“And ye wish to have a word with them.”
“Well, aye, just a wee talk to plan the ride home.”
“Go,” she said. “I will go to the house and see how the boys and Margaret are.”
“They might be at the cave too.”
“Then Robbie’s horse wouldnae be there. He would only stay if one of the children did.”
“Ah, true. All right then, I will go up to the cave and have a talk with the others. Ye can send Robbie up there if he wishes it or I will see ye in a while.”
To her surprise, he gave her a kiss farewell before he rode off. Touching her mouth, she then shook her head and rode toward the house. It concerned her a little when no one came out to greet her as she rode up.
Bethoc dismounted and cautiously walked into the house. Then she saw Robbie. She was relieved until she saw that he was tied to a chair. Frantically, she looked around but could not see any of the children.
“Run,” Robbie said.
“I should free you.”
“Run.”
The urgency in the soft word finally reached her and she spun around. She was running for the door when a shadowy figure stepped into the doorway. Stopping quickly, she wondered which way to run next and wondered who she was running from. The rancid smell assaulting her nose told her she was about to face someone very dangerous.
“Weel, weel, look who has come home.”
Shock almost stole her ability to move as the man stepped into the light, but sheer determination to survive kept her backing up until the next step back would land her in poor Robbie’s lap. Angus Keddie looked wretched. His clothes were filthy, his hair was a snarled, dirty mess, and he smelled as if he had not bathed since they last saw him. It did not hide the smell of rot in him, however. There was a look in his eyes that terrified her. She knew it was madness.
“I thought ye would be hanged or in jail now,” she said, desperately trying to decide where to run and if there was any way she could help Robbie.
“That is where I have been,” he replied. “In jail. But I grew weary of it. Ye shouldnae have put me there.”
“Ye put yourself there. Ye killed men and women who had done naught wrong.”
“Do ye ken what it is to be the youngest of four sons? Ye get naught. Ye are always the last to be thought of. Weel, I decided I deserved something as much as my brothers did and I went after it.”
Oh, good, she thought frantically, he wanted to talk and she wondered how long she could keep him talking. “So ye decided to steal it all from innocent people.”
“Why should they have pieces of my father’s lands while I get nothing?”
“Because they paid for it?”
“They had no right. No right at all.”
“So how did ye decide on who to kill and who to leave alone?”
“Curious little thing, arenae ye. Weel, it willnae matter what ye learn for ye and that big idiot in the chair will soon be dead.”
“So tell me.”
“First I found out who had been gifted land. ’Tis astonishing how much my grandfather gave away. So generous, people said he was. He was a fool! Ye dinnae hand land out to peasants as if it was a treat for being a good servant. So what if someone saved his son. So he should! That is their job!” He shook his head. “There were several othergiftsI meant to retrieve but I couldnae kill the fools.”
“They didnae trust ye or your minions?”
“They were ne’er alone.”
“Ye didnae have to kill the wives.”
“Oh, my dear, but of course I did. They would have been widows. I found out a long time back that they dinnae sell out just because they are alone now. And I needed someone to be the killer.”
