April Holthaus - The MacKinnon Clan 02 Read Online Free
Author: Escape To The Highlands
the letter.
It was the early hours of the morning when Ewan reached the top of the hillside to the north of the loch. Slowing his horse, Aron twitched his ears from an approaching sound.
“Ye there. Move one step forward and I will run ye through,” a short and stocky red-headed man with an Irish accent called out from behind a tree.
“Mighty big words ye have there for a wee size of a mon,” Ewan said unafraid to provoke the man. “My name is Ewan MacKinnon. I am here to speak wit William Wallace.”
“William Wallace, ye say. And what makes ye think I would let ye do a thing like that?” The man asked, swinging his sword back and forth in a taunting fashion.
Not amused by this portly man, Ewan took a breath and continued, “Because I have me here a missive from Wallace to join the raid,” he said as he pulled the note out of his satchel and waved it in the air.
“Ah, well then, me name is Randulf, they call me Duff,” he said as he returned his sword to the scabbard tied to his hip. “Can nay be too careful out here wit who be our enemy or no’. But if what ye say is true then follow me. I will show ye the way. And if ye be lying either way, Wallace will see ye gutted,” Duff chuckled.
Unsure if he was willing to trust the man so easily, Ewan put the letter back into his bag and kept his other hand on the hilt of his sword.
“MacKinnon, I am glad ye accepted my invitation, my friend. I am sorry we missed ye at Stirling, but yer men gave me the full account of what happened to yer laird’s wife and father last fall. I hope ye got the bastard that did it,” William Wallace said as he crept from behind the trees.
Ewan got down from his horse and shook Wallace’s hand. “Aye we did. My cousin, Laird MacKinnon wanted me to give ye his condolences for no’ being unable to come. His wife Lady Annella is heavy wit child and he dinna want to leave her side,” Ewan said ashe looked back at Duff who gave him an unfriendly glare.
“Well as long as I have one MacKinnon, I can nay complain. We are lucky to have ye. Since my letter, there have been many new developments. Come, let’s sit. We can go over our plans over some whiskey, eh?”
Brushing past the shrubs and bushes, Ewan became mindful of the increasing sound of flowing water. Up ahead, he saw a small waterfall cascading down the hillside that emptied into the loch below. In the clearing, fifty men or so were in the midst of training. Setting up camp along the waterfall was quite clever, Ewan thought, as the noise would draw out the sounds of the men from those who may be traveling through these woods. The tree-covered mountain that surrounded them also provided enough protection to conceal their camp and numbers.
Ewan sat with Wallace around the fire along with several others and listened to the plan to rescue the imprisoned Scots. Ewan learned that many of them have been taken to Carlisle Castle as well as three other English holdings.
“The English are cunning to harbor the prisoners in different locations. Confining them all in one location would have surely warranted an attack,” Wallace said.
“I will take the road to Carlisle wit a few of the men,” Ewan proposed.
“Carlisle is heavily defended. It will no’ be easy to get in.”
“That will no’ be a problem, which is why ye recruited me,” Ewan said with confidence.
“Aye. If anyone can sneak into Carlisle right under that bastard Richard’s nose, it be a MacKinnon. Yer uncle was famed for his battle skills. I can only imagine that ye possess those skills as well.”
Ewan felt warm with pride. MacKinnons have fought in every battle leaving a heavy impression throughout the Highlands. They were known across the lands as fierce and cunning warriors. Following his death, Ewan’s father, Douglas was famed as the Dark Ghost of Scotland. In life, his use of trickery and skill with a weapon allowed him to sweep past his enemies unnoticed, while killing men in the shadows. Even
It was the early hours of the morning when Ewan reached the top of the hillside to the north of the loch. Slowing his horse, Aron twitched his ears from an approaching sound.
“Ye there. Move one step forward and I will run ye through,” a short and stocky red-headed man with an Irish accent called out from behind a tree.
“Mighty big words ye have there for a wee size of a mon,” Ewan said unafraid to provoke the man. “My name is Ewan MacKinnon. I am here to speak wit William Wallace.”
“William Wallace, ye say. And what makes ye think I would let ye do a thing like that?” The man asked, swinging his sword back and forth in a taunting fashion.
Not amused by this portly man, Ewan took a breath and continued, “Because I have me here a missive from Wallace to join the raid,” he said as he pulled the note out of his satchel and waved it in the air.
“Ah, well then, me name is Randulf, they call me Duff,” he said as he returned his sword to the scabbard tied to his hip. “Can nay be too careful out here wit who be our enemy or no’. But if what ye say is true then follow me. I will show ye the way. And if ye be lying either way, Wallace will see ye gutted,” Duff chuckled.
Unsure if he was willing to trust the man so easily, Ewan put the letter back into his bag and kept his other hand on the hilt of his sword.
“MacKinnon, I am glad ye accepted my invitation, my friend. I am sorry we missed ye at Stirling, but yer men gave me the full account of what happened to yer laird’s wife and father last fall. I hope ye got the bastard that did it,” William Wallace said as he crept from behind the trees.
Ewan got down from his horse and shook Wallace’s hand. “Aye we did. My cousin, Laird MacKinnon wanted me to give ye his condolences for no’ being unable to come. His wife Lady Annella is heavy wit child and he dinna want to leave her side,” Ewan said ashe looked back at Duff who gave him an unfriendly glare.
“Well as long as I have one MacKinnon, I can nay complain. We are lucky to have ye. Since my letter, there have been many new developments. Come, let’s sit. We can go over our plans over some whiskey, eh?”
Brushing past the shrubs and bushes, Ewan became mindful of the increasing sound of flowing water. Up ahead, he saw a small waterfall cascading down the hillside that emptied into the loch below. In the clearing, fifty men or so were in the midst of training. Setting up camp along the waterfall was quite clever, Ewan thought, as the noise would draw out the sounds of the men from those who may be traveling through these woods. The tree-covered mountain that surrounded them also provided enough protection to conceal their camp and numbers.
Ewan sat with Wallace around the fire along with several others and listened to the plan to rescue the imprisoned Scots. Ewan learned that many of them have been taken to Carlisle Castle as well as three other English holdings.
“The English are cunning to harbor the prisoners in different locations. Confining them all in one location would have surely warranted an attack,” Wallace said.
“I will take the road to Carlisle wit a few of the men,” Ewan proposed.
“Carlisle is heavily defended. It will no’ be easy to get in.”
“That will no’ be a problem, which is why ye recruited me,” Ewan said with confidence.
“Aye. If anyone can sneak into Carlisle right under that bastard Richard’s nose, it be a MacKinnon. Yer uncle was famed for his battle skills. I can only imagine that ye possess those skills as well.”
Ewan felt warm with pride. MacKinnons have fought in every battle leaving a heavy impression throughout the Highlands. They were known across the lands as fierce and cunning warriors. Following his death, Ewan’s father, Douglas was famed as the Dark Ghost of Scotland. In life, his use of trickery and skill with a weapon allowed him to sweep past his enemies unnoticed, while killing men in the shadows. Even
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