The Wild Rose of Kilgannon (12 page)

"Are ye aright, lass?" he asked kindly. I nodded, fighting the tears that threatened. "Robert Campbell is no' down yet, but the important people are here. And Seamus has his lads outside. They'll pipe him away properly." I nodded shakily and managed to thank him. His eyes filled with tears and he turned away abruptly with a squeeze of my hand.

I was surrounded then by the people who wanted to express their sorrow and anger. I heard their comments with nods and thanks but I understood none of them. A deep roaring filled my ears and I felt as if I was looking through a tunnel. And then the room hushed and I looked up through my fog and saw Alex and the boys standing at the top of the stairs. Alex wore his best plaid and a white shirt under the green doublet, his plaid over his shoulder. He looked as he had the night I'd met him. He met my eyes with a nod and I watched him descend, his sons' hands clasped firmly in his own. A pale Ian wore his
great-grandfather’s
brooch. Alex's sword was tucked in Jamie's belt and dragged on the ground. Above them Robert stood without expression.

At Alex's appearance a
clamour
had erupted from the people and they pressed toward him. Robert and his men made no move toward Alex and I relaxed for a moment. Whatever their plan, it was not to tear him from us yet. Alex was enclosed by the clan and eventually was ushered to a table and handed food. The boys left his side for a moment or two, only to return immediately.
His hand was always on one of them, touching a shoulder or holding a hand, and Angus was next to him constantly.
But Alex's eyes kept finding mine and I moved closer until I was by his side and his arm was around me. It would be easy to imagine he was setting out for a voyage or a visit to family, not to his trial, I thought. His trial and possible death. What would they do to him? I felt again the paralyzing wave of fear. If the court declared it, he could be given a traitor's death. Hanging,
disembowelling
, and quartering. I drew a shuddering breath and felt myself swaying. Alex's arm tightened around me. Dear God, I prayed, grant him mercy. No man should have to suffer so and not this man who was no traitor to anyone. He squeezed me to him as he whispered in my ear, ignoring the crowd around us.

"Dinna fear, lass. Take the boys and go to yer family and be safe." I looked into his eyes. It was impossible that those blue eyes could soon be empty of life. He stroked my hair. "I love ye, Mary MacGannon. Never forget that. I love ye and Pm sorry."

"I love you, Alex," I said, "and I'm not sorry you love me."

He laughed shakily and kissed my forehead as Ian and Jamie squeezed between us, pointing to Robert standing with his men at the door. "Da," Ian said. "They say ye must go now. Can ye no' tell them no?"

Alex bent down until he was on a level with his sons. "When a MacGannon gives his word, lads," he said, "he must keep it. I gave my word that I would go with Robert and he gave me his that no one at Kilgannon would be harmed. Do ye remember me tellin' ye all that yesterday?"

Ian nodded. "Aye, Da, but I dinna want ye to go."

"I dinna want ye to go, Da," echoed Jamie.

Alex looked from Ian to Jamie and back. "Nor I, lads," he said, "but I must. Promise me one thing. Promise me ye'll take care of each other and yer mother."

"Aye, Da," said Ian.

Jamie nodded. "Aye, Da."

Alex gathered them to him, kissing their cheeks. "Yer verra braw lads. Ye make me proud to be yer da. Dinna forget me, no?"

"No, Da," they said, small arms winding around his neck.

"Now go tell them I'm ready," Alex said
quietly
as he stood. We looked after the boys as they scurried away, and the crowd pushed between us saying their farewells. The faces before me blurred and cleared and I felt the roaring in my ears again. I took a deep breath, willing myself to be calm as Alex led me toward Robert. Just before the door Alex stopped and wrapped his arms around me.

"Kiss me once more, lass, and ..." His voice broke and he pressed his face into my hair. "I love ye, Mary." He paused for control and when he continued his voice was calm again. "I'm sorry, lass, that it ended this way. Take good care of yerself and my sons. Dinna let them forget who they are. Tell them I tried." I kissed him one last time.

"I love you, Alex," I said, careless of who heard. "I'll take good care of your sons. God keep you, my love. I will be waiting."

Tears filled Alex's eyes and with a squeeze of my hand he left me, then embraced Angus, speaking for a moment. Angus patted his shoulder then stood back while Matthew and the others said their goodbyes, many openly weeping. We followed them out into the courtyard and I stood on the steps with Robert and the boys as Alex climbed onto a horse. One of Robert's men started to bind Alex's hands and a roar came from the clan. Alex said something to the Campbell, who jumped back as if struck and looked at Robert for direction. Robert nodded the man away and the people quieted. Robert turned to me then, his eyes glacial, his voice cold.

"Three days, Mary," Robert said. "I'll be back for you in three days. Be ready." I nodded, unable to speak.

The crowd stirred again as Robert made his way down the steps and leapt onto his horse, but no one moved to stop him. Angus had been busy, I realized, for that was the only way these people would have let Alex leave without a struggle. Alex looked at us as the pipers began, and I felt Ian straighten stiffly as he put his chin at a ridiculous height, Jamie following suit. Alex nodded at them, the ghost of a smile playing around his mouth, and then met my eyes for a brief moment before Robert moved to his side, blocking my view.

We stood at the outer gate as they moved slowly toward the end of the loch. Alex rode away with his back straight, surrounded by guards but unbound, his blond head a beacon among the dark ones of the soldiers. The music swirled around us as Jamie held my hand and Ian wrapped his arm around my waist. Angus put a hand on my shoulder. The pipers followed the riders, the crowd just behind them. At the edge of the trees, Alex turned and waved, his white shirtsleeve brilliant against the green behind him, just as he had waved that morning when The MacKinnon had come to persuade him to join the rebellion and I'd experienced my first feeling of foreboding. And the day he'd left for war.

We waved until the last horse was gone and there was no one to see and then listened as "MacGannon's Return" echoed hollowly from the forest.

T
HREE DAYS, ROBERT HAD SAID, THREE DAYS PASSED, then three weeks, and still no word from him. Angus, worried about our safety, stayed with me, while Matthew and Gilbey followed Robert's troop. They returned with the news that Alex had been brought to Fort William, then to Campbell
territory
, where he'd joined an ever-growing group of Jacobites being marched to Edinburgh. Hundreds were being held, lairds and chiefs, tacksmen and crofters, herded together in makeshift confinement, guarded by Campbells and English soldiers. Matthew and Gilbey had stayed close to the prisoners but they'd never seen Alex again once Robert had joined the larger force. They'd followed the prisoners to Edinburgh and then come home.

Their other news was more surprising. Argyll had been dismissed as commander of the English troops.
Rumour
had it that the Crown had feared he would be too lenient with the rebels. Angus and I spent hours speculating what Argyll's dismissal meant to us. Combined with no word from Robert, it seemed ominous indeed. Matthew also brought stories of acts of English reprisal. And of chiefs who had been taken or who, like Alex, had surrendered themselves to save their people. For some the sacrifice had proved futile, for their lands had been stripped and burnt and the people scattered without regard to prior agreements.

On some days it seemed as though the storm might pass by us and leave us overlooked in our isolation, and on others I was certain troops would arrive momentarily. We heard no news of Alex, nor of Robert. No one seemed to

know when the trials would begin, for the courts were in disarray and we were told that King George did not know what to do with all the rebels his army held.

But we did not wait in idleness. Kilgannon prepared once again to withstand a siege. And Angus's absence. He planned to go to Edinburgh and I wanted to go with him. I could not bear to stay at home while Alex was imprisoned across the country. I had no idea what we might find in Edinburgh, but I didn't care. Alex was there and I was determined to join him. I had expected resistance from Angus, but when I explained my stratagem he had readily agreed, and I suspected he'd had the same idea. Before we left, though, we must be sure Kilgannon was prepared. While Angus worked, I was busy with the other half of our plan. I gathered everything worth selling, all the silver, all the jewelry, the gold dishes, everything of value that Kilgannon held, even the furniture, and I inventoried and packed them. When the Katrine returned from France with her latest cargo, we would take her to Edinburgh and sell the cargo and Kilgannon's treasures and then we would sell the Katrine herself. We would use the money to buy Alex's life, if possible. And if not, at least his comfort. Angus argued at first that my plan would leave the boys and I with no money, but I waved his protests away. If I lost Alex, money would be the least of my concerns. I was more worried that Robert might arrive before the Katrine.

In the end all the discussions proved unnecessary. Robert did not return and after eight weeks we all agreed he probably never would. The Katrine arrived after a successful voyage, and soon the castle was prepared and the Katrine was loaded with Kilgannon goods. But the boys and I did not leave with Angus after all. Runners reported that the country was in turmoil. Reprisals were sporadic but widespread, and Angus and Dougall worried that Edinburgh might be dangerous for us. Better, the men all told me, that I stay here in safety with the boys. Angus would arrange for the sale of the Kilgannon things and the Katrine, then return for me as soon as he could. I knew he was relieved, and puzzled, when I agreed to stay behind with no argument and no explanation, but he did not quiz me and I volunteered nothing. He bid me farewell on a miserable day with the wind blowing the rain sideways, and entrusted me to Dougall's care. And then the Katrine, heavily laden, left us, taking Angus and Matthew and Gilbey with her.

I had watched her sail away with a quiet resolve, but soon the enormity of the changes in our lives washed over me. The isolation which had saved us from reprisals now oppressed me. I walked the halls and haunted the gardens, waiting for news from the outside, and I read yet again the letters that the Katrine had brought.

Angus's mother, Deirdre, had written that she and her daughters were well and that there was talk that the court of James Stewart would be leaving for Italy. Since the rebellion had failed and France was at peace with England, France would no longer shelter the Pretender. I had often wondered where Sir Donald and the rest of the MacDonalds were and where we would have been if we'd accompanied him. Safe, I had thought earlier, safe with James Stewart holding court in freedom, but when I read Deirdre's news I congratulated myself for not having gone to France. As unsettled as our life was here, we were in our own home and surrounded by those who cared for us, at least for a while. This is better, I thought, but so lonely.

Ellen was, as always, a comfort. The only bright spot in that long spring was her marriage to wee Donald. I gave my approval readily, although I had explained to them both that Ellen was free to make her own choice. They were married in the chapel and we held a celebration afterward in the hall. I sat with the boys, smiling at the festivities but hearing the echoes of my own wedding and the missing voice of the man who should be with me. Ellen was busy with her husband now and I spent many hours with Berta and our cook, Mrs. M., who did their best to comfort me. We were not the mistress and staff these days, simply three women with an uncertain future and a dismal present.

I had one solace. No, three. The boys, although aware of the changes in our lives, never believed that their father could die. They were sure that Alex would return soon. Ian had given me Alex's brooch and Jamie his sword to hold safe for their father's homecoming. They gave me a reason to rise each day and I treasured their youthful optimism. My other solace was
very
private and was the reason I had not insisted on being on the Katrine. I was with child again. The baby would be born in late autumn or early winter, which meant that I had conceived on the one night we had spent together. Perhaps our last night together. I'd intended to keep my secret to myself, but Ellen and Berta and Mrs. M. soon discovered that my lethargy and queasy stomach had quite legitimate reasons. Spring arrived and brought with it the promise of new life.

And then, three months after he'd left Kilgannon with Alex, on a cool and breezy May morning, Robert returned. When wee Donald found me and said that a ship was in the loch and that it looked like Lord Campbell, English soldiers, and Campbell men with him, I took a deep breath. I'd lost my gamble. Angus was still gone and Robert was coming for me after all.

The news of Robert's approach spread quickly and the clansmen began to gather. At my request, Thomas again brought the boys to his brother's house, where they would be safe. When I knew Robert's intentions I would decide whether to bring them home, but in the meantime Alex's sons would be well guarded. Thomas pressed me to accompany the boys and Dougall agreed, fervently arguing that I was risking my life unnecessarily. But I was resolute. 1 would talk with Robert. He might have news of Alex and certainly of Scotland at large. Thomas was not pleased, but he agreed. The boys, who had gone with reluctance, had begged to stay with me. I promised to come to them as soon as I could and sent them away with hugs and kisses and a heavy heart. They left at last, the dogs at their heels, Ian's hair a brilliant gold against the dark colors of his plaid, Jamie's redder hue a contrast, his head almost to his brother's shoulders. They took the last of the sun with them. Dear God, I prayed, keep my boys safe. And let Robert not have vengeance in his heart. Or his orders.