Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

P resent day

It was dawn, but the sun had not yet peeped over the horizon, and the sky was still gray as Minna Darroch dismounted from her horse and knocked at the door of the humble cottage. The young woman who answered the door smiled at the visitor who stood on her doorstep. She was no more than five feet tall, with sleek golden brown hair and a pair of bright blue eyes, and like most of the villagers of Cairndene, she was too thin. She was carrying a small child in her arms, a little boy of about a year old who reached out and gleefully pulled Minna's hair.

"Good evening, Morag." Minna smiled as she tried to prise her hair out of the baby's fingers. "Ow! He has a strong grip!" She was laughing, however.

"I am that sorry, Milady!" Morag disentangled her son's hands and tutted. "It was goin' tae go straight in his mouth. He is at that age where he puts everythin' in it!" She cast her eyes heavenward and Minna laughed.

"Don't worry, Morag. You're a good lad, are you not, Donnie?" She smiled and the child became shy suddenly and buried his head against his mother's shoulder. Minna laughed, because she could not be angry with him; she loved babies, and looked forward to the day when she would have at least one of her own.

Presently, Minna put her hand into the big sack she carried and pulled out some foodstuffs wrapped in a hessian sack to give to the young mother. "Apples, bread, cheese, and some dried meat. Don't raise your hopes up too high, but I may be able to get some honey. It is not a promise, though."

Morag took the food eagerly and Minna could see that her eyes were shining with tears. "Thank ye, Milady. Anythin' ye can spare is fine as long as I can feed my wee ones. The vegetables are growin' in the back field but no' quick enough, an' the hens are no' layin' the way they should. As well as that, I have lost three tae foxes an' wildcats." She shook her head wearily. "I suppose they have their young ones tae feed an' a', but if I could I would eat a fox or a wildcat just tae have meat."

"That is true, Morag," Minna agreed, sighing, "but we all have to consider our own children first. Nature is cruel."

"Aye, an' so is the Laird," Morag said bitterly. "My man has had to leave the farm an' go tae work in Dundee just tae keep a roof over our heads. I have tae manage the house, the bairns, an' the farm. "'Tis no' fair, Milady." Tears began to leak from her eyes and trickle down her face as she spoke.

Minna knew that Morag was not indulging in self-pity, but was experiencing genuine hardship, as were most of the tenants of Cairnbrae. Minna was the sister of the Laird, Jamie Darroch, who had let his lands fall into such a state of disrepair that she felt it her duty to help them. She could almost see the strain of the overwhelming burden that was weighing the young woman down, and wished she could take all the villagers back to her castle to take care of them. Sometimes she felt ashamed of how much she had compared to how little they had.

"I know, Morag." Her voice throbbed with anger. "My brother is a monster, but one day I will find a way to get rid of him, although I wish it could be right now. Until then I will do my best to help you all."

"We are a' grateful tae ye, Milady." Morag put a hand on Minna's shoulder and tried to smile. "I dinnae know what we would dae without ye."

Minna put her hand over Morag's. "Thank you, Morag, but have faith. We will find a way somehow. I know we will." She smiled as she saw that Donnie had fallen asleep. "Go back to bed now. I am returning to the castle."

"God bless ye, Milady," Morag said wearily as she yawned and waved then made her way back inside her home.

The few hours of near-darkness around midnight were the only time of day that Minna could sneak out of the castle and not be seen, while still having enough light to see where she was going. Now she would have to hurry. It was April, and the days were becoming longer, and the hours of darkness shorter. By the time June came there would be hardly any night at all. What was she to do then?

She decided that she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Now she had to concentrate on finding her way back to Cairndene Castle unseen. Luckily her brother had drunk himself into a stupor the previous evening and was very unlikely to be awake. He was not an early riser at the best of times, but when he was drunk he would occasionally sleep till noon. Minna liked those days, since she managed to get a few hours of extra rest without his constant complaining and whining.

Fortunately she had a few friends among the guards, good men who despised their Laird but needed him to survive so that they could keep their jobs. However, the way the estate was deteriorating, Minna was not sure how much longer their employment would last, and most of them were seeking positions elsewhere. They were mostly looking for jobs in Dundee and the other big towns of Millrig.

Minna paid her friends a little extra to turn a blind eye to her nightly excursions, and they loved her in return, knowing of her charity work around the village.

When she crossed over the drawbridge she was weary to the bone, and she almost toppled over the saddle. However, one of her friends was there to catch her as she stumbled and almost fell on the flagstones.

"Careful Milady," Johnny Boyd warned her as he steadied her. "Ye are wearin' yourself out. Ye must take more care o' yourself."

Minna smiled wearily. "And who would look after our people? My brother?" She gave a cynical laugh. "No, Johnny. I have to go on. If I don't do it, then who will?"

Johnny shook his head and sighed. "I will stable your horse for ye, Milady," he said kindly. "An' if I may give you an order for a change - get tae bed!"

"Yes, Sir!" Minna laughed as she gave him a mock salute, then yawned. "I will do so forthwith!"

Johnny watched Minna walk away, then he sighed and said to her horse Caesar: "There goes a lady, my boy. She is worth a hundred times more than her brother."

"Look at the state o' ye!" Lorna McGuire cried as she watched her mistress trudge into her chamber, her boots trailing dirt over the expensive, hand woven carpets. "I have a good mind tae lock ye in at night! If your brother sees ye there will be hell tae pay!"

"My brother is not my keeper!" Minna spat furiously. Then she smiled wearily at her maid and friend. "Don't worry, Lorna. My eyes can't possibly stay open any longer. My eyelids do not have the strength."

Lorna advanced, looking as fierce as a mother bear guarding its young, and reached out to unbutton Minna's shirt, but she sat down on her bed and held her feet up so that Lorna could take off her boots. Lorna did so, then opened her mouth to give her mistress another piece of her mind, only to find that Minna had collapsed backward onto the coverlet and was fast asleep.

Lorna growled quietly. She was Minna's maid, but as well as that she was her best friend and confidante, and in the absence of a mother, she was the older, wiser woman to whom she turned for advice and comfort. They had been together for ten years, and Minna, who could not remember her real mother, was unable to imagine life without Lorna.

Now, as she looked down at the Laird's younger sister, Lorna felt a dark rage boil up inside her. Minna should not be making these dangerous nightly excursions. Indeed, there would be no need for her to do such a thing if it were not for her self-obsessed, good-for-nothing brother. How she hated him!

‘I would kill the swine an' smile while I was daein' it if I thought it would dae any good,' she thought furiously.

Lorna maneuvered her mistress into bed and drew the sheets over her, lamenting the fact that they would be absolutely filthy in the morning. Most of the dust and mud from the soil and undergrowth had migrated onto Minna's clothes, and both she and they would have to be thoroughly scrubbed.

Lorna sighed, then smiled. She would do anything for Minna, and well her young mistress knew it!

Minna woke up at a leisurely pace next morning, stretching and yawning before she opened her eyes as Lorna drew the curtains and the bright daylight stabbed her eyes.

"Good mornin'!" Lorna handed Minna a mug of warm tea before standing back and folding her arms over her chest and glaring at her. "Ye know it was nearly daylight before ye came in this mornin'?"

Minna rubbed her eyes before sipping the warm tea. "I know, Lorna, but there was so much to do, and everybody wanted to talk. I could not just run away." She gave an angry sigh then cried out in pain as she tried to run her hands backwards through her tangled brown hair, catching the knots in her fingers.

Lorna shook her head, exasperated. "Ye cannae keep daein' this," she grumbled as she teased the tangles from Minna's hair. "Ye are becomin' a danger tae yourself an' if that brother o' yours finds out, there will be hell tae pay!"

Minna thumped her fist on the bedside table in a gesture of fury and frustration. "Then who will feed the people of Cairndene?" she demanded. "Must they go to the pig troughs? I am sure those animals eat better than many of the tenants of this estate. As well as that, they are all dressed in rags. Summer is coming, but that is a small blessing. We still have cold weather even then. I have no idea what to do, Lorna. The church will help, of course, and Reverend Patterson does his best, but neither of us can work miracles. Sometimes I feel like killing Jamie. I am ashamed to feel that way, but I can't help it. If we used the money he wastes on whisky to buy food, we could feed so many people!"

Suddenly she stopped and raised a finger in the air, smiling as an idea occurred to her. "The wine cellar! Lorna - do you know how much money is invested in those bottles? Some of it is twenty years old and there are hundreds of bottles." Her face was euphoric.

"But Mistress," Lorna said thoughtfully, frowning. "Will he no' notice that they are disappearin'?"

"Hmm…" Minna thought for a moment. "He rarely drinks wine, and keeps it only to impress guests, so I doubt that he will miss it at first. However, to be on the safe side we can buy a few bottles of very cheap stuff to fill up the shelves. We will be losing very little by doing that."

Lorna nodded slowly. "Who will ye sell it tae?"

"One of my acquaintances, Minna said cryptically, tapping the side of her nose as she gave Lorna a wicked smile. "He will not give us top prices, but he will ask no questions and he will not betray me."

Lorna had just opened her mouth to ask another question when there was a knock at the door and Minna's copper bath was brought in. Two maids filled it with hot water, and as Minna looked at the steaming tub, she could not help thinking how the villagers and tenants would enjoy one of these. She felt wretched and ashamed for living in the lap of luxury while poor people starved.

"This man sounds a wee bit dishonest," Lorna observed as she poured water over Minna's long, golden brown hair. "A bit on the shady side if ye ask me."

Minna laughed softly as she looked at her friend. Lorna was a handsome woman for her age. She quite often kept her luxuriant fair hair tucked into a scarf because she could not bear the sight of the gray strands that were beginning to peek through.

Her eyes were the color of the sea on a cloudy day, and many men would have envied her physique, for she had not an ounce of fat anywhere, only lean muscle. However, she was by no means masculine, as her generous curves showed. She was a widow, but she had scorned many suitors after the death of her husband, since he had been the love of her life. Her only regret was that they had not been blessed with children.

"I don't know about that," Minna remarked, shrugging. "I have heard that he deals with smugglers, but I have no idea if that is true, but unless he is killing or taking from poor people I don't care. I have no reason to believe that he does either of those things, though."

Lorna looked at her doubtfully. "Ye are takin' too many risks, Mistress."

"I have to." Minna's voice was firm. "No one else will do it, Lorna, and it needs to be done."

Lorna sighed. "I know, an' ye are a good lass, but ye take too many chances. Jamie -"

"Is my brother, not my keeper," Minna growled. "As I have told you many times before, Lorna. He does not own me and I do not answer to him. However, the best thing I can do for the villagers and tenants is to keep out of his sight as much as I can. I have managed to avoid him these last two days, but I think a third is too much to hope for." She sighed and stood up, then Lorna helped her into a plain gray day dress which did not flatter her at all. But then, she thought, she was not in the business of looking beautiful all the time. She looked down at the filthy brown breeches she had just taken off.

"Can you have this washed and given to the seamstress, Lorna?" she asked.

"There is still plenty of wear in them. I think she could make it into a few wee girls' dresses."

Lorna smiled at her. "Aye, Mistress, an' I will gie her one o' my dresses. I have plenty tae spare."

Minna smiled at her, took one last glance into the mirror, then turned and squared her shoulders. "Here I go, Lorna," she said grimly, "into the lion's den. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck, hen!" Lorna said, with a heartfelt sigh. "Ye will need it!