Rumors Among the Heather (25 page)

“I’m tired of always
chasing after you. You’ve cost me dearly. Thanks to you, many men
will lose their lives tomorrow when we meet up with Hamilton.”

Julie swallowed hard
and tried to regain mastery over her voice. “I did not ask you to
follow me. I don’t need or want your help,” she said hoarsely.

“I never thought I
could be so mistaken in another. You fooled me and you even fooled
Ribble. I hope you’re proud of yourself. You have turned Ribble
against me. Tomorrow I want you to have a close seat. This is what
you had in mind all along, is it not? To have two men fight for
your honor? ’Tis the same old story no matter how many ways it’s
told.”

He moved closer to
her, backing her farther into the corner. “Tell me, Julie, which do
you find the most exciting? Seeing the actual combat or the
spilling of blood? Do you want mine or Hamilton’s? Or don’t you
know?”

“You tell me. You have
all the answers,” she spat at him.

“I would rather have
it come from your mouth. You have told so many lies, I doubt you
know the truth.”

Julie mustered all the
strength she could and put it into one stinging slap across
Matthew’s face. She pushed hard against him and managed to release
herself from his grip. She started for the opening, but he caught
her and pulled her back. Matthew pinned Julie to the floor, and his
mouth came down on hers. She struggled at first, but as his tongue
parted her lips, she tried hard not to feel anything, but she could
not help herself. She loved him in spite of his deceiving her.

His words hurt her
deeply. Yet despite the name-calling and accusations of her
heartless unfaithfulness, Julie could not put out the flame he
started. Her hungry response to his kiss sent shock waves through
her body. She tried to pull away, but it was too late.

Tenderly, he moved
from her lips to kiss the pulsing hollow at the base of her neck.
His lips continued to tantalize as he pulled her shirt over her
head and undid the binding around her breasts, setting them free.
With his warm pulsing body pressed against her, she heard his heart
beating wildly. He slid his hand across her stomach and caressed
the skin of her thighs. Matthew’s hand ran across her stomach
again. He stopped and sat back on his heels. Julie’s breaths came
in gasps, as she opened her eyes and reached up to touch his face.
A look of disgust marred his features.

She began pulling her
clothes back on. Her secret was out—he now knew she carried a
child. Tears filled her eyes. She turned away from his accusing
look.

“Are you with child?”
he asked, making it sound like a crime.

Julie stood up but
remained silent. She kept her back to him. The words she wanted to
say stuck in her throat.

He came over to where
she stood and turned her around. “I will ask again. Are you with
child?”

Julie wiped the tears
from her eyes and stared back into those arctic cold eyes and said
simply and defiantly, “Yes, yes!”

“I’m surprised you say
it so proudly, after all, isn’t this the reason you ran away? I
might have known you would not wait for me. You did warn me.” He
waited for her to deny his accusations, but she said nothing. “When
did it happen? Did you go directly from my bed to his or did you
wait a day or two? Whose child do you carry? Tell me if you dare! I
want to hear you say it!”

His angry whisper
filled the room and echoed in her ears. Julie clenched and
unclenched her fists, trying hard to keep her temper.

“Why should I tell you
anything? Would it make a difference? You have already made up your
mind,” Julie replied.

“I ask again. Whose
child is it?”

“The child is mine,”
she angrily hissed at him.

He pushed her from him
like an unclean object. A shout went up from outside, breaking the
deadlock. A horn sounded the alarm for battle. Quickly, Matthew
straightened his clothes.

“Wait here until
everyone has gone. We’ve got unfinished business.”

In an instant, he
slipped behind the tapestry and joined the others. Julie laid down
on the floor. She felt ashamed and angry. Once again, her body had
betrayed her. She must get away, as far away from Matthew as she
could. She would never know peace again unless she did. Their love
was as cold as the floor she lay upon. She could never love anyone
who accused her of the things Matthew had, and he could not
possibly love her if he believed the things he accused her of
doing.

Only when she was
certain everyone had left did she slip back out into the large
room. The battle being played outside the compound echoed within.
Everything in the room shook as swords clashed and ammunition
exploded. She heard the squeals of horses and the cries of wounded
men in death’s agony. Tears ran down her cheeks. She put her
fingers in her ears and tried to drown out the sounds.

She raised her head
when a lull descended on the empty room. Timidly, Julie stepped out
into the bright sunlight. She walked over the hill and saw the
battlefield below. Everywhere, destruction met her eyes. The air
surrounding her smelled of blood and gunpowder. Nauseated, she sat
down on the nearest rock.

The ones who were able
on either side began to drag their wounded comrades into the shade
and to give what medical attention they could. Julie did not let
herself think about what might have happened to Matthew. She feared
the worst. Her palms became cold and clammy, and her face felt hot.
She put a trembling hand to her eyes to block out the sun.

Hoof beats sounded the
arrival of a horseman. She gazed through creased eyelids and
glimpsed Matthew on the hillside. He brought his mount to stand in
front of Julie. He leaned down from his saddle and hoisted her into
position in front of him. Julie’s head swirled with conflicting
emotions.

She grabbed fistfuls
of his tartan in her hands. This seemed to steady her and give her
some of her strength back. “Where are you taking me?” she managed
to choke out.

Matthew did not
answer. He looked straight ahead, ignoring her. She shivered
involuntarily. He took her across the battlefield and into a group
of trees on the other side. His horse skidded to a stop, and he
deposited her in front of a group of wounded men lying on the
ground. Quickly, Matthew dismounted and stood over her. When she
refused to move, he lifted her up by her arm and brought her to
where Geoffrey lay wounded.

At first Geoffrey did
not recognize her, but soon acknowledgment flickered across his
eyes. Her disguise seemed to amuse him. “My congratulations, Julie.
To the victor goes the spoils, isn’t that right, Lord Bonnleigh?
She will not be mine after all. What a pity and what a waste,” he
said with a sigh of resignation.

“What are you talking
about? What are you going to do with him?” Julie asked in a
daze.

“What he means is I
get you. We fought, and Hamilton lost. Don’t worry, he’ll live. We
have no way to keep prisoners. His men will take him back.”

“Is this all you care
about? All this pain and suffering? Look about you! Well, I want no
part of it. And I don’t want either one of you fine patriots. Least
of all you,” Julie ground out. Her fist dug into Matthew’s
midsection.

Her anger overcame her
queasiness. She turned and stomped off across the battlefield,
leaving Matthew with his mouth open. She could hear Geoffrey
laughing, but she neither felt nor heard anything else until she
reached the cave. Her anger abated some as fatigue washed over her
muscles. Angus had the misfortune to be coming out of the cave as
she reached its entrance. Seeing him made her that much angrier.
All the indignities of the past few months burst forth.

She pointed her finger
at him and said, “Stay where you are! I want to talk to you, and I
will not be fobbed off. I’m leaving. You can get someone to take me
back to the path or not. I do not care. I’m giving fair warning. Do
not try to stop me!”

Angus stood looking at
her as if dumbstruck. His stare began to make her nervous. Finally
he opened his mouth to speak. “Well, hoots, toots, I know why it
puzzled me when I looked at ye. Something was just not right, and
now I know what it is. You’re not a lad but a lass.” He sat down to
laugh at the joke.

“What are you going to
do? I can’t stay here,” Julie yelled, panic riding her hard.

“Calm down, lass.
Allan’s a bonnie lad. He’ll take ye back and see ye make it to
Aberdeen.”

“I would like to leave
without Lord Bonnleigh knowing I have gone, and I would also like
him delayed a day’s time,” Julie said with a false confidence that
her wishes would be obeyed.

Angus surprised Julie
when he nodded his head in agreement. She did not have to wait long
before Allan came to get her. They left through a trap door under
Angus’s chair. Maybe they were not as zealous as she first thought.
A horse awaited them on the other side of the tunnel. Allan mounted
first and then pulled Julie up behind. He treated her like he would
any young boy. Angus had kept her secret. She gave a sigh of relief
as the horse started to move.

Julie searched the
countryside for one last glimpse of Matthew, but they kept out of
sight and rode in a wide circle around the battlefield. Allan was
quiet much of the time. They rode along in a comfortable silence,
and this suited Julie. She was tired of talking, tired of thinking,
and most of all she was tired of being tired. Her traveling
companion fed them from the sack he had strapped to the back of his
saddle. It would be too dangerous to make a fire for tea. They ate
in silence at the end of the day. When the meal was over, they lay
down to sleep.

The rain started
shortly after nightfall. It bit into their faces where they lay
amid the heather. Exhausted, she ignored the oozing mud underneath
her. She fell asleep quickly and slept until Allan woke her up at
first light. The cold ground leached dampness. Julie shivered under
her blanket. A thick mist surrounded the countryside. She could not
see three feet in front of her. Standing up, she wrung her soggy
blanket out and packed it away.

Breakfast was not much
different from supper. Allan handed her a bowl of drammach, which
consisted of oatmeal mixed with cold water, and she washed it down
with the cool mountain water he brought her. They waited until a
brisk wind broke up the gloomy mist before starting up a steep,
rocky hillside.

Tirelessly, Allan rode
on through the day. If not for his strength, she did not think she
would have made it. At nightfall, they camped by a mist-shrouded
river just like the night before.

Julie looked around.
I don’t think my journey is ever going to end. It seems like I
have been on a horse or on foot tramping through the wilderness all
my life. I don’t think I’ll ever be warm and dry or feel safe
again. My teeth chatter, my bones ache, and my throat feels raw and
scratchy. This endless rain is driving me crazy.

The rain continued to
beat hard against their faces and drip icily down their backs in a
monotonous procession throughout the next morning into day and on
into the night. The next morning Allan woke her as he had done the
day before and gave her the same breakfast. “I’ll be leaving ye
this morn. The laird said to take ye this far. I’m ta leave ye this
here horse and the last of the rations.”

“I can’t take your
horse. How will you get back?” Julie asked in concern.

“I know these
mountains and how to get food out of ’em. I’ll be fine. Ye’ve got a
three or four days’ journey. Keep to the Dee, that’s the water in
front of ye, and she’ll lead ye into Aberdeen. Always travel east
and keep to the main river, and ye’ll be fine,” Allan said
cheerfully. He picked up his blanket and began to roll it up and
strap it on his back.

“Allan, at least take
half of the food,” Julie pleaded. She felt guilty for letting him
go with nothing after he had been more than kind to her.

He just shook his head
and started back the way they came yesterday. He did not look back
or say good-bye but marched off like a good soldier. Julie watched
him disappear down the trail. Only then did she turn back to the
camp and began to roll up her own bed and saddle the horse. Tears
of frustration welled up inside of her, but she willed them to
stop.

I’m a survivor. I
will get through this no matter what I have to do. I will reach my
aunt, and I will have this child.

She inspected her
transportation by running her hand over the horse’s frame. The poor
old thing was bony and had a bit of a sway to his back. In truth,
he looked like an aged warrior on four legs, but he was willing to
bear the load, so she tightened the cinch and mounted her steed in
search of Aberdeen.

* * *

The English casualties
had been many and serious, but the Highlanders suffered only minor
wounds and one fatality. All their wounded were attended to, and
the dead were buried or carried away. Angus gathered up his men,
and they marched in double quick time to the next haven of safety.
When they reached it and everything settled down, Matthew began to
look around for Julie. When he did not see her, he went directly to
Angus.

Angus, who was busily
concocting one of his famous rum punches, greeted Matthew with a
wave of his hand and a twinkle in his eye.

“Bonnleigh, my lad,
from the looks of ye, ’tis a drink of me punch ye’ll be needin’.
Sit down,” he said wickedly and began to chuckle to himself.

For some reason, this
annoyed Matthew. He suspected Angus had already been into the
punch. “I can’t find my nephew. Do you know where he is?”

“The lad’s about. Ye
ken how boys are. I think I saw him with Allan. He’ll turn up.
Here, have a cup while ye wait. It’ll do ye good,” Angus said
devilishly.

Matthew took the cup
and began to drink. The first mouthful took his breath away.
“What’ve you got in this witch’s brew?” he asked between gasps.