{"product_id":"2940013321359","title":"In Freedom's Cause","description":"Chapter I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGlen Cairn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe village of Glen Cairn was situated in a valley in the broken\u003cbr\u003ecountry lying to the west of the Pentland Hills, some fifteen miles\u003cbr\u003enorth of the town of Lanark, and the country around it was wild\u003cbr\u003eand picturesque.  The villagers for the most part knew little of\u003cbr\u003ethe world beyond their own valley, although a few had occasionally\u003cbr\u003epaid visits to Glasgow, which lay as far to the west as Lanark was\u003cbr\u003edistant to the south. On a spur jutting out from the side of the\u003cbr\u003ehill stood Glen Cairn Castle, whose master the villagers had for\u003cbr\u003egenerations regarded as their lord.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe glory of the little fortalice had now departed. Sir William\u003cbr\u003eForbes had been killed on his own hearthstone, and the castle had\u003cbr\u003ebeen sacked in a raid by the Kerrs, whose hold lay to the southwest,\u003cbr\u003eand who had long been at feud with the Forbeses. The royal power\u003cbr\u003ewas feeble, and the Kerrs had many friends, and were accordingly\u003cbr\u003egranted the lands they had seized; only it was specified that Dame\u003cbr\u003eForbes, the widow of Sir William, should be allowed to reside in\u003cbr\u003ethe fortalice free from all let or hindrance, so long as she meddled\u003cbr\u003enot, nor sought to stir up enmity among the late vassals of her\u003cbr\u003elord against their new masters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe castle, although a small one, was strongly situated.  The spur\u003cbr\u003eof the hill ran some 200 yards into the valley, rising sharply\u003cbr\u003esome 30 or 40 feet above it. The little river which meandered down\u003cbr\u003ethe valley swept completely round the foot of the spur, forming a\u003cbr\u003enatural moat to it, and had in some time past been dammed back, so\u003cbr\u003ethat, whereas in other parts it ran brightly over a pebbly bottom,\u003cbr\u003ehere it was deep and still. The fortalice itself stood at the\u003cbr\u003eextremity of the spur, and a strong wall with a fortified gateway\u003cbr\u003eextended across the other end of the neck, touching the water on\u003cbr\u003eboth sides.  From the gateway extended two walls inclosing a road\u003cbr\u003estraight to the gateway of the hold itself, and between these walls\u003cbr\u003eand the water every level foot of ground was cultivated; this garden\u003cbr\u003ewas now the sole remains of the lands of the Forbeses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was a narrow patrimony for Archie, the only son of Dame Forbes,\u003cbr\u003eand his lady mother had hard work to keep up a respectable state,\u003cbr\u003eand to make ends meet. Sandy Grahame, who had fought under her\u003cbr\u003ehusband's banner and was now her sole retainer, made the most of the\u003cbr\u003egarden patches. Here he grew vegetables on the best bits of ground\u003cbr\u003eand oats on the remainder; these, crushed between flat stones,\u003cbr\u003efurnished a coarse bread.  From the stream an abundance of fish could\u003cbr\u003ealways be obtained, and the traps and nets therefore furnished a\u003cbr\u003emeal when all else failed. In the stream, too, swam a score and more\u003cbr\u003eof ducks, while as many chickens walked about the castle yard, or\u003cbr\u003escratched for insects among the vegetables. A dozen goats browsed\u003cbr\u003eon the hillside, for this was common ground to the village, and\u003cbr\u003eDame Forbes had not therefore to ask for leave from her enemies,\u003cbr\u003ethe Kerrs. The goats furnished milk and cheese, which was deftly\u003cbr\u003emade by Elspie, Sandy's wife, who did all the work indoors, as her\u003cbr\u003ehusband did without. Meat they seldom touched.  Occasionally the\u003cbr\u003eresources of the hold were eked out by the present of a little\u003cbr\u003ehill sheep, or a joint of prime meat, from one or other of her old\u003cbr\u003evassals, for these, in spite of the mastership of the Kerrs, still\u003cbr\u003eat heart regarded Dame Mary Forbes as their lawful mistress, and\u003cbr\u003eher son Archie as their future chief.  Dame Mary Forbes was careful\u003cbr\u003ein no way to encourage this feeling, for she feared above all things\u003cbr\u003eto draw the attention of the Kerrs to her son. She was sure that\u003cbr\u003edid Sir John Kerr entertain but a suspicion that trouble might ever\u003cbr\u003ecome from the rivalry of this boy, he would not hesitate a moment\u003cbr\u003ein encompassing his death; for Sir John was a rough and violent\u003cbr\u003eman who was known to hesitate at nothing which might lead to his\u003cbr\u003eaggrandizement. Therefore she seldom moved beyond the outer wall\u003cbr\u003eof the hold, except to go down to visit the sick in the village.\u003cbr\u003eShe herself had been a Seaton, and had been educated at the nunnery\u003cbr\u003eof Dunfermline, and she now taught Archie to read and write,\u003cbr\u003eaccomplishments by no means common even among the better class in\u003cbr\u003ethose days.  Archie loved not books; but as it pleased his mother,\u003cbr\u003eand time often hung heavy on his hands, he did not mind devoting\u003cbr\u003etwo or three hours a day to the tasks she set him. At other times\u003cbr\u003ehe fished in the stream, wandered over the hills, and brought in\u003cbr\u003ethe herbs from which Dame Forbes distilled the potions which she\u003cbr\u003edistributed to the villagers when sick.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47156595458288,"sku":"2940013321359","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013321359_p0.jpg?v=1763579824","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013321359","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}