“No, this is something I will take much pleasure in doing myself. You better make yourself scarce for the next little while. When I’m finished here, I plan to go further south myself. I’ll see to it her body is never found. As for me well, I have many places I can go where they’ll never find me.”
“Farewell, Gawain Chattan.”
The two men clapped each other on the shoulder before parting. Gawain walked a few steps and stopped, looking in her direction. As he scanned the area, she did not breathe or move. A deer stepped onto the path just ahead of him, causing him to shrug his shoulders and continue on his way.
Aileana remained undetected and when they were both long gone, she crept over to where they stood to find a faint path leading in opposite directions. One way led back to the cottage, which was the path Gawain had taken. The other must lead to Peebles. She took a mental note of where the path was before moving away from it to find someplace safe to think.
She reviewed the conversation between the two men. Gawain was planning to murder her, but why? Why when he claimed to have rescued her? Wasn’t she better off returning to her uncle? Had Gawain lied to her? How much of it was untrue? She buried her head in her hands in frustration. If only she could remember something.
Aileana’s thoughts shifted and turned and more than once she almost grasped something important. Her uncle - he was the key to the whole puzzle. Was he after her? Or was he, as her dream suggested, already dead?
“MacIntosh.”
Aileana heard herself say the name out loud knowing it meant something to her. Was the man in her dream the MacIntosh? Was he the man Gawain said her uncle was going to marry her off to? Aileana’s head started to pound from the dozens of unanswered questions.
There was one question, however, she needed answered. Where would she go? The town they mentioned was the only place she could think of. She didn’t know the way and prayed to God the path she had chosen would take her there.
The sun was high in the sky which meant she had plenty of daylight left. She moved towards the path and heard something faint. A voice. She gave a moment’s pause and heard it again. It was louder this time and unmistakable.
Gawain was calling her name!
Aileana located the path and ran as fast as she could go in the opposite direction away from him. She ran until she could no longer feel her legs. The path went on forever with little to distinguish one part from another.
Just how deep into the woods had they been?
As the sun set, she happened upon a clearing and noticed horses tied up near a building on the other side of it. She paused behind a large oak tree to catch her breath. Her lungs burned, but her drive to be as far away from Gawain as possible kept her focused ahead. Looking around, she walked toward the building under the cover of the trees, hoping someone might help her.
Once on the other side she could see more of the town a little further along. Gawain could just as easily take the same path to the town. She needed to find a good hiding spot to figure out what to do.
She scanned the town as best as she could from the trees until she spied a tavern. An upstairs room was a perfect place to hide. Aileana cursed. It might have been a great idea if she had any coin. She was about to go to the tavern anyway and appeal to the owner when the man Gawain had been conversing with came out through the door.
She hid behind a small building to ensure she couldn’t be seen and in doing so discovered an elderly woman who had been watching her from behind her home.
The woman approached her with her palms facing out.
“Hush lassie, that one there is bad and no mistake,” the woman said. “If ’tis a hiding spot you need I can help you.” She motioned her head in the direction behind her. “Quietly lass, follow me.”
She had no alternative but to follow this strange woman. The two walked behind a couple more houses before ducking inside a smaller one. The old woman ushered Aileana into a sitting room and motioned her to a well-worn chair.
“Now lassie, I know fear when I see it. You’re safe in this place, my Iain and I will make sure of it. These are dangerous times dear. You know you shouldn’t be about on your own don’t you? My name is Shauna Campbell. You could start by telling me yours.”
Her words caught in her throat at the mention of the name Iain. An image flashed across her mind, not just one but many, dozens of the same man. The man in the coffin, Aileana could see him in all sorts of places, each time looking at her and smiling, always smiling. Her uncle’s name was Iain! She loved him and he wouldn’t hurt her for the world.
“Are you all right, love? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I—I’m sorry. You’re kind to help me. My name is Aileana. I’m sorry that’s all I can tell you.”