The Corpse
Shona shaded her eyes to look up. “He’s mad, but he isna stupid,” she whispered close to Ewan’s ear, not wanting to dash Heather’s hopes.
An audible gasp rose from the crowd when Mungo hauled Robbie back to the safety of the parapet. He put an arm around the lad and shouted, “Secure my brother’s body to a horse. And I’ll need one for me and the lad.”
Ewan arched a brow and shrugged. “He’s evidently shortsighted as well as dimwitted.”
As soon as Mungo disappeared, Walter dispatched two men to the stables.
Fynn and David lifted the corpse off the litter. “The antlers were too much of a challenge,” Fynn explained, “but we managed to get the rest o’ the carcass stuffed in.”
Shona stared incredulously. “The head as weel?”
David nodded. “Too ba…ba…bad.”
“Aye,” Fynn agreed with a sigh. “We could have made all manner o’ useful things wi’ yon bones.”
“No better use than saving a child’s life,” Shona replied.
“Speaking of which,” Ewan said, “we canna let him ride out of here with Robbie. Walter, come with me.”
They entered the doorway to the tower. Difficult as it was to watch him go, Shona accepted it was in Ewan’s nature to risk himself for others. His courage was what she admired most about him.
“Where are the horses?” Heather cried impatiently. “It willna take him long to come down.”
Shona put an arm around her shoulders. “Hopefully, he’ll never make it to the ground.”
Heather slumped against her as the men from the stables appeared at the run leading a roan and a donkey. “But he’ll kill my son if they challenge him.”
“Without Robbie, he has no means of escape.”
She hoped she was right as Fynn and David lifted the bag of bones onto the reluctant donkey and quickly secured it with rope. If she hadn’t known what was inside she’d have believed the beast’s burden was a corpse—which she supposed it was, in a way.
*
Ewan and Walter encountered Mungo part way down the central staircase. He’d slung Robbie over his shoulder like a sack of grain. The bairn’s feet were unbound, but it was impossible to know if his hands were tied. He made no sound and Ewan worried he might already be dead, though there was no blood in evidence on the dagger Mungo gripped. That didn’t mean he hadn’t strangled the boy.
“Robert Gilbertson,” Walter said sternly, evidently plagued by the same uncertainty, “I’m proud o’ ye. We’ll soon have ye safe, do ye hear me?”
“Aye, Daddy,” came the brave reply.
Walter exhaled. “Let my son go,” he hissed. “Take me instead.”
Mungo scoffed. “Nay, the lad’s smaller. Ye’re too much of a handful.”
“Fyking coward,” Walter mumbled under his breath.
“Get out o’ my way,” Mungo shouted, waving the dagger, “if ye dinna want me to harm the bairn.”
“We’ve few options in this narrow stairwell,” Ewan muttered to Walter. “Let’s wait until we get to the courtyard.”
Walter gritted his teeth, but nodded his agreement. They felt their way backwards towards the steps to the outside, never taking their eyes off Mungo and his precious burden.
*
A terrible hush fell over the crowd when Ewan and Walter came out of the tower without Robbie.
Heather sobbed in Shona’s arms, but she shrieked her son’s name when Mungo emerged carrying the boy like a sack of grain.
“I’m all right, Mamie,” the lad shouted, eliciting compliments about his bravery from bystanders.
The scowling giant paused, scanning the scene. Shona hoped his gaze didn’t linger overlong on the corpse lashed to the donkey. The animal stomped and brayed, clearly uncomfortable with its burden.
“I asked for a horse, nay a donkey,” Mungo protested, but didn’t pursue the matter when no one replied.
He inched his way towards the beasts, keeping a wary eye on Ewan and Walter. “Everybody move away,” he yelled.
Heather gripped Shona’s arm as the crowd slowly obeyed. When Mungo got close to the roan, Robbie began to squirm and kick.
“I told him of Ailig’s burial,” his mother whispered. “He kens that’s nay the body.”
She shrieked when Mungo swatted the lad’s bottom with the knife-wielding hand.
“Be still,” the giant growled, but Robbie kept on kicking.
Shona glanced across at Ewan who had taken advantage of the distraction to edge closer.
Evidently rattled by the boy’s sudden resistance, Mungo paid scant attention to the corpse, took the reins of the donkey and mounted the roan, then drew Robbie down into his lap. “If ye try to hunt me, I’ll make sure the boy suffers,” he threatened.
Walter growled.
Heather wailed.
Anger threatened to choke Shona.
Ewan’s gaze darted here and there, searching for a means to stop the brute leaving. He rolled his eyes heavenward when Ruadh sauntered into the courtyard.