Page 99 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
‘Damn!’he thought furiously.‘What on earth possessed me to come to this place? I must have been mad!’The truth was that he had been trying to buy some food, since he had been living off the land for days now, picking berries and mushrooms and killing the odd squirrel. He’d had nothing to drink but water and longed for a glass of ale, or milk. Whisky was a distant dream, but that was the least of his worries.
He looked up at the sky. Fortunately there was no sign of rain. The sky was white and hazy, but he could not trust it to stay that way. This was Scotland, after all! If he was to stay hidden from his enemies and live to tell the tale, he was going to have to find shelter. He was in a pine forest, but the shore of the two lochs, Loch Binnie and Loch Dubh, along which the forest ran was steep-sided and rocky, and there were plenty of caves to hide in.
He would once more be sleeping rough, but by now he was accustomed to it. One thing he had to do was to go and recover Rory if he could. He only hoped that his faithful friend was still where he had left him.
However, he wanted to wait until the light dimmed a little, but that would not be for a long time yet. It was late summer, not quite autumn yet, and that meant daylight that lasted fairly late into the evening. That had been wonderful when he was a child, when he could play almost until nightfall, but in the circumstances in which he found himself now it was extremely dangerous.
He found a crack between two rocks that was just about wide enough to admit him, and cursed as he squeezed into the narrow space, then pulled a few branches over himself. If the redcoats made a cursory inspection, he would be safe, but if they decided on a thorough search he was doomed. He sighed angrily and closed his eyes. If there was nothing more he could do then he might as well sleep.
However, in his cramped uncomfortable quarters, he was not able to even do that. He pushed the branches that were covering him away and looked around, relieved to see that there were no redcoats anywhere. Moreover, from what he could hear from the market, it was busier than ever. If that was the case, he would have to hope that the vendors had plenty of stock and dropped some of their food on the floor when they left that night. Otherwise he would go hungry again.
Tearlach once more picked his way through the trees trying to make as little noise as he could. Perhaps he could buy something before the market closed; but then he thought twice. The redcoats might be hiding somewhere out of sight, just waiting for him to show his hand. He sighed wearily and sank down on the ground, hiding in a clump of undergrowth which was just a little more comfortable than the gap between the rocks, then waited for darkness to appear.
While he waited, he thought back to his childhood and the girl he had been so fond of. Norah Brown had been a cut above him, a merchant’s daughter, and when she first started to play with the village children, she had been very shy.
However, she had been befriended by a few of the girls, and soon she became one of them. After that, she occasionally became ‘one of the boys’, and joined in their riotous games. She did all the usual girlish things too, of course, like skipping ropes andplaying with dolls, but she would always join in a game of ball, although she drew the line at wrestling!
It was Norah who had encouraged Tearlach to ride, since her father had a stable of ten horses, and he wanted her to cut an elegant figure on horseback. Even though a guard would always accompany her on their rides around the loch, she persuaded her father to allow Tearlach to come with them occasionally. She had let it slip that he might be looking for a position as a guard, since her father was always looking for new guards, and he was a big strong lad who would be very suitable for the job. Liam Brown had a high turnover of men, mostly because he did not pay them enough.
Tearlach had no intention of becoming a member of Liam Brown’s staff, though, it was merely a way of spending an hour or two with Norah.
The thought of those days always made him smile, no matter what mood he was in. She had been beautiful at fifteen, but now, six years later, she must be absolutely stunning, and he wished with all his heart that he could see her again.
He had always cared about her, even though she was two years younger than he was, and he wondered how different his life would have been if he had stayed at home and not ran away to fight for his country. Could they have married? Probably not. He was not of her class, and her father had always been known for his snobbery, so they would have had to have done it in secret. An elopement was a wonderful daydream, but it would never become a reality. She would likely have forgotten about him by now.
3
The day was going very well. Norah had sold many of Caitrin’s dried fruits, berries, and nuts, as well as her bunches of cooking herbs, and was just congratulating herself when she saw a big commotion at the end of the market. Three large men on horseback were trying to get through the traders and customers, but they were being deliberately obstructed by every single one of them.
Their red coats and tricorn hats marked them out as the enemy at once, and although no one in the village had anything resembling weapons except for farm implements, they had their bodies. Accordingly, they used them as best they could to keep the unwelcome visitors out. Presently, looking deeply irritated, the redcoats dismounted and continued to try to push through the crowd, at the same time trying to interrogate them. However, they were making little progress.
The question was always the same.‘Have you seen a big man with red hair? He is wanted for treason.’
This caused much hilarity. “This is Scotland, ye big yin!” said a woman with a head of flaming red hair. “There are hundreds ofus here.” She leaned forward so that the soldier could touch it but he drew his hand back in disgust as if he had been stung.
“Is it me ye are lookin’ for?” a tall redheaded man called out. “Whatever it is, I didnae dae it!” This caused another wave of raucous laughter.
“Aye ye did!” another man called out. There was a laughing chorus of agreement. Nobody seemed to be taking the redcoats too seriously.
After that, numerous redheads from all over the crowd joined in, each one purporting to be guilty of everything from lustful thoughts to stealing livestock, and a festive atmosphere descended on the crowd.
Just as she was enjoying the fun, something heavy struck Norah in the back, causing her to stumble forward and almost fall flat on her face. She managed to right herself, however, and turned around to reprimand the careless lout who had almost knocked her over. She saw the hooded figure from the marketplace hurrying away. His hood had been knocked askew in the collision, and she saw a flash of red hair before the man - because a woman could not possibly be so tall - disappeared.
A few of the crowd had already begun to become a little tipsy from drinking too much ale and were daring enough to swipe the tricorn hats from the heads of the redcoats, then parade around in them for a while before giving them back.
The English soldiers were extremely irritated by their lack of progress, but to everyone’s dismay they persevered and continued to question the market traders. It proved to be a waste of time, however, since no one would give them any information.
Norah was watching them closely as they attempted to pick their way through, but the noise, the crush of bodies and the lack of cooperation of the villagers were wearing them out.
She caught sight of the face of one of the soldiers and felt a little sorry for him. He was so young, and he looked frightened, although he was obviously trying to put on a brave face. His blue eyes looked a little panicked, and she wondered where he came from and who his family was - did he even want to be here?
The young man came up to her, looking slightly stunned as he gazed at her. He had obviously not expected someone like Norah to be standing in a farmers’ market, but then Norah was used to this. Men frequently looked at her this way, and had done so since she was fifteen years old and began to develop a womanly body.
“What is happening?” she asked, looking puzzled. “What is all the fuss about?”
The young man sighed then answered in a tired voice. Norah’s father had done business with many Londoners, and he sounded as if he had come straight from there to the Highlands of Scotland without stopping, so strong was his accent.
“We are lookin’ for a fugitive, m’lady,” he answered. “Big man -” he raised his hand to indicate the man’s height. “‘He has bright red hair, green eyes, an’ he is very tall an’ muscular. You would know ‘im if you saw ‘im because he don’t look like none o’ the locals.” Norah could almost feel her heart jumping out of her chest, the redcoat’s description matching Tearlach perfectly - but of course it couldn’t be him. Regardless, Norah could not bring herself to ask his name.
