The Betrayal of Maggie Blair - By Elizabeth Laird Page 0,25

Granny asked.

One of the men laughed.

"You'll not be seeing him today. Word has come from Paisley. The court's to be held by the elders of Rothesay. Your precious Mr. Robertson's been sent back to Kingarth, where he belongs. The man's soft in the head when it comes to you. They'll get the right verdict here. They'll see that justice is done."

That's when I knew, in my deepest heart, that there was to be no justice for Granny and me, and that we had been condemned even before a word was spoken in the court. My knees felt like water, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. It was all I could do to walk the short distance to the Session House without falling to the ground.

***

Oh, they were a dour and solemn lot, those elders, sitting around a long table, their beefy hands laid out on the boards. They had been talking quietly, gray heads bent close to each other, but they fell into a chilling silence as we came in. I was so afraid that I could barely stand for shaking. Even so, I noticed that one or two of them looked at us with more doubt than disgust. I took from that a little spark of courage, hoping that a few of their minds had still to be made up.

The grand chair at the head of the table was empty. The man beside it stood up and cleared his throat.

"Sir James Stewart, the sheriff, is absent on state duty, and I am empowered to open this court and to pass judgment," he pronounced. "A very serious charge has been brought against these women. They are said to be witches, users of malefice or witchcraft, and consorters with the Evil One." He looked down at the paper in front of him. "It is claimed that they have brought about, through their curses, the death of the boy Ebenezer Macbean, that they raised a storm that destroyed crops and sank a fishing boat with the loss of four lives, and that..." He picked the paper up, read the words slowly, shook his head with disgust, and went on, "that they took part in a witches' Sabbath where they did lewdly give themselves in lust to the Devil and did mate with him."

I glanced sideways at Granny. The sinews of her neck were taut, standing out like strings, and her jaws were clamped together. I knew her temper was rising and that the result would be disastrous. I tried to take her hand, but she shook me off. She was staring boldly at our accuser.

"I know you, Duncan Lamont." Her voice was loaded with contempt. "You're in the pocket of that greedy miser John Macbean. He's filled your head with his lies. He wants my cottage and my field—that's what this is all about. What did he promise you to bring this false charge against us?"

"Granny, stop it! Granny, don't!" I whispered, clutching at her sleeve. It was too late. A flush was rising in Mr. Lamont's cheeks.

"Hold your tongue, Elspeth Wylie," he said furiously. He turned to the clerk, who was scratching away with his quill on a long roll of paper beside him. "Note down what the accused has said. Add the charge of slander to her other crimes. Now let the first witness come forward."

It was then that I saw our accusers, sitting in shadow under the window. Mr. Macbean was there of course, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. He was turning his broad-brimmed hat around and around in his hands. Annie was beside him, her eyes darting nervously around the court. But what made my heart sink even further was the sight of Mr. McKirdy from Ambrisbeg, Mr. Wilson from Ambrismore, and four or five others from Scalpsie, who had been shouted at and cursed by Granny many times in the past. They were staring at her with cold triumph in their eyes.

"John Macbean, the first witness," called Mr. Lamont.

Mr. Macbean stepped forward to the table, almost tripping over in his eagerness.

"The witch Elspeth Wylie laid a sickness on my son the night that he was born by placing him in a basket and swinging him around the hearth," he began. He was staring at a point in the wall behind Mr. Lamont's head and spoke as if he was reciting a text he'd learned. "She cursed the child at his christening in the hearing of many people present." I saw the