Even if I had done such a thing, which I have not, my mother and father would have sent him back at once, as well as disowning me. My father, although he has retired, is still an active member of the community in this area, and sets great store by maintaining good relations with his neighbors. By the way, Grace, he has heard about your orphanage in Inverleck and would value your help in establishing one here.
So you see, we are peaceable people, and we would like to stay that way. I know that Laird MacAndrew has a fearsome array of weapons, and we have very few, so why would we want to attack him? It would be suicidal!”
“I agree,” William concurred. “I think all he wants is your land, Callum. You have some very fertile soil here, your barley and oat crops are the best in the area. Why would you want to make war on him and lose that?”
“So who do you think has Fergus?” Callum asked.
Grace and William exchanged glances. “Robert,” they said in unison.
“Robert?” Callum’s brow creased in puzzlement. “Why would Robert kidnap his own brother? That makes no sense at all.”
Grace sighed. “Because of me,” she answered. She went on to explain the whole tangled situation of her past betrothal to Fergus, which had been switched by Robert at the last moment.
Callum looked stupefied. “Indeed,” he mused, frowning deeply. “I cannot understand his way of thinking. What does he hope to achieve?”
William reached out to take Grace’s hand, while Crissy put her arm around her shoulders. “He wants Fergus out of the way. We think Robert may have murdered him,” he replied heavily.
Grace screwed her eyes shut and tried not to weep, but the tears came anyway, and she laid her head on Crissy’s shoulder and sobbed quietly. Up until William said the word ‘murdered’ it had not seemed real, but now it did, and the reality was crushing her spirit.
“He is the love o’ her life, M’Laird,” Crissy told Callum gently. “A fine man.”
Callum frowned. “A pity the same cannot be said about his brother,” he growled. “But we will help you, Grace. Whatever the Patterson clan can do for you, we will do it. We are not the only ones who are being threatened by Robert MacAndrew. The Lennox family is also a target. Their holdings are even smaller than ours, which makes them even more of a target because they will be much easier to conquer.”
“It’s a pity we are so far away,” William grumbled. “It would take a whole day for swift horsemen to ride from Gibson land to Inverleck.”
“Robert MacAndrew is a victim of his own self-importance,” Callum said angrily. “If all new Lairds behaved like him, there would never be any peace.” Then he looked at Grace, who was drying her tears. “We Pattersons are all behind you, Grace, never fear.”
21
Fergus stood glaring at the big man, who was advancing towards him slowly. His whole body was tense, his feet planted wide apart, his hands clenched. His heart was thumping in his chest and his teeth were bared in an unconscious snarl. He was ready for battle; he had never been more so.
However, when he came a few yards further into the space, the man bent down and laid his sword carefully on the ground, then straightened up, looked Fergus in the eye, and smiled. It was only then that Fergus realized he was one of his most trusted friends amongst the guards, one of those who knew where his little sanctuary was.
“Danny!” He collapsed to his knees on the ground, almost overcome with relief. “Thank god! How did you find me?”
Danny bent down to help him to his feet. “Never mind that now,” he answered. His dark eyes were full of concern as he gazed into Fergus’s face. “How are ye? Me an’ the lads were sae worried about ye.”
“Fine, Danny,” he replied with a faint smile. “Just dying of thirst. Do you have any water?”
“No,” Danny replied, grinning. “But I have somethin’ better.” He produced a flask of ale and gave it to Fergus, who took the stopper off and swallowed the liquid till the vessel was near empty. He took a breath and emptied the flask, then gave it back to Danny.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I don’t know how long I have been in here, but I have had nothing to eat or drink for hours, or maybe days.” He touched the back of his head and winced. “They took me out.”
Danny put an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, big man,” he said kindly. “I’ve got somebody here that wants tae meet ye.”
After such a long time in the dark, the sunlight blinded Fergus when he stepped out of the cave, which he could now see was a natural arch formed by two giant boulders leaning against each other.
“It used tae be employed by a gang o’ bandits, tae hide their loot,” Danny explained, anticipating Fergus’s question. “We broke up the gang, an’ the Laird took the keys.”
“How did you get them?” Fergus asked, frowning.
“I will tell ye all that when the time is right,” Danny answered. “Now, there is somebody waitin’ for ye, an’ he’s gettin’ impatient.”
Fergus frowned, then watched as a big grey horse came trotting out of the trees, whinnying as he came towards him.
“Sandy!” Fergus ran towards him and threw his arms around the big animal’s neck, then kissed his face and ran his hands down his smooth neck, grinning from ear to ear. “I am so glad to see you!”
Sandy whickered a greeting and rubbed his nose under Fergus’s chin, while Fergus laughed as the big horse raised his head, almost knocking him off his feet. “You big lump!” he cried, laughing. “Have you missed me?”