Candace Robb - The Fire In The Flint

‘I rescued my youngest from the hands of English soldiers,’ said Malcolm. ‘God’s hand is clear in this, my having just disembarked in Dundee.’

‘I’m not blind, Malcolm. I’ve known for a while that you’ve been here gathering goods.’ Roger turned his attention to Fergus. ‘You’re injured?’

Margaret left them to tell Celia to bring her healing herbs up to the solar, where she intended to give Fergus Celia’s small room for the night. ‘Until we see whether Da’s home is safe now the English are here.’

Celia agreed. ‘I’ll sleep in the kitchen with Jonet.’ She followed Margaret back towards the hall.

Margaret paused before they entered the house. ‘I didn’t see Jonet in the kitchen. Da and Fergus learned something about her that has made them angry.’

‘She offered to go to the market for me,’ said Celia. ‘What has she done?’

‘I don’t know yet.’ Margaret stepped into the hall.

Fergus sat slumped in a chair by the fire circle. Her husband and her father stood on either side of the table loudly spitting venom at each other.

‘I’m not keen to hear this,’ Margaret told Celia. ‘Let’s help my brother up to the solar.’

Up in the small chamber Fergus sank on to the bed and groaned with pain and exhaustion as he pulled his shirt up over his head.

‘God save us,’ Celia exclaimed as he exposed the bruises on his stomach, side, and one shoulder. ‘Can you tell whether you’ve any broken bones?’

With Margaret supporting him beneath one elbow, he eased down on to his back.

‘These ribs maybe,’ he said, pointing to his left side. ‘But it hurts only when I breathe.’ He winced as he chuckled at his own humour and cupped his blackened eye with his hand.

Margaret guessed he was trying to hide his suffering, but as she and Celia examined his injuries he kept up an animated narrative despite his fading voice. He sounded like a boy recounting a wonderful adventure.

‘-and there were Englishmen following us, and then Da appeared, all worried for me of a sudden.’ He stopped to sip the herbed wine Celia had prepared. The pause must have given him time to realise how he felt. ‘I’ll save the rest for later,’ he said, then lay back and closed his eyes. ‘The Lord was watching over me last night,’ he added softly. ‘I might have died.’

‘What did Da mean about Jonet?’ Margaret asked, hoping to learn more before her brother dropped into sleep.

‘It was her friends who were following us today, two men who were about all summer. I caught her serving Da’s wine to them on more than one occasion.’

Margaret would never have guessed Jonet could be so brazen. ‘More than once? Why didn’t you tell me about this? Surely you might have found another maid?’

‘Without you or Ma here to show her how the households are run?’ Fergus pressed a hand to his eye again. ‘I never guessed they were Longshanks’s men. It must have been Jonet who let them in to search while you were gone, and closed Mungo up so he wouldn’t alert me.’

‘Marion thought a woman accompanied the searchers,’ Margaret recalled. ‘But you could hardly have foreseen that.’ He was near sleep. ‘I’m relieved you mentioned nothing to Roger of James Comyn’s part in your return.’

‘They didn’t beat all the wits from me,’ Fergus mumbled. ‘I like him.’

Their father entered the room. ‘Is he badly injured?’

Celia shook her head. ‘Bruises, but no wounds.’

‘Will you talk to Jonet, Da?’ asked Fergus.

‘She’s not here,’ said Margaret. ‘But we’ll find her.’

Malcolm took a seat on the edge of the bed and reached out for Fergus’s hand. With the other he took Margaret’s. ‘While I have you two here I want to explain why I’ve been hiding.’ He sounded resigned, as if he had lost a long struggle.

Fergus withdrew his hand and propped himself up on his elbows. ‘Is it about the sterlings?’

Malcolm nodded solemnly. ‘I thought I’d been clever, taking Edward Longshanks’s money for my ships and then cheating him right under his nose to help the men of our country. But I discovered I’d been burning my candle at both ends instead, and there’s naught left to show for all my planning.’

‘He’s using your ships?’ Fergus cried hoarsely. ‘Da, how could you?’

‘They carried men and weapons across the North Sea — away from us. It seemed a good use of my ships. And on board I’d hidden silver from people in Perth to be minted in the Low Countries. Longshanks has forbidden that because he loses the revenue of his mined silver being turned to coin in his mints. The mint gets a percentage, you know. It finances the bastard’s wars. So a group of us thought we’d get our coins more cheaply and cheat Longshanks out of his share — a pittance, for sure, but the gesture felt grand.’

‘What went wrong?’ Margaret asked. ‘What happened to the sterlings? Why are you avoiding the men you owe?’

‘On my return, my ship was boarded by the English. I parted with most of the sterlings to walk off a free man.’ He shook his head. ‘I thank the Lord that so many of Longshanks’s soldiers are felons with little loyalty to him. But I’ve made enemies in Perth.’

‘My God,’ whispered Fergus. ‘Ruthven and the others — you used their coin for your ransom.’

Malcolm sighed. ‘I told Maggie — I did not know the land was yet filled with Longshanks’s troops. I thought they’d all gone east.’ He put his hands on his thighs, gazed at the floor. ‘It was John Smyth who saw me on the river and spread word I was here.’

‘And so you murdered him?’ Fergus guessed.

‘I didn’t touch him,’ Malcolm said loudly to the floor, then glanced nervously at his children to see their reactions. ‘Will no one believe me?’

Margaret found it difficult. ‘What was he doing in the warehouse?’

Malcolm shrugged one shoulder. ‘I know not. He was so surprised to see me there that he brought the barrels down atop himself. Sweet Heaven, the Lord is punishing me for something, I know not what.’

Margaret could suggest a number of transgressions, but she said nothing.

‘John Smyth seduced Jonet and made her believe that I lacked all morals,’ said Malcolm. ‘He told her that is why Christiana left me. So she helped his new comrades search Christiana’s chamber at Elcho, my house, your house.’

‘And you didn’t tell us?’ Margaret whispered, though nothing should surprise her in these times.

‘It slipped my mind,’ Malcolm said.

‘What?’

‘I had more serious problems by then,’ he said, waving a hand.

‘And you thought nothing of your family and the danger they could be in,’ she said. ‘At least you might have considered the safety of your wife in Elcho.’

‘There’s a good watch on the nunnery,’ Malcolm said. He looked pathetic, sitting there leaning on his hands, head bowed, a grown man admitting to his misbehaviour as if it were a matter of dented pots and a lost spoon.

‘Those same men failed to protect Perth from Longshanks,’ said Fergus. ‘What makes you think they can stand against him now?’

‘That situation was much different, lad,’ Malcolm said with a shake of his head. ‘I thought you two would understand.’ He rose with a grunt. ‘I see I’ve wasted my breath.’ He left the room a little unsteadily.

Margaret helped Fergus lie back against the pillows.

‘I can’t believe Longshanks’s men are sailing on our family’s ships,’ he said.

‘You must rest now,’ said Margaret. ‘There’s nothing to be done about the past.’

She considered sitting watch, but Celia assured her that Fergus would sleep quite soundly for some time. The herbs were strong.