The Raven's Wish (42 page)

He had no other explanations left. Logic and coincidence did not apply. His own recurring dream had led him to find Elspeth in the sea loch. That had convinced him that the Sight was an undeniable and real phenomenon. Man's brain was not the limit of man's experience after all. The philosophers had some work yet to do.

He smiled bitterly, knowing he had turned to thoughts of the mysteries of life. He was a condemned man about to face God.

But he had always trusted logic and skepticism, and his own measure of the world around him. Man can do all things if he will, Duncan had been taught; man is limited only by himself. He knew the ideas of the humanist philosophers. The writings of Erasmus, Sir Thomas More, and the Italian Alberti had given him a basis for his logic and skepticism, for faith in himself above all else. God existed, of course, and no one could doubt that; but he had thought that seers and prophecies were the stuff of medieval superstition.

Erasmus and More should have met Elspeth Fraser, he mused; my wife could teach them about man's control over his own life. She could map out a man's life from birth to death, past and future. She had the ability to touch a scar and feel the hurt trapped in it. Such inexplicable talents, once proven to be true, were better accepted on faith.

But would faith get him out of this situation? He had once had supreme control over his life. He laughed out loud, now, at that thought, and startled a tiny mouse, sending it scurrying over his shoe and into a crack in the wall.

Before he had been an educated lawyer versed in philosophy and mathematics, he had been a wild Scot, a bold, brave and foolhardy Highland lad. To Highlanders, the blend of the real and the unknown was a simple matter of everyday existence. But he had rejected that part of his life.

Now he sat in a dark, cold prison cell with his worldly possessions and rank taken from him, where clean water, light, a pair of boots were great luxuries. And he realized that his controlled intellect had turned him away from the deep pulse of life. Elspeth had shown him wildness, had shown him passion and joy and intuitive impulsiveness. Because of her, the wilder part, which he had tried to eliminate in himself, had stirred inside of him. The first impulse was so powerful that it had overtaken him and landed him in prison. But now his wilder side lent him strength to rebel. He knew he could fight this with his heart, with his mind, and with his fists.

He would not go easily to the block. He doubted that Elspeth had seen that in her vision.

* * *

A long time later, sitting in the dark pit, he heard Hob's voice at the door. "Visitors for ye, Duncan," Hob said, as the door opened.

Duncan stood, and gaped in surprise. Five men, cloaked and hooded, entered his cell. They dropped to the lowered floor with quick agile movements, all but the last man, who was urged in by the toe of Hob's sturdy boot.

As the hoods fell back, Duncan saw the Fraser cousins, Hugh, Callum, Kenneth and Ewan. The last man was Robert Gordon.

He tilted his head. "Welcome, lads," he said. "And Robert."

Kenneth grinned. "Duncan, man, we have brought you a gift."

He pushed Robert forward. "Alasdair found him in a tavern, boasting that he had brought a dangerous spy to justice. So we collected him and brought him to you."

Duncan eyed Robert warily. "And what am I to do with him?"

Ewan stepped close and bent his head. "Well," he said in a whisper, "we wondered if you would like to have him take your place on the scaffold tomorrow."

All of Duncan's senses were alert. He snapped his gaze from one cousin to the other. "Take my place?"

"The man is a disgrace, a true snake," Ewan said, speaking from the side of his mouth. "We thought you might like to land your fist in his face." He shrugged. "And we have found no better way to get you out than to leave him here in your place."

"Ah. Has he agreed to this?" Duncan murmured.

"Not exactly," Ewan muttered.

"Stop that mumbling," Robert said. "What are you saying?"

"Only that it is time you confessed to your crimes," Ewan answered. "Callum will help you."

With a swift movement, Callum grabbed Robert and lifted him off the floor. "Tell us all what you have done, Robert. We want to hear why you made false charges against Duncan Macrae."

"Hah. Not false. I brought a spy and a treasonous bastard to justice. I found corruption in the heart of the queen's own men, and exposed him."

Duncan stared, his chains weighing heavily on his wrists and ankles. "Lies," he said.

"Indeed, lies," Hugh said. "Callum—?"

"With pleasure," Callum said, and suddenly knocked Robert against the wall. Robert's head flew back, and he dropped down to the floor.

Kenneth turned and called to Hob. The door cracked open, and Hob tossed in a set of keys before shutting the door hastily.

Hugh caught the keys and bent down to unlock Duncan's iron fetters. "Elspeth left you a cloak," he said. "Put it on, and hunch down as if you are a shorter man. Robert is not as large as you. We mean to run out of here. Hob will pretend to know nothing."

Duncan saw that he had a choice. He could wait for the message from Moray that he hoped would come, or he could grab this chance, however, risky, that had fallen to him. He nodded and grabbed up the cloak from the floor, swirling it around his shoulders. He felt suddenly invigorated, ready to quit this place and worry about the consequences later.

The Frasers clustered in the black darkness of the cell, laughing softly and clapping Duncan on the back. Anxious to get out, he stepped away toward the door, just as a dark whirling shadow fell heavily at the group of cousins. Robert had thrown himself at them with a frenzied yell. They went down in surprise in a chaotic tumble, as if a cannon had landed in their midst.

"I have him!" Callum said. "Oof—"

"But I have him!" Ewan called. "
Dhia
! And he has a knife!"

Duncan spun around, but the darkness was so complete that he could not tell one cloaked cousin from another. All of them, Frasers and Robert, rolled about in the filthy straw, arms and legs flailing. Duncan heard the ugly sound of punches landing, and hunched down to dive in and help. But he was not sure which one was Robert.

Scant moments later, he saw the writhing mass on the floor begin to separate into men, standing, breathing heavily.

"I have him," one of them called. "He is killed. Go!"

Duncan knocked, the door opened, and the Frasers scrambled quickly out of the cell, leaping up into the corridor and running for the entrance.

Duncan paused to look at Hob. "My thanks, cousin. I owe ye my life."

Hob grinned. "Och, ye're a fine man and I wish ye well. Go now, man." He shoved him after the others.

Duncan ran to catch up to the Frasers, who had slowed down to file sedately past the guards who had admitted them. The guardsmen paid them such little attention that Duncan realized that money must have changed hands earlier. He had never been allowed that many visitors before. Bending at the knees, he walked awkwardly past, head down, trying to look like the shorter man who even now lay in the cell. Nodding brusquely to the guards at the entrance, he stepped out into the courtyard.

The Frasers were far ahead of him, a cluster of dark robed men in the moonlight. Duncan had not realized how late it was; the guards must have required a hefty bribe to allow visitors at such an hour. But the night before an execution, they might be expected to show some leniency for the condemned man.

He drew in a deep breath of cold, fresh air, filled his lungs again, and smiled. Walking toward the gate, he left the castle just behind the Frasers. He saw Hugh lift a hand and wave to the porter at the gate. Somehow they had cleared their way in and out; no questions were even asked.

Only gold could open gates that quickly, Duncan knew. He began to wonder how much was left in his coffers at home. Apparently the Frasers had been quite free with his coin. He laughed, not grudging them a pence. Then he walked briskly down the incline toward the town, moonlight on his shoulders.

They were well along High Street before Duncan realized that one of them had run on ahead. "Lads," he called softly. "Where are you headed?"

Hugh turned. "Back to your rooms for now."

Duncan shook his head. "When they discover Robert in the cell, they will send up the cry and begin to look for me."

"Hob will delay them as long as he can," Hugh answered.

"Still, it is best I leave the city. Go on to my rooms, and take care of Elspeth. If men-at-arms come there, say that you know nothing of my whereabouts. I will ride to find Moray."

"Hugh," Callum said. "Where is Kenneth?"

"He ran ahead," Hugh answered.

"That was Ewan," Callum said.

"I am here," Ewan said. "I thought Hugh ran ahead."

Callum stopped in the road. "Where is Kenneth?" They looked at each other, puzzled.

Duncan felt a shiver go up his spine. "The one who ran ahead was a smaller man than Kenneth," he said slowly. "I thought he was Ewan."

Ewan swore and broke into a run. The Frasers followed, with Duncan in their midst. Feet pounding on the cobbled street, they raced through the town. Seeing the swirl of a dark cloak, Duncan pursued it around a corner, and through a maze of side streets.

He was the first to catch up with Robert on the steps of a multi-level tenement house. As Robert ran through the door and up a flight of stairs, Duncan followed. He thrust his shoulder into a half-open door and grabbed Robert before he could close the door in his face. The Frasers pounded up the steps behind him.

"Where is Kenneth?" Duncan growled.

"I knifed him and left him in the cell," Robert panted back. "Kill me if you will, but he will die of his injury. And you will be brought to justice for escaping."

Duncan slammed him against a wall. The Frasers came into the room behind them and stopped. He landed a strong blow to Robert's jaw, and another to his belly. Robert gave him a odd look of shock, and crumpled to the floor.

Duncan turned around. "Tie him up," he said. "He will go with us to the block in the morning."

"I thought you were riding to find Moray," Hugh said.

"If Kenneth lives, he may be taken to the block in my place," Duncan said. "When my absence is discovered, and a Fraser is found in my cell, he will be quickly condemned by the Council. Hob will not be able to do anything to stop it. His own life may be in danger over this escape. And since we will not be able to go in and get Kenneth, we will have to wait for them to bring him out. And they will," he said, frowning. "I think that they will. The Council members seem anxious to have someone beheaded before the people."

The Frasers applied their attentions to the task of securing Robert with whatever they found at hand. Leather belts found in a cupboard proved to be sturdy fetters.

"These are the rooms Robert has been renting while he has been here," Duncan said. He began to sort through the cupboards. Finding sheaves of papers in a small wooden casket, he sat down to look through them. "
Ach
. These are not quite what I had in mind," he muttered, tossing them down.

"Duncan," Hugh said. "How will we get Kenneth off the block in the morning?"

Duncan thrust his fingers through his hair, and looked up. "I do not know," he said. "But for now, we have some time left to us before the guards discover him. We have a task here in these rooms." He spun in a slow circle, eyeing the cupboards, a trunk, and a few small wood and leather boxes. "Look for papers, lads," he said. "Any kind of papers."

Chapter 25

O gentle death, come cut my breath,

I may be dead ere morn!

I may be buried in Scottish ground,

Where I was bred and born.

~"The Demon Lover"

In the great hall at Holyroodhouse, Elspeth watched the rain through a tall window. She and Alasdair had returned to the palace that morning, walking the short distance through a chill fog and a cold, drizzling rain. She shivered in the spacious hall, which was cool despite a fire in the enormous hearth.

"They never came back last night," she said to Alasdair. "They went out late, and did not return. What happened?"

"Stop fretting, girl," he said. His sigh revealed his own concern. "They took Robert after I had found him and went to the prison. I do not know what they meant to do there, though Hugh had some purpose in mind. Perhaps they were allowed to see Duncan, and sat the night with him."

She nodded and wrapped her fingers around the cold iron bars that divided the window space. "I hope so. I want to think that someone was with him last night. Hob would have been there, too. He is a loyal kinsman."

Alasdair nodded, just as the door at the far end of the room opened. The clerk who had come to fetch them for their audience on the previous day entered and cleared his throat loudly.

"Her Grace the Queen is not here. You may leave."

Alasdair murmured a translation, and Elspeth gasped, running toward the man as he turned to go. He frowned with an expression of disapproval at her quick, earnest barrage of Gaelic. Then Alasdair was there, and she turned gratefully to him.