FLAME ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS (34 page)

Chapter Forty-Five

A torrent of rain fell from the heavens, drenching the inhabitants of the small fishing boat that seemingly bounced along the waves on its course for Ulva.  Brianna huddled with Mary beneath Ian's plaid, shivering yet welcoming the downpour.  The rain had chased away the furious wind. The journey had not been entirely comfortable
, but at least it had not been as hazardous as she had first supposed, nowhere near the terrible gale that she and Ian had suffered previously.

"Never will the shores of Ulva seem so dear to me, Ian,"
she called out competing with the roar of the waves splashing against the side of the boat as Ian wielded the oars. "I never want to go to sea again!"

"It will
be as welcome  a sight as heaven I would wager."  He said a silent prayer as the tall stone towers came into view. Oh, that she would have a happy homecoming, that her father and brothers would be there to greet her.  Though they had not had much time to discuss it, Ian knew that Brianna was apprehensive as to the state of the MacQuarie Hall.  What had the death toll been from their violent sojourn in Argyll?  He could only hope that the MacDonalds had arrived in time to put end to the fighting, or if not that, then at least to balance it out. As the tiny boat headed for the shore he knew they would soon find out.

Soaking wet, but thankful to have reached land alive, Brianna, Ian and Mary trudged through the mud up the hill t
oward the castle. The great portcullis slowly clanked open, giving entrance to the wide cavern-like opening. It was at that moment that Mary appeared on the brink of losing  control of her sanity again.

"Nae!  I shouldna hae come here!  Too many memorie
s!  Too many.  And what if my brother canna forgi'e me?"  Her eyes darted from side to side like a trapped animal and for a moment it appeared that she might well flee. Only Ian's hand on her arm kept her from vanishing.

"The truth has
to be told and you are the only one who can tell it.  Many lives have been lost, Mary, but you can end this senseless quarrel. You must!" Gently but firmly nudging her forward, Ian was insistent.

"Pray God that Father is alive!"  It was the first time Brianna had voiced her fears aloud to Mary.  Somehow knowing that her
niece was just as fearful, Mary turned form the one being comforted into the one giving consolation.  Squaring her shoulders, taking a deep breath, it was Mary who led the way to the hall.  Stepping inside the doorway, they headed for the roaring fire in the hearth, shivering as they sought to dry off.

"What hae we here?  Two drenched hens and one soaking wet rooster!"  Glenna gave a shriek of welcoming as the threesome turned around and she saw Brianna standing there.  "Brie!  Brie!  I hae been so worried!"  In a flurry of hugs and kisses she greeted her sister.  In a moment her gown too was soaking wet but she blissfully ignored that fact.  "Father said ye had  run off with  Ian and......."

"Father!  Then...then he is here?"  Brianna breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aye!  Bloodied, bruised and broken, but all in one piece.  Furious though at the thought of what the
Campbell tried to do and..."

"Robbie!  Is he....?"

"Our newfound brother made quite a name for himself.  He may look as gentle as a lamb, but he proved himself a lion.  Father is very, very proud of him. And now that Father has his beloved son, who he has named tanist, I would hae ye know, he has told me that Alastair and I... but who...?"  Suddenly noticing Mary, Glenna eyed her with avid curiosity.

Taking Mary by the hand
, Brianna made the introduction in a proud exclamation. "Glenna, this is our Aunt Mary. Aunt Mary, this is my twin."

"Aunt Mary?"  Glenna was stunned.  "I...I thought that...."

"As did we all, but now she has returned to us."  Leading Mary over to a chair, Brianna prodded her aunt into telling the tale, a revelation which stunned Glenna.  "So ye see we MacQuaries hae been blamed for something we didna do.  A frightful misunderstanding caused by a brutal act!  Mary has come back to put all to right.  As much as can be done anyway."

"Father must be told quickly for he is in the process of planning another attack on the
Campbell stronghold."  With an assertiveness that Brianna had never before witnessed, Glenna strode from the hall and returned with a bandaged Lachlan in tow. "We hae a visitor, Father," she said.

"Visitor?"  His vision centered on Brianna. 
"Daughter!" he exclaimed, his voice tight with emotion as he gripped her against him in a stifling  bear hug embrace.  "Och, Brie!  Brie!  Where hae ye been lass?  Where?"  As his gaze lit on Ian he stiffened.  Pushing Brianna aside, he muttered gruffly, "So, ye thought to bring her back to me.  It took ye a long enough time.  I will make the assumption that ye did no' harm her in any way, for if ye hae....."

"Dunna get yer beard in a blaze, Father,"  Brianna teased, tweaking the fiercesome chieftain on the nose as only she dared
, then kissing his grizzled cheek.  "Ian saved my life.  Ye should be grateful to him.  But that is another story, we willna be telling just yet.  Nor am I the visitor Glenna was talking about. Father, I've brought Mary home."

"Mary?"  He blinked his eyes in disbelief as all the blood drained from his face.  "Nae, it canna be.  My sister is...is dead!"  He drew back from the woman standing by the hearth as if she were a ghost.  "Away.  Away I say.  For the love of God leave me be and return to your..."

"This is no ghostie.  Father, it is Mary!  She come’s back to us.  Shame on ye if ye hae no warmer greeting."

"Mary...." 
Lachlan took a tentative step forward, searching the woman's face, recognizing  the blue eyes, the well-defined chin, the familiar planes of the face that time had lightly lined but not changed.  "Mary, it is!  Mary!"  Lachlan entwined his arms around his sister, kissing her on both cheeks with an exuberance that told very enthusiastically how much he welcomed her.  Tears that were rarely allowed to show now ran unchecked down his leathery face, dampening his beard.  "Mary, saints be praised, I never thought to see ye again this side of heaven!"

"
Lachlan!  I....I thought ye would no' want to see me."  Clutching her brother, Mary wept her relief and joy.  It was  a  tender scene that even brought tears to Ian's eyes.  One more time the tragic tale  was revealed, amidst sobbing and sniffling, then Mary stepped back, expecting her brother's scorn.  "I loved Morgan, Lachlan.  I dunna apologize that I was going to Ireland wi' him.  He was my world.  My life.  I couldna give him up.  I thought.....  If ye canna understand, if ye want me to leave I will.  I am used to being alone....."

"Alone?  Lachlan MacQuarie's sister.  Dunna talk foolishness, Mary.  If there was any punishment to be meted out ye hae suffered enough.  I willna seek to add to yer woe.  All is forgotten. Seeing ye again has brought the sun."  Gathering her in his arms again he mumbled, "Welcome back."

Brianna heaved a sigh of relief.  Her heart leaped with joy now that Mary was safe amongst her own clan once again.  Sensing that there was much for Mary to say to her brother, she nodded to Glenna and Ian to follow her.  "Come, sister dear, ye must tell us what has been happening while I hae been gone.  There is something different about ye, I see.  Hae ye lost yer shyness and timidity?"

"Aye, at first I thought 'twas the witches charm
, but now I realize it was the potency of my love for Alastair."  They laughed gaily, like two little girls as they shuffled out of the room, leaving Lachlan and his sister alone.             

Mary was heartily welcomed back into the bosom of the clan but there was little time for celebrating.  Indeed, once
Lachlan's gladness at having his sister return had mellowed it was replaced by a deep and all-abiding rage.  The MacQuaries had been greatly wronged, he thundered.  They had been accused unjustly of something they had no hand in at all. Murder! A dastardly blow from behind that no MacQuarie would issue.

"If Duncan Campbell was not such a stubborn old goat
this would ne'er hae happened!"  Pulling  his clay'mor from the wall,  he was determined to attack the Campbell hall to avenge the MacQuarie honor.  It was his sister who had been wronged, brutally raped by a Campbell. "Now  this mon ye call Perth  will pay with his life for that deed."

"So, ye want to spill more blood is that it?  And ye talk of
Duncan being a stubborn old goat.  Aye, it seems to me it takes two!  Butting yer two heads together wi' no thought to common sense!"  Brianna met her father's angry gaze unflinchingly. A myriad of thoughts whirled through her brain. Were the MacQuaries and Campbells then doomed to an unending turmoil of warfare? If so then she and Ian had no chance for finding happiness.

"Hold y
er tongue, daughter.  I will no’ take such disrespectful talk even from you. Ye are careless in yer chattering."

She challenged him with an unwavering stare.  "Not as careless in my talk as ye are in what ye plan." Putting her hand on his shoulder
, she cautioned him to reason. "Ye'll strike a blow, then the Campbells will retaliate, then it will be our turn, over and over again wi' no end.  Is that what ye want for the clan?  Constant fighting with ne'er an end in sight?"

Lachlan
fumbled with the folds of his breacan.  "And just what do ye propose?  That we let the Campbells push our faces in the mud just for the sake of peace?  That we swallow our pride and let them accuse us unfairly while the man who did the foulest deed laughs behind our backs?  Nae!"

"I propose that we play
Perth at his own game, for he thinks himself to be a clever mon.  But  what if he is out-tricked?" Her eyes met Ian's and he knew at once just what she had in mind. "Ye thought Mary was a ghostie when first ye laid eyes on her, did ye not?  Perhaps he will think the same, for Perth knows not that Mary has returned to us alive.  If we can take him by surprise then is there not a possibility that by his own words he will be damned?"  Brianna's lips curled up in a smile as she revealed her plan.

Chapter Forty-Six

Three mounted figures bent over their horses, nearly swooning with fatigue as they neared the gates of Dunstaffnage in the wee hours of the morning..  It had been a hasty journey, one in which they had first braved the ocean once more, then hurried posthaste to Argyll on horses borrowed from the MacDonald's stable.  The rhythmic pounding of the horses' hooves met with the pulsing of their heartbeats for it was a dangerous scheme they were daring, one which pivoted on Perth and his reaction when he came face to face with the woman he had so greatly wronged.

"Are you all right lassies?" Ian asked, casting a worried glance in Mary's direction.  A great deal had been heaped upon her slim shoulders the last few days. So much so that he was apprehensive lest she crack under the st
rain, like a fragile eggshell.

"Aye, but anxious for this to be over."  Mary looked a bit pale, though dressed as she was in a new gown and arasaid, her hair combed and br
aided, she was a comely sight. The only evidence of the passing years was the gray streaking her hair and the tiny lines around her eyes and mouth.

"Soon it will be.  Let us pray that all will be well."  Certainly
, they slipped through the postern gate without any trouble, Ian remembering as he had that the grate was up  for a few moments at dawn to allow for supplies to be taken into the castle. "Come! I know a secret way to Duncan's chambers where we will not have to brave the guards."

Abandoning their horses
, Brianna and Mary clung to the shadows as they followed Ian through the courtyard, past the main gate, and up the narrow winding stairs. All three silhouetted figures slipped inside the largest chamber, closing the door tightly behind them.

"Who's there?  Who dares enter my room without knocking?" 
Duncan was still abed, nursing as it was a wounded leg.  At the sound of intrusion he slid from the bed and  hobbled about the room, coming face to face with his nephew. "So my wayward heir has returned, has he.  Well, ye will soon find yerself keeping the rats company."  He made for the door but Ian blocked his way.

"I do not want to harm you, Uncle, merely
to make you listen to reason."

"Reason?  Ye lifted yer sword against yer own.  Fie, yer blood ties seem to be wi' our enemies not wi' me!  I ne'er thought ye'd let yer lust for a woman's twat turn ye against yer own."  He was so engrossed in his tirade that he had not noticed
Brianna or Mary until they stepped out of the shadows. Seeing the two women he flushed an angry red. "Who....?  Ah, so ye've brought
her
and another  one back here."

"We've come on a mission of pea
ce."

"Ha!  Peace ye tell me?"  He eyed his sword but Ian quickly plucked it up, handing it to Brianna.
  "So, ye take my sting away."

"For the moment.  To insure you don't do anything we will both regret."  Brandishing his own sword, Ian pushed his uncle back down on the bed.  "I don't want to harm you, but I will if it is the only way.  In the meantime I insist that you
listen."  Ian nodded to Mary. "You have blamed the MacQuaries for Morgan's death all these years ,but I have brought an eyewitness to the deed.  Mary, come forward."

"Who......?" 
Duncan squinted his eyes but did not recognize her.

"Mary of Clan
MacQuarie.  Lachlan MacQuarie's sister."

"Impossible!  She is dead.  The
MacQuarie chieftain has said so himself."  Glowering  as he did at Ian, Duncan reminded Brianna of her father's snarling dogs. "What foolishness?  Hae ye gone daft?"

"Take a closer look.
She
is
Mary MacQuarie.  She has come to tell you the truth about your son.  Go on, Mary."

As
Duncan wrung his hands in agitated helplessness, Mary enfolded the story yet again, giving every detail, shuddering as she revealed seeing Morgan struck down.  "Dear God, I will never forget the sight of him lying there.  My love, my life.  But it was no MacQuarie who wielded the brutal blow, but Perth!"

"
Perth?  Perth?"  Duncan snarled his rage.  "Ye are a liar!  Perth has e'er been faithful to me and done my every bidding.  He had no reason to kill Morgan. Ye flatter yerself, lassie, to pretend that he would do such a deed for love of ye," Duncan blasted.

"Not for love but through evil intent of the basest nature.  But if ye dunna believe me then let
Perth tell ye himself."

"By Saint Michael I will.
He'll soon put end to yer foul lying!  And then I'll see ye get the beating ye deserve!"  Crouching down, he made as if to pounce on the poor woman but Ian wrestled him back down upon the bed. "'Tis a MacQuarie ploy and nothing more."

"If I have to tie you up, I'
ll make you see reason, Uncle." Ian's threats held sway, for Duncan stopped his fuming.  "Now, all I ask of you is that you keep silent and hide with me behind  the panel in the hall while Mary here and Perth have a reunion of sorts.  I am taking the chance that Perth's surprise, his first words to her, will prove his guilt.  Agreed?"

Duncan
grunted.  "Agreed!'

"And do I have your word as a
Campbell that you will see this through without turning on me?"

"Ye do....!'

The planned mummery was carefully staged.  Mary was dressed in a gown of purest white with long flowing sleeves. A garland of white Henbane adorned her head.  To make her look pale and unearthly, her face was powdered with flour from the kitchen.  Balancing on a ledge outside the window, she prepared for her entrance as Duncan summoned Perth to the hall. Perth was quick to answer, though confused to find himself all alone. With a snort of annoyance he looked around.  It was in that moment that Mary floated into the room on a gust of wind.

"
Perth!  Perth!" she called out in a choked whisper.

"Who the devil?" 

“Dinna ye recognize me? ‘Tis I, Mary. I’ve come back.”

At first h
e didn't recognize her, then as she came closer he gasped. “It is ye!” His one eye glittered in the firelight, a reminder of her mark on him. "Mary!  So, ye hae returned to me.” In three quick strides he stood before her, reaching out to see if she was an apparition or real.  "Let me look upon yer face.  Are ye still as lovely?"

Mary carefully eluded him. "Y
e dunna understand.  I hae not come in flesh, ye murdering swine but in spirit."

"In spirit?  Then ye are....."

She howled in eerie laughter. "A ghost. I've come to haunt ye for what was done.  For yer taking Morgan away from me.  Ye murdered him and for that ye canna be forgiven.  Hae ye anything to say about yer accursed deed?  Are ye not remorseful?"

"Remorseful?  Nae.  I profited well by his death.  That whini
ng puppy was ever in my way. Now , get ye gone." 

"Puppy!  Dunna talk so about my son." 
Duncan stepped from behind the panel, trembling with rage. The silence seemed to stretch into eternity as they stood frozen in a tableau.  Unmoving.  Unspeaking.  Slowly Duncan was thawed by the knowledge that what Ian had revealed, what Perth had said himself, was the truth.  Perth had brutally murdered Morgan and then  quickly added  perjury to his sins.   "So 'tis true."

"Nae!  I didna ken what I was saying!  That
she-devil tricked me.  I wasna the one who killed Morgan, ye know that well."

It was no use denying it.  The expression of guilt on his face was as potent as any witness. 
Duncan was rabid in his thirst for revenge.  Ordering Perth to be taken down to the dungeon he had him tortured until he cried out the story in a haze of pain, confirming the truth.  But though Brianna had been anxious for Duncan to realize his mistake, she could not help but feel sorry for him.  He was a truly repentant man who bore the tragedy of what had happened on his face.  It seemed that he had aged in just a short span of time. Gone was his energy, his strength.  It was as if the only thing that had driven him on was his hatred for the MacQuaries.  Now that he no longer had reason to hate them, he seemed like a shriveled up old man.  In truth he seemed more ghost than human, a fact that was very tragic. Despite what he had done, she wished him no pain.

Duncan
sat staring into space as Mary begged him to let Brianna and Ian wed. "I loved yer son but Morgan is gone.  Perhaps, however, the love I shared with him can live again through Ian and Brianna.  There can be peace among the two clans.  A new beginning.

Duncan
spouted no defiance, did not argue and in fact nodded his head.  Much to Brianna's surprise he grudgingly agreed.  Perhaps it was his way of atoning for what had been done, Brianna thought.  But whatever the reason it did not matter.  Looking into Ian's face, darkly handsome and mysterious in the flickering firelight she thrilled with passion as she realized that they were going to truly belong to each other at last.

"Oh, Ian, how I love you," she whispered, but her tender words were drowned by the deafening cheers of acclaim which
Aulay led.  Cries which echoed through the hall as other Campbells welcomed Ian back. Somehow, as Brianna looked about the room, she knew that she had found a home.