Fraser sent some of his best men into Ardbrae to ask for information, while he and a few others went to Leana’s cottage. There were no horses outside, and the shattered door bore mute testimony to the bandits’ violent entrance. He felt a surge of bitter rage.
He instructed his men to search the outside buildings, then he dismounted and cautiously walked into the cottage, sword at the ready. He immediately smelled the pungent stench of urine and tracked it down to a corner of the room where two rivulets of it stained the wall; the stone was still damp. Fraser felt sick to his stomach as he realized just how barbaric these men were.
He walked over to Joe’s bed and found blood stains on it, not great pools of it, but little spots—dozens of them. He frowned, puzzled, then his heart missed a beat as he realized that if they had been torturing Joe by sticking a knife point or a skewer into him, they could also be doing the same thing to his daughter.I have to find them!he thought desperately. He was beginning to panic.
He crawled around the rest of the room searching under the furniture, in the cupboards, and in every corner and crevice for any clue as to where they had gone. He found nothing but some strange leaves scattered on the floor, and he picked one up. He yelped as he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his fingertips, and realized that he had just squeezed a nettle leaf. Well, Leana was an herbalist, so there were bound to be all kinds of weird and wonderful herbs and plants in her home. Still, he wondered if the nettles meant anything.
Fraser felt a stab of guilt as he realized that Leana must also be suffering, but knowing the type of woman she was, she would be protecting Abigail as well as she could, and that gave him a little comfort.
He stood up and found that there were vegetable peelings on the table: onions, carrots, turnips, and cabbage, as well as some other fragrant leaves which he did not recognize. Leana must have been cooking when they were taken, but as he looked inside the cauldron suspended over the cooking fire, he realized it was still hot.
They have not been gone long!he thought excitedly. He rushed outside and gathered his men. They began a thorough search of all the neighboring farms looking for information.
It was rather difficult for a tenant farmer not to be intimidated by the tall, imposing presence of the Laird, but if Fraser was frightening, he could also be very charming, and this worked especially well on women. In addition, he was offering a reward of ten Scots pounds, an enormous amount of money to a crofter or tenant farmer, so he knew if there was any information to be had, it would soon be his. Meanwhile, however, the long deep Highland twilight had given way to darkness, making the task of searching barns, stables, and storerooms twice as difficult.
After a while Fraser began to lose hope. Even though he had sent his men to search the lower village by the seashore and the loosely scattered upper village at the top of the hill, there had been no results at all. If the offer of a small fortune in silver had not helped, what hope was there?
He was standing, resting against Annie and drinking from the small flask of whisky he had brought with him when a familiar figure materialized out of the darkness beside him.
“Lachie!” he said furiously. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay at the castle!”
To his surprise, Lachie looked equally angry. “Aye, M’Laird, ye did,” he said bitterly. “I borrowed a horse fae the stables that was standin’ daein’ nothin’ an’ followed ye. I knaw I am a stupid man, but I am still able tae tell the truth, an’ that is whit I was tryin’ tae tell ye when ye rode away withoot me this mornin’. Ye have been wastin’ yer time daein a’ this searchin’, because if ye want tae knaw where these men are, ye should have listened tae whit I wis tryin’ tae tell ye. It wid hae saved ye an awfy lot o’ time!”
Fraser stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment. “You had information and you did not tell me?”
“Itriedtae tell ye, M’Laird!” Lachie shouted. “But you, like maist ither people, think I am an eejit. These men are murderers, robbers, an’ users o’ women. They gae roon an’ rob every village they can, an’ they kidnap women tae sell them as hoors, but no’ afore they hae their way wi’ them first. Even the bairns isnae safe. When I wis tryin’ tae find a way o’ gettin’ money tae feed my wife an’ weans, they wanted me tae go wi’ them, an’ I did, but only ance, because efter I saw whit they were like I didnae want onything else tae dae wi’ them. They killed a wummin that widnae go wi’ them right in front o’ my eyes an’ I hae never got her face oot o’ my mind.” He shuddered. “They are monsters an’ it was a’ I could dae to escape fae them.”
“Are you saying these things to try to scare me?” Fraser asked angrily. “Because if you are you can rest assured that I am already as terrified as I can possibly be. Now I am enraged beyond measure too! Now where is the rats’ nest of these thugs?”
“Believe me, M’Laird, I am jist as mad as you are!” Lachie growled. “I might no’ be a big strong laird like yersel’ but I hae a mighty heart! Come wi’ me an’ I will show ye. But first ye must get yer men thegither so I can talk tae them.”
Fraser looked at the man whom he had thought so insignificant at first, and realized that he was not such a good judge of character as he had always supposed himself to be. He had been wrong about Leana, thinking her to be an accessory to a crime. He had been wrong about the motives of Lachie, and had nearly sent him to trial and death. Worst of all, he had been wrong about himself. Imagining that he was a good father when he was nothing of the sort.
Fraser nodded to Lachie and put a hand on his shoulder. “You are right, Lachie,” he said, sighing, “and I was wrong. I will muster the men and we will rout out the vermin from our land once and for all. And thank you.”
Lachie looked surprised. “A pleasure, M’Laird,” he replied, bowing deeply.
A few moments later, Fraser had assembled the thirty guards he had brought with him.
“Now I would like you all to listen to what Lachie has to say, because he knows where these vermin are hiding!” He looked around at the circle of soldiers. “They have my daughter and a dear friend of ours, and if you see any of them you have my permission to kill on sight, with no questions asked, because rest assured they would do the same to you. Now, Lachie, tell us where we are going, and what these men are capable of. I want my men to be prepared.”
They all turned to Lachie to listen to him. He was unused to being the center of attention, and he shuffled a little before clearing his throat to speak. He told them all of the kind of men they were dealing with, and the need for caution at first and ruthlessness later.
“They wid kill the lassies withoot thinkin’ twice,” he warned. “The leader’s name is Danny Devine an’ he is very dangerous, so keep yer heids doon. We need tae be very, very quiet.” He looked around the faces, then back at Fraser. “Awright, M’Laird?”
“Yes, Lachie.” Fraser smiled grimly. “I want you all to get whatever cloth you can to wrap up the horses’ hooves, even if you have to tear up your tunics or kilts. We want to be absolutely noiseless, since these savages will not think twice about slitting my daughter’s throat. If I see any cowardice fromanyof you, I will kill you myself. Understand?” There was a chorus of assent before Fraser spoke again. “But the man who saves my daughter or her friend will be handsomely rewarded.”
All the men noticed something different about Fraser that night. When they looked at their Laird, they did not see the stern, noble, and occasionally fierce man they were used to. This man was terrifying. He seemed to have grown huge and his eyes were black with fury. Even Annie sensed it as she shifted and danced nervously.
Finally he wheeled her around and they followed him into unknown peril. Fraser only hoped that they were not too late.
11
Lachie led them in a straight line on a little-used track that was partly grown over with grass. They came to a huge granite boulder by the side of the path, and turned off into the shadows of a spruce forest. Since the horses’ hooves were muffled they were almost noiseless, and the darkness was thick, heavy, and solid. Almost, but not quite, impenetrable.
“Nearly there,” Lachie hissed. Fraser nodded, although the blackness was such that Lachie could barely see him. They plodded on in utter silence till they came to a clearing, and there they stopped and listened, but they could hear nothing, not even the sound of a night bird. They found themselves sitting outside a little dark thatched shepherds’ hut which was obviously deserted, with no sign that any outlaws had ever been there.
Fraser dismounted and walked around the house, his anger rising once more till he was just on the edge of losing control. “So where are they?” he demanded as he turned to Lachie in fury. “Did you do this on purpose?” His voice had risen to a roar again and Lachie shook his head and gazed back at him helplessly.
