Rumors Among the Heather (22 page)

She closed her eyes
and heard the hooting of an owl in the distance and the lonely
croaking of a bullfrog. The night sounds lulled Julie into an
uneasy slumber.

The next morning she
sat up to stretch her tired muscles and hit the low-hanging limbs,
which brought down a shower of droplets. It must have rained during
the night. She smiled as refreshing drops continued to fall on her
face.

The cool morning air
sent a shiver throughout her limbs, but once she began to move
around, she felt warmer. She perched on a nearby rock and ate her
ration of food before starting on her way again. The sun’s rising
gave her direction, and she kept her eyes on a mountain peak in the
distance. One foot in front of the other, she trudged on, quickly
at first, but her steps slowed as the day moved forward.

* * *

Matthew had awakened
the previous evening to the sinking of the sun and the sound of
falling gravel. All his senses became suddenly alert. He felt a
sense of foreboding. Without moving, he searched the cave trying to
adjust his eyes to the growing darkness. He could not see Julie
sitting by the entrance. The hair stood up on the back of his neck.
His hand closed around the cold metal of his broadsword, and he
made his way from the pallet to the entrance of the cave. Warily,
he waited as little pieces of gravel continued to fly past his
face. He heard the sound of boots scraping against rock. With his
sword poised, ready to strike, he scarcely dared to breathe.

A cry of surprise
mixed with the gravel, and the scraping noise seemed to echo off
the rock face of the cliff. A small body flew past Matthew and
landed at his feet. Ian stood up unsteadily and gingerly brushed
the dirt from his pants. Seemingly dazed but none the worse for
wear, he turned and stared at Matthew. He started to scream, but
Matthew silenced him by putting his hand over his mouth and pulling
him into the cave.

“Ian! You gave me a
start. I thought you were a redcoat. You don’t know how close you
came to feeling the business end of this sword,” Matthew said with
relief.

Ian stood completely
still and stared wide-eyed up at Matthew. “Uncle M-Matthew, is that
you?”

“Of course it’s me!
Who else would it be?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle, but
you…you look different,” Ian said hesitantly.

“How do you think I
should look? I’ve been stuck in this cave without a change of
clothing or a decent way to wash up,” Matthew snapped and instantly
regretted his show of temper. “What are you doing here, anyway, and
where the devil are Ribble and Julie?” He tried to ask in a better
temper than he felt, but his efforts went by the wayside.

“The soldiers are all
over the island. They’re watching Ribble and the rest of the staff,
but no one seemed to pay too much attention to me. Ribble thought I
would be the safest choice to come. I don’t know where Miss
Hastings is, but Ribble is back at the castle mending sails.”

“You didn’t see Julie
outside when you came down? Did you look around carefully?”

“Yes, I did. I was
very careful. I waited up on top for some time just watching before
I started down. She’s not outside that I can see,” Ian said with
concern showing on his face.

“Ian, get back to the
castle and tell Ribble I have to see him tonight.”

“I’ll tell him, but I
don’t know if he can get away. Did you and Ribble have a
quarrel?”

“A quarrel? Why, no.
Why do you ask? Is something wrong?” Matthew asked.

“It’s just, well,
Ribble seems upset. I think he could have gotten away tonight, but
he didn’t seem to want to. That’s all,” Ian said with a puzzled
look on his face.

“You tell him I want
to see him and to be quick about it,” Matthew said tersely. Ian
started to go but hesitated. “Hurry up, lad. You’d better get back
to the castle before you’re missed.”

“Uncle Matthew?”

“You’re wasting time, Ian.”

“Did you and Miss Hastings have a fight too? Is that
why she’s gone?”

Matthew looked into
his earnest blue eyes and felt a thousand years old. Why did she
go? He thought back to the last time he saw her.

He did not know
himself. They made love, and it felt good, it felt right. She’d
welcomed his touch—no, she’d
enjoyed
his touch, he knew she
had, as he enjoyed hers. But she had cried afterward. Why? What had
made her sad? Had he done something wrong? No, but then he did not
do anything right, either. He should have told her he loved her and
that all would be well. He could have told her he’d forgiven her
for her treachery. Yet he’d allowed the chance to have everything
as before to slip by.

He shook his head to
clear his thoughts. “No, we didn’t quarrel. We didn’t even talk,”
Matthew said sadly.

“Don’t you like Miss
Hastings? I like her.”

Matthew looked at the
determined lad before him. He was at a loss; what could he say?
That it was his fault Julie had left? “Oh, Ian, I can’t explain it
now. Just go and send Ribble back,” he said with a touch of
frustration cutting through his words.

Ian clenched his fists
and stared at his uncle. “Well, I liked her, and she liked you. I
know she did. If you hadn’t been mean to her, she never would have
gone away. Now I’ll never see her again,” Ian said with a sob.

Before Matthew could
say anything else, Ian scrambled up over the rock at the entrance
to the cave and made it halfway to the top. “Ian, wait. Come
back…”His words fell on deaf ears.

Matthew feverishly
paced the length of his cave. He should be searching for Julie, but
he knew it would be foolhardy. Maybe Ribble knew where she had
gone.

I’m better off
without her. I’ll be on the run and in hiding until I can reach
France. She would just slow me down. Why did she leave? Why?
He
kept getting the same answer.
She’s probably gone to turn me in.
It’s a certainty, I gave her no reason not to. She and Hamilton are
sure to be having a grand laugh at my expense. I must be the prize
fool of this century. She’s fooled us all. Where the devil is
Ribble?

The night edged toward
dawn before Matthew heard the sound of someone approaching. He
grabbed his sword and waited. A moment later, Ribble entered the
cave.

“Where have you been?
Why did you send Ian and not come yourself? Don’t you know how
dangerous it is for the lad?” he demanded.

“It was safer if the
lad came. The bloody Sassenach have practically moved into the
castle,” Ribble said shortly.

“Julie’s gone. Have
you seen her?”

“No, but that explains
why one of the boats is missing. She must have taken it over to the
mainland. I noticed it missing after tea.”

“Why would she go? She
left while I slept. Do you have any idea where she would’ve
gone?”

“Why she went is her
business. As to where, I guess that’s her business too,” Ribble
said.

“Blast, man! It’ll be
my business when she tells Hamilton where I am.” Matthew began to
pace the cave again.

“Hmph! The ship’ll be
here about nightfall. I’ll come for ye, but I’ll not be going with
ye. My father and my father’s father have served your family well,
but I no longer wish to be employed by ye,” Ribble stated simply
and without emotion.

His calm unemotional
statement grated on Matthew. He stopped his pacing and watched the
impassable Ribble for some time before he spoke.

“If that’s your wish,
that’s the way it’ll be. I’ll set up a pension for you when I reach
France. We’ve been through many a campaign together. I thought we
were friends.”

“Aye, I thought we
were friends too,” Ribble said and turned to go.

“Wait, Ribble! Why are
you doing this?”

“If we’d been friends,
I wouldnae been a part of yer charade. How could ye make me a part
of yer sacrilege? Being a lord might give ye the privilege but not
the right,” Ribble said heatedly.

“What are you talking
about? What charade?” Matthew roared his question. Their voices
echoed eerily off the walls of the cave.

“Yer bloody marriage,”
Ribble yelled back.

“What about my bloody
marriage?” Matthew asked.

“I know about it and
so does the lass,” Ribble ground out.

“Of course you know.
Have you gone mad? Both of you were there. I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” Matthew said, his hands clenching and unclenching
with frustration.

“Julie went ta the
church. You dinnae more marry her than you took wings and flew.
There’s no record. You lied to her and to me,” Ribble said
accusingly.

“For your misguided
mind, my friend, I
am
married. I wish to God I wasn’t, but I
am. I’m married to a traitor and cuckolded besides. Your
indignation is misplaced,” he growled. Before rage could take over
and before Matthew knew what hit him, Ribble connected with a blow
to his face. Matthew landed hard on the cold ground. Stunned by
Ribble’s action, he stood up and rubbed his jaw. Ribble crossed the
room in two long strides. Before he could grab Matthew by the
collar, Matthew propelled him backwards.

They had fought
countless times before on the same side but never against each
other. Friend or foe, it did not matter. The instinct to master the
other took over. Locked together in combat they traded blow for
blow. Matthew knocked Ribble against the wall of the cave with a
right jab to his midsection. Ribble bounced back and landed an
equally effective upper cut to Matthew’s jaw, sending him to the
floor. Matthew came back and grabbed Ribble by his coat, pushing
him backwards. His valet stumbled and both men fell to the floor.
They rolled apart and came up swinging.

When finally both were
exhausted, they fell apart to catch their breath. Matthew leaned
against the wall to steady himself, and Ribble did the same on the
opposite wall. They glared at each other like two mountain goats
ready to butt heads. Matthew held up his hand in an effort to stop
before he rushed him again.

“Do ye give up then?
Do ye take back yer poisonous words?” Ribble stood close to
Matthew. His words had fallen from between clenched teeth.

“I do not! You’re the
one who should apologize to me. I never took you for one whose
loyalties could be turned by a pretty face,” Matthew sneered.

Ribble’s huge,
weather-beaten hands grabbed the lapels of Matthew’s coat and with
brute force half-dragged, half-carried him to the other side of the
room. The two friends stared at each other for some time before
Ribble finally released him.

“I’ll be back for ye
tonight,” he called over his shoulder and turned to leave.

“Send word to the ship
to leave without me. I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going.” The
words were out of Matthew’s mouth before he realized he said them.
He seemed to be acting beyond his own control.

Ribble turned around
in surprise. “Ye have ta go. I’ve made the arrangements. I heard
one of the redcoats talking, and he said Hamilton’s men will be
here in force by tomorrow night. They’ll search every nook and
cranny on this island. Ye’ll no longer be safe here.”

“I’m going after her.
If she’s in Hamilton’s company, then I’ll kill them both,” Matthew
said icily.

Ribble permitted just
the hint of a smile to cross his face. He slapped his leg and said,
“In that case, I’ll be goin’ with ye. I’ll be comin’ around the
point about nightfall. Watch for my signal then swim out to
me.”

Matthew nodded his
head sharply in agreement, and a temporary truce was called. After
Ribble left, he sat down in a corner of his cave, exhausted. He
stewed for some time before he stood up and began to pace again. He
kicked anything in his path. He cursed himself for a fool and threw
Julie in for good measure.

He and Ribble had
never exchanged an angry word or raised a hand to one another in
anything other than friendship. For as long as he could remember,
Ribble had been there. The day passed slowly, leaving Matthew in a
morass of thoughts. He paced the cave from front to back and side
to side. He tried to keep watch, but he could not concentrate.
Exhausted, he finally sat at the entrance of the cave and waited
for night to come.

When night fell,
Ribble’s signal glowed as he rounded the point. Matthew immediately
stripped and put his clothes and boots in an oilskin sack along
with his broadsword and dirk. He tied the sack to his back and
quickly made his way down the cliff. He plunged into the icy cold
waters and began to swim.

A shot buzzed past his
shoulder and sank into the water less than a foot in front of him.
Shouts echoed from the shore, but Matthew could not make out what
they shouted at him. He swam harder, and the muscles of his arms
and shoulders burned. He continued to swim quickly toward Ribble
and the boat. Exhaustion weighed him down when he finally
accomplished his task. Ribble reached out and pulled him on board.
Matthew lay where he fell, catching his breath while Ribble hoisted
a black sail.

“There’s no time to
rest. Hamilton’s men will be on us soon enough. Our sails are full.
I think we’ll beat them to the mainland.” When they came in sight
of the shore, Ribble grabbed Matthew’s arm. “Look, my lord, they've
got men waiting for us.” His words were barely audible above the
crashing of the waves.

“Aye, that’s going to
make our landing place all the more difficult. They wouldn’t be
expecting us to land at Calamity Point. There has never been a need
to defend that section of shoreline,” Matthew shouted in Ribble’s
ear.

“Aye, and with good
reason. The rocks and strong swirling current make it next to
impossible to keep from breaking up on the rocks. We’ve no choice.
We have to land and face breaking up or land safely and be
captured.”

Ribble and Matthew
worked as a team. Silently, they strained their muscles to the
limit and fought the strong current. With desperation and strength
of purpose, they came ashore.