Page 18 of The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain
Meg squirmed and fought, but to no avail. Herbert opened the door and the man who held her tossed her inside, then slammed it shut behind her. The sound of the key turning in the lock set her insides to boiling, so she swung around and grabbed at the doorknob.
It didn’t give.
She banged on the rough surface, but a small voice called to her, “It will not help you to do that. We’ve tried since we arrived.”
Turning around slowly, she noticed what had evaded her before—four bairns huddling together in the corner of one cot. Feeling the cold, she rubbed her arms and tugged her mantle tighter. The chamber was just large enough to hold one cot, one barrel on the wall next to the door, and a couple of stools. Bags of seed and other contents covered shelves on the walls.
“Please help us,” a boy of around ten winters said.
Just like that, her objective changed. How could she deny the lad? Picking up a stool close to the wall, she set it directly in front of the group. “All right. If you wish for my help, you must tell me who you are and why you are here.”
All four voices began at once, so she held up her hands to silence them. “One at a time. You decide.”
Three of them pointed at the boy. “You tell her, if you please, Magni.” The older blond-haired lass nodded to him, speaking as if she were an adult rather than a bairn. Meg wished she had the ability to guess their ages, but she could not.
“Go ahead, Magni.”
The lad was the tallest of the group, and he beamed at being selected as their representative.
Meg folded her hands in her lap so the boy wouldn’t consider her a threat. “Go ahead.”
“I’m Magni, and I’m ten. This is my sister Lia, who is five summers. Rowan is six winters, and Tora is four. We were stolenfrom our different clans on the Isle of Mull. They put us on a ship, but we have no idea where we are going. Where are we? Will you help us? We wish to go home.”
Of the four, three were filled with fear while the fourth, Lia, was calm as could be, something Meg found oddly disconcerting. She wore an oddly-colored green gown that was covered with dust, while Tora wore a fine pair of wool trews with a dark red tunic top. The boys wore identical trews and tunics, both as dirty as any she’d seen. The state of their clothing showed how bad their journey had been.
“I will help you, if I can. I don’t know where we are, other than on the mainland about half a day from Oban. If we return to Oban, we can catch a ferry back to the isle, which is where I am headed. That should be our goal. Does that make sense to the four of you?”
The children nodded.
“Do you know who the kidnappers are? Or where you are headed?”
Magni said, “Nay. Pirate Man and Hairy left us here last eve. Said we’ll be leaving on the morrow. We have to get away quickly.”
“Harry has a name, but not the Pirate Man?”
“Nay.” Magni giggled. “We call him Hairy because he has so much hair.” Then he leaned forward and whispered, “Even in his ears.”
“I think his name is Herbert. His true name, but I’m not sure. I heard him called that just now.”
“Who awe you?” Tora asked.
“My name is Meg, and I am going to visit my sister on an isle.”
“Mull?”
She shook her head. “But she can wait. I’ll help you first.”
“I want my mama,” Tora said, her lower lip quivering. “I don’t like dis woom.”
Rowan said, “Now you are upset, Tora. You didn’t care before.”
“I wish to go home now. I’ve changed my mind.”
“Let me take a look around and see if we can figure out a way to open that locked door.” Meg took out her axe from her bag and did her best to break it, but it wasn’t to be. She glanced over at the four disappointed faces. “Mayhap it would be best to try again in the middle of the night. If we managed to open it now, it would be in vain because the men are just outside the door. I can hear them talking not far away. And the cook would see us leave. We need to wait. I think it would be better to leave in the dark.”
She moved over onto the pallet, and they made room for her. Leaning her back against the wall, the four huddled around her, two on each side. “I thought it was morn when I woke up, but the sun was high when they brought me here.”
“You’ll not leave us, will you?” Magni asked.
