At last, the laird grew tired of it. He sighed. “Well, you are here now,” he said grumpily. “Let me tell you what I want done. I need you and your men to go on a mission for me. Laird Gregor Mackay is becoming a little too big for his boots, and he must be taught a lesson. His estate is not far from the road to Oban, and you will see landmarks all along the road.
“There is a large Celtic cross about three miles along the way and a tiny village about ten houses after that. It does not even have a name, so leave it alone. It is not worth bothering about. It is a good distance away, about twelve miles, but you have good horses, and I am sure you can cover the distance within a day.” He filled up another glass of whisky, but as usual, he did not offer them one. Both would have welcomed it gladly after riding in the cold for hours.
“An’ our reward?” Finn asked, folding his arms and looking at the laird with a challenge in his eyes. “Because this is no small thing ye are askin’ us tae do, M’Laird.”
“Your reward is a share of the spoils, of course,” the laird answered. “Mine is the destruction of Laird MacKay—or, rather, his wealth. Of course, if you manage to kill him too, that would be a bonus. He has humiliated me one too many times when we have traded, bartered, and fought. He has stolen land from me, and cattle. He has even enlisted some of my men into his service with promises of better pay.”
“And has he given them better pay?” Finn asked pointedly.
The laird shrugged. “None of them has ever come back,” he replied. “He may have killed them for all I know.” His face and his tone were indifferent. The fate of a few foot soldiers mattered nothing to him. It was his pride that had been damaged, and pride was the most valuable commodity of all because it could not be easily retrieved.
“We cannae raid a whole castle wi’ a force the size of ours!” Finn protested. “We will be cut tae ribbons, an’ I cannae afford to lose any more good men.”
The laird took a sip of his whisky and sat down. “I am not asking you to do anything as foolish as that. As well as the castle, it is rumored that he has another much smaller property on the outskirts of the village of Shieldaig. He keeps it a secret for one very good reason. The castle has been besieged many times in the past and much of its riches were stolen, so it is said that this other house holds some of his valuables. Not all, because that would be foolish, and however much I hate him, I know Laird Mackay is not a stupid man. He has put about the story that a rich merchant lives there, but no one seems to know anything about him.
“Whether this story is true or not, I do not know, but I know that there are some riches there, so I want you to seize that house and strip it of everything you can find. It has a few guards, but you should not have too much trouble since you are all experienced fighting men.”
Finn stared at the laird with a hundred different thoughts tumbling through his mind at once.What is he nae tellin’ me?he thought.
“Ye are holdin’ somethin’ back from us,” he said suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.
Again, there was a long pause, and they stared each other down for another long moment before the laird lost, dropping his gaze first.
“The village of Shieldaig lies between you and the castle,” the laird told him with a sigh. “It is a sizeable village, and the house lies in the middle of it, so you will have to make your way through it to get to the house. As far as I can remember, the villagers will have all their money in their homes to pay their quarterly rent, which is due now. Do what you have to do and take no prisoners.”
The brothers exchanged glances. It was not Finn’s custom to kill common, hardworking people. They had fought in skirmishes against the English, but killing on the battlefield was justified against an enemy of the same strength and armed with the same weapons as themselves. Nevertheless, they would do what had to be done.
Finn’s only rule was that no women or children would be harmed unnecessarily, a rule which he would not bend, no matter how stupid the other bandits thought it was. Liam was much less choosy. Anyone was fair game to him.
However, Liam and Finn could communicate without words in the way that brothers could. Liam gave an imperceptible nod, and Finn turned to the laird. “Dinnae bother, M’Laird,” he agreed. “As long as we are well rewarded, we will do as ye ask, but there will be trouble if we are no’ paid.”
The laird knew this to be true. Finn and Liam had often crossed swords with the laird and had been challenged to duels, sometimes to the death, with the laird’s men, which they had always won. As well as that, he knew that the two brothers had influence with many army veterans and could do much damage to his assets if they had a mind to, which was the reason he kept them busy on his own errands.
The laird did not bat an eyelid. “You will be paid,” he replied.
“I will have tae speak tae the lads an’ scout out the place first,” Finn said firmly. “We cannae just rush in without a plan. Ye will have tae wait a few days before we go intae action, so it will be a wee while yet, M’Laird.”
The laird nodded. “This is why I like to employ experienced soldiers. You are professional and efficient.” He nodded his head in satisfaction, smiling. “Your efforts on my behalf will be worth it, I am sure.”
“We will be back tae see ye in three days,” Finn assured the laird, before turning away. They could feel the laird’s eyes on them as they left.
The two brothers were silent until they were clear of the castle, then Liam turned to Finn. “What are we goin’ tae do?” he asked. “The laird is a ruthless man. We have done plenty of damage for him in the past, but this one sounds like a hard nut tae crack. A house right in the middle of a village means we have tae make a big mess of the village, an’ some of these people are bloody dangerous! A lot o’ former army soldiers live in Shieldaig, or so I have heard.”
Finn thought for a moment. “There must be a way of robbin’ the rich without challengin’ the hard men,” he mused. Then he heard his stomach rumbling with hunger. “I always think better on a full stomach!” he declared, before urging his horse faster.
“Aye, that mean old tyke did no’ even offer a glass o’ ale!” Liam agreed, trying but failing to laugh.
They rode back to their cottage, but both were still disturbed.
2
Two years earlier…
Greta Baines kissed her father’s damp forehead before she drew the sheet over his face. It was calm now, and the ravages of his illness had been smoothed away, leaving only a smooth, still, lifeless shell. However, she had almost wished death upon him during the last few days. It was better than seeing the agony on his face as the hacking cough made him struggle for every breath, so much so that it hurt her to hear it. She thanked God that it was over, and he was out of his pain and had hopefully gone to a place where there was no more of it, only a blessed peace.
“Is he gone now, lovie?” The healer crept into the room and moved to the side of the bed. She quickly lifted the sheet off his face for a moment and checked for a pulse at the side of Fergus Baines’s throat, then pulled it back up again. She looked into Greta’s face with sympathetic eyes. “Do ye want tae stay wi’ him for a while?”
Greta shook her head firmly. The body on the bed was no longer her father since all that he had been had fled with his last breath. “No, Donna,” she answered. “I want to go an’ bathe then start to help with the funeral.”