eyes, all the while becoming sloshed himself. Seeing
him in a good mood, Julie made her way over to him.

“Laird, may I speak to
you? I’ll only take up a few moments of your time.”

“Ye’re as persistent
as a fly. Well? Go ahead if ye must,” he said with resignation and
flicked his fingers at her.

“It’s just this. Since
I was brought here blindfolded and I haven’t a clue where I am, I
thought you might reconsider and let me go. You could blindfold me
again and have someone take me back to the path and point me toward
Aberdeen. I would not be able to tell where I had been even if I
wanted to,” Julie said, watching Angus’s face for some
reaction.

Before he could open
his mouth and speak, from outside came the call of a crow. The
sound brought silence from each man, drunk or not—all were suddenly
alert. The previously unruly men grabbed their broadswords without
hesitation and ran out the entrance. Julie stood trembling and
waited for the fight to begin, but before long the men filed back
into the room.

Angus entered last. He
came through the door laughing heartily and patting two strangers
on their backs. When they were close enough, to her chagrin Julie
saw Matthew and Ribble. She stumbled as if she had been hit. Trying
to recover, she stepped farther back into the shadows and pulled
her cap lower over her eyes.

They passed close by
her on their way into the small inner room. Not even Ribble noticed
her in the shadows by the tapestry. She strained her ears to hear
their conversation, but she could not make out the words for the
noise outside. They seemed to flow from Gaelic to English as
naturally as if it were the way everyone spoke. Her thoughts raced
through her head, giving her a headache.

Was there ever a more
unlucky person? I should never have rested long enough to be
captured. Here I am right back where I started. Out of this whole
country why did Matthew have to show up here?

* * *

“Lord Bonnleigh, what
brings ye to my little piece of Scotland? I thought ye would’ve
been on your way to France by now,” Angus asked.

“It’s a long story,
and I’ve no time or inclination to tell it. What is important is
that a man named Hamilton and a company of redcoats are on our
trail. We need a place to rest and some food, and we’ll be on our
way,” Matthew said sharply.

Matthew had never
liked Angus or anyone of the MacLaren clan. The man was
mean-spirited, loud, and obnoxious, but he fought with the heart of
a lion. Many times during the rebellion Matthew found himself
fighting side by side with him. He could not like him, but if he
had to choose a man to stand beside in battle, it would definitely
be Angus. They were both in the same predicament, running and
hiding for their lives, so he had come to the only person he could
trust.

“By the way, I am
looking for my, er, nephew. He seems to have run away. If not for
him, I would have been in France by now. He’s small with auburn
hair and big green eyes. Could you ask your men if they have seen
him?” Matthew asked while trying to sound like an annoyed uncle and
not a frustrated husband.

“As it so happens, I
have the lad here now. Ye just passed him on the way in. I’ll get
’im for ye,” Angus said, and stood up.

“Here, now, in this
place?” Matthew said incredulously.

Angus nodded his head
in some amusement. “I’m waitin’, man, do ye want the lad or nae?”
his host pressed.

“No, leave things as
they are for now. Since he seems to be trying to ignore me, I’d
like to play a little game with him myself,” Matthew said with
irritation grating on each word.

“As ye wish.” Angus
shrugged.

After sating their
hunger and quenching their thirst, Angus called Matthew and Ribble
into the small room.

He looked grave and
began to speak. “Ye were right. There’re several squadrons of
dragoons coming this way, led by some popinjay my man dinnae ken. I
take it this be the Hamilton feller ye spoke of?”

Matthew nodded his
head in agreement. “How soon before he’ll reach the Spey?”

“He will be there by
nightfall,” Angus said casually.

“Then we’ll leave you
at dusk. I’d no intention of laying my troubles at your door,”
Matthew replied wearily.

“You’ve no need to
turn tail and run,” Angus replied, insultingly.

Matthew’s eyes flashed
a warning Angus could not miss. Annoyance marked his words when he
spoke. “I am not turning tail and running for my own sake. This is
not your fight. Hamilton’s quarrel is with me personally.”

“I meant naething by
what I said. I dinnae mean to give offense,” Angus said with a
shrug of his shoulders. “I was at the moment thinking my men could
do with a wee bit of exercise. A good outing is what they need, and
a Sassenach is a Sassenach for all of that, eh? The world cannae
help but be the better for the loss of one or two. I think we
should invite these redcoats of yours to our little soiree. What
say ye?”

Matthew grinned and
looked at Angus in a different light. As if being able to read each
other’s minds, both men began to laugh. Two adversaries were united
once again against a common cause.

When Angus told his
men, a shout went up. The men cleaned their rifles and honed their
broadswords and dirks—all the time whistling. Each man took only
one cup of rum punch. There were no cards or loud joking. Each man
soon sought his pallet.

Matthew watched Julie
from under his half-closed eyelids.
She looks so small and
alone. I see her sleeping and all I want to do is lie down beside
her. The cap she’s wearing does nothing to hide her face, and it
has already slipped off. I can’t take my eyes off of her. Why has
no one else noticed she is not a boy?

I need to quit
looking at her. So innocent in sleep. No one would know she has a
treacherous heart.

To stop himself from
staring at her, he got up to walk around, but his eyes always came
back to where she slept. She looked so guileless in sleep. He
wanted to reach out and touch her. Before he could do that, a
picture of her in Hamilton’s arms came unbidden to him, and once
again anger and hate filled his mind. He lay back down and closed
his eyes. He tried to sleep but slumber eluded him.

* * *

Several hours after
midnight Julie roused from a deep sleep when a hand clamped over
her mouth. Her eyes flew open. Stunned, she stared into Matthew’s
icy blue eyes. He motioned for her to stand up, all the time
keeping his hand over her mouth. Reluctantly, she began to walk
where he pushed her. She found herself in the far corner of the
small inner room. Matthew released her and lit a candle. They stood
not two feet apart and glared at each other.

Despite her animosity
toward Matthew, she could not help but notice how he was dressed.
He had changed into the kilt of his clan. Along with the
confiscation of their weapons, the English had forbidden the
wearing of kilts after the Battle of Culloden. Just to have one on
was punishable by law. He looked so handsome; she could barely keep
from reaching out to him, but the look on his face spoke volumes
for restraint.