Chapter 45

It proceeded exactly as planned. It began with several muskets being fired. Muskets are notoriously inaccurate, but two men dropped on the first volley, then they rode against the balance, firing pistols, before drawing their swords. With the first shots, the outriders galloped towards the carts and the others formed lines to face the hostile forces. They remained calm and true to their training. They waited before they had visible targets before firing their own pistols, then drawing their swords. The ones in the carts fired their own muskets, before setting them aside and picking up bows. They didn't even try reloading the muskets, being able to engage much faster with arrows than reloading. Cameron's men dropped five from the saddles on their return volley. Both of the women crouched down in the front cart, their rapiers in their hands.

The clang of swords and screams of wounded men and horses was loud as they clashed together. Isobel and Ailene peeked over the rim of the cart to see how the battle was going. The tide was quickly turning to their side after the original surprise and Ailene was glad to see how well the men responded to their training under real battle conditions. The attackers were withdrawing and the Cameron forces were pursuing with only a couple remaining behind to guard the wagons. They were several hundred yards away when one horseman who remained behind fell, knocked from his horse by a shot, and the other clutched his arm as he took a ball.

"Behind us!" Isobel screamed as five men rode up behind them, firing their pistols again as the men in the carts returned fire with their bows. The bowman in their wagon sighed his last and dropped. Four men leapt from their horses into the cart while the fifth went after the bowman in the other cart. Ailene skewered one of them at once, and engaged another who had only a knife out as he attacked. Isobel was holding off one of the the third man armed with a club as Ailene sent her rapier through the second ones heart. She looked at the last one who was approaching cautiously with his own sword drawn as he saw how quickly she dispatched the first two.

Ailene saw how deliberately he approached and taking advantage of his slowness, with a quick stroke to the side, took down the one opposing Isobel. Then both of them were facing him, swords out. Seeing the body of riders riding back hard, he yelled at his partner in the other wagon to run for it. A quick turn to leap over the sides of the wagon gave Isobel her chance and she stabbed him in the back. He tumbled over the back of the wagon and lay still. The one in the other cart made it back to his horse and ran away as fast as he could.

Frang and Stuart were leading their men and Stuart sent a couple arrows after him, but missed with both.

"Stay," Frang cautioned when Stuart looked like he would ride after them. "There may be others. We can't leave the women undefended. This attack was designed to take them."

"We were prepared, thanks to your training Frang," Ailene said. "It worked exactly as we learned."

"I'm so glad you trained," Stuart said. "When I heard their shots and saw how far we'd let ourselves draw apart from you, my heart plunged. I thought you lost."

"Nay, husband. These swords provided us the means to defend ourselves. The man who escaped will tell others the Cameron women can fight even when without our men."

Stuart nodded and said, "That may mean only that they send more after you the next time. Bjarkë, post guards, let's assess our losses and consider whether we should go on or turn back."

They looked after the dead and injured. Four were dead, five more wounded, two severely and might still die. The bowman killed in the final assault on the cart was a man younger than Ailene that she'd faced while fencing. They often paired together, being of similar skill levels and she sobbed to see he was dead.

"We can grieve later, Ailene," Isobel said. "We need to treat the ones remaining or we shall lose others."

"Aye, you're right," she said, drying her face. "Tear up strips of the homespun for bandages. We need to stop the bleeding if we can."

Ailene looked at the worst of the wounds while Isobel tore material for clothing.

One man had taken a ball to the stomach and Isobel realized there was nothing she could do for him. She told Stuart to keep talking to him; try to keep him calm and spirits lifted until he passed. Stuart knelt at his side and holding his hand, told him how brave he was and how much he appreciated his defense of his wife. He kept talking to him long after his chest stopped rising and falling. Ailene saw that another one had taken a ball to his shoulder which nearly took off his arm. He would probably lose the arm even if she could stop the bleeding, but with no place to put a tourniquet above the wound, she thought him lost.

Suddenly, she remembered Isobel's skills and asked, "Isobel, do you have your sewing kit with you?"

"Always."

"I need you here right away. Bring your sewing kit. Let someone else work on the bandages. Frang, apply bandages over any open wounds. Use enough pressure to stop the bleeding. If the bleeding doesn't stop, they die. Don't waste time, now!" She ordered.

Frang took the strips already torn and bandaged the less seriously wounded.

Ailene told Isobel when she got down beside her with her kit, "We have to stop his blood loss now or this man is dead. I cannot apply a tourniquet above his shoulder. You must stitch everything that's bleeding as quickly as possible. Even then we may lose him, he's lost so much blood. Please."

Isobel took needle and thread and working as fast as she could, stitched every place he leaked blood from, starting with the largest bleeders first. One after the other, she sewed them shut, moved to another and sewed it, Ailene wiping the blood up so she could see. The man was unconscious, which helped, as he didn't move and everything was so slippery. She was fast and thorough and all the bleeding stopped when she ended. As Isobel was finishing, Thorburn rode up with another thirty men.

"We heard musket fire, and came as soon as we could," he said. "What happened?"

"They ambushed us with around thirty men, muskets first, then pistols and swords," Bjarkë said. "We rallied quickly and seemed to drive them off. It was a feint, designed to lure us farther from the carts. Five more came from the rear and went after the women. They killed four of them, one escaped."

"Ailene and Isobel killed four themselves?" Thorburn said. "Nicely done, ladies. I'm glad to see that your training has paid off. Since it was so effective, we might put other, younger men in the training, perhaps a few of the older women, too."

"Try not to make them too young, Laird. Young Robert died defending us today and I grieve. He was too young to die."

"We're all too young to die if we die by violence, Lady Cameron," Thorburn replied. "What are our losses, Stuart?"

"Five dead, another nearly so. He'll lose his arm, regardless. Three others wounded. We would head back considering our losses and this may be part of some larger attack. Down ten men, the odds do not favor continuing, and the wounded need more treatment."

"Any idea who did it?" Thorburn asked.

"One of the wounded we captured said they were bandits before he died. I believe he was lying," Bjarkë said. "No bandits would attack such a large, well armed convoy unless they knew it contained gold or silver or had overwhelming superiority. The fact they went for the women is also telling. It must be Blackthorne."

"How many did they lose?" Thorburn inquired.

"Ten dead, we don't know how many wounded," Frang said.

"At this point," Thorburn pointed out, "we're closer to the McTavish house than the Keep. We head there, they may get the care they need faster than going back. If we send five men to Dervaig for a doctor, we have more guarding us than you started with. The doctor is closer than if he went to Cameron Keep. Although I could be wrong; given their losses, I doubt they'll take the trouble to attack an even larger force again."

"Is the Keep protected?" Stuart asked.

"The gates barred, the watch doubled, and they won't open for anyone except one of us, or Lady Cameron; only if she's accompanied by men they recognize. The Keep will be fine. He'll need a much larger force than he's known to possess to attack there," Thorburn said.

"What if they attacked us at the McTavish place? Can we hold that?" Frang asked.

"None of us were inside when we were there. Isobel, what can you tell us about defenses on the inside?" Thorburn asked.

"You saw it has no walls like the Keep," she said, "but the lower windows all have wooden shutters on the inside which can be barred. There are parapets on the roof that would allow muskets or arrows to shoot from above. Our greatest danger is probably fire. The building's wood and there's no source of water on the inside. McTavish's people likely support the transition given you've fed them for a month. Most of them will fight for you, though none train as thoroughly as yours do."

"As soon as we take possession," Thorburn said, "I want our best archers on the roof. Stuart, you'll be in charge of them. Frang, you'll send a dozen men out surrounding the house, a half mile. We can use the local lads for that, they'll know the country better than ours. Have Isobel help you name ones we can trust. Arm them with a musket or pistol. They need not shoot at anyone; just fire a warning shot and melt away to safety.

"Bjarkë, take the rest of the men and set up fortifications away from the house. Use wagons, rocks, lumber, cut a few trees if you have to, especially closer to the house. Make use of whatever you find; but get them up quickly. Use the McTavish people to help. The farmer we left the horse with; use him to point out other trustworthy folks for fortifications. Isobel, is there any way in or out the house other than the doors; bolt holes or the like?"

"None of which I'm aware."

"What will you be doing, Thorburn?" Frang asked.

"I'll chat with McTavish and find out if he had any knowledge of the attack. I may take exception if he did. Isobel, you know him best. Keep an eye on the bastard and if you think he's lying, let me know. Let's load the wounded and dead onto the carts and get moving. Tie any spare horses to the carts. I want two riders two hundred yards front and rear and two more a hundred yards out. Split to either side of the trail. Keep your eyes and ears peeled. You see or hear anything, fire off a shot to warn us, so keep your weapons primed."

"What the hell happened, Ian?" Blackthorne shouted. "You had thirty-five men. You lost ten and another eight wounded and you've nothing to show for it. Over half your men and nothing to bloody show for their loss. Explain yourself."

"They had twenty-seven, Lord, and the women were armed and well trained. They reacted quickly after the initial surprise. The plan was working, we got the main body to chase after us with our five best riders assigned to take the women. Four went after the women in one cart, sir, and another after the bowman in the other wagon so he couldn't pick us off from there."

"Four men against two women and they're all dead. Were they armed with pistols, what?"

"No, Lord Blackthorne, they both had long thin blades. We weren't expecting trouble from them. The men were armed with a knife and club. The knife to scare them into submission, and the club to knock them out if they didn't scare. Two of them were dead almost before we knew they were armed. The McTavish bitch held off the one with the club until the first two were dispatched, then Lady Cameron killed him from the side. Then Murphy faced two capable women armed with swords. He tried to flee and Isobel got him as he tried to jump off the back of the cart."

"Long thin blades, you say."

"Yes, Lord."

"I'd heard the middle son, Frang, studied the rapier while in France. Apparently, he's been teaching it to the women. It's the perfect weapon for them; light and easily handled. Well, well. Even the women refuse to be easy targets. Maybe next time, we shoot them first. Damn! Why must everything be so hard?"

"Would you like me to gather more men and attack either the Keep or try again when they go back?"

"No. Let's lick our wounds for the moment. We need better information. I have a spy who may get us the information we need in a few days. You'd better find more men to replace those we've lost. Make sure they're experienced fighting men. We're not dealing with the usual boys and women here."