Chapter 14

14

" H ey, hey where are ye taking him? What dae ye want? If ye are working for his Da, then I can promise ye that he hae done naething wrong," Anne cried out, desperately trying to get the attention of the three burly men who were dragging Finlay away. Nobody else seemed bothered by this disturbance, not even the guards. Perhaps they knew better than to meddle in these affairs. Finlay wore a defeated look and shook his head as Anne approached, while the other men halted their stride. They looked Anne up and down and smiled. Anne put her hands on her hips and glared at them. They laughed mockingly and shook their heads. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, did the talking for them.

"His Da? Ye dinnae know much about him, dae ye? We work for Murdoch. I take it ye are one of the Laird's guests, sae ye probably hae nae heard of Murdoch. If ye keep yer wits about ye, it'll stay that way."

"And what daes Murdoch want with Finlay?" she asked.

The man grunted. "Finlay here owes Murdoch some money, and sae far he hae refused tae pay up." He swung his gaze to Finlay and glared at him, telling him the exact amount. Anne's eyes widened. It was not a small amount at all.

"It's all a misunderstanding! There was a misattribution of funds and I have tried to correct the oversight before but-" Finlay was silenced by a thump in the gut. He doubled over. Anne winced. Another man grabbed Finlay's head and pulled it back.

"Keep yer mouth shut," he growled, showing in no uncertain terms that Finlay would be in for another beating if he spoke out of turn again. Anne had no idea how these beastly men were able to get away with such a show of violence in plain sight, but clearly, things worked differently in this clan than she had believed. To treat the son of a Laird like this was asking for trouble, but at least it shed light on things. Finlay must have fallen out of favor with his father because of money. She should have guessed that to be the case really, since money was at the heart of so many problems in the world. He probably hadn't even told his father about this to save face, and to make matters worse she had just stolen Finlay's money.

"If ye are foolish enough tae care for him, then bring money tae Murdoch's tavern by nightfall, otherwise ye should say a sweet farewell tae yer prince here," the men then laughed again as they dragged Finlay away. It was a horrible sound. Anne's heart shuddered with pain. They disappeared into the crowd, while Anne went to chase after them, seeking more answers. She wanted to know exactly what had happened for Finlay to owe this money. It must have been some mistake, surely, and were they really going to kill him? Such a crime could not go unpunished, could it?

Rory held her back, however. There was a desperate look in his eyes. "Dinnae gae after them. Men like that are trouble."

"Well, I know they're trouble, and Finlay is gaeing tae hae plenty of it," Anne tugged her wrist away from his grip, but she remained rooted to the spot. "Surely this cannae be allowed tae stand. How can a man get away with such a brazen crime?"

"I almost went tae Murdoch's tavern yesterday when I was looking for targets. People warned me against it. Apparently, Murdoch gets away with a lot. He's bad news, Anne, and if Finlay is mixed up with him, well, we should get away. Let's take what we hae and just forget about Finlay. That was the plan anyway, aye?"

Anne furrowed her brow and looked in the direction in which Finlay had been taken. Then she turned back towards Rory. "I know what ye are gaeing tae say-"

"I know what ye would say if I was getting intae something dangerous. Ye would tell me tae stay safe. This is nae safe, Anne. Finlay can take care of himself."

"But ye heard them. They're gaeing tae kill him if I dinnae bring the money."

"What money? Dae ye think that's enough?" Rory looked towards the pouch she carried. "That's nae enough tae kill over. Finlay must owe them a lot more. Perhaps ye dinnae know him as well as ye thought. Clearly, he was keeping something from ye, and ye dinnae owe him anything. Let us get on with what we came here tae dae, and then we can gae home. Ye will nae hae tae think about him after this."

"I'll never forget him," Anne murmured, and she knew it to be true. It was one thing leaving him with a broken heart, but quite another thing to leave him at the mercy of these wolves. She couldn't leave him to this fate, not when there was still something she could try.

"Rory, I know I hae always warned ye against getting involved in dangerous situations, but sometimes ye just hae tae dae what's right."

"Anne," he said in a pleading tone, wearing a desperate look on his face.

"I'm nae gaeing tae see Murdoch. Look, Finlay's Da must be in the camping site by now. I can gae tae him and tell him what happened, then he can help Finlay. And we might get a reward for helping him as well," she flashed him a smile to reassure him, but Rory did not seem convinced. Still, he had spent his life doing what she asked and he was not about to break that habit now.

Anne led Rory away from the keep towards the campsite. The ground was chopped and muddy where horses and men had traipsed across it. Wooden beams had been laid out, making parts of the ground resemble the deck of a ship, but there were so many empty spaces it was hard going. Anne hitched up her skirt and tried to ignore the squelching sound underneath her feet. Rory muttered behind her, shaking his head, but she ignored it.

The campsite was filled with dozens and dozens of clans. Some had huge tents erected that were surrounded by massive wagons and strong steeds, while others had humbler camps. The air was lively with conversation, and plenty of them had fires going where meat was being cooked. Smoke danced in the air and there was a festive atmosphere, as though the real party was out here rather than near the keep. Each camp had a banner unfurled, flapping in the morning breeze. Some were colorful, some had intricate designs, while others were plain. Anne looked at each of them, hoping to find one that would indicate the Ross clan, but she couldn't remember seeing any form of insignia on Finlay's clothes. The campsite stretched out for what seemed like miles on either side of her, and it would take hours to span the campsite.

She approached a friendly-looking man and asked him if he knew where the Ross clan was located. He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment.

"Ross clan? Cannae say I hae heard of them," he said, shrugging his shoulders. Anne moved on to the next camp, and then the next. Unfortunately, this was the reaction she got from everyone she spoke to. They all gave her blank looks, as though the Ross clan had been conjured from thin air. She even mentioned Finlay by name, but still, nobody knew of them. There was one breakthrough when she was told that the clan she sought was a short way away, only to discover that there had been a misunderstanding and she was actually speaking to a representative of the Thrush clan. The different accents and dialects made communication difficult, and after the entire morning had passed she was forced to give up.

She looked back and forth, wondering if Finlay's father was sitting there somewhere, thinking about his son. Finlay had said that his clan was just a small one and came from far away, so perhaps nobody knew of them.

"It's hopeless, Anne. Let's just head back. This is a fool's errand," he said.

"Saving someone from death is never a fool's errand," she replied, but she knew that she could not hope to ask everyone in the campsite. If the Ross clan were out there, they would just have to wait until she returned with Finlay herself. There was a spark of hope in her mind, though; if she saved Finlay from this fate then surely he could not deny her marriage. Even if his father was still angry with him, it was likely that he would be so relieved to know that his son had escaped death that he would forgive everything. Once he learned of the part Anne had played in rescuing Finlay he would be sure to bless their union, and he and Finlay might be willing to overlook the little lie she had told. After all, his life was at stake, would he really let something like that get in the way?

She had given up on the idea of marrying him, but now hope flared brightly again. She could save his life and all could be well.

She rushed back to the tavern and went up to her room. She gathered the coin she had left, as well as the coin she had stolen from Finlay. She counted it all out and it wasn't quite enough to pay for Finlay's debt. She would have to sell something else, both to cover the rest of the debt and to give her some more coin to cover food expenses for her and Rory. She couldn't be left with absolutely nothing. It was with a heavy heart that she turned to Rory.

"Rory, I need yer dagger back," she said.

Rory gasped and stepped back, reaching behind him to protect the dagger. "Nae, nae ye cannae take it away."

"But it's the most expensive thing we own. I need it tae help pay Murdoch."

Rory shook his head. "This is yer mess. I said we should leave him. I said ye should never hae gotten involved with him in the first place. If ye hae just stuck with the plan, then we wouldn't be in this situation! I never get anything I want. This is the only thing I hae ever asked for and I'm nae gaeing tae give it up for him," Rory stamped his foot, showing his immaturity. But Anne knew he had a point. She had dragged him across the campsite and forced him to sleep elsewhere the previous night. She hadn't been a very good sister to him at all, and she couldn't take away the one thing that meant so much to him.

"Very well, Rory, I will find another way," she said, and her gaze turned to the dress that had been peeled off her body the previous night. She gathered it in her arms and folded it neatly, trying not to cry as she did so.

"Wait, ye cannae dae that," Rory said, but Anne glared at him.

"I'm gaeing tae save Finlay. This is the only way," she said. If she had more time, then she might have been able to think of something else, but Finlay was going to die unless she paid his debt. She carried the dress with her to the market and sold it, trying to hide her emotions as the merchants examined it as though it was some rag. She tried not to think of her mother's disappointed face as she did this. She couldn't let Finlay die. She just couldn't.

She took the gold she earned from the sale and turned away briskly, not wishing to reconsider her decision. She held her head up high and headed towards Murdoch's tavern, praying that she was doing the right thing.