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CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
When Murdina awoke, she found herself alone. It was daylight, a shaft of sunlight streaming into the stables, and she could hear the horses munching on their oats. She sat up and looked around her, wondering where Kin had gone. The pony was tethered up nearby, and she rose to her feet, stretching out and yawning. She had slept soundly, so soundly that she had not noticed Kin’s absence, and now she patted the pony on its back and went to the door of the stables to look out.
Immediately, she shrank back, the sight of two men conversing with one another at the gate causing her alarm. She did not recognize them, but she had no desire to answer awkward questions, and she returned to the far end of the stable, hoping Kin would return shortly. She did not have long to wait, and a short while later, he appeared carrying a tray of breakfast things.
“Did ye think I had run away?” he asked, smiling at her, and Murdina raised her eyebrows.
“I dae wish ye would stop talkin’ like that–as convincin’ as ye are,” she replied as he set the tray down in front of her.
On it was two bowls of steaming porridge, a pot of salt, butter, and a loaf of bread, along with two cups of milk. Murdina was hungry again, and she took her bowl of porridge and began to eat.
“How dae ye know this is nae how I am supposed to talk? Suppose I have just forgotten,” he said, and Murdina rolled her eyes.
“A Jacobite and a Scot–is there nay end to yet disguises?” she remarked, and Kin laughed.
“I will give ye respite from my foolishness soon enough,” he said, and she smiled at him.
“I rather like yer foolishness,” she admitted.
They finished their breakfast and packed up their belongings. If they were to take a boat that day, the pony would have to be set free. But by good fortune, the landlord was looking for a pack animal, and he gave them a fair price for the beast–fair because they had paid nothing for it in the first place.
“And how long until ye return from yer family on Mull?” he asked as Murdina and Kin settled their bill.
“We daenae know–it may be some weeks, and we shall hope to sail south. Tis’ far easier to allow the wind to carry us than our own two feet,” Kin said, bidding the landlord good day.
There had been no further questions at the inn, and only a few people noticed them leaving, and without a second glance. Murdina and Kin made their way along the causeway and down towards the harborside, looking for a man who matched the description of Longtooth Macgregor. The scent of the sea was in the air, and a strong breeze was blowing so that the seas were choppy, though not beyond the skills of a seasoned sailor.
“That looks like him there, dae ye think?” Murdina said, pointing to a man sitting by a small boat repairing fishing nets.
He had a long, white beard and was wearing a long blue overcoat. His face was weather-beaten, but his hands had the dexterity of youth, his fingers playing through the nets with ease.
“Am I addressin’ Longtooth MacGregor?” Kin asked, and the man looked up and narrowed his eyes.
“It depends who is askin’ after him,” he replied, and Kin smiled.
“My name is Macleod, and this is my wife. The landlord of the inn gave us yer name. He said ye might row us across to Mull–for the right price, of course,” he said, and Murdina rummaged in her pocket for the purse, which had been made heavier by the landlord’s payment for the pony.
“To Mull?” he said, nodding his head and gazing out over the waters.
The island was just visible through the low-lying clouds, which swirled over the waters. It was perhaps two or three miles by boat, though Murdina would not have wished for herself the prospect of rowing them over.
“Can ye take us?” Kin asked, and Murdina took out several of the coins and held them out.
“We would be very grateful,” she said, and Longtooth nodded.
“Aye, I can take ye. Climb into the boat. I will just fold up these nets,” he said, and he rose from the stool he had been sitting on and busied himself with the preparations.
Kin helped Murdina into the boat, which bobbed up and down on the harborside. The sea was clear, the white-topped waves lapping on the beach at the far side of the harbor. Murdina glanced back along the causeway, and to her surprise, she could see a party of men–soldiers– riding towards the inn.
“Look, Kin,” she whispered, pointing to the men, just as Longtooth climbed down into the boat.
“Friends of yers?” he asked, and Murdina shook her head.
“Nay, I am just surprised to see so many people in this small, sleepy place,” she said, forcing her face into a smile, even as her hands were trembling.
There was no doubt these were her father’s men, and it would not take them long to discover the name of Macleod and the two people who had stayed at the inn. They would know they were making for Mull, and Murdina was relieved when Longtooth cast off the mooring and began to row them out into the harbor.
“How long will it take us?” Kin asked, and the old sailor laughed.
