Page 37 of Highland Dove

“Nay!” she cried, sending Guinevere into the air to save her life. The note fell to the ground at her feet. “Go!” she called out after the dove as it flew over Eideard’s head and disappeared into the sky.

“That wasna a smart thing to do,” sneered Eideard.

“I dinna ken what ye mean.” She tried to put her foot over the note but he saw it.

“Get the note,” he instructed his man. The guard picked it up and handed it to Eideard. He read it and shook his head. “It seems that ye’ve been a very bad lassie.”

“That’s no’ true,” she said. “I even tried to heal ye. Just ask Baldair.”

“Oh, he already told me all about that bottle of medicine ye gave him. It only infected me worse. But once I remembered where I’d smelled it before, I kent yer little game. Ye infected yerself so ye wouldna have to sleep with me, and then ye did the same to me.”

“Ye canna prove it.”

“Ye’ll admit it.”

“Nay, I willna.”

“Then I’ll have to take drastic measures. Bring them in,” he called out. Baldair and a few guards walked up, pushing Angus and Emmaline. Their hands were chained behind them and they had shackles on their feet, keeping them tied together. Harris was with them but, oddly enough, he wasn’t tied.

“Nay! What are ye doin’?”

“I’m guaranteein’ that they willna escape again. Harris was guid enough to alert me that the wench escaped as well as the big Scot.”

Mari’s eyes filled with tears as she looked over to Harris. Why had she trusted him? Harris looked at the ground rather than at her. “It was all my fault. Release them and chain me up instead. They are innocent.”

Eideard chuckled heartily. “Oh, I highly doubt that. And after readin’ yer little note, I ken exactly where to meet Duncan and his friends when they attempt to save ye. Now tell me, when will they be here?”

“I dinna ken,” she said, her heart aching to think her friends might be hurt all because of her.

“Then we’ll wait,” he told her. “And as soon as they arrive, we’ll welcome them with a little celebration that is sure to make a statement. Put them in the dungeon,” he told his men.

“If ye’re imprisonin’ them, then ye’ll have to do the same to me.”

“On the contrary, I want ye, my wife, to prepare the great hall for Hogmanay. After all, we’ll have guests arrivin’ soon and we want them to feel welcome.”

“Ye are a sick man and I will no’ do what ye say.”

“Ye will, if ye want to see yer friends alive again,” he threatened her. He looked at the blisters on his arm and blew on them. “I’m already healin’ and will no’ wait much longer.”

“For what?” she asked cautiously.

“To consummate our marriage. Or have ye forgotten that we never completed it?”

“Believe me, I have no’ forgotten.”

“I plan on ringin’ in the bells of the New Year with my wife under me while I plow into her and plant my seed. Now go, and take care of the preparations because I want this to be a Hogmanay like no other. One that neither of us will ever forget!”

* * *

Duncan was instructing the men, preparing for battle when he saw Guinevere fly into the camp. He ran over and picked up the dove, looking for a note but didn’t see one.

“What is it? Is there another message?” Tillie ran over with Malmuira and Daniel moving slowly behind her. Daniel was in no condition to go to battle, but Duncan wasn’t going to forbid the man to fight to save his daughter. Family was the most important thing, and Duncan knew it. He only wished his father was still with them to join in the battle. He missed him with all his heart. Eideard would pay for what he did, and he would pay with his life. He only hoped that Mari, his mother and Angus were still alive and not hurt.

“What does it say?” asked Daniel, craning his neck, trying to see the bird.

“There is no message,” said Duncan, cradling the dove in his hands. If he wasn’t mistaken, he swore the dove seemed frightened.

“I dinna understand,” said Malmuira. “Why would Mari send a dove with no message? What does it mean?”