Mathew's Tale (10 page)

‘But our home, Mathew,’ Lizzie said. ‘What of that?’

‘Well, first and foremost,’ he retorted, ‘Sir Gavin, as I suppose he’ll be called now, having killed his brother, will find that he is short of the rent, for John and I will let it be known in and around Carluke that anyone who occupies that cottage will incur our displeasure. And you, you’ll have better lodgings. Until we can find something permanent, you and your bairns will move into Waterloo House with me. I will ride back and send my carriage for you and the effects that those people left untouched.’

‘That’s not much more than our clothes, but we’ve nothing to carry them in.’

‘Then I will send cases, and tell my coachman to help you fill them.’

She made to speak, but he cut her off. ‘Lizzie,’ he smiled, but sadly, ‘do you think Mother Fleming would have it any other way?’

Chapter Seventeen

H
ANNAH FLEMING’S ETERNAL CALMNESS
was tested by the news that her son brought from Carluke, but by the time the three houseguests arrived, it was fully restored.

She welcomed them in and then took complete charge, allocating bedrooms, and placing Jean in the care of Miss Liddell, a proposition which the little girl accepted as soon as she saw Marshall. Hannah said nothing to any of them about David’s predicament, waiting instead until the family had been fed and had retired for the night, and she and Mathew were alone.

‘This is a terrible business,’ she said, as they sat together in the gazebo that had been built a year before with such nights in mind. The midsummer sun was fully set but a blue glow remained in the northern sky, bathing the garden in its light.

‘True,’ her son agreed. ‘Gregor Cleland was as big a waste of a baronetcy as there has ever been, but nobody should die like that, shot down in the street.’

‘Perhaps but let’s you and me no’ waste oor time mourning him. Our concern must be for poor David. How will it go wi’ him, do ye think?’

‘As I told Lizzie, I hope that he will return with us tomorrow.’

‘But ye’re afraid he won’t?’

‘I’m not certain of it,’ he admitted.

‘Surely yer friend the Sheriff will see reason when he hears the boy’s story.’

‘Robin Stirling, the man, is my friend, but a good Sheriff can have none of those, nor show favour to anyone. I know Martin Knox, the Sheriff’s clerk, too; he would not have sent those officers for David unless he saw good cause.’

‘That was my thought too,’ she murmured.

The next morning Mathew rose early, and rode to Netherton, to advise his managers that neither he nor Mr McGill would be available that day, and that they should take instructions from his secretary, a capable man named Gabriel Spence whom he had hired not long after Margaret’s death and who had earned his trust.

When he returned to Waterloo House, Lizzie and her son were dressed and ready for the road.

‘There is no need for you to come, my dear,’ he told her. ‘Young Matt saw what happened yesterday; you did not. It’s his word that the Sheriff needs to hear.’

‘But I must support my husband, Mathew,’ she protested. ‘Miss Liddell says that she’s happy to look after Jean while I’m gone.’

He smiled. ‘I understand but, Lizzie, remember, there’ll be four in the carriage when we return. That’ll be a tight fit, even if you are one of those.’

‘I can sit with the coachman,’ Matt suggested. ‘Or I could ride postillion.’

‘You know the word,’ Mathew said, ‘but have you ever done it?’

Hannah Fleming had said nothing during the exchange, but finally she intervened. ‘Son,’ she said, ‘tak’ her with ye’. If everything was reversed, if it was you that had been arrested and David goin’ tae rescue ye’, he couldna’ keep me from goin’ wi’ him.’

He gave in to her persuasion. ‘Very well, Mother,’ he sighed. He looked at Matt. ‘On the way back, I’ll ride with Mr Beattie, and you three can travel as a family in the carriage.’

The journey to Lanark was neither long nor arduous. Young Matt made it every day of the school term. The county town’s Sheriff Court was an old building; a replacement had been promised, but Robin Stirling had told Mathew that he did not expect ever to sit in it. Instead he had to dispense justice in a room where the public were barely separated from the accused, although in Stirling’s court, that caused few problems, since the Sheriff had a reputation for dealing with rowdy behaviour on the spot.

The Monday sitting was over by the time they arrived, and the courtroom was empty. Mathew made his way to the Sheriff clerk’s office, and found Martin Knox at his desk.

‘I thought we might be seeing you today, Mr Fleming,’ he said.

‘Then you know why I’m here. I want David McGill, who should never have been in this place in the first place.’

‘Nor is he any longer,’ Knox replied, ominously. ‘You must speak to the Sheriff. He said you were to be shown in as soon as you arrived.’

‘I am not alone,’ Mathew told him, wondering what Knox meant. ‘Mrs McGill is here and their son, a witness to the event and to the death of Sir Gregor.’

‘You may have been unwise in bringing them.’

‘I had no choice. But let me see the Sheriff, and find out what he thinks.’

Knox nodded and left the room by a side door that connected to the Sheriff’s chamber. He returned in less than a minute. ‘You may go in,’ he said, ‘and you may take the boy in with you, but Sheriff Stirling would prefer it if Mrs McGill remained outside.’

Mathew frowned, but saw no point in arguing. Instead, he went back to the corridor to fetch Matt and explain to Lizzie that she should be patient.

Robin Stirling was still in his wig and robes when they entered, as if to underline a distance that was clear to his friend from his demeanour.

He took a seat at a rectangular table and indicated to the visitors that they should sit on the other side.
As if we were adversaries
, Mathew thought, then realised that was exactly what they were.

The Sheriff looked directly at young Matt. ‘Knox says you have a story to tell me, young man. Is that so?’

‘Yes, sir,’ the boy replied, meeting his gaze, but happily, his escort saw, with no show of defiance.

‘By rights you should be telling it not to me but to the procurator fiscal. However, as you are in the company of someone who is like myself an officer of the Crown, I am prepared to hear you, informally.’ His eyes were piercing. ‘By that I mean that I will not place you under oath, but be warned, you must behave as if you were. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Then begin.’

Mathew had given his young charge clear instructions on the way to Lanark. He was to tell his story clearly, without becoming excited or emotional, he was not to abuse Gavin Cleland verbally, and most important, he was to address Sheriff Stirling as ‘sir’ or ‘my Lord’. He followed them to the letter, even under the judge’s stern gaze, describing the events as they had happened, including his family’s subsequent eviction and the destruction of their property on the orders of Cleland.

When he was finished, Stirling was silent for almost half a minute, his elbows on the table and his hands steepled, fingertips a few inches from his nose, and his eyes on Matt all the time.

‘I will ask you only one thing, young man. Were you rude to the late Sir Gregor Cleland in any way? Did you give him cheek?’

‘No, sir,’ the boy replied. ‘Although he gave me a mark on mine.’

Mathew winced at the glibness of the answer, but the Sheriff did not react. Instead he said, ‘Thank you for your story. Now, will you please leave us.’

‘Wait for me outside, Matt, with your mother,’ Mathew instructed him.

‘But my father . . .’ he began.

‘Wait for me outside,’ Mathew repeated, firmly. ‘There’s a good man.’

As the door closed on him, he turned to his friend, who had removed his judicial wig. ‘Well?’

‘Do you believe him to be telling the truth?’ Stirling asked him.

‘Of course,’ he retorted. ‘There is no doubt in my mind. Robin, I have only one question that needs answering. Did Gavin Cleland really mean to shoot David McGill or did he see a chance to have everything for himself, and seize it?’

‘That is something that you would be best advised not to ask outside this room. Mathew, for what it is worth, I do not see the young man as a liar and, believe me, I have seen scores of them in this building. However I have a great problem, and you are not going to like it.’

‘Go on,’ he sighed, ‘test me.’

‘David McGill appeared before me this morning. He was the first man in the dock, and he was charged with the wilful murder of Sir Gregor Cleland.’

‘But man,’ Mathew exclaimed, ‘that is ridiculous!’

‘I wish it were so, but it wasn’t. The procurator fiscal put before me sworn affidavits by Gavin Cleland and by the two ladies who were in the carriage and witnesses to the event. They are a Miss Charlotte Smith, from Knutsford, Cheshire, a close acquaintance of Sir Gregor, and her employed companion, Miss Judith Stout.

‘They all swear that the boy chased the horses and startled them and that he provoked his whipping. They said also that David McGill did nothing to stop his son. More than that, when the boy was lashed, McGill became enraged. He then, they say, pulled Gavin Cleland from his horse, seized his pistol and shot Sir Gregor through the forehead.’

‘But those are lies, all lies,’ Mathew gasped.

‘They are still sworn testimony from three people of good character, and that is how the Crown Agent will see it. Mr McGill’s version bears out his son’s but with no independent corroboration of their story, his prospects in the High Court will be gloomy.’

Sheriff Stirling’s face was pained. ‘For that’s where I have been compelled to send him, my friend. He is on his way there even now, in the keeping of my officers, bound for the Calton Jail to await his trial. Everything is out of my hands, Mathew.

‘Gavin Cleland has moved fast,’ he added. ‘He must have friends in Edinburgh, for the Crown Office was alerted last night. Forbes, the fiscal, had an instruction this morning from the Lord Advocate himself, that the matter should be expedited. The indictment is being prepared already and the trial will be swift.

‘I do not have to tell you what a guilty verdict will bring. Mr McGill will be for the Lawnmarket, and the gallows.’

Chapter Eighteen

‘I
T’S NOT TRUE, MOTHER!
’ young Matt McGill shouted. ‘It happened as I said it did. I never chased thae horses; it was an accident, I swear.’

‘I do not doubt you, son,’ Lizzie told him. ‘Be calm now; we are in the court building remember.’ Her face was chalk-white as she looked up at Mathew. ‘Why has Cleland done this?’ she asked.

‘I can see only two reasons,’ he replied. ‘Either he was afraid that he would not be believed if he said that he shot his brother by accident, or in fact it was no accident.’

‘He meant to do it? Is that what you are saying?’

‘It was a very lucrative mischance, Lizzie. Sir Gregor was unmarried, so Gavin will not only inherit the baronetcy, but the whole Cleland estate. That might not be what it was in the old Laird’s day, but it is still a considerable property. Think about it; the pair were born minutes apart . . . it was a lottery which one emerged first . . . yet as the younger son Gavin relied on his brother’s good grace for his position, for the clothes on his back, for everything. To find himself in a position where he could change all that in a moment, then throw the blame on to another man, that must have been a great temptation. And from what I have gleaned from Mr Armitage, Gavin has no great record when it comes to resisting temptation.’

‘The two women, what of them?’

‘I know nothing of them, only what the Sheriff has told me, which may be more than he should have. I must be careful with that information if only to protect him.’

‘If the Sheriff is your friend, Mathew,’ Matt demanded, ‘how could he do that to my father, knowing that he is also your friend?’

‘With what was put before him by the procurator fiscal, he had no choice.’

‘Why has he sent him to Edinburgh? Could he no’ be tried here, where it would quickly be sorted?’

Mathew sighed, inwardly. In his account to Lizzie and her son of his discussion with the Sheriff, he had tried to play down the seriousness of McGill’s situation, but the boy was too sharp, too perceptive.

‘The Sheriff’s Court only has the power to deal with offenders up to a certain level of seriousness,’ he explained, ‘and its sentencing powers are limited. Everything else has to go to the High Court, to be tried there by one of the senators of Scotland’s College of Justice.’

‘But they don’t know him! They don’t know he’s a good man.’

‘Then they must be told, by you and by me and by others, if we can find them. Your friends, lad, that you were kicking the ball with, who were they?’

‘Johnny Cope and Johnny Wilson.’

‘We must talk to them.’

‘I don’t believe they saw anything. Even before my father arrived I saw only their backs. As soon as the horse was startled, they were off through the kirkyard like twa rabbits.’

‘Nevertheless,’ Mathew insisted, ‘we must go back to Carluke, find them and talk to them.’

‘They’ll no’ be there; they’ll be at their work.’

’What do they do?’

‘They labour on the land,’ Matt replied. ‘Johnny Cope’s faither’s a tenant farmer and Johnny Wilson works for the estate.’

‘I see. So they’re both beholden to the Clelands one way or another. But are they honest boys?’

‘I believe so.’

‘Then we’ll speak to them today.’

‘Why would the women lie, Mathew?’

He turned to look at Lizzie. ‘We can only guess at that, until they are in the witness box. Then they can be asked directly.’

‘But who will ask them, Mathew? How can David defend himself through there, where he knows no one? We have no money for lawyers.’

He gave a short, terse laugh. ‘Oh, but you have. Cleland may think that he has a scapegoat who can be easily swept away, but I promise you both, David will have all my resources at his disposal. I’ll be in Edinburgh before tomorrow is out, and I will find him the finest advocate I can to present his case and confound Cleland’s lies.’

‘Is his life really at stake?’ she murmured.

It was that direct question he had hoped to avoid; having been put he could only speak the truth. ‘Yes, my dear, it is. But he has the truth on his side, and the fairness of the courts.’

‘Who knows how fair they might be, though? Edinburgh’s a far-away place, and all sorts has happened there.’

‘So I’m told,’ he agreed, ‘for I have never had occasion to go there myself, but that will not hinder us.’

‘Us?’ she repeated.

He nodded. ‘Aye. Young Matt must come with me; he and I will trawl Carluke for witnesses, but unless we find one or two, he is his father’s only defence. There is the minister too, though. I will ask John Barclay to come if it is necessary, to speak on David’s behalf, as an elder of the kirk. Come now,’ he declared, ‘let’s be about it. The quicker we act, the sooner David will be home with you.’

The overcrowded carriage that they had hoped for on their return journey had not come to pass, but Mathew chose to ride with the coachman in any event, to give Lizzie the chance to spend time alone with her son, for once they left, Mathew had no clear idea of when she would see him again.

The travelled straight to Carluke; when they arrived there, young Matt was dispatched to find the two Johnnys and bring them to the manse. Ewan Beattie was instructed to take Lizzie to Waterloo House and then to return. Once they were gone, Mathew headed directly to the minister’s house.

‘You are alone, then,’ John Barclay said, gloomily, as he ushered him in.

‘Aye,’ he replied, and then exploded with a rage so great that it astounded the clergyman and put him in fear. ‘That snivelling, misbegotten little bastard Gavin Cleland is accusing David McGill of assassinating his brother,’ he roared. ‘For two pins I would go straight to the estate, root him out, and thrash the truth out of him.’

‘I have two pins,’ Barclay concede, ‘but you are not having them, for I cannot condone violence. Calm yourself, Mathew, and tell me the whole story. Once you have done, if I decide there’s no other option, then maybes I’ll raid my pin store.’

By the time he was finished, he was indeed calm, but the minister was as agitated as he had been, more upset than Mathew had ever seen him. ‘It’s grievous that Master Cleland would do such a thing. I find it hard to credit.’

His eyes narrowed very slightly. ‘You are sure that the boy is telling the truth?’ he murmured. ‘I know David is a mild man, but that lad is the apple of his eye, and if he did provoke Gregor Cleland to whip him, well, even the most saintly among us can sometimes yield to temptation.’

‘Am I sure?’ Mathew gasped, astonished and shocked. ‘Of course I’m sure. How can you ask such a thing?’

‘I was being the devil’s advocate, sir, that is all. Of course I cannot believe David to be a cold-hearted murderer. After all, he’s a member of my own session, like yourself. And yet, even by the boy’s story, he did drag Sir Gregor to the ground and beat him sorely.’

‘John,’ he replied evenly, ‘I spent my first adult years as a soldier. I did my duty, and as part of that I killed people in the hot blood of battle. Yet I had comrades who were not up to that task. When it came to the press they would fire their weapons, but they would aim to miss. It never surprised me when it happened, for I had sensed that the moment I saw them. David McGill would have been one of those; he might have given Sir Gregor the battering he deserved, but he could not be a murderer. He would defend his family with his own life, but could he take another’s? No, sir. I tell you that for sure. If you tell me that you doubt me, you are demeaning your ministry.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Barclay replied, his grey head bowed. ‘Of course I do not.’

‘Then if this thing goes to trial, you’ll come and speak for him?’

‘How will I know when that time is?’

‘I will send for you. My intention is to go to Edinburgh, and to remain there as long as is necessary, until David’s innocence is proved and he is released.’

‘And if it is not?’ the minister murmured.

‘That is not an outcome I will even consider. I will not come back to Carluke without him.’

‘Then God be with you. And you’ll need Him, for you’ll be heading into a foreign city, within your own land. It’s a cold place and it can be cruel.’

‘Maybe, but John, I have been in Paris, Madrid, Brussels and even London. So you see, cities are not strange to me.’

‘But I doubt there’s another like Edinburgh,’ Barclay said. ‘I was there as a young man, forty years ago. The stench of the pisspots and the stench of corruption are with me to this day.’

Any observation that Mathew might have made was deflected by the sight, though the parlour window, of young Matt, crossing the green and entering the churchyard. His expression was not that of one bringing good news.

‘They wouldn’t come, neither o’ them,’ he said as he joined the two men. ‘Johnny Cope said his father wouldna’ let him; as for Johnny Wilson, he says I did try to scare the horses. I tried to shake the truth out of him but he’s more scared of Gavin Cleland than he was of me. Could you make him change his mind, Mathew?’

‘Possibly,’ he replied, ‘but you cannot rely on an unwilling witness.’

‘Did either of these boys see Matt being whipped?’ Barclay asked.

‘I doubt it, but in any case, that he was struck is not in dispute.’

‘Johnny Cope said something else,’ young Matt added. ‘He said his father told him that my father killed Sir Gregor out of revenge for being dismissed from his job.’

‘If that is Gavin’s story, it does not surprise me,’ Mathew said. ‘A man acting out of spite will draw much less sympathy from the jury than one acting to protect his son. But it does not worry me either. A good lawyer can dismiss that allegation, by pointing out that your father’s station improved when he left the estate’s employment, therefore leaving him no reason to feel animosity towards Cleland.’

He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. ‘You should carry no grudges either, against those two lads. They are afraid; Cope for his family’s welfare and Wilson for his own. Fear is a human weakness, so forgive them. In any case, having run off, they were of minor importance to your father’s defence; we’ll put the truth before the court without their help. Come on, my boy, I see Mr Beattie returning. We need to get back to Waterloo House to prepare for the long journey we have ahead of us tomorrow.’