Chapter 19

19

Maura had left Ardneuk and began the long trek back to Carmalcolm, travelling through another freezing night. She had stayed in Ardneuk for an extra day precisely to avoid this extra journey, but it seemed that fate was telling her again and again that she and Gavin must stay away from each other.

She sighed yet again as she jumped over a narrow burn, almost drenching her feet in the process, but by some miracle Maura managed to keep them out of the water. Every time she started to think about Gavin, she resolutely put him out of her mind; she needed to put him behind her and think of the future now.

Perhaps there would be a farmer, or a stonemason, or a butcher, or any ordinary young working man out there who would marry her and make her happy. There might even be children, and she smiled at the thought. She had always wanted children, and she was not too old, even though most girls her age were married.

Yes , she thought, I will be happy .

Somewhere out there was a steady man ready to look after her. She would not look for a great love affair, just fondness and friendship.

Having made her resolution, Maura carried on walking determinedly onwards. She knew that it would be a long journey, but she was strong. The thought gave her a little cheer; she would not allow herself to succumb to sadness and self-pity. She was better than that.

Gavin was sitting tensely on his stallion, gazing at the forbidding towers of Duncairn Castle with a cauldron of anger simmering inside him. He wished with all his heart that he could have laid his hands on the man who had started the uprising that had upturned not only his life, but that of the villagers under his care. He would make him sorry he had ever been born!

A treaty with both Lairds’ signatures on it had been signed, and they had sealed it with a blood oath, and now the Jamieson garrison was sitting around him. However, although they were all devoted to him, there were precious few of them, and despite his arrangement with Laird Jamieson, Gavin knew he could not expect the same level of loyalty from troops who were not his own.

Members of the garrison had been keeping the castle under surveillance for some days, and they knew when the shifts changed, when the lights were lit, who routinely went in and out at what times.

A picture had emerged of all the comings and goings there, and the watchers now had the knowledge to attack when the castle was most sparsely defended. Gavin had known the old way things were done, of course, but the new residents had imposed their own routines, ones which made no sense at all to him. He reflected that his father must be turning in his grave.

Nevertheless, the Jamieson garrison had one thing that was massively in their favour—the element of surprise. When the guards at Duncairn were attacked, they literally would not know what had hit them. Gavin relished the thought of looking into their eyes as he punished each one, and he growled savagely, gritting his teeth at the thought.

A small group of guards had already sneaked downhill, using the few trees for cover, to take a closer look at the castle and report back. They told Gavin that the Duncairn Guard was standing by ready for action, and were more numerous than the Ardneuk soldiers of Laird Jamieson.

“Obviously, the rebels have recruited more men,” Gavin remarked. “I have only a small number of guards with me. This could be a problem.”

Laird Jamieson nodded in agreement. “We have surprise on our side, but that will not last long, and neither will it be a weapon against superior forces,” he observed. “We will have to think of something else to augment the strength of our attack.”

They both thought for a while, and as Gavin looked at the structure of the big building, he began to visualise a route through the maze of corridors and rooms on the inside. He knew every inch of Duncairn Castle inside out, no one knew it as well as he did.

As he was mentally going over his route around the castle, using all his concentration as he stared at the distantbuilding, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see a most welcome face.

“Archie,” he cried, laughing in delight as he hugged his friend. “I am so glad to see you! Where did you come from?”

“I’ve been hidin’ with a friend o’ my family, daein’ work on his farm in exchange for my keep,” he replied, grinning. “An’ in my free time I have been keepin’ an eye on the castle. When I saw the Jamieson scouts, I knew you’d be close.”

“You are a marvel”, Gavin hugged him again, then introduced him to Laird Jamieson. “My Laird, meet Archie Carmichael, my close friend, faithful Captain of the Guard, and one of the best men I know. He saved me that fateful night.”

Archie saluted Laird Jamieson, who nodded to him and smiled. “I have heard a lot about you, Captain,” he remarked. “It’s good to finally meet you. I hope you can help us.”

“It is my duty, M’Laird,” the captain said stoutly.

Laird Jamieson looked impressed at the other man’s staunchly loyal attitude, and said, “Good man,” before turning away to speak to some of his own men.

Gavin turned to Archie. “I think you have made a friend,” he observed.

“I wouldnae like tae make an enemy o’ that man,” Archie said, frowning. Then he became brisk. “Have ye made a plan, M’Laird?”

Gavin tutted. “Have I not told you to call me Gavin?”

Archie frowned, then laughed. “Well, Gavin, ” he said, “What are ye thinkin’ about? Stormin’ the castle? Doesnae look like a good idea tae me.”

“That’s why I will not be doing it,” Gavin replied. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the castle again. “They will no doubt have the escape tunnels sealed or guarded—or both.” Then he gave Archie a sideways, mischievous look. “Except one.”

“Aye,” Archie grinned. “Yours.”

The tunnel to which they referred was one that leads to Gavin’s wardrobe. It had been dug in the time of Gavin’s great-great-grandfather, and was a closely guarded secret that had been handed down from generation to generation. However, such was his trust in Archie that Gavin had told him the secret in the certain knowledge that it would go no further. Archie himself had not been able to access it to escape, but had been helped by some of the others who were still trapped inside.

The trouble with the tunnel was that access would be very difficult, since, although the entrance was completely invisible from outside, accessing it was almost impossible without being seen.

“I suggest that we go in just before the shift changes in the middle of the night,” Gavin suggested. “The guards are tired then, and I know more than a few of them will be drunk. They have changed the hours of the watches to confuse us, but we have kept them under surveillance and we know all the new times. If you and I go in, we can overpower the guards watching the cells and unlock them. Once our own men are out, we can come in with the rest of our army.”

Archie nodded. “I will have them ready tae attack fae under the trees.”

“But nobody must know about the tunnel,” Gavin warned. “It’s our secret weapon.”

“Aye,” Archie agreed. “Just yours an’ mine. Is there any ale around here? I am dyin’ o’ thirst.”

Gavin sighed, then laughed. “We can’t have that. If we all do well tonight, we can have a feast with gallons of whisky to go around.”

Archie raised his eyebrows as he quaffed the ale that had just been given to him. “I’ll drink tae that!”

It was a difficult task for sixty men, all armed to the teeth, to proceed silently down a hill, especially in the darkness, but somehow they managed it, and stood just inside the treeline waiting for orders.

Gavin and Archie crept downhill, and by the light of one shaded candle they managed to find the entrance to the tunnel, which was so carefully crafted into the stonework that it was almost invisible.

Inside, the draught of air from the passage blew the candle out, and the blackness was so complete that it was like a solid wall in front of them. Gavin’s heart began to race with fear as he instinctively reached out, trying to find something to hold on to. His fingers found Archie’s shoulder, and he clutched it tightly before he saw the light from his lantern flare like a beacon of hope in the darkness.

“A’ right, Gavin?” Archie asked, concerned.

“Yes, I just hate the darkness,” he answered, swallowing his fear. “I have always been afraid of it.”

“That makes ye human,” Archie answered. “We are a’ scared o’ somethin’.”

They proceeded along the tunnel, feeling their way along the rocky walls until they saw a door ahead of them. The tunnel opened into a store cupboard in a rarely used part of the castle, and meant that they had the element of surprise completely on their side, since no one would think to look in that direction.

They crept down the stairs to the dungeon, and as Gavin had suspected, many of the guards were either sleeping, drunk, or both. It was the work of moments to subdue them by creeping up on them and knocking them unconscious with their sword hilts.

Thereafter, they dragged them into an empty cell and, having found the keys to the rest of the cells, they liberated the prisoners inside. For a few moments, there was pandemonium as all the freed Forsyth soldiers leapt out to hug and shake hands with their rescuers.

However, it did not take long before the Forsyth rebels came to see what was happening. A solid mass of them came downstairs and dived into the mass of liberated prisoners. They were all heavily armed, but only Gavin and Archie and two of the prisoners had swords, which they had taken from the jailers.

However, four armed men were not enough to fight off the crowd of men facing them. Just as it seemed that the fight would be over before it started, Jamieson men came pouring down the stairs and began to attack the rebels.

It was over very quickly, since the Forsyth rebels were wedged in between the Jamiesons, the former prisoners, and some other Forsyth guards. These were the ones who had stayed quietly loyal to Gavin, and were waiting their chance to strike back at their traitorous fellow soldiers.

There were no serious injuries, but the rebel Forsyth guards, after being disarmed, were dragged into the courtyard none too gently, then thrown down on the flagstones.

The Jamieson men combed the castle to bring out the remaining guards on the turrets and those who were sleeping. After a while, every one of the turncoat guards were being guarded by the victorious Jamiesons, and it was time for a reckoning with Gavin’s clansmen.

Awakened by the commotion, many of the servants came out to see what was going on. When they saw Gavin, most were hesitant at first, but they were reassured that they were safe, and Gavin shook many hands and patted many backs as he went to fight another kind of battle. This was a war of words, and he was going to make absolutely sure that he won it!

The clan elders had been dragged out of their beds into the council chamber, all of them shivering in their nightshirts because they had not been able to dress. They looked up in astonishment when Gavin came in and sat down at the head of the big table.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Gavin said with exaggerated politeness. “I trust you are all well?”

“Why are we here?” one of the biggest men, who was almost as tall as Gavin, asked.

“I would have thought that was rather obvious,” Gavin answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I would like to speak to all of you. I could have my loyal men slay you where you sit, but I would rather not stain my clean hands with your blood; that would reduce me to your level, and I have no desire to sink so low.”

He looked around at all of them, noting their various expressions of defiance, fear, and anger. His words had obviously struck a nerve.

“I am taking back my castle tonight,” he went on. “As we speak, my loyal men, and those of Laird Jamieson, are imprisoning those who turned against me, and unless you would like to suffer the same fate I suggest you listen, and listen well.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I know what you think of me, and quite frankly I understand why you thought that way, but that was the man I used to be, not the man I am now.” He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted at once.

“And why should we believe you?” Another man spoke up, his words loaded with derision. “You treated your people and your friends like dirt. You put our clan in danger by ignoring the wishes of the tenants and antagonising all our neighbours. Who will help us in our time of need now? We have no allies—you have chased them all away. You are not worthy to be our Laird.”

He almost spat out the last words and Gavin felt like throttling him. He restrained himself, however, and clenched his fists under the table while he took some deep, calming breaths.

Then he did the last thing the men around the table had expected; he smiled. “Now, you all turned my soldiers against me, and they tried to murder me. In fact, for a long time you all thought I was dead.” He looked around the table again. “You are all traitors, are you not?”

“Of course we are not!” A small dark man exploded. “You are the traitor—you betrayed your people.” He stabbed a finger at Gavin.

Gavin smiled again and shook his head, then his genial expression was replaced by a fierce scowl. “I could have you all executed, but I won’t because I think there is a better way to solve this problem if you will all work with me. You will not be let off the hook completely—not for a while, anyway. Each of you will have a guard looking after youevery minute of every day, but I think it is a better option than the noose.”

At the mention of a possible death by hanging, a flash of fear appeared on every face around the table. They became masks of terror as the noise of booted feet and men’s voices could be heard, becoming louder and louder as they came closer, until suddenly a dozen heavily armed guardsmen in Jamieson livery burst into the room. Each one moved to stand behind a seated clan rebel, swords drawn.

A moment later, the tall, dignified figure of Laird Jamieson stepped inside. He was an intimidating figure in his own right as his piercing dark eyes swept around the chamber, missing nothing. He moved to stand beside Gavin and the two men shook hands.

Gavin smiled at him and said, “Ah, Laird Jamieson.” Then he turned to the men at the table. “Meet our new ally, gentlemen. This is Laird Jamieson, although I am sure most of you already know him.”