Chapter 10

I make the rules up as I go

At some point during the night I must have fallen asleep rather soundly for I woke to the noises of the men breaking camp. A fine dew had covered my earasaid in the night and I felt damp all over and a little chilled. I sat up pulling my earasaid closer and looked around me blinking in the thin morning light.

Mungo who was sitting by the fire dipping a stale looking bannock into his tea gave me a gap toothed grin. "Morning, lass."

"Good morning, Mungo," I said absently trying not to wrinkle my nose at the smell of him. All the men were dirty from their travels but that wizened little man was the only one I could actually smell at a distance.

I looked around and saw that the men were packing to leave. Alpin was checking the girth on his saddle while Rory muttered discontentedly to himself as he packed up the cooking pots and utensils. I had discovered that Rory was low man in our group and as such was left to do the more unpleasant and undignified tasks required on our journey. Hugh was holding his horse's rear right forelock up to show Henry something in its shoe that seemed to be of concern to them both.

I turned my head to look the other way. Gordon was talking to Fergus while he twirled a dangerous looking dirk on his forefinger and Fergus put something into the satchel hanging from his horse's side. I wondered where Sam was.

"He's over there, lass." Mungo pointed to where Sam squatted next to Conrad and Lachlan looking at something Conrad was drawing in the dirt. Their heads were drawn close together as they conferred and the looks on their faces were grim.

I turned back to Mungo. "I wasn't looking for anyone in particular."

Mungo's gap toothed grin grew wider and he made a dubious sound in the back of his throat before standing up, pitching out what remained in his cup behind him and walking away.

I got to my feet smoothing my now hopelessly crumpled skirt and patting my hair. Wayward curls were escaping everywhere so I began pulling out the loosened pins and trying to straightened my tangled brown locks with my fingers.

"You're awake, Leannan."

I looked up to see Sam striding towards me with a big smile on his face and felt a surge of annoyance to be caught in such a state of disrepair. "Yes! Why didn't you wake me earlier? I look a fright and now I don't have time to do anything about it before we leave."

"Don't fache, Leannan. Your still bonnie even with your curls fallen about your face like Medusa's locks."

I glared at him. "Is that a compliment?"

He smiled at me in a way that said it was not and handed me his water skin. "Here, there's no stream about so go do what you can with yourself, but hurry. Conrad wants to ride on soon."

I grudgingly took the water skin and trooped into the woods to do what was "necessary" but there was little to be done about my appearance. I gave up and let my hair hang loose around my shoulders just pinning it back behind either ear. One must be forgiven for looking like a hoyden at times like these. What would Aunt Una think if she saw me like this? I pictured her face with a look of shock and horror upon it and smiled. Then I felt a wave of sadness wash over me.

I must really be getting soft in the head if the thought of Aunt Una could make me homesick, but it had. She would be out of her mind with worry. What must Eoghann being going through? They must know by now that I'd run away. I wondered if Eoghann and Beiste were out searching the countryside for me and wondering if some terrible accident had befallen me. It had in a way when I had met up with these Mackenzies. I was sure they'd never guess what had really happened to me and it would be weeks if not months before I could get word to them. By then they might think me dead. Awash in these guilty and depressing thoughts I returned to camp.

The men were ready to ride and Sam stood holding the bridles of both his horse and mine. As I approached I surveyed my mount. She wasn't exactly an excellent piece of horse flesh, but she was serviceable enough. She was a trifle sway backed and not a filly by any means, but she seemed lively and I was grateful for her. She snorted a greeting at me as I approached her so I reached out and patted her nose. "Hello, beauty. Are you going to let me ride you today?"

Sam frowned at me. "I didn't think to ask if you could ride."

I stifled the impulse to tell him that I was an excellent rider who'd had her own pony at six because I thought it unlikely that a servant like Flora would have much opportunity to ride. "I can ride."

He gave me one of his measuring looks. "I thought as much."

If he hoped for more information on the subject he would get none from me. I'd learned yesterday to keep my mouth shut if I didn't want Sam drilling me for information. I simply smiled at him vacantly and waited.

"Shall we mount up then?" Sam asked.

I stood next to my mount and gave her a pat on the side murmuring "pretty girl" in her ear. I looked at the saddle hoping I could mount the horse without help, but it had only a leather strap for a pommel and there was little chance of my being able to get my foot in the high stirrup. I looked over my shoulder and saw Sam watching me.

"Could you give me a hand?"

He gave me a patronizing smirk as if he'd known all along I couldn't mount the horse myself but graciously stepped up, squatted down in front of me and meshed his fingers into a stirrup. Acutely aware of his big body so close to my own, I reluctantly placed my hands on his shoulders feeling the warmth of his skin through his coat and inserted my left foot into his hands.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded in answer and he lifted me easily till I could reach the pommel strap and bring my right leg over the horse.

"Now take her for a bit of a canter just so you get to know each other."

I did just that riding her in a wide circle around the camp. I found my mount to be a better ride than I expected. Though she was a bit long in the tooth she was responsive to me and seemed eager to go. She wasn't exactly the sort of mount I was used to but riding any sort of horse was far better than bouncing along on someone else's saddle all day with no stirrups.

I reined up next to Sam who was now mounted on his own horse exhilarated by my ride. "She's a sweet girl. I think I'll call her Ash." I patted her neck and she whinnied as if in approval of her new moniker.

Sam gave me a stern look. "She's a farm horse and not used to riding these mountain paths so I want you to stay close to me and Fergus lest ye take a fall."

A large part of me wanted to protest that I was likely better at keep my seat on a horse than he was, but I remembered what Fergus had told me about the border between Mackenzie and Frazer lands. I swallowed my protest and nodded instead.

Conrad looked back to see that we were all mounted and raised his arm making a forward motion that was our signal to ride. The trail was not narrow here so we settled into pairs. Mungo led with Conrad and Lachlan behind him a ways likely trying to avoid his stench. Rory and Gordon were next, followed by me and Sam, Fergus and Henry, and Hugh following alone at the rear.

My stomach let out a loud growl and I realized I hadn't had any breakfast.

Sam reached into his sporran and pulled out a cold bannock. "Here," he said handing it to me, "your breakfast such as it is."

I accepted it gratefully, bit off a piece of the oat cake and chewed. A warm bannock could be quite tasty hot from the grease it was fried in but a cold one that was two days old was as tasteless as saw dust and much harder to chew. It filled my stomach but I found myself longing for some hot porridge sweetened with dried fruit and cooled with a little cream.

As we rode along I noticed that the mood of the men seemed lighter this morning or perhaps it was just my mood. I had my own horse, warm feet and Sam to entertain me. As we rode Sam amused us by telling Irish folk stories. There was one about Oisin, a great warrior who was lured away from his home by a beautiful maiden to the Land of the Young. When he returned to his home hundreds of years later he found himself a withered old man whose family had died long ago. Then he began the tale of Fionn mac Cumhaill a giant who lived on Antrim's north coast with his wife Oonagh.

"Fionn had a bitter rivalry with a giant who lived across the water in Scotland named Benadonner. He challenged him to a fight one day, but in order to get to Scotland without getting his feet wet Fionn decided to build a causeway. He built the causeway as he traveled across the water and just as he reached Scotland he caught sight of Benandonner who happened to be a much bigger giant than he. Thinking better of a fight between them Fionn turned on his heel and ran back to Ireland but Benadonner had seen him and he used the causeway to come after him.

With Benadonner hot on his heels Fionn ran to Oonagh and told her she must help him hide from the great Benadonner. Now Oonagh was a crafty giant. She disguised Finn as a baby and put him in a huge cradle, so when Benandonner saw the size of the sleeping 'baby', he assumed the father must be enormous in comparison. Benandonner ran back to Scotland in fear of his life and ripped up the causeway steps on his way back lest Fionn come after him."

I laughed. "That one's very clever."

"Ah, it's just a tale they tell children to explain about some stone pillars along the coast."

"How is it that you know so many Irish stories?"

Sam looked away from me distracted by something then his eyes returned to my face and he smiled. "Well I lived there for some time."

"Really, and why was that?"

"I was a …personal aid to an Irish Laird for some years. He needed someone to watch his back because of all the fueding between the Lairds and he trusted me because I had no loyalties in Ireland to any save him." He turned his head and looked over his shoulder.

"You were a gallowglass?"

He looked at me and shrugged. "I suppose, if you want to put it that way."

I stared at him trying to reconcile what I knew of this man with what I'd heard of the gallowglass. They were elite mercenary warriors who served as cavalry to the Irish nobels. A hundred years ago they had been men dispossessed of their lands for fighting against the English for Scottish independence, but now they were more likely to be men escaping the law. "And how did you end up back here?"

"I went to Ireland to make my fortune, but my brother wrote and asked me to return."

"To do what?"

"Excuse me. I'm wanted." He pointed ahead and I saw that Conrad was signaling him to come forward. He looked over his shoulder at Fergus. "Stay close to her."

Fergus dutifully trotted up beside me and Sam went to join Conrad. I watched as Sam reined his horse close to Conrad and they began speaking. I wondered what they were talking about.

The sound of a gun shot rang out and Ash started.