Page 46 of Highlander’s Haunted Past

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If men could learn how to bottle the gold of a Highland sunset, no one would ever be poor again,Rob thought.

It was one of those perfect Highland evenings, the kind that reminded him why he preferred the hills to a town. The soft light of sunset caught itself in the droplets left on the grass by a passing afternoon rain, covering the hills with scores of soft twinkles. Overhead, the few birds that were yet to fly south were flying in whirls and loops through the open sky, their peaceful songs filling the air as they enjoyed one of the last good days of fall. The temperature was cool, but not unbearable, which was perfect since the party could not risk lighting a fire.

Off in the distance, rising higher than the hills around it, was a monstrously large stone castle. It would just be one large square if it were not for the massive round tower that was rising up along its side as if in objection to the strict order of the rest. From the chimneys rose soft wisps of smoke, slowly swirling up into the air until it couldn’t be distinguished from one of the passing clouds.

From the hills far beyond the castle, Rob tracked the slow-moving sentries circling the outside of the castle walls, which seemed unusually uneven in height. Some parts even looked crumbled with disrepair.

Rob heard a few soft curses and the rustling of grass behind him. Hugh. His brother crawled up the last few feet of the hill, staying as low to the grass as he could before dropping to his stomach beside Rob. The rest of the men, a small party of twenty, were lower on the hill behind them, taking advantage of the slope of the hill to conceal their location from any in the castle who might cast a wayward glance in their direction.

Hugh took a swig from his flask, filling the air with the scent of whiskey.

“So, the Earl of Huntly is up in that tower?”

“‘Tis where his bedchambers are. Since he is such a righteous bastard, I imagine he won’t be off whoring or gambling all night.”

“And ye ken this how again?”

“It came to me in a dream. Christ, Hugh, how do ye think I ken?”

“And ye ken for certain that Kenna was telling ye the truth?”

“She has no reason to lie.”

“Other than the giant reason right in front of us. Strathbogie is the seat of her clan. Do ye really think she wants to see it raided and her clan chief arrested?”

“The lass has shown time and time again that she is more loyal to the Frasers and to the Crown than she is loyal to the Gordons. Even when everyone is set against her, including me, she has remained true. I’ll not be fool enough to doubt her again. How many times must we have this conversation?”

Rob couldn’t doubt her again. The bruise on his shin was still painful. He did not want to know what sort of damage her kick would do if directed elsewhere. Yet, despite his surety in Kenna, Hugh had been almost single-mindedly focused on trying to get Rob to have even a bit of doubt in her. The conversation always repeated itself, and Rob was sick of it.

“Look, I ken that so far she has been proven innocent, but that does not mean that she will always be,” Hugh muttered. “She could easily change her mind.”

“And why would she do that?”

“Well—” Hugh faltered. “Ye could end up killing her brothers, fer starters. Will she be so loyal to ye if she ken ye were the one who sent them to their graves?”

Rob stiffened. If John and Thomas Gordon were fool enough to go running from the safety of Inverness Castle, and the Queen’s forgiveness, to the doomed arms of the Earl of Huntly, then there would be little Rob could do to protect them. Kenna would understand. But would she forgive? Knowing her, she would be too stubborn to forgive.

“Quit trying to spoil my mood before a good fight.”

The brothers watched as the sunset turned to twilight, and they started their slow wandering down the hill once twilight faded to near darkness and the sentries could only be spotted by the slight speck of their torches.

The men stood as the brothers reached the bottom of the hill, each beginning to make their final preparations for the raid. Rob went and checked the knots on his saddle, making sure everything was tied down tightly and that nothing jangled or clanged when the saddle shook.

“Ye put yer good luck charm on?” Rob teased Hugh, who was tapping various places on his person to make sure all of his knives were in place.

Hugh had always been a strange one. Whether it was a hunt, a fight, or a lesson, he had always clung to bits of jewelry and other trinkets, claiming that they were the keys to his success rather than his own hard-earned talent. For a while, his trinket for a fight had been a small stone he had found on the ground in the sparring yard. Then, when that had failed him, it became a bit of ribbon that a serving lass had given him. Today, Hugh pulled out a small gold ring from his sporran. This had been Hugh’s charm for nearly two years. It had taken Rob a long time to realize that it had been a gift from Ellen, a gift given to him at the onset of their secret affair.

“I’m starting to think I’m overly superstitious. Damn thing hasna brought me as much luck as it ought these days.”

“Well, I’m sure ye’ll find something new soon.” Rob clapped his brother on the back and went to check in with the other men, going over the plan with them one last time as the darkness of the moonless night thickened around them, pressing away the last vestiges of the day.

At last, the men mounted their horses and rode to the top of the hill, confident that none would see them there on such a dark night. They had waited three days for a moonless night, hiding in the forest and taking turns to scout the castle while dodging the Gordons that roamed the hills around them. Most of the Gordons were, at least, already gone. The Earl of Huntly had already sent his army off to take a firm position between Strathbogie and Aberdeen, though he hadn’t gone out to join them yet himself. Maybe he was hoping to receive more news from Sutherland, not yet aware that his spy had been discovered.

The plan to raid the castle had been formed easily. Without knowing what they would find in the castle, it was hard to get too specific. But they figured out solutions for everything that they knew they would find, and then created a few unclear plans for the things they weren’t sure they would find. Each plan, though, ended the same way: get to the tower, find the Earl, get out.

The eagerness was starting to quicken the beat of his heart, and his hands were shaking, but the men only dared to walk the horses forward. A full gallop would make too much noise, sacrificing the blanket of secrecy that the darkness had draped over them.