Chapter 3

The day was going very well. Norah had sold many of Caitrin's dried fruits, berries, and nuts, as well as her bunches of cooking herbs, and was just congratulating herself when she saw a big commotion at the end of the market. Three large men on horseback were trying to get through the traders and customers, but they were being deliberately obstructed by every single one of them.

Their red coats and tricorn hats marked them out as the enemy at once, and although no one in the village had anything resembling weapons except for farm implements, they had their bodies. Accordingly, they used them as best they could to keep the unwelcome visitors out. Presently, looking deeply irritated, the redcoats dismounted and continued to try to push through the crowd, at the same time trying to interrogate them. However, they were making little progress.

The question was always the same. ‘Have you seen a big man with red hair? He is wanted for treason.'

This caused much hilarity. "This is Scotland, ye big yin!" said a woman with a head of flaming red hair. "There are hundreds of us here." She leaned forward so that the soldier could touch it but he drew his hand back in disgust as if he had been stung.

"Is it me ye are lookin' for?" a tall redheaded man called out. "Whatever it is, I didnae dae it!" This caused another wave of raucous laughter.

"Aye ye did!" another man called out. There was a laughing chorus of agreement. Nobody seemed to be taking the redcoats too seriously.

After that, numerous redheads from all over the crowd joined in, each one purporting to be guilty of everything from lustful thoughts to stealing livestock, and a festive atmosphere descended on the crowd.

Just as she was enjoying the fun, something heavy struck Norah in the back, causing her to stumble forward and almost fall flat on her face. She managed to right herself, however, and turned around to reprimand the careless lout who had almost knocked her over. She saw the hooded figure from the marketplace hurrying away. His hood had been knocked askew in the collision, and she saw a flash of red hair before the man - because a woman could not possibly be so tall - disappeared.

A few of the crowd had already begun to become a little tipsy from drinking too much ale and were daring enough to swipe the tricorn hats from the heads of the redcoats, then parade around in them for a while before giving them back.

The English soldiers were extremely irritated by their lack of progress, but to everyone's dismay they persevered and continued to question the market traders. It proved to be a waste of time, however, since no one would give them any information.

Norah was watching them closely as they attempted to pick their way through, but the noise, the crush of bodies and the lack of cooperation of the villagers were wearing them out.

She caught sight of the face of one of the soldiers and felt a little sorry for him. He was so young, and he looked frightened, although he was obviously trying to put on a brave face. His blue eyes looked a little panicked, and she wondered where he came from and who his family was - did he even want to be here?

The young man came up to her, looking slightly stunned as he gazed at her. He had obviously not expected someone like Norah to be standing in a farmers' market, but then Norah was used to this. Men frequently looked at her this way, and had done so since she was fifteen years old and began to develop a womanly body.

"What is happening?" she asked, looking puzzled. "What is all the fuss about?"

The young man sighed then answered in a tired voice. Norah's father had done business with many Londoners, and he sounded as if he had come straight from there to the Highlands of Scotland without stopping, so strong was his accent.

"We are lookin' for a fugitive, m'lady," he answered. "Big man -" he raised his hand to indicate the man's height. "‘He has bright red hair, green eyes, an' he is very tall an' muscular. You would know ‘im if you saw ‘im because he don't look like none o' the locals." Norah could almost feel her heart jumping out of her chest, the redcoat's description matching Tearlach perfectly - but of course it couldn't be him. Regardless, Norah could not bring herself to ask his name.

"What is he wanted for?" Norah asked, although she felt like she knew the answer. She just wanted to keep the young man talking a little while longer to find out some more information from him, and to make sure the stranger had more time to make his escape. "It must be something very serious."

"He is wanted for treason," the young man replied. "‘He staged a rebellion against his Majesty, an' two men was murdered."

"Is he dangerous?" Norah asked, widening her eyes and trying to look frightened.

"Yes." The young man's voice was firm and definite. "Very dangerous. If you see ‘im do not go near ‘im. We think ‘e might have been the man who came ‘ere today. Did you see which way ‘e went?"

Norah pointed towards the church. "If he is the man I am thinking of, he went past the church. There is a fairly straight path there that leads to the next village." She was steering him in completely the opposite direction to the way the man had gone, but she was in solidarity with the rest of the villagers; this man was a Scot, her compatriot, and she was not going to betray him.

The young Londoner smiled at her. He had a deep dimple on each cheek, and there was no shadow of a beard on his face. He reminded her of one of the stable boys at her father's house, and looked much too young and innocent for the murderous profession he had chosen.

"Thank you," he said politely, before turning to go. She watched him reach his colleagues and talk with them before they all mounted up and turned around to go in the wrong direction. Norah sighed with relief. They had been wrong-footed, but strangely Norah did not feel quite right. She felt some sympathy for the young man she had just spoken to, and hoped he would not get into trouble with his superiors.

Then she chastised herself. He was English, for god's sake! He was her enemy, and she was an idiot. She had always been far too soft, too scared to speak her mind and back down if anyone became angry with her, too quick to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. How many times did she have to be taken advantage of before she realized what a soft touch she was?

There had only ever been one burning passion in her life - her love for Tearlach McLachlan, but the last time she had seen him was six years ago, when she had only just begun to blossom into womanhood. Perhaps what she felt for him was nothing more than teenage infatuation – he was probably dead anyway. The man who had run through the village could have been, and probably was, another man.

Norah was sure that Tearlach had run away to join the Jacobite army, and such a young man could not have lasted long in the face of English aggression and the rough life of a soldier. Tearlach was tough and fit, and had been fist fighting with the other boys from a very young age, but he could still fall foul of a musket ball. Many young friends of his already had.

‘What was wrong with men', she wondered. They would start a fight over the smallest of things, then build and build on it until it became a war. Women did not do such stupid things - if they did, there would be no gentleness in the world at all – and no children.

Norah sighed. She often wished she could put the world to rights by the flick of a magic wand, but of course, that was mere fantasy. However, she was still wondering about the identity of the person who had bumped into her. She was sure it had been a man, and a big one at that. And that flash of bright red hair - could it be Tearlach?

‘Of course it isn't Tearlach,' she thought angrily. She was annoyed with herself now that she had not asked the young soldier the name of the wanted man.

Just then she felt a tap on her shoulder, and jumped, startled. She turned around to see Maisie, who ran the clothes stall.

"Sorry, hen," the woman said regretfully. She was an attractive woman in her middle years with long dark hair and green eyes, and Norah had liked her from the very first moment she met her.

"It's not your fault, Maisie!" she said, smiling. "I was daydreaming as usual."

"Knights in shinin' armor again?" Maisie laughed. "That is what comes from a good education!"

"Better daydreams?" Norah flapped her hand at the other woman, laughing. "I like to think that it gave me more than that, but I have been lucky to have it."

"Here is what I came to show ye," Maisie smiled and held up a nightdress that was made of thick linen and trimmed with fine lace. It was obviously of extremely good quality, and looked very warm.

"My goodness, Maisie!" she exclaimed. "This is lovely! Where did you get it?"

"Ye know that my daughter works for the lady up in the castle?" She jerked her head towards the large towered building on the nearby hill. "Every so often, usually at the end of summer, Milady cleans out her clothes cupboard an' gives her favorites some of her old dresses an' shoes an' suchlike. We like to get the evenin' gowns, because we can sell them, but this kind o' thing is more useful. She gave this to my Molly, but she has two already. If ye want it I will give ye it for nothin' because Caitrin has been a good friend to me. She helped me when I was ill wi' the measles last year."

"She is a very kind woman," Norah agreed. "I don't know what I would have done if she had not taken me in. Now, about the nightdress. I do want it, and I can see by its quality that it's going to keep me very warm tonight, but I will pay you for it."

Maisie protested, but Norah only smiled and gave Maisie what she guessed was a fair price for the garment. "You have to make a living, Maisie," she said, folding the other woman's fingers around the coins.

Maisie hugged her and thanked her.

Norah still had two only dresses and a warm jersey, but she could make do with those for now. At least she would be warm tonight, and they could wash the shift that she had been wearing up till now, thank God. The only thing about her new life that Norah really disliked was not having enough clothes, but she supposed she had been spoiled before. At least she had enough to eat.

It was only the middle of the day, and as she tallied up her takings so far she realized that she had made more coin than either she or Caitrin had expected. Caitrin said Norah had a way with people, which, she reflected, came in very handy when you were trying to make them part with their money.

"Ye just smile at them, hen!" Caitrin had said, laughing. "Ye will have them eatin' out o' your hands in no time!"

It seemed she had been right, although Norah had never given herself credit for having any sales skills at all. She had always been rather shy, but since she had been living among common people, she remembered a skill that she had forgotten about. She knew how to strike a bargain.

Norah often wondered if she would ever have children, and if she did, how many, and who their father would be. Most young women of her age were already married, and indeed, she should have been. She shuddered at the thought, and for the hundredth time, thanked her lucky stars that she had managed to escape. She would never marry any man she did not love, and if that meant she had to be a spinster for the rest of her life, then so be it.

Then, she thought about what that would actually mean; the loneliness, and the helplessness. What if she became ill, or injured herself, and had no one to care for her? She shivered and immediately cut off her morbid train of thought.

The redcoats had long gone, but she wanted to make sure they were not still lurking around before she set off to look for the man in the cloak. Was he hiding somewhere or had he managed to disappear?

Norah had to find out, or she knew that she would not sleep that night. There was very little to take back to Caitrin, since she had sold almost all of her stock, so she packed it in the sack she used to carry home mushrooms and nuts from her foraging expeditions. She excused herself, telling her fellow traders that she would be back soon.

Maisie looked a little concerned. "Are ye sure, hen?" she asked doubtfully. "There are some bad folk about in the woods these days."

"I saw some fine mushrooms there, Maisie," Norah replied. "They will not last long, so I want to pick them now so we can eat them for supper. I'll be very quick, I promise."

Maisie was obviously still not convinced, and watched Norah anxiously as she walked away.