Here Burns My Candle Part 7

"Nae, mem. I left it hanging in the kitchen with my ap.r.o.n."

"I see." Marjory did not bother to hide her displeasure. "Am I to a.s.sume you, too, have elected to make this your day off?"

"In a manner o' speaking, mem." Peg lowered her gaze, her freckled cheeks scarlet. "I'm bound for Coldingham, whaur my sister lives. And I'll not be coming back."

"What?" Marjory cried. The ungrateful chit! "You've been here only a month."

"Aye," Peg said softly, then lifted her chin. "Forgive me, Leddy Kerr, but I canna stay. Not with..." Her voice faltered. "Not with the Hielanders at oor door."

A handful of arguments rose to Marjory's lips and fell just as quickly. Hadn't one of Lady Falconer's servants abruptly left that morning? Like rats leaping from a sinking s.h.i.+p, peasantry and gentry alike.

"I'll not provide a written character," Marjory cautioned. Her only weapon, yet one with a dull blade. Any servant could account for an idle month between positions. With some reluctance she pulled a silver coin from her hanging pocket. "As to your wages, I'll give you the one s.h.i.+lling you're due and not a penny more."

"I canna blame ye, mem." Peg curtsied longer than necessary, then stood, clutching the single coin and a small bundle of goods to her chest. "'Tis thankrif I am, Leddy Kerr. Ye were kind to take me into yer hame."

The maid's meek demeanor p.r.i.c.ked Marjory's conscience, softening her tongue. "Away with you, then, since I cannot force you to stay."

Peg nodded, already inching toward the door. "'Tis a lang road to the sea."

"Aye, it is." Marjory turned, hiding her disappointment. "Gibson will send you with supper."

Marjory waited until the two servants slipped into the kitchen, then sought her bedchamber. A dull, relentless pain throbbed beneath her temples. Too much tea and far too much gossip. And now this.

She paused by the window and stared into the inky expanse below. Torches and lanterns danced about as if borne on the wind. Wars and rumours of wars. How long until she heard the cadence of rebel soldiers marching down the High Street? The sound alone might stir Andrew's patriotic fervor beyond recanting. Was he enlisting even now, signing his life away and dragging Donald into battle with him?

As she ma.s.saged her aching brow with her fingertips, Marjory glanced at the door to the adjoining bedchamber. Might she find some hint of their whereabouts? Curiosity drew her over the threshold, candle in hand. She was greeted by the distinctive scent of musty paper mingled with the richness of leather. Even shrouded in darkness, Donald's room revealed his bookish nature. He was a scholar, not a soldier. His place was here, surrounded by great minds and lofty thoughts.

From the corner of her eye, she spied a small volume on Elisabeth's dressing table. The Ladies' Diary: For the Year of our Lord 1745. One of Donald's many gifts to his wife. Marjory opened the cover and was surprised to find the almanac well used. Notations in Elisabeth's hand filled the narrow margins.

Marjory squinted, holding her candle closer. On each page the new moon was marked and another date circled: 27 January. 26 April. 24 July. Keeping track of her courses, perhaps? The next one fell four days hence: 20 September. Marjory would say nothing, merely be mindful of Elisabeth's changing moods come Friday.

She'd almost closed the book when she found a line of verse handwritten inside the front cover. Ye moon and stars, bear witness to the truth! Milton? Or was it Dryden? Marjory gazed at the poet's words, wondering what they signified for her dark-haired daughter-in-law. The moon. The truth. A keeper of secrets, that one.

Marjory's attention drifted toward the entrance hall. Were those footsteps on the stair? And familiar voices? She abruptly shut the book and quit the room, her headache forgotten. Gibson had already thrown open the door by the time she reached his side. In a trice the hall was filled with people, all talking at once.

"We were almost home," Andrew began, "when the Deputy of Magistracy sent out a coach."

"Bound for Gray's Mill." Donald handed his cape and gloves to Gibson. "The deputies are meeting with Prince Charlie."

Marjory's breath caught. Gray's Mill was but two miles away. Were the rebels so near?

"'Tis not all we've learned." Andrew's eyes shone, and his skin was flush with excitement. "Sir John Cope and his troops have been spotted off the coast of Dunbar. In a day or two they'll be marching toward Edinburgh."

"Isn't it thrilling?" Janet slipped her arm round Marjory's waist. "Oh, the things we've seen and heard today! However shall I sleep?"

"Come, you must tell me everything," Marjory insisted. "And I've news to share as well. Our Peg Cargill has deserted us. Frightened off by the Highlanders."

Donald's eyebrows lifted. "Truly? She said that?"

"What a shame," Elisabeth commented, the only one among them who seemed genuinely saddened by Peg's departure.

"A maidservant is easily replaced," Marjory a.s.sured her. "A monarch, however, is not. With a rebel prince at our gates, none of us may sleep tonight."

Thirteen.

'Tis morn. Behold the kingly day now leaps

The eastern wall of earth with sword in hand.

JOAQUIN MILLER.

S lowly, quietly Elisabeth eased her legs over the edge of the bed. Something had awakened her, like the sharp cry of a wounded animal. Or had she dreamed that? All was silent now. Beside her, Donald slept undisturbed. She could only guess the hour. Four o' the clock perhaps. Their bedchamber was bathed in darkness, the coals having long since turned to ash.

She'd tossed to and fro most of the night, troubled by Rob MacPherson's whispered news at Parliament Close. "Yer brither has come oot for Prince Charlie."

"Simon?" Her heart had leaped to her throat. "Are you certain?"

"Make nae mistake, Leddy Kerr. He declared his lealty and stands ready to fight, whatsomever patch o' G.o.d's green gra.s.s lies beneath his feet."

Simon was barely eighteen, yet a more loyal Jacobite could not be found in Castleton of Braemar nor in the hills and glens round it. All through his youth he'd recited the failings of the foreign Hanoverians and sung the praises of the royal Stuarts-sentiments learned at their father's table. When James Ferguson died, his son's zeal only grew stronger.

Elisabeth knew this day would come, when Simon would fight for the Stuarts. She was proud of him, aye. But she was frightened for him as well.

Rob had also whispered, "Come to the shop afore daybreak, and dinna tell a soul."

She glanced at the inky windows facing the High Street. Did the MacPhersons know her brother's whereabouts? Was that why they'd summoned her to their shop? If so, she might be reunited with Simon that very hour, before the sun gilded the rooftops.

Hurry, la.s.s!

Elisabeth found her way across the darkened bedchamber all the while listening for Donald's steady breathing. Guilt tightened her stomach. But had she told him of her errand, her husband might have forbidden her to go and that would never do.

Still, if the town guards stopped her en route, if they thrust out their long wooden poles and snapped the metal hasp round her neck...

Nae. Elisabeth yanked hard on her stays, refusing to consider such a dire turn of events. She would come and go with the utmost haste, speak to no one except the MacPhersons, and return home before the household lifted their sleepy heads.

A simple costume was in order. She donned a plain drugget gown, the sort a servant might wear, without hoops or excessive petticoats to enc.u.mber her. Her low-heeled shoes were leather, not brocade, and a hooded cape in heathery gray wool concealed her unbound hair and much of her face.

Having properly disguised herself, she faced another challenge: walking through a slumbering household undetected. Janet and Andrew's bedchamber came first. Elisabeth tiptoed past the sleeping couple, averting her gaze, grateful for the thick carpet.

In the kitchen the lingering aroma of lamb stew hung in the air. Mrs. Edgar did not stir when Elisabeth pa.s.sed by the housekeeper's makes.h.i.+ft bed beneath the wooden dresser nor when she took a lighted candle from the mantel over the hearth.

Nor did she wake Gibson, snoring in his folding bed in the gloomy entrance hall. Elisabeth waited until he drew a loud, rumbling breath before she moved the heavy bolt. When he snored again, she pulled open the door and slipped out, then started down the stair, feeling rather than seeing each step.

The morning damp crept through the folds of her wool cape. She s.h.i.+vered, though not from the cold. Every noise round her was magnified. When a door creaked somewhere below, she nearly lost her footing, so loudly did the hinges complain. A dog barking in the distance sounded near enough to bite her ankles. When at last she reached the deserted square, she cupped the flickering candle with her hand and hastened across the plainstanes.

Daybreak would not be long in coming. Already the rectangle of sky above her was changing from deepest blue to dark, smoky gray. Gulls sailed over the sleeping town, their cries muted by the moist air. Few folk were abroad at that early hour, and none met her gaze. Such solitude would not last. In another hour merchants would throw open their shutters, taverns would welcome their first patrons, and Edinburgh would greet the day with fear and trembling.

But not yet.

Just beyond the Tron Kirk stood the town guardhouse, a low, shabby building erected in the middle of the High Street. The "black hole," some called it, a disreputable place for all its civic importance. Elisabeth always gave it a wide berth. Several decaying guards usually hung round the door in threadbare uniforms and rumpled tricorne hats, sharing a pint of ale.

But not this morning.

Elisabeth's steps slowed, and her eyes widened. 'Tis not possible.

A company of soldiers surrounded the guardhouse: armed, silent, and alert. Even in the murky light, she recognized their belted plaids and short coats, their broadswords and targes, their blue bonnets and white c.o.c.kades. Highlanders.

Her heart began to thud.

The prince's men are here. In Edinburgh.

Elisabeth could not move, could hardly breathe. For weeks all had waited for the rebels to come charging through the West Port. Now they stood before her on a dark Tuesday morning, having quietly overtaken the town.

Tears stung her eyes as an ancient pride welled inside her. Think of it! Highland clansmen guarding the capital and a Stuart king returning to the throne. How many Jacobite Risings had there been in years past, with no success? Two? Three? Now it seemed as if there might be a chance.

Emboldened, she drew close enough to hear the soldiers' voices, rich with Gaelic. To a man they were built for warfare, with broad shoulders and st.u.r.dy legs. No wonder the dragoons had galloped off at the sight of them.

Her candle, exposed to the capricious morning breeze, was quickly snuffed out. Still, she could see the men well enough. And they could see her. A gruff voice demanded in English, "State yer business, la.s.s."

She spoke as boldly as she dared. "I am bound for the tailoring shop of Angus MacPherson." If they knew of his Jacobite ties, his name alone might keep her safe.

The men consulted one another, eying her as they did. She heard Angus's name repeated several times along with that of Lochiel, chief of Clan Cameron. These were his men, it seemed, from the western Highlands.

Elisabeth studied their ruddy faces, weathered by years on the mountains and moors. Strong, square jaws set off their prominent features. Untamed hair poked from beneath flat bonnets. And a fierce glower darkened each gaze.

Their spokesman appeared to be an officer, with his greatcoat and tartan trews. When he addressed her again, his voice had lost its rough edge. "Aye, we ken the name MacPherson but canna tell ye whaur to find him."

Only then did the thought strike her: Simon might be a stone's throw away. 'Twas unlikely he was part of Lochiel's contingent. But if he was. Oh, if he was...

She braved a second question. "What of my brother, Simon Ferguson, from Castleton of Braemar. Does he stand with you?"

The officer looked to his men. All were shaking their heads. "Beg pardon, la.s.s. We dinna ken yer brither."

Disappointment seeped into her soul, chilling as the morning mist. "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"Och! A bonny la.s.s is the best sort o' trouble," one of the soldiers called out. The others round him laughed.

Elisabeth lifted her chin, a retort on the tip of her tongue. She'd not been addressed in so coa.r.s.e a manner in many seasons. Her t.i.tle, however, would not serve her well this morn, nor would her pride. She slipped the cooled candle stub and holder in the hanging pocket round her waist and turned to go.

"Bess!"

Startled, she spun round to find Rob MacPherson heading toward her, a looming ma.s.s in dark brown serge with a broadsword strapped to his side. His club foot altered his gait but did not slow his steps.

Elisabeth hurried to meet him. "Mr. MacPherson, did you know-"

"Aye," he admitted, taking her arm and steering her away from the guardhouse. "An hour ago my faither waited on this side o' the Nether-bow Port for a detachment o' the prince's army approaching from the east. The porter, as daft as they come, opened the gate to let a carriage through." Rob grinned. "Nae Hielander worthy o' his plaid would've missed such a chance."

"How many men?" she asked.

"Two dozen at the gate with nine hundred on their heels. Captain Macgregor led them through the port with drawn swords and a fricht-some shout."

Elisabeth nodded as the pieces fell together. "Their battle cry woke me."

Rob looked up at the rows of shuttered windows. "Still the toun slumbers."

"But you've not slept."

He shrugged, his eyes bleary, the shadow of a beard darkening his cheek. "Wha could on such a nich?"

As they started downhill together, Elisabeth asked, "Have you any news of Simon?" When he shook his head, she explained, "I thought that might be why your father summoned me to the shop."

"Aye...weel..." Rob cleared his throat, his face turning ruddy. "'Twas not my faither's idea."

"But-"

"I meant to be waiting at the foot o' yer stair," Rob said in a rush of words. "To escort ye to Netherbow Port so ye might watch the Hielanders enter the toun and mebbe catch sight o' yer brither. But the army slipped through the gate sooner than we thocht ..." He shrugged, clearly embarra.s.sed. "Forgive me, Leddy Kerr. I didna mean for ye to be alone on a murky street with Lochiel's men."

"I was not alone for long," Elisabeth reminded him.

Rob glanced back over his shoulder. "Keppoch, Ards.h.i.+el, and their clansmen are gathering at Parliament Close. 'Twill be a rude awakening for the magistrates."

And for the Kerrs. Elisabeth gathered her cape about her. "I must away, sir."

"So ye must." He glanced up at the sky, growing lighter by the second, then turned his dark gaze on her. "Make haste, milady, or ye'll be missed."

Fourteen.

All is to be feared