Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

G owan sat on the grass thinking for a few moments. Minna had called him a coward, and she was right! If he had been a good, brave man with the courage of his convictions, he would have tried to gather the Hepburn clan together and at least tried to take the castle back. What sort of a man was he? Minna was right. He was a coward, and a disgrace to his family.

Suddenly he leapt to his feet. He would find her and stand with her. Gowan raced back to the cottage and took the sword from its place on the floor, then held it up. Its brass handle was tarnished, but he could still make out the words ‘Keep Tryst' on it, and the steel blade was still bright and shining like a mirror. Its lethal edge glinted in the daylight, and it was heavy in his hands. This was a weapon that had seen some service and would see plenty more if Gowan had anything to do with it.

He slid the sword into its scabbard and left the cottage, then ran to the village, sprinting almost all the way. He had to find Minna. He had to. As soon as he saw the cottages in the distance, however, his heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten to put his cloak on, and without it he had nothing with which to disguise his face.

Suddenly he decided that he had been hiding for too long. He was tired of hiding in the shadows and he would do it no more. He would have to uncover his face sometime - it might as well be now. He ran into Cairndene and called out to the first man he saw.

"Have you seen Minna Darroch?" he yelled.

The old man was startled, both by Gowan's sudden appearance, his size, and the scar on his face, but he answered.

"Aye, lad. She was here just a wee while ago, but she left in a hurry."

"Where did she go?" Gowan demanded.

"She ran away up the road." An old woman told him, pointing.

"Towards the castle?" Gowan asked urgently.

"Aye," the old woman answered. "She didnae tell us where she was goin', but we saw her runnin' that way."

"Thank you." Gowan said gratefully, then paused for a moment to recover his breath.

"Who are ye?" Senga asked, looking at him suspiciously.

Gowan did not answer her, but began to sprint as fast as his legs would carry him towards the castle, leaving Senga and her friend Callum to gaze after him till he was swallowed by the trees.

"That is Gowan Hepburn," Senga said in wonder, "or I am seein' ghosts. I would recognise that gold hair an' those brown eyes anywhere."

"I knew I had seen him somewhere before," Callum agreed. "Used tae be a bonny lad. I wonder what happened tae his face."

"Burnt in the fire in the castle, most likely," Senga mused. "But I thought he was dead, Callum. I though he had died along wi' his mammy. Where has he been a' this time?"

Callum shrugged, his face troubled. "I dinnae know. A' I care about is Mistress Minna. I have a bad feelin' that she has put herself in harm's way."

‘Remember son, a man's worth is not measured in gold, but in courage and character.' Gowan remembered the day his father had said those words to him, since they were the last words he ever spoke. He had been on his deathbed, and after he had said them, his hand became limp and he closed his eyes for the last time.

Gowan steeled himself with those words as he marched towards the entrance to the castle. His heart was hammering as he stopped before the two burly guards who were blocking his entrance with their crossed pikes.

"I would like to speak to the Laird please." Gowan was trying to keep the anger and hostility from his voice, but some of it must have shown through, because the guard looked at him suspiciously.

"Does the Laird know ye are comin'?" he asked, his gaze never leaving Gowan's face.

"He does," Gowan replied evenly. "I have come to discuss a matter of great importance with him."

The guard looked at two of his colleagues, who both nodded.

"The Laird is busy at the moment, so ye will have tae wait. But we dinnae allow visitors tae carry weapons, so ye must give me your sword." He pointed at the weapon.

Growling inwardly, Gowan reluctantly surrendered it and went inside, then he followed the sound of cheers of encouragement as he moved forward into the courtyard. A dreadful premonition assailed him. They had obviously started the contest as soon as she reached the castle. What if he was too late? What if Minna was already lying dead on the floor?

He shouldered his way through a crowd of servants and guards until he reached the source of the sound. He was horrified by what he saw.

As they walked out to the courtyard, the reality of the situation hit Minna full force. It was kill or be killed. She was a small female against a large male, and the whole situation was akin to a lion against a housecat. What had she been thinking?

Jamie was beginning to circle around her, his expression one of concentration. It was not pleasant, since his eyes were shadowed with anger.

The sword one of the guards had lent her was heavy in Minna's hand, and since it had been a long time since she had held one, she hoped that she remembered how to use it. She had not prayed for a very long time, but she was praying now that whatever the power was that ran the world would come to her aid.

Suddenly Jamie lunged, and Minna instinctively sidestepped and parried.

The crowd of servants and guards let out a resounding cheer, obviously for Minna, and this infuriated Jamie. He drew his teeth back from his lips in a furious snarl, then lunged again, and was blocked yet again. Minna stepped backward and lifted her sword above her head in order to bring it down on his head. He stepped out of the way and blocked the move, but Minna had inadvertently left herself defenseless at the front.

She was ready for her brother to take advantage of the situation, but he had not even noticed it, and Minna began to realize that she was dealing with a much less skilled opponent than herself.

The crowd was cheering, and she heard her name called again and again, which gave her strength and hope. The staff and the guards were all on her side.

However, there was nothing Minna could do about Jamie's strength and the length of his arms, and she was constantly having to dance out of his way as his sword came within inches of her.

They went on for what seemed like hours, and Minna's sword began to feel heavier and heavier in her sweaty hands. Jamie was not a skilled fighter, but his sword suited his size and strength, and he was winning the bout, not by strength or skill, but by sheer endurance.

Minna's arms were aching, but even though she was determined not to give up, her body was not as strong as her spirit. Her blows were becoming weaker, and she had the feeling that Jamie was merely toying with her. Finally, she stumbled backward and landed on her backside with an almighty thump. She rolled sideways, but it was too late, and she screwed her eyes shut as she waited for Jamie's blade to come and slice her flesh.

Gowan was beside himself with rage as he watched Minna battle the man who was twice her size and strength. He could hear the crowds chanting her name, but he dared not shout in case it distracted her. No, he was going to do something else. He was going to fight for her.

He turned back in order to fetch his sword, only to find that the guard who had taken it was holding it out to him. "Good luck!" he called above the noise.

Gowan did not have time to thank the man. He shouldered his way through the front row of the crowd and into the space where the duel was taking place, only to see Minna land painfully on the flagstones.

He roared at Jamie, who was bending down over his sister, sword in hand. He hauled Minna's brother to his feet. Then he held his family's old sword at Jamie's throat. "Look at me, James Darroch," he said. His voice, always deep, was throbbing with rage and sounded like the first growls of an angry lion. "Lay one finger on her and I will swipe your head from your body - understand?"

Jamie nodded frantically.

"Now," Gowan growled. "Now you can duel with someone your own size. Fight me!"

Jamie gazed at the big man in front of him, and without answering, lunged at Gowan, swiping his sword sideways, only to find it deflected with such force that Jamie fell over, landing on the flagstones and skidding backwards a few yards.

"I submit," he said weakly.

Gowan disarmed him and threw his sword to one of the guards, keeping his own at his side so that he could use it again if needed. He helped Minna to her feet while holding onto Jamie's arm so tightly that he winced.

"Are you hurt?" he asked anxiously, as he looked into her face.

Minna rubbed her backside and smiled in a half-amused, half-embarrassed fashion. "A little on my body, but mostly my dignity," she said ruefully.

"You are incredible," he said fondly, hugging her shoulders. "Minna - I have something to tell you."

Minna sighed, and was about to say something, but at that moment Lorna came flying through the courtyard, pulled her away from Gowan and hugged her so tightly that she could hardly breathe.

"Lorna!" Minna protested, trying to laugh. "You are breaking my ribs!"

Lorna let go and looked into Minna's eyes. Her own gray ones were shining with tears. "Ye are goin' tae be the death o' me," she protested. "If I didnae love ye so much I would be ragin'!" Then she burst into tears on Minna's shoulder, and whatever Gowan had been about to say was forgotten for the moment.

The two women clung together and Gowan knew he would be totally ignored for the time being. He almost smiled. They were weeping with relief, and Gowan wished he could do the same, but men could never do such an unmanly thing. They always had to be stern, fierce and unbending.

All the time that the two women had been speaking, Gowan had been the focus of attention from some of the maids, some of whom remembered him. Feeling himself being stared at, he looked around and met the eyes of Annie, one of the servants who had worked at the castle when he was no more than a boy. He still recognized her, and she knew him too, even though both of them were much older.

"Annie, how are you?" he asked, smiling at her. "You look well."

Annie's gray eyes filled with tears. "Oh, young master," she said, using the title she had called him when he was a boy. "I thought I would never see ye again. We a' thought ye were dead."

He laughed. "No, Annie. It takes a lot more than a few Darrochs to kill me."

"I am that glad tae see ye!" She took the great liberty of cupping his face in her work-worn hands and smiled at him. "Ye have grown intae a fine man, an' what ye did for Milady just now was very brave."

Gowan saw Annie looking at his scar and ducked his head down, but she chucked him under the chin and laughed. "Are ye worried about that wee mark on your face, son?" she asked kindly. "Ye can hardly see it, an' ye are still a fine handsome man. Where have ye been a' this time?"

"It is a very long story, Annie," he replied. "I can tell you only that I have been in hiding."

"But ye are back now!" She was delighted. "Are ye goin' tae be our new Laird?"

He had opened his mouth to answer, but just then, Minna intervened. She looked up at him with open admiration before kissing his cheek tenderly. "You have saved my life twice," she told him. "And nothing is going to happen to you as long as I am here to stop it."