Andrew"s stomach tightened again into a knot of anxiety.
Owen looked up to him. "Do you know who they are, sir?"
"Yes, they are her folks. Her father and one of her brothers, ... and the man she was supposed to marry."
"Did you run away with her then? Is that why they were after her?"
A first smile crossed Andrew"s face. "You"re a smart boy. Yes, you"re right. They weren"t just after her, but also after me. They"ve already tried to kill me once. Though, I don"t think that they recognized me... I just hope they won"t harm her. That"s why I must rescue her as quickly as possible."
"Maybe Rose can help. It was her idea to spring you from the tolbooth, you know, and everything would have worked out just fine, except for these fearsome Highlanders. When I saw them lurking around the prison, after your lady and Joe went in, I smelled trouble."
"I haven"t thanked you yet for your help. Without you, they would have caught me too."
"You don"t have to thank me. Your lady already paid me an advance of half a crown for my services, and promised me another one, once we"re safely at the inn. I guess I"ll have to wait for that one."
In spite of his anxiety, a short laugh escaped Andrew. "I see. You"re a professional. I"m sure glad Helen hired you. Don"t worry, you"ll get the rest and more. But first you must help me find Helen."
They boy nodded seriously and said: "As soon as I"ve done my contract with her and delivered you safely to The White Heron, I"ll go back into the city and make inquiries."
He talks like a professional, mused Andrew ... Contract, delivered, inquiries. "And how do you suggest making these inquiries, young man?"
"I"ll check with all the cheaper inns to find out where they"re lodging. I doubt they"ll have stopped at one of the more expensive ones, like The Good Shepherd. Or do they have relatives in the city?"
"Not as far as I know. But they might be leaving right away. So you also have to ask if four Highlanders left today or this evening. They probably checked in under the name of Campbell."
"Isn"t that your name also? It"s the name your lady used."
"Yes, but I"m a real Campbell, from Argyle."
"So Campbell isn"t their real name?"
"No, they are MacGregors, but a.s.sumed the name of Campbell. Helen"s father calls himself Dougal Campbell."
Andrew was more and more surprised by boy. From his height, he looked like a nine or ten-year-old, but his astuteness and mature reasoning suggested that he was older. "Owen, how old are you?"
"I"m twelve, going on thirteen. I know I look much younger, but that"s to my advantage. Like this, I can fool people more easily."
"You certainly fooled me."
They reached the rear entrance of The White Heron. As Helen four days earlier, Andrew was instantly fascinated by the flowers, so unexpected in this barren neighborhood. Owen, seeing his surprise, smiled and said: "Your lady liked them too. She was particularly fond of those pink roses over there. They smell nice."
Andrew went over to the rose bush, pinched off a little bloom and inhaled its delicate aroma. It provided a symbolic link to his love.
Rose"s booming voice made him turn around. "I see, you"ve already discovered the roses your dear wife loves-but where"s she?" She searched the yard.
Owen answered before Andrew could respond: "Her father kidnaped her when we came out of the tolbooth. There were four of them. We couldn"t prevent it."
Rose"s mouth remained wide open for a moment. "The poor la.s.s," she uttered finally. "We have to get her out of their clutches. Owen, what are you waiting for? Find out where they took her."
"He has already offered to make inquiries," interjected Andrew. "I"m Andrew Campbell and you must be Rose." He still held the small bloom in his hand.
"Yes," she laughed, "on account of those roses."
"I"m going now," said Owen.
"Yes, do that, boy. But be careful; they might recognize you," urged Andrew.
"No worry! I"ll put on a different-colored shirt and hat. I bought them with the money your lady gave me for my earlier services, sir."
Rose tousled his hair. "What would we do without you, Owen?"
He showered her with a proud smile and said: "You pay me well, Rose. So you deserve good service." With that, he skipped out of the yard.
"He"s a gem of a boy, and so resourceful. We couldn"t"ve done this thing without him," she said, shaking her head.
"Yes, he is."
"Helen had everything planned out so carefully, but I didn"t know that her father was after you too. She never told me."
"She probably thought that we had shaken them off for good. They pursued us and almost got us in Stirling, right in the middle of the wedding ceremony."
"What do you think they do now?"
"Take her back to the Highlands. I don"t think they recognized me. But somehow they must have found out about my arrest and believe that I"m still in prison. So, hopefully, they plan to leave town only tomorrow. We might still find out where they lodge... But how can I get her away from them without drawing the attention of the police on me?"
"Don"t you worry, young man! We take it one step at a time! We first find out where they"ve taken your sweet la.s.s, and then we figure out how to rescue her and get you both safely out of here."
Blushing, Andrew said softly: "You seem to like Helen. I"m glad she found you."
"Yes, she"s a sweet, little thing, and very clever. You"re lucky, young man."
"Yes, I know," he answered, lowering his head bashfully.
Rose chuckled. "I can see why she fancies you so much." She smiled at him kindly. "You must be hungry. Come into the kitchen. I cook something while I tell you our plans for how you two leave Glasgow."
Darkness was closing in when Owen returned.
"Have you found Helen?" Andrew exclaimed, jumping up from the table in the kitchen, where he had just finished a simple meal.
Rose rushed in from the tavern, as if she had received a telepathic message that the boy was back.
"Yes, I think so. At The Golden Eagle, the second inn I checked. Four Highlanders have lodged there for the past two nights. Some kids saw them return this evening with a la.s.s. Their description fits your lady, sir, I think. They"re drinking right now in the tavern."
"Do you know where they keep her? Did you see her?" asked Andrew impatiently.
"No, I didn"t, nor do I know where she"s kept. But while I was there, somebody screamed upstairs, and three of them rushed up and shortly afterward came down carrying the fourth one. He was groaning miserably, all hunched up."
Rose and Andrew exchanged troubled glances.
"The screams-was it a woman screaming?" questioned Andrew anxiously.
"No, it was a man. It must have been the one they carried down."
"Was it one of the younger ones?"
"Yes, the old man came back down only later on."
Andrew could not suppress a smile. Dougal wouldn"t like being referred to as the old man. "What color was his hair?"
"Light brown."
"You"re sure?"
"Yes, sir."
Robert, went through Andrew"s mind. What happened? An empty feeling invaded his guts. Did he try to harm Helen?
As if Owen had read Andrew"s thoughts, he added: "He was holding both hands to his groin, as if he got hurt there."
"Ah," exclaimed Rose with a knowing expression, "he tried to get too close to your lady and she kicked his b.a.l.l.s. He"s going to remember this for a good while."
"I hope she"s not hurt," murmured Andrew.
"If she is, she tried her best to keep him off her, young man."
"I know. I wasn"t thinking of myself. I would just blame myself if she got harmed because of me."
Rose patted his shoulders. "Don"t worry. If he came down hollering, I"m sure she"s all right... But now we better get planning. We know where they are, and we can safely a.s.sume that your lady"s locked in a room upstairs. I"m afraid, she may be bound and gagged, otherwise they couldn"t leave her alone."
Andrew had come to the same conclusion.
"By the way," Owen remarked suddenly, "I almost forgot. While I was in town, I heard the alarm bell ring at the tolbooth. They must have discov-"
Rose interrupted him, yelling: "Why didn"t you tell us such important news before?"
"Because you never gave me a chance!" he parried.
"Master Andrew, they found Joe and discovered that you escaped. How exciting! And to think that I had a hand in all this! I wish I could tell a few people, but that has to wait for a while... There"s going to be patrols searching the town now. So, master Andrew, if you plan to go rescue your dear wife, you must be doubly careful."
She turned back to Owen and gave him the piece of sausage left over from Andrew"s meal. "Here Owen, you deserve this for telling me. But we better find out more about those Highlanders. How many other people did you see at The Golden Eagle?"
"I saw only another couple of men. They were dressed like Englishmen and went upstairs shortly after that incident. I think they were a bit afraid."
"Good," answered Rose. "Did you see what the Highlanders were doing after they came down again?"
"They continued drinking. Initially two of them forced liquor down the throat of the guy who got hurt."
"They"re trying to relieve his pain," remarked Rose grinning.
"And when the old man joined them, he ordered a bottle of claret."
"How do you know it was claret?" questioned Andrew, surprised. "Mind you that sounds right. That"s what Dougal Campbell likes to drink."
"Ah, I was just underneath the tavern window."
"Did you hear anything else they said?"
"I did, but that was the only thing I could understand. They spoke their Highland tongue."
"How long did you stay there after they came back down?" Rose resumed her questioning.
"Oh, not long, ... maybe a quarter of an hour. Nothing much happened after that. They just kept drinking and laughing occasionally."
Rose and Andrew looked at each other in silence for a while. Then Rose ventured a suggestion: "If they keep on drinking, you might be able to sneak upstairs and free your lady."
Owen immediately contradicted her: "No, that wouldn"t work. The stairs are clearly visible from where they sit. They"d spot him."
"But they"d not know who it is?" retorted Rose.
"The innkeeper would know that he isn"t one of his customers... And how would master Andrew and his lady get out?" countered Owen.
"You"re such a smart lad. Naturally, I could get a group of sailors together to keep them in check, while you free her, but that would cause a big uproar and would just bring in the law. No, that"s no good." She seemed to be thinking aloud. "If we somehow could get them stone drunk that they"d pa.s.s out-"
"Dougal"s capacity is phenomenal. I doubt that even a whole night"s drinking would get him to that point," interjected Andrew, and then a sly smile crossed his face. "Adding a good dose of laudanum to their wine would do the trick though. But where can we get laudanum at this time of night, and how could we get it into their drink?"
Rose"s face lit up in delight. "I"ve got a little flask in my room. I take a bit when I"ve trouble sleeping. Mind you, I only use it sparingly. Sometimes I even slip a bit into the drink of a troublesome patron."
"That solves the first problem, but still leaves the second, how to get it into their wine?"
Rose ignored him and took up questioning the boy again: "Owen, did you see the innkeeper bring them the wine?"
"Yes."
"Did he uncork the bottle in front of them or bring it already opened?"
"There was no cork in it."
"So he fills the bottle from a keg in the cellar and then charges them the bottle price, the cheating b.u.g.g.e.r." She laughed when she noticed Andrew"s surprised expression. "You see, this is a common trick of the trade. I"ve done it myself. That"s why I know."
A thing to keep in mind next time I order a bottle of claret, Andrew mused. "But knowing this, how does it help us?"
"He may fill several bottles in one go to save time and bring them up into the kitchen, particularly if he expects his guests to drink them. So it might be possible to add the laudanum when he"s not around- Owen, was he drinking with them."
"Yes, he joined them. He knows their Highland tongue."
"Then Dougal will definitely keep him at his table, except for getting more bottles," said Andrew, and then added with a laugh: "And the potion will put him to sleep too. So all we need is a way to slip the laudanum into the bottles."