Pat McIntosh - The Merchant's Mark

‘What if I would?’ he said sulkily. ‘That yin wasny for giving me the choice.’

He jerked his head at Andy, who expostulated, ‘I wasny? What about yersel, Billy Walker? Ye’ve tried to put us all out of our work! If the maister gets hangit for murder, what will the rest of us do?’

‘I tell ye, I never meant for that,’ said Billy. ‘And forbye, he’s got the money to get off. He never done it, he’ll no get — ’ He squirmed in Babb’s grasp. ‘Will you let me go, you great lump?’

Kate exchanged another glance with Alys, who said, ‘Is there somewhere we can talk to Billy? And then to the rest of the men who went to Linlithgow?’

‘One at a time, you mean?’ said Andy, and chewed his lip briefly. ‘Aye, well, ye can sit in the house, if ye can get up the stair, my leddy Or there’s the sheds. No that one,’ he said in significant tones, nodding at the nearest, ‘ye’ll not want to sit in that one, but there’s others. Only thing is, the women are a’ to pieces in the kitchen, the both o them. We’ll no can offer you any refreshment, you’ll understand. It’s a good question whether me and the men’ll get any dinner.’

‘I can get up the stair,’ said Kate. ‘We’ll sit in the house.’

Established in the hall, the two girls confronted the resentful Billy still in Babb’s unloving grip. Alys had flung wide all the shutters, only partly lightening the gloom and in addition revealing the thick layer of dust which lay alike on dull furnishings and the clutter of musical instruments in a corner. Kate dragged her gaze resolutely from these and said, ‘Explain yourself, Billy.’

‘I’m no wanted here,’ he retorted, ‘the auld ruddoch made that clear enough, so I don’t see why I should help ye, and ye’ve no right to be holding me here neither. Mem,’ he added reluctantly as both stared pointedly at him.

‘Billy,’ said Kate, ‘do you know what a wilful false assize is?’

‘I do not. And I’ll no take lessons in the law from a lassie.’

‘That’s a pity,’ said Kate calmly, ‘for if it was proved this day’s assize was wilfully false, and you had aught to do with it, you’d be up for a fine that would have you working for your keep the rest of your life.’ Maybe Gil was right, she thought, and I should study the law.

‘I had nothing to do wi it! It’s no my doing if my cousin …’

‘Yes?’ said Alys.

Billy muttered something inaudible. Babb shook him, and he said, ‘If my cousin repeated what I tellt him to the other assizers.’

‘And what did you tell him?’ demanded Babb in his ear. ‘Tell my leddy, now.’

Billy rolled his eyes at her so that the whites showed in the dim.

‘What I said at the assize,’ he said, with an attempt at nonchalance. ‘That it was my belief the maister kent by far mair nor he was saying about the barrel, and how he kept us out of the way while it was opened. As for him saying it was books inside it,’ he added sourly, ‘a likely tale that was, and so I thought from the start.’

‘And what did you know about the barrel yourself?’ asked Alys. ‘Did you see it hoisted out of the ship?’

‘Aye, I did,’ he admitted reluctantly. ‘And it stood on the shore while we got the two big pipes on to the cart, and then we got it on the back of the cart and tied the tail up.’

‘Why load it on the back?’ Alys asked curiously. ‘Why not on the top, in the dip between the two great pipes?’ She held up her hands to illustrate the question, and Billy gave her a sharp look.

‘Because the maister was feart it might fall off the top,’ he said. ‘So I kenned it was worth something.’

‘And there was no other barrel the same size?’ Kate said.

‘I never saw one. There might ha been.’ He stopped, staring at Alys, who had drawn her wax tablets from her purse and opened them. ‘Here, are you to write down every word I say? For that’s no fair!’

‘And how not, if you’re speaking the truth?’ Babb demanded, towering over him. ‘What’s to fear from your own true words?’

‘And how do I ken she writes it down exact? You’re on my maister’s side, you’re going to twist all I say against me — ’

‘So you admit you aren’t on your maister’s side?’ Kate said quickly.

‘I never said that,’ said Billy, hunching his shoulders.

‘Then answer my leddy,’ said Babb, giving him a shake. He glared at her, then at Alys.

‘Aye,’ he said sulkily, ‘but she better write it down right.’

‘Be sure I will,’ said Alys sweetly, her stylus poised.

‘Was the cart covered?’ asked Kate. ‘A hood, a canvas apron?’

‘Naw. No this time o year.’

‘And then what happened?’ asked Alys. ‘That was on Monday afternoon, was it?’

Billy shrugged, as far as he might in Babb’s rigorous grip. ‘If you say so,’ he muttered.

‘Where did it go next?’ Alys prodded.

‘Linlithgow. To the cooper’s yard,’ said Billy sulkily.

Bit by bit they got the information out of him. At Linlithgow the cart had lain in a barn in Riddoch the cooper’s yard; at Kilsyth the next night it had been put in the dyer’s cart-shed.

‘And I got logwood dust on my hose,’ said Billy sourly, displaying the dark mark down one thigh.

‘You slept with the cart?’ said Alys. He nodded. ‘So you would have seen anyone who touched it?’

‘I never saw anyone near it,’ said Billy.

‘So it was a quiet night, both nights?’ said Kate.

‘Hah!’ said Billy, looking faintly smug. ‘That’s all you ken.’

Kate considered him briefly ‘What way was it not quiet?’ she asked. ‘What happened, then?’

Billy wagged his head. ‘No a lot.’

‘Go on,’ said Babb, shaking him again. ‘How was it no quiet? You’ve said this much, you’ll finish the tale or I’ll beat it out of you.’

‘You’ve no need o yir threats. It was — it was just a thief in Riddoch’s yard,’ revealed Billy. ‘But whoever it was I never saw him near the cart,’ he said again.

‘A thief? Why did you not come out with this at the inquest?’ Kate demanded. ‘There’s Maister Morison held in the castle, and — ’

‘I tell you, I never saw him near the cart!’ Billy repeated.

‘What did you see?’ Alys asked.

He shrugged again. ‘No much. I heard more.’

Another prolonged session of questioning got a description of sorts. Billy had been woken by shouting, and possibly by the sound of a fight. He had looked out of the barn, but the yard was dark. The cooper had leaned out of a window bellowing threats, and then come down in his shirt, roused his household and searched the yard with lanterns.

‘But they never found anything,’ said Billy. ‘Nor anything missing,’ he added. ‘There was barrels overturned and that, and when I rose in the morning the shavings had all been kicked across the yard, so I sweepit them thegither for them, but they said there was nothing taken. But I did think one of them got away by the back yett.’

‘One of them,’ repeated Alys. ‘You said just now you never saw him near the cart. Was it one man, or several?’

‘I never counted them,’ said Billy. ‘It was all dark, see.’

Babb shook him angrily. ‘Keep a civil tongue, you,’ she growled.

‘If there was a fight, there must have been more than one man in the yard,’ said Kate.

‘Oh, very clever,’ said Billy. ‘There you go, the both of ye, turning a man’s words against him.’ Babb shook him again, and he glared over his shoulder at her.

‘If you are speaking the truth, you have nothing to fear,’ said Alys. Billy snorted.

‘You said it was dark,’ said Kate. ‘Would you have seen if anyone went near the cart?’