A Very Highland Holiday - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,9

shutters. Unbolting one of them, she pried it open, letting the icy air into the stuffy, smelly chamber.

“More snow from last night, but the sky is clear,” she said. Then, she turned to look at him. “So yer brother was at the battle at Culloden, was he?”

He was rubbing his stiff neck at this point, but he glanced at her. “W-Who told you that?”

“Ye did,” she said.

“I-I did not.”

“Aye, ye did. Do ye not remember?”

Truth be told, James didn’t remember a whole lot from last night, but he knew that when he drank, he became rather chatty. He’d give away the secret to the family jewels if he was drunk enough, something his brother often scolded him for. One thing he did remember, however, was the man he’d spoken with the night before and he couldn’t help but notice that the man wasn’t in the chamber. He seemed to be quite alone this morning but for Carrie.

“A-Aye,” he said after a moment. “I suppose I remember.”

“And ye asked me what happened tae the dead.”

He stopped rubbing his neck. “D-Do you know?”

She nodded. “Mostly,” she said. “We’re on the road that leads tae the battlefield, ye know. It’s two or three days tae the north, but still close enough. Information travels quickly on this road.”

“I-I know.” When she didn’t offer up anything more, he sat forward. “C-Carrie, if you will tell me what you know, I’ll make it worth your while. I did not come expecting information for free.”

She shook her head. “’Tis not that,” she said. “But… many of our lads died there.”

“My brother died there.”

“Ye dinna come tae dig up the ground, did ye? Because if ye did, I’ll not tell ye anything.”

James leaned back against the wall, running his fingers through his hair. It was longer, and being that he was blond, people said he had the de Lohr “lion” look. His brother had the look even greater than he did, for Johnathan had the blond mane and the firm jaw. James had more of a refined look, while Johnathan had the look of something that needed to be tamed.

It was a countenance that had ladies eating out of his hand.

James had never quite mastered that.

“I-I swear to you that I do not intend to go digging up the field of battle,” he said sincerely. “A-All I want is to find out what I can about my brother’s final resting place. He was with the English and I’m assuming they weren’t left on the field of battle to rot. That battlefield is sacred Scots ground and they wouldn’t leave the English there. A-Am I correct in that assumption?”

Carrie nodded reluctantly. “T-They took the English tae the church in Inverness,” she said. “At least, that’s what I was told. But… but I may be able tae help ye before ye go all the way tae Inverness. I have something that I want ye tae see.”

She stood up from the chair and James bolted to his feet, probably faster than he should have. The world rocked a bit as he regained his equilibrium. There were two doors in the dingy little chamber – one that opened into the scullery and a second door near the hearth. It was through this door that he followed Carrie, into another dingy chamber with two small beds and a wardrobe that took up most of one wall.

As James watched, Carrie went to one side of the wardrobe and shoved. The furniture apparently wasn’t as heavy as it looked because it slid easily across the wooden floor. It was then that James realized the wardrobe was covering yet another door, now partially revealed. Carrie lit a lamp on a nearby table and picked it up.

“Come,” she said.

There was an element of mystery as James followed her into the room behind the wardrobe. As Carrie held up the lamp to light the small, dark chamber, his eyes widened.

It was a treasure trove revealed.

Shields, spurs, broken blades, parts of muskets, whole muskets, pistols, coats, ruck sacks, and so much more. The chamber was low-ceilinged, with rough stone walls and the old dirt floor, but it was literally packed to the ceiling with things belonging to men.

To an army.

Armies.

James looked at her in shock.

“W-What is this place?” he whispered, awed.

Carrie looked around the chamber. “It belongs tae me,” she said softly. “I keep these things safe.”

James’ sense of astonishment grew. He could see the standards – Wolfe, Barrel, Fleming, Sackville – all of them battalions who had fought