Ann Carr

Chapter One

The ground trembled as the warriors guided their horses across the drawbridge. Every person inside the village walls stopped their work to stare in awe as the group of giants marched through the gates towards the castle, which sat at the highest point of the hill.

Even though most of the servants had witnessed this scene many times over the last ten years, it never ceased to enchant them. For the men in front of them were fierce highland warriors, and looked every bit as frightening as their legend declared.

In the lead was the most intimidating one of all, for he was a giant amongst giants, standing a good inch taller than the other men. Despite the harsh lines and angles of his face, and the dark, brooding aura that seemed to cling to him, he was a charismatic man and women wasted no time in throwing themselves into his arms. All eyes were now focused on this dangerous, familiar man at the front; all eyes were on their leader. Lord Duncan had returned!

One brave man sent up a lonesome cheer at Duncan’s safe return and it wasn’t long before the other villagers joined their voices to his. Excitement spread rapidly along the straight road to the castle. Contagiously it leapt from the gathered crowd of people to the warriors riding along the road. Some of them now looked around with huge grins on their usually serious lips; their eyes eagerly scanning the faces all around them, looking for their family and loved ones whom they’d been parted from for the last three months.

Women and children ran through the crowd throwing themselves into the waiting arms of their husbands or fathers before being dragged up onto the war horses to ride with their men to the castle.

Ignoring what was going on around him, Duncan kept his focus dead ahead, his aim was to reach the stables, hand over his horse to the groom; and then go find his son. A cynical grimace twisted his striking face as he remembered how once he had returned home with such eagerness to see his child. Now, all he felt was reluctance; reluctance to see the disappointed expression in his sons’ eyes, reluctance to hear what trouble his son had caused in his absence.

“Welcome home Lord Duncan!” William, the head stableman shouted, his happiness at his masters return was plain to see on his old craggy face.

Duncan jumped down from his horse in a quick, fluid movement, which might have startled a man unprepared for the skilled agility of one so big. Feeling the tension begin to ease for the first time that day, Duncan managed a smile for the old man he’d known all of his life. 

“I hear ye managed to oust the Shaw’s from old McIntosh’s land” William lilted in his broad Scottish accent as he took the reins from Duncan’s hand and began leading the horse into the dimly lit stables behind him.

Old William still had a spring in his step that belied his age, he could have stopped working years ago and Duncan would have gladly taken care of this old man who’d been like a second father to him. However, William had no desire to stop work; he often claimed that he was the only man with the exception of Duncan who could get near Duncan’s intimidating war horse called Shadow.

This was one reason for the spring in the old man’s step now, he took such pride in this fact and aimed smirks of superiority to the other stable hands, who were much younger and larger in stature, but who lacked the nerve even to approach the mean, dark beast who now trailed behind him through the stables as docile as an old nag.

“Aye, young Shaw’s no smarter than his father” Duncan admitted scornfully. “He took no supplies with him but allowed his men to pillage the village, killing off the livestock before they locked the walls. It was a simple case of circling them and waiting him out. He lasted two months before he came crawling out begging for mercy! Too much of a coward to stand and fight!” the disgust Duncan felt was projected in every word that left his mouth, he could still see the innocent women and children who had been almost starved to death by that lowly coward Shaw, if he had waited another week before admitting defeat it would have been too late for those villagers.

“So! He still lives does he? Mark my words, that
laddie will be causing trouble again in no time!” William prophesied without humor, lifting the saddle from Shadows’ back. Duncan automatically stepped forward to help the old man but pulled himself up, knowing he would only insult William in the process.

“Old McIntosh
doesnae have any sons to succeed him!” William continued, “and all of his son’s in law believe that he owes them his lands, I’d say he’s gonna have more trouble in the comin years unless a son pops up from somewhere”.

Duncan had long ago stopped being amazed at the amount of information William was able to learn even though it had been a good fifteen years since he’d stepped foot outside of this village. “There’s a
rumour going around that there’s a bastard son out there somewhere, McIntosh has sent out ten of his best mercenaries to track him down” Duncan added, biting back his humour at the interest the old man was trying to hide. He could almost see the old man’s ears straining towards him to make sure that he didn’t miss a single morsel of gossip.

“Ten! Old McIntosh must be getting desperate to send out so many!” William feigned nonchalance as he started to rub down the sweating horse.

“McIntosh is no fool, as ye pointed out his daughter’s husbands are going to cause him much trouble and he’s no longer a young man. He needs an heir, a young heir who’s capable of defending his land and of taking over from the old man when he dies”.

“Speaking of heirs, have
ye seen your young laddie yet?” William peered around Shadows’ rump to gauge Duncan’s reaction.

All
humour leaving him, Duncan asked wearily, “No, should I have seen him?”

“That depends, he took Cloud for a ride this morning without permission and ...”

“WHAT?” Duncan raged! “Ye let him take Cloud!” Pacing now, Duncan threw up his hands in frustrated anger. Cloud was Shadow’s son, his number two horse and every bit as dangerous as his sire. Nobody rode Cloud when he was not here. Nobody dared to! For, they feared the wrath of both man and beast. His son was eight years old for Christ sake; it just didn’t bare thinking about!       

Needing action, unable to wait there any longer he picked up his saddle and threw it onto shadows’ now dry back as though it weighed nothing.

“Connor and Iain went after the laddie, I’m sure they’ll be back soon enough” William placed out a restraining hand, the two stable boys were good lads and he wasn’t quite sure what Duncan would do when he found them. Distraction was the only card he had to play, “Ewan will be fine Duncan. He managed to saddle up the horse, which is a damn site closer than anyone else can get to that beast, and I’m sure Iain and Connor will find him before anything dreadful happens. Besides they’ve more chance of finding him than ye do, ye dinnae even know which way they went”.

“For their sakes I hope
yer right William, because if anything happens to my son they’ll pay dearly!” Duncan threatened blackly. He would go to any lengths to protect what was his.

“Why?” William confronted dragging Duncan’s attention away from his black thoughts, “Ewan snuck in here and took that horse without anyone’s help or permission. It’s hardly their fault that they were deceived!”

For a moment Duncan was left speechless. Nobody dared to argue with him, not even this old man; and especially about his son. When he found his tongue again he bellowed out louder than before, “their job is to watch my horses. If they were doing their jobs properly no horse inside these stables should have been able to move without them knowing about it!” his arm slashed aggressively through the air as if underlining his point. “Where were they when this happened? Out back with some young lassie form the village? Not doing their jobs I’d wager!” he roared, taking a pace forward.

“And are ye doing
yer job with that bairn Duncan?” William held his ground, for the first time in Duncan’s life he was openly defying him. William didn’t know who was more astonished, Duncan or himself? But the time to back down had passed and so he plunged on heedless of the consequences. “Ye go off and leave him alone for months at a time, in care of the servants who are too afraid to say no to him! He’s given free reign of this place when you’re not here! He lives without discipline! How can he learn if there’s no one here to teach him the way a man should behave!”

Recognizing
the truth behind the old man’s words Duncan threw up his hands and continued with slightly less aggression, “so what are ye suggesting old man? Ye think I’ve not had these same thoughts myself! By all means tell me the solution because I’ll be damned if I can think of one!” Duncan paused, his ears roaring with the rage that was coursing through him; his heart beat heavily with the burden of his son. He had the reputation of being surefooted and focused when engaging in battle with his opponents, however, the very thought of dealing with his son never failed to send chills of panic racing through his body.       

“Let me go!” Ewan’s indignant voice sliced sharply through Duncan’s thoughts. Spinning, he took a hasty stride towards the boy, but was pulled up short by old William tugging on his sleeve to regain his attention.

“There is one solution Duncan” he declared seriously, earnestly enough to cause Duncan to pause and silently wait for his suggestion, already fearing that he knew what the old man was going to say, “marry again. Take another wife who will act as his mother. Who will discipline him and care for him when you’re not here”.

Choosing to ignore William’s advice, Duncan shuck off the old man’s hand and walked away without offering a response. No response was needed. Marriage was out of the question. He would never freely marry again. Not even for his son!

Chapter Two

“Elizabeth!” Richard shouted, doubting he would ever understand his sister, “where are you going now?”

Without as much as a break in her stride she hollered back, “down to the river! Do you want to come
?”

“I can’t. Fathers letting me train with the men today“. Skipping down the path Richard rounded Elizabeth and stopped dead in front making her stop too. ”Before long I’m sure he’ll let me go along with him on one of his battles with the Scots!” He continued without missing a beat.

“You shouldn’t sound so gleeful at the prospect Richard“. Elizabeth waved an admonishing finger in her brothers’ face much to his amusement. ”Why you men want to go out and kill each other is quite beyond me” she shuddered with the thought.                

“Because Elizabeth“, he paused for effect, “they are our enemy! If we didn’t make war with them they would invade England and slaughter us all!”

Slapping her hand to her forehead in feigned astonishment, she declared, “So it makes perfect sense that we go to Scotland and slaughter them first!” the irony of her words was completely lost on her brother, whose attention moved from their conversation to the group of men entering the training grounds.

Elizabeth hid an affectionate smile, it wasn’t often that she heard her little brother speaking so earnestly. The reason she was hiding her smile was because she didn’t want to encourage his opinion in any way. She loved her young brother dearly but on this topic she would never agree with him, or the rest of her family.

“See you later Richard”, she stepped in front of him, wanting to regain his attention so that she could be on her way.

“Alright, but don’t be back late for supper. Apparently father has some very important news to tell us all!” he imparted seriously.

Stopping in her exit Elizabeth turned back with a knowing grin, “father always has something important to tell us!”

Before she could turn away Richard stopped her, “this time it’s different. I don’t know what it’s about but I have a really bad feeling about the whole thing!”

Not quite knowing whether to take her little brother seriously or not, Elizabeth patted his shoulder soothingly with her free hand, “try not to worry Richard. I’m sure it’s not going to be as terrible as you’re imagining”.  

“I don’t know Elizabeth, but please don’t be late!” he all but begged.

Nodding her assent, Elizabeth smiled as she watched her brothers retreating back. She would not allow his premonitions of the coming evening to ruin her day, for today she was going to be completely selfish, today she was going to spend some time at her favourite spot down by the river. Today she was going to enjoy her nineteenth birthday without the interruption of her family.

Eager to reach her little piece of heaven she shouted, “Sunny!” at the top of her lungs and in the next instant a small bundle of white fluff came bouncing through the tall grass of the field she was standing in to dance excitedly around her feet. Laughing at her dogs eager enjoyment of his freedom, she all but skipped along the winding path with Sunny jogging at her heels; but every now and again he’d become distracted by strange sounds and scents and go off to quickly investigate them before catching up with his owner.

As she entered the forest which the wandering river meandered through Elizabeth ducked her head to narrowly miss walking into a tree branch, which still managed to catch a clump of her golden hair in its finger like limbs. Not far now she thought with anticipation as she yanked her hair out of its clutches. When she got there she was going to sit and savor the peace and quiet, enjoy the nature around her and let her imagination run free. Early this morning Elizabeth had snuck into the kitchen and taken some bread and cheese, so she had enough supplies for a little picnic for herself and Sunny, she was well prepared as she'd started planning this trip down to the river many weeks ago!

“Miss Elizabeth!” Jumping in fright Elizabeth spun around, but was immediately put at ease when she recognized the middle aged man running towards her through the forest. A smile formed at her lips in anticipation of greeting the village blacksmith, which quickly turned into lines of worry as she noticed his haggard appearance.

“What’s wrong Geoff?” stepping forward she held out her hands to grab hold of his shoulders, he looked as though he would crumple at her feet at any moment.

Shaking his head in frantic jerks he took hold of her hands on his shoulders. “Not me Lady Elizabeth! My wife! You must come! Please!” he begged.

Not needing to think twice Elizabeth allowed Geoff to pull her through the forest and back out beyond. As they raced over the fields towards the village Elizabeth managed to ask between panting breaths, “What’s wrong with Betsey?”

“She started having the baby last night! But something’s wrong. The baby won’t come out! You have to help them. Please!” He entreated; his wife’s life depended upon him finding someone to help her.

As they ran through the village they drew solemn stares from the people gathered out in the streets, by now word had spread through the village that Betsey, Geoff’s wife was in trouble. Many of the older villages had accepted the fact that they was no help for her, not because they were unfeeling or wished any harm towards the blacksmith and his wife, but because they had witnessed women dying in childbirth too many times throughout their life.

Elizabeth burst through the door of the little one roomed hut that Geoff and Betsey called home. Lying on the makeshift bed across the room poor Betsey was curled up and moaning in pain. Sweat was pouring off her pain racked body soaking through her bed cloths and sheets. As Elizabeth approached she was relieved to see that there was only a small amount of blood loss. It was nothing too serious. Yet!

Rolling up the sleeves of her dress, she untied her cape and let it drop to the floor; she wouldn’t need its extra warmth for the next few hours at least. Talking soothingly to Betsy, Elizabeth laid her gentle hands on the woman before her, who was not much older than she herself. Turning her head, she gave instructions to Geoff, still in her soothingly controlled voice. Nodding in compliance, Geoff scrambled off to do as he had been bidden; praying all the while that his darling Betsy would pull through this ordeal.

Alright! Elizabeth thought, now to work! And she turned her attention back to the woman lying before her.

Hours had passed before Elizabeth was able to leave the little house to get some fresh air. Breathing deeply she stretched her tired, aching back and paced slowly to ease out the cramps in her legs.

It was dark now but that didn’t worry her, she was certain that no one from the castle would have noticed her missing just yet. She turned to look through the window of the little house, now brightly lit by two candles inside, and the scene before her brought such joy to her heart that it seemed to swell inside her chest; for there, sitting on the bed was Geoff cradling his tired wife and his hungry daughter in his arms, a look of contentment
etched upon his glowing face. Not wanting to interrupt the new family, Elizabeth hesitated before she entered to collect her cape and small sack which were still on the floor where she’d left them.

“Lady Elizabeth” Betsy held out her hand beseechingly, “I’ll never be able to thank you for what you’ve done” she smiled weakly.

“Nonsense Betsey”, Elizabeth leant down to the girl, “I don’t need your thanks.”

“I have a request to make if it’s alright to do so?” she asked hesitantly and at Elizabeth’s nod “Can we name our daughter after you?”

Laughing Elizabeth smiled down at the new baby, “Well! She does looks like an Elizabeth so how can I refuse?”

“We’ll call her Lizzie.
Our little Lizzie!” Geoff beamed. “And thank you. Again!”

Shortly after, Elizabeth left the blacksmith and his wife and started the short walk back to the castle, Sunny once more walking at her feet. As tired as she now felt, Elizabeth couldn't help thinking that she couldn't have received a better present on her birthday. Nineteen years after she’d been born, she’d helped to bring a new little life into this world. She felt on top of the world!