“Maither said I am tae protect ye, just like I protected ye and Campbell yesterday.”
“Is that right?” Jane said.
“Aye,” the lad returned. “Why are ye walking?”
“Aye, I would like tae ken that, too,” the warrior sulked. He was not much older than Tasgall, and looked like someone for whom dissatisfaction was a constant. Jane and Tasgall said nothing to him.
“Because I like to walk,” Jane said to Tasgall. “When you walk, you see things that you may miss on a horse or in a carriage.”
“Oh,” Tasgall said. “There’s not much tae see so I’ll still choose the horse.”
“That is your choice, and it is brilliant,” Jane said.
Tasgall frowned. “I ken ye are only teasing me, but it is all right. Maither says ye have tae take good-natured bamming from family.”
Jane stopped abruptly. She then pasted a smile on her face and said, “That is a lovely thought, and your mother is right, but, Tasgall, we are not family. And I do not say this with condescension or any such thing. I would be more than happy to have a family quite like yours. But I do not belong to your family.”
“Well, nae yet, true,” Tasgall said. “But soon, when ye marry Uncle Alistair.”
Jane inhaled sharply. “Why would you think that I would marry your Uncle Alistair?”
The child chuckled. “Ye all think I am a child, dinnae ye?”
Jane had no idea what to say to that, so she kept mum. They walked in silence for a while. Just like yesterday, Jane was stared at as she passed. Not with malice, just ill-concealed curiosity. Jane kept her head high and continued to walk. It was about ten minutes away from the castle’s gate on foot. It was a beautiful lake, situated just before the hill that everyone had to navigate to get to the Fletcher castle. Its water was the purest blue, and it was surrounded with a watercolor of plants and flowers.
Jane spied the boulder that she had seen yesterday, and she spread her skirts around it and sat on it. And then she watched the water, shimmering in the sun.
“Is this all ye will dae, then?” Tasgall asked from a distance away. “Just stare at the water?”
“No,” Jane responded. I will pick the herb that helped the laird get better and pluck some flowers that’ll be a nice addition to the dining table.”
“Englishwoman,” Tasgall giggled. “I shall stay far away, just in case ye want to bathe.”
“No, I do not want to bathe.” Jane assured him. “If I had wanted to, I would have said so. Also, lakes are not to be bathed in. That is what bathrooms are for.” She sometimes forgot that Tasgall was just a child, because he was so tall. But he had already disappeared.
Jane looked at the warrior, who was staring at her in dissatisfaction. “And you?” Jane said. “Perhaps you want to keep your distance too?”
He snorted and began to walk in Tasgall’s direction. Jane thought of calling him back, asking him the reason for his angst, and assuring him that she was not his enemy. But what good would that do? She sighed and stared at the water. She was still a little sore from her morning activities. The memories flooded her mind, and she blushed. She hoped that whatever strategy was being developed in the meeting would bring Eleonor and Ramsay together without tearing her and Alistair apart. She could not imagine living very far away from him. She could not imagine standing by another man’s side, having another man touch her, having another man plant a baby in her…
The thought made her sick.
Then, a hand was clamped over her mouth. Her eyes flew open and she struggled, but it was no use. The hand was swiftly replaced by a cloth. She felt it tighten at the back of her head, and she felt herself being pulled up, even as she kicked and flailed. She was lifted bodily. She had only a moment’s glimpse of her captor’s uniform. He was an English soldier. Perhaps her father had sent him to recapture her? Or was it Commander Edward Pierce? Then why did he manhandle her so? No honorable soldier of the King would treat a woman this way!
She drummed on his back, but this seemed to have no impact on him. “If you carry on like this,” he hissed, “I shall have no choice but to slit your throat.”
Jane stopped her protests then. Something was horribly wrong. Where was the warrior when she needed him? How far away had he gone? And Tasgall! She was happy at least that he had chosen to give her some distance. She could never forgive herself if any harm came to him on her account.
Suddenly, as though her thoughts had conjured him up, she saw him over the little hill close to the lake. He was far way, so she could not see the expression on his face. She wished she could speak. She would have told him to run and get Alistair. She saw Tasgall turn, and then the warrior appeared. He stared at Jane and her attacker. Even from this distance, Jane saw the war going on inside of him. On one hand, he hated her because he hated the British. On the other hand, keeping her safe was as good as an order from Alistair himself.
To Jane’s relief, he charged, his lips emitting a chilling battle yell.
An ax appeared in the middle of his chest.
Jane’s eyes widened in horror. The warrior appeared stunned for a moment, only a moment, before he dropped to the ground.
Jane screamed.
Tasgall, who had remained at a far distance, turned his back to her and disappeared. Jane said a prayer in thanks. What would happen to Catrina if her only child died protecting Jane? She would hate her forever.
