The Highlander's Secret(53)
Alan balked at the accusation. “Because we’ve only been gone fer two days. Heather has been gone fer much longer than that. It would take time fer her body to decompose to the state in which we found her.”
“I still find that awfully convenient.”
“Ye would!” Alan snapped. “Now I’m even more inclined to think that ye are the one responsible.”
Conrad stuttered, his eyes darting nervously from side to side. “I…”
Conrad turned and ran, but Rodrick tackled him in the square before he was able to get away.
“Search him!” Eamon called. “Have someone search his house as well. We’ll not have a single stone unturned.”
Conrad grunted in opposition as two men joined Rodrick apprehending him and another searched his pockets. A pair of village locals headed over to his house in search of the pendant on the necklace she’d been wearing.
“How dare ye!” Conrad sputtered. “I’m an upstanding member of this community. The village would starve without my contribution to the stores. Whatever happened to the pendant is irrelevant. The chain is clearly broken, so the charm must have fallen or gotten lost along the way.”
“I guess we’ll see when the men come back,” Eamon responded through gritted teeth.
Moira came running over to Jain in the midst of the commotion and threw her arms across her shoulders crying. Tears streamed down her face, holding her tight and peppering her cheeks with kisses. “Dinnae ye ever disappear like that on me again. I dinnae ken what to think.”
“It’s alright, Mam. I’m here now.”
Minutes later the men came back from Conrad’s holding a golden charm in one of their palms. “Is this it?” he asked Boyd carefully.
Heather’s father choked back a sob and gazed at the charm, saying, “That’s it.”
All eyes turned to Conrad, who had been so close to claiming the role of chieftain. “Lies!” he shouted. “They’ve planted that in my house to arouse suspicion.” “Ye killed my daughter!” Boyd shouted furiously. “Ye killed her!”
Eamon put his hand on Boyd’s shoulder. “Calm down, friend, we’ll see that justice is served.”
Boyd looked up at him with teary eyes and said, “Please, Eamon…she was all we had.”
The crowd erupted in a cry of rage as Duncan made his way to the front. “Well, I think that very well settles it! Conrad is not the man we thought he was. I put it to ye to decide his fate.”
“But who’s to become our chieftain?” one of the council members asked. “We still have yet to arrive on a decision.”
Alan spoke up and said, “The choice is clear. We should put our faith in Eamon. Whatever Conrad told ye about him is a vicious lie. Ye cannae listen to the accusations of a murderer. Eamon is an honest and proper leader fer our people. And as far as Jain’s concerned, ye ken her character as well as anyone. She loves our people. She loves our village. There isn’t a malicious bone inside her. What else do ye need to ken?”
While he was speaking, Conrad somehow managed to wriggle free and punched the man who was holding him. He drew his sword from across his hip and lunged at Eamon suddenly. Alan saw what was going to happen before Conrad had the chance to make contact. He jumped in front of Eamon with a blade of his own to defend him. In a flurry of blows they attacked each other, with Conrad becoming more and more unhinged. He lost control of his weapon and Alan struck the final blow.
Conrad stumbled back with a red stain gushing out across his tabard. His eyes were wide and unblinking as he fell on the ground in a lifeless heap. A few of the women gasped, averting their gaze so they wouldn’t have to see.
Eamon nodded solemnly. “I always feared this day would come. Not that I’m unwilling to take the job, but Keenan left a large seat to fill. I’ll do my best to serve our clan and keep it from harm’s way. From this day, until my dying day, I am bound to serve.”
“Ye’re a good man, Eamon. Ye would do our clan a great service by accepting it. Ye’ve got my support.”
“And mine,” another cheered.
He glanced around at all the faces looking to him expectantly. “Ye still want me as yer laird?”
Duncan clapped his hand on the old man’s shoulders. “I can think of nae one better.”
One by one, they kneeled in a show of support until the entire group was bowing. Eamon stared at them in surprise.
“Aye, if ye want me fer the job then my service will be yers. And the first thing we need to deal with…” he said, looking back again towards Jain, “…is to figure out what we should do with the Viking hoard.”
“Now let’s get to work.”
*
Over the coming days, Eamon sent messages to a nearby clan asking for their aid. Riders went out to spread the word of the pending danger. Jain watched her father seamlessly transition into their clan’s chieftain.
The people in the village seemed to like him and respected the claim almost immediately. Overnight their lives became less private and infinitely more complicated as her parents moved into the keep. It was impractical for them to remain out on the farm with everything happening. Any spare chance she got, Jain would secret away to the smithy so she could spend some time with Alan.
He smiled when she came walking up and met her with a kiss. “I wasn’t expecting to see ye.”