Page 46 of The Shadow of a Laird
“That’s why I will not be doing it,” Gavin replied. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the castle again. “They will no doubt have the escape tunnels sealed or guarded—or both.” Then he gave Archie a sideways, mischievous look. “Except one.”
“Aye,” Archie grinned. “Yours.”
The tunnel to which they referred was one that leads to Gavin’s wardrobe. It had been dug in the time of Gavin’s great-great-grandfather, and was a closely guarded secret that had been handed down from generation to generation. However, such was his trust in Archie that Gavin had told him the secret in the certain knowledge that it would go no further. Archie himselfhad not been able to access it to escape, but had been helped by some of the others who were still trapped inside.
The trouble with the tunnel was that access would be very difficult, since, although the entrance was completely invisible from outside, accessing it was almost impossible without being seen.
“I suggest that we go in just before the shift changes in the middle of the night,” Gavin suggested. “The guards are tired then, and I know more than a few of them will be drunk. They have changed the hours of the watches to confuse us, but we have kept them under surveillance and we know all the new times. If you and I go in, we can overpower the guards watching the cells and unlock them. Once our own men are out, we can come in with the rest of our army.”
Archie nodded. “I will have them ready tae attack fae under the trees.”
“But nobody must know about the tunnel,” Gavin warned. “It’s our secret weapon.”
“Aye,” Archie agreed. “Just yours an’ mine. Is there any ale around here? I am dyin’ o’ thirst.”
Gavin sighed, then laughed. “We can’t have that. If we all do well tonight, we can have a feast with gallons of whisky to go around.”
Archie raised his eyebrows as he quaffed the ale that had just been given to him. “I’ll drink tae that!”
It was a difficult task for sixty men, all armed to the teeth, to proceed silently down a hill, especially in the darkness, but somehow they managed it, and stood just inside the treeline waiting for orders.
Gavin and Archie crept downhill, and by the light of one shaded candle they managed to find the entrance to the tunnel, which was so carefully crafted into the stonework that it was almost invisible.
Inside, the draught of air from the passage blew the candle out, and the blackness was so complete that it was like a solid wall in front of them. Gavin’s heart began to race with fear as he instinctively reached out, trying to find something to hold on to. His fingers found Archie’s shoulder, and he clutched it tightly before he saw the light from his lantern flare like a beacon of hope in the darkness.
“A’ right, Gavin?” Archie asked, concerned.
“Yes, I just hate the darkness,” he answered, swallowing his fear. “I have always been afraid of it.”
“That makes ye human,” Archie answered. “We are a’ scared o’ somethin’.”
They proceeded along the tunnel, feeling their way along the rocky walls until they saw a door ahead of them. The tunnel opened into a store cupboard in a rarely used part of the castle, and meant that they had the element of surprise completely on their side, since no one would think to look in that direction.
They crept down the stairs to the dungeon, and as Gavin had suspected, many of the guards were either sleeping, drunk, or both. It was the work of moments to subdue them by creeping up on them and knocking them unconscious with their sword hilts.
Thereafter, they dragged them into an empty cell and, having found the keys to the rest of the cells, they liberated the prisoners inside. For a few moments, there was pandemonium as all the freed Forsyth soldiers leapt out to hug and shake hands with their rescuers.
However, it did not take long before the Forsyth rebels came to see what was happening. A solid mass of them came downstairs and dived into the mass of liberated prisoners. They were all heavily armed, but only Gavin and Archie and two of the prisoners had swords, which they had taken from the jailers.
However, four armed men were not enough to fight off the crowd of men facing them. Just as it seemed that the fight wouldbe over before it started, Jamieson men came pouring down the stairs and began to attack the rebels.
It was over very quickly, since the Forsyth rebels were wedged in between the Jamiesons, the former prisoners, and some other Forsyth guards. These were the ones who had stayed quietly loyal to Gavin, and were waiting their chance to strike back at their traitorous fellow soldiers.
There were no serious injuries, but the rebel Forsyth guards, after being disarmed, were dragged into the courtyard none too gently, then thrown down on the flagstones.
The Jamieson men combed the castle to bring out the remaining guards on the turrets and those who were sleeping. After a while, every one of the turncoat guards were being guarded by the victorious Jamiesons, and it was time for a reckoning with Gavin’s clansmen.
Awakened by the commotion, many of the servants came out to see what was going on. When they saw Gavin, most were hesitant at first, but they were reassured that they were safe, and Gavin shook many hands and patted many backs as he went to fight another kind of battle. This was a war of words, and he was going to make absolutely sure that he won it!
The clan elders had been dragged out of their beds into the council chamber, all of them shivering in their nightshirts because they had not been able to dress. They looked up in astonishment when Gavin came in and sat down at the head of the big table.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Gavin said with exaggerated politeness. “I trust you are all well?”
“Why are we here?” one of the biggest men, who was almost as tall as Gavin, asked.
“I would have thought that was rather obvious,” Gavin answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I would like to speak to all of you. I could have my loyal men slay you where you sit, but I would rather not stain my clean hands with your blood; that would reduce me to your level, and I have no desire to sink so low.”
He looked around at all of them, noting their various expressions of defiance, fear, and anger. His words had obviously struck a nerve.
