When Fate Dictates (34 page)

“Go on then ma, tell us.”

“Well do you reckon your pa and Angus spent a
lot of time together when they were children?”

“I guess they might have done,” said
Duncan.

“I think they definitely did and do you want
to know why?”

“Aye, ma, just tell us.”

“If we lift that carpet, I am willing to bet
that we will find a trapdoor.”

“A trapdoor? What makes you think that?” said
Duncan.

“Because, Duncan, when you were a little boy
and your pa extended the cottage, he had a special room built in
the cottage. We could only access it from the kitchen; there was no
door from the attic of the house into the room. From the kitchen
the ceiling looked seamless, but when you hit it with a pole, in
just the right place, a hatch opened and a ladder fell out. We hid
in that room when the Red Coats came when you were a baby. Now I am
willing to bet that the idea of a secret room is one that Simon and
Angus got off your grandfather.”

Duncan and Eilidh stared at me in
confusion.

“I had no idea there was another room in our
house.” said Duncan.

“No, nor did I,” echoed Eilidh.

“You have been in it, Duncan, but you were
very little. Your pa would never tell anyone of the room, but it
was there and I am willing to bet you that Angus has used the same
idea here.”

“What should we do?” Duncan asked.

“Pull up the carpet and let’s see what is
under there” I said.

******

I had been right. Angus had employed the same
mechanism as Simon to conceal the room and it had not taken us long
to discover the hinges for the hatch and swing it open. Free from
the confines of the hidden room we scanned the house for signs of
life, but Angus was nowhere in sight and judging by the lack of
food in the house, I doubted that he planned to live here anytime
soon.

“I’ve had a thought,” I said to Eilidh and
Duncan as they stood in the kitchen. “I think Angus makes the
crystal work with some sort of divining. You know how farmers find
veins of water in the ground with the use of a stick?”

“Aye, ma, we do.”

“If I am right, then it won’t matter how far
we run because the crystal will bring Angus straight to us, every
time.”

“Not much point in running then,” said
Duncan.

“Ahh, but if we can confuse the crystal into
thinking we are someone else then there is every point in running,”
I said.

“How can we do that, Corran?”

“I don’t know if it will work, Eilidh, but I
think we need to pretend to be someone else.”

“Ma, I’m not following you again. How can we
do that?”

“As I said, Duncan, I’m not sure it will
work, but it’s worth a try. If we change our clothes into those
worn by Angus and carry with us his things, then perhaps we will
have done enough to throw the crystal and its diving powers into
confusion.”

“I can’t say as I can see this working but
I’m willing to give it a try. What about you Eilidh?” Duncan
asked.

The girl nodded, slowly, her eyes a haze of
confusion. “Does he have any clothes here?” she asked.

“I have no idea, Eilidh, but it won’t take
much to find out.”

We found Angus’s bedroom and went through his
wardrobe quickly. A selection of suitable items were chosen and
changed into. I slipped my hand into the pockets of my jackets to
check what I had in there and felt the cold metal object I had
found in the shop in York. Holding it up to the light, I discovered
that it appeared to be a silver locket and when I opened it, I
found that it contained a small sprig of heather. Deciding that it
wasn’t mine and would be unlikely to lead the crystal to us, I
slipped it into a backpack which we found neatly propped up in the
wardrobe. I also retrieved the tiny book of ‘Highland Magic’ from
my jacket and slipped that into the backpack.

“Duncan and Eilidh, make sure you take
nothing that belongs to you. Leave it all here.”

I looked down at my hand and realized that
meant my ring. With sadness I slipped it off my finger and placed
it carefully on the table beside the bed, wondering as I did, if I
would ever see it again.

“Right, are we ready?” I asked, scanning my
eyes over the room in case we had missed anything.

“Aye, ma, as ready as we will ever be,”
Duncan said.

As I had suspected, we were in Scotland, not
the Highlands but possibly the Borders. What I didn’t know was
which way we had to go to get back to York, nor did I know quite
how we were going to manage the trip with no transport. For now,
the main objective had to be to get as far away from Angus’s house
as we could, so we found a narrow road and followed it.

“You don’t suppose he will find us, on this
road I mean?” said Eilidh soon after we left the house.

I pursed my lips in thought. “There is that
risk, I suppose. Perhaps we should follow the road from a distance,
just in case. Oh, I should mention people don’t really use horses
much in this day. They drive a machine called a car.”

“What is that ma?” Duncan asked.

“Well seeing as we are going to be following
the path of a road, I am sure you and Eilidh will get the
opportunity to see one soon enough.”

I had no idea how many miles we had traveled
when finally we settled down for the night, but I hoped it was far
enough away from the house to be safe from Angus, should he come
looking for us. Hungry, tired and cold, we huddled together in a
small clearing by the side of the road and slept.

Just as the sun rose in the early morning
sky, we awoke and packed up our meager camp.

“Do you think we could find something to
eat?” Duncan asked as we set off.

“Darling, I really don’t know. We have no
tools, not even a knife. I do have the matches that Angus dropped
though, so I can light us a fire tonight.”

“What the hell are you three doing here?”
said a familiar voice.

I swung around to see Simon standing beside a
tree, staring bewildered at us.

“Simon, how did you find us?” I cried,
running toward him.

“Well to tell you the truth I was looking for
Angus this time. I have been going half mad with the worry about
where you are.”

“It’s not exactly been a barrel of laughs for
us either,” I said.

“And what are Duncan and Eilidh doing here?”
he asked.

“Hello pa,” Duncan said, moving toward his
father.

“Angus brought them here. He had us locked in
a house but we got away and were trying to find our way back to
York,” I said.

He laughed. “You were hoping to walk back to
York?”

I nodded. “What other choice did we have? And
just out of interest’s sake, where the hell do you think we
are?”

“Aye, I suppose you didn’t have much choice
in the matter and to answer your second question, I would say
looking at the hills that we are in the Borders, somewhere,” he
said, still laughing. “But tell me, why are you all dressed like
that? You lasses look ridiculous.”

“I thought that if we used Angus’s clothes
then we might confuse the crystal when Angus tried to use it to
find us.”

“Well it worked. I have tried everything to
find you, Corran, but when I started looking for Angus the crystal
brought me to you.”

“Simon, we left everything in the house, even
my ring.”

“Right, then let’s go and fetch it,” he
said.

“No, Simon, you can’t. If we have it on us
then Angus will find us,” I protested.

“Aye and the problem with that is?”

“I just want to go home and live a quiet
life, without crystal balls and Red Coats. Please, Simon, just this
once, let it be, and take us home?” I pleaded.

“I am sorry, Corran, that is something I
can’t do,” he replied, “Come on, Duncan and Eilidh, you are going
to take me back to this house and we are going to retrieve your
mother’s wedding ring and while we are on about retrieving things I
suggest you all put your own clothes back on again.”

“Pa, I don’t suppose you have your dirk on
you?” said Duncan hopefully.

“Why, what’s wrong, Duncan?”

“Nothing’s wrong, pa, only we are all
starving for something to eat.”

Simon laughed. “As your mother would say,
nothing much changes.”

Instinctively I moved my hands to my hips and
turned toward him. “Simon, we have been kidnapped and locked in a
room, the lad has had nothing to eat. I am willing to bet that not
an hour ago, you filled your belly with a warm meal.”

“Aye, Corran, you are right. It shouldn’t be
too difficult to find something edible in these parts. There are
some things that don’t change and fertile ground such as this will
always provide a meal,” he said, slipping his hand into his pocket
and throwing me a box of matches. “If you and Eilidh can get a fire
going, Duncan and I will catch something to cook on it.”

We ate well by the warmth of a fire and away
from the choking fumes of the road. When we had finished we packed
up and headed back to the house from which we had fled. I was quite
certain that Simon hoped to find Angus there when we arrived, but
continued to maintain that the journey was to retrieve my ring and
our clothing. I could see, under his coat, the shape of a new
pistol and I knew he carried his dirk. He had clearly come
prepared.

“Simon, when did you figure out how to use
the crystal?” I asked, as we trod our way through an overgrown
field.

“A few hours after you got yourself thrown
out of the library, the clues were all there, I just needed the
peace and quiet to figure them out.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, softly.

“Don’t be, Corran, I love you just the way
you are. You will never know how frightened I was when I returned
to the hotel and you weren’t there.”

“How did you know Angus had taken me?”

“Rose told me he was back.”

“Did Angus not come after you?”

“No, but then I didn’t expect him to. I
guessed he had taken you so that I would come for him.”

“Can the crystal take us home?” I asked.

“Yes, I expect it can,” he replied, but I
knew there was no point asking him to use it for that purpose. He
was going to stay in this time until he had killed Angus and
nothing I could say was going to change that.

“Corran, you and Eilidh stay here. Duncan,
come with me,” said Simon.

“Don’t go in there Simon, please?” I begged
but my words fell on deaf ears.

“Where did you leave your ring?”

“Duncan knows where to find it. It’s on the
table at the side of the bed in his room,” I replied.

“We won’t be long,” he said, pushing the box
which held the crystal into my hand. “You know what to do if we
don’t come back?”

I nodded. “Yes, I know how it works but
Simon, don’t leave me, please come back?” But they had gone, and
Eilidh and I were left to do nothing but wait.

“You know Eilidh; I am not sitting here,
waiting for them any longer. Come on, we are going to find out what
is going on in there,” I said after a few hours of mindless staring
at the house. We had not heard a sound, seen a movement or had any
indication that Angus had returned. I had a strong suspicion he had
already been and gone. Either way, I had no intention of staying
hidden in the bushes for the rest of my life, waiting for the news
of Simon and Duncan’s triumph or death.

Simon’s head shot round when he heard us come
through the front door. “What the bloody hell are you two doing in
here?”

“The same as you, I should imagine,” I said,
facing him.

“Well, if you are looking for Angus, he is
not here but judging by the mess in the house, I suspect he has
discovered your absence.”

I scanned the kitchen. He was right. It did
look as though someone had rather forcibly lost their temper in the
rooms since we had left.

“Is my ring still here?” I asked,
quietly.

“Oh, aye,” he said, sliding his hand into his
pocket. “Here, lass, get it back on your finger.”

Eilidh had rushed over to see Duncan, who was
filling a glass with some water from the taps. I watched as she
moved behind him, gently putting her arm around him. He turned and
offered her a sip of drink. She shook her head gently, her eyes
never leaving his. He bent slightly and whispered something into
her ear. She giggled and lowered her eyes coyly.

“Simon, when did that happen?” I asked,
nodding in the couple’s direction.

“I don’t know, I would have thought you could
have answered that question.”

“No, I had no idea.”

“Well I guess you were right all along,
Corran,” he said, putting his arm out and pulling me onto his
knee.

“Aye, we just have to make sure they have a
chance at life.”

“Don’t worry, Corran, I will see to it that
they have a life.”

“Do you think he is coming back?” I asked,
quietly.

“No, I think he is looking for me to go to
him and that concerns me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When he realized you had escaped, I think he
tried to find you with the crystal. But when that failed he looked
for another way and I don’t think that involves him chasing us. He
has been doing that for years and it hasn’t worked.”

“What do you think he will do?”

“I don’t know, Corran, but I intend to be
ready for whatever it is he does.”

It was a clear, cold night and the sky
twinkled with the light of a million stars. We knew Angus was not
coming back but what we did not know was where he was.

“Simon, take us home, please? He isn’t coming
back here.”

“Aye, I know,” he said. “Duncan, Eilidh?” he
called, making his way into the lounge area of the house.

“Aye, pa, we are here,” replied Duncan.

I followed Simon through the hall and into
the lounge, smiling as I found Duncan huddled in front of the
television. “Eilidh, it would seem you too are a television widow.
Don’t worry, lass, we are going home now and there are no
televisions in our world.”