Superfluous
Everyone hurried to step away when two missiles came over the parapet; one landed with a clatter, the other with a strange thud. Once it was deemed safe, they surged around, curious to see what had come flying off the tower. Shona wished she’d remained in ignorance when she set eyes on the gory sight.
Her belly roiled; the only good thought filling her mind was that she didn’t recognize the dented weapon. She prayed fervently Ewan wasn’t the one who’d been maimed, but if the worst had happened she would do everything she could to aid him. After all, Fynn…
A cry from the battlements jolted her from the macabre possibility. “Lady Jeannie is safe.”
She looked up, elated to see Ewan waving both arms in the air. “Ailig’s dead,” he shouted.
Already on his knees, Mungo bent his head to the dirt and wailed.
“Take him to the cells,” Kendric ordered. “We’ll deal wi’ him later.”
A resounding cheer rose up from folk who brandished fists as Mungo was hauled to his feet and dragged away by two burly MacCarrons.
Shona hugged Walter and hurried to the stairway before he could prevent her. However, when she lifted the hem of her skirts and peered into the malodorous black hole that led down to the cesspit, she decided patience was sometimes a virtue.
*
Feeling he’d been superfluous to the outcome of events atop the tower, Ewan offered to carry Jeannie down to safety, but his one-handed kinsman was having none of it. Indeed, Shona’s aunt steadfastly refused to loosen her grip from around Fynn’s neck.
They used the main stairway, but the descent was still tortuous. David preceded them, a solicitous guide every step of the way.
Jeannie remained silent throughout, and clung to Fynn even when he finally set her upright in the courtyard.
Shona rushed to embrace her aunt, raining tearful kisses on her face and stroking her hair.
“’Twas David saved us all,” Fynn declared hoarsely before a broad grin split his dour face. “Fitting ye should cut off his hand, laddie.”
The news spread quickly and folk clustered around the red-faced youth, offering congratulations and words of admiration. Moira hung on his arm, beaming with pride. His stammered protestations at being treated like a hero were dismissed.
With help, Jeannie eventually walked to Kendric and bent to kiss his cheek. “I feared never to see ye again, Brother,” she murmured. “Ailig murdered Beathan. He boasted of it in the hidden chamber.”
The laird gritted his teeth, obviously having difficulty controlling his emotions. “Aye. There’ll be a dire punishment for Mungo, I guarantee it.”
Standing alone, Ewan watched the tearful reunions, the boisterous congratulations, the back slapping. He supposed he should feel the outsider, yet it pleased him that MacCarron folk were happy for Mackinloch kin as well as for their own.
Shona finally came to embrace him. “Thank ye,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder.
He hesitated to put his arms around her. “I dinna smell very wonderful,” he said.
She looked up at him and smiled. “Hug me anyway.”
He willingly obliged, feeling life return as she pressed her slender body against him. Her warmth chased away the chill of fear he’d felt in the tunnel. “Ye should be thanking David,” he said. “I did nothing.”
She pulled away and stared at him. “Rubbish,” she said. “Ye’re the one who provided leadership and gave everyone courage and hope. Ye worked out the clue in the codex and found the way to the secret chamber. Ye’re intelligent and brave. What more could a clan ask of its laird?”
*
Shona pouted when Ewan suggested she go to Jeannie’s chamber. “I want to stay with ye,” she protested. “Fynn has accompanied her there.”
“I’d like nothing more,” he replied, “but there are matters requiring my attention. Ailig’s body, for one. The crows will have a feast if we leave it atop the roof.”
She privately thought it a fitting end for the monster, but kept the barbaric opinion to herself. “I suppose ye’ll have need of yer kinsman’s help.”
He put his hands on her waist and gently turned her before patting her derrière. “Aye. Go to yer aunt.”
She went reluctantly, knowing he was right. Jeannie would need a woman’s shoulder to cry on, but she relived the intimate touch of Ewan’s hand on her bottom as she made her way to the hall to first retrieve the codex.
She was surprised to see Moira standing by the head table, staring at the old book, hands fisted in the folds of her skirts. “It willna bite ye,” she said with more sarcasm than she intended.
Her maid startled and stepped away from the table. “I was just…”
Shona picked up the heavy tome with both hands. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day. I didna mean to upset ye.”
Moira shrugged, but Shona well recognized the feigned indifference the lass often used to hide her true feelings. “Would ye like to learn to read?”
Her maid’s frown caused her to think an adamant refusal would be the response, but then doubt crept into her eyes. “I’m nay clever enough.”
“Nonsense. Anyone can learn letters. We’ll see to it.”
Moira’s broad smile made her wonder why she hadn’t thought of the notion before. Servants who could read would be more useful to the castle and the clan. She handed the book over to her maid, filled with a sense of optimism about changes she and Ewan could bring about. It would be a new era. One in which old feuds were forgotten and life improved for everyone.