Prudence MacTavish - age 19The gallop had brought roses into her cheeks, and her powdered hair made her slightly tanned skin seem the darker by contrast. 'Blowsy!' she thought disparagingly and scanned her features without pleasure. Despite the fact that her hair was a light golden-red, she was the fortunate possessor of dark brows and lashes. With the latter she could find no fault, for they curled upward in a thick fringe about her deep blue eyes, but her brows were inclined to be peaked rather than arching, and, though well-defined, were too thick. Her cheekbones failed to please, for they were not as finely etched and dainty as she would have liked, and her nose had a slight upward tilt at the end rather than being classically straight and thin. Her mouth she had to admit was nicely curved, but rather too wide, and her chin was firm and undimpled. It was a young face, for she had just turned nineteen, and it was comely enough, as many a Scots lad had told her, but she admired the pale fragility that was the current mode, wherefore her red lips tightened, and, 'Blowsy!' she thought again.
Geoffrey Delacourt was as surprised as was Miss MacTavish. Robbie's only comment about his sister had been that she was 'a very good sort of girl.' Now, Delacourt saw an exquisite little creature, all blue eyes, gleaming red-gold hair, and prideful arrogance. The little uptilted he thought charming, and the full lips very kissable. His gaze drifted lower. Gad, but she'd a shape to her, this Scots lass!
Geoff's first look at PrueGeoffrey John Montgomery, Lord Delavale - age 23
alias Captain Geoffrey DelacourtHer head jerked up. Her first reaction was shock. She thought, 'Why, he's only a boy!' The white, long-sleeved nightshirt and the wan face against the pillows gave an impression of defenceless youth, and pain had left its mark on the Captain. Dark shadows ringed the dusky brown eyes, and deep lines were etched between his heavy brows. His hair, almost black, had been brushed back severely, but was already starting to curl about his face, further emphasizing his pallor. A tentative smile tugged at his wide mouth, and his initial rather wistful look was replaced, as she watched, by admiration.
Prue's first look at GeoffGeoffrey Delacourt was clad in formal evening dress. His thick hair was powdered and tied back with a dull red riband. A half-moon patch adorned his right cheekbone, snowy Mechlin lace was at throat and wrists, and the dark red velvet coat, richly embroidered with silver, accentuated his pale, delicately molded features. All this she noticed absently, for it was the expression in his eyes that was of prime importance. A look of sympathetic understanding so heartfelt that it was as though he had put a comforting arm about her. He bowed slightly in his invalid chair, and smiled at her. She thought with a shock, 'Heavens, but he's a fine handsome creature!' and had to drag her scattered wits back together so as to respond to something Briley had said, whatever it might be.
James MacTavish
James MacTavish looked what he was: a gentle intellectual trapped in a savage world. He was a lean gentleman of middle height, with greying fair hair and rather myopic blue eyes, and a tendency to postpone anything that did not concern his preoccupation with archaeology.
Lord Thaddeus Briley - age 32 or 33
With a graceful flourish of his lace-trimmed handkerchief, his lordship bowed. As he straightened, her eyes swept him in a rapid appraisal. He looked to be about thirty-two or three. His features were even but unremarkable, his complexion light, his height average. Upon his head he wore the latest style of French wig, and a small patch graced his right cheekbone. His slender form was enclosed in a magnificently cut coat of dull gold velvet, the great cuffs and the pockets heavy with gold braid. A richly embroidered brown waistcoat, immaculate breeches of gold satin, cream-coloured stockings with golden clocks, and high-heeled brown shoes with topaz buckles completed his attire. Prudence thought, 'Good heavens! The creature is a dandy!'
...
He smiled tentatively. It was a singularly charming smile, and Prudence noted belatedly that he had very fine eyes of an unusual tawny shade, but she thought 'He is not only a dandy, but also an Englishman! And he has chosen his colours to match his eyes! Sickening!'
Prue's over-hasty first impression of Lord BrileyElizabeth Clandon
The cousin was not at all what Prudence had expected, being a petite girl of about her own age, with unpowdered ringlets the colour of ripe corn, big brown eyes, and a buoyant, happy manner.
...
He lost no time in making the two girls known to one another, and Prudence begrudgingly admitted to herself that Miss Elizabeth Clandon was a very pretty girl, with a way of spreading her hands to emphasize her remarks that was charming. She spoke with a Scots accent - an odd fact, if she was related to the Captain. She was also, Prudence became aware, staring, with a twinkle in her eyes that was indeed reminiscent of her kinsman.Lakepoint - near Inverness on Loch Ness
The sunlight kissed the waves with palest gold, sparkling against the long spread of sapphire that was Loch Ness set amid the emerald of field and hill and backed by rugged crags and hills that rose to the distant masses of the mountains. Far down the Great Glen, the solemn might of ruined Urquhart Castle jutted into the cold waters, and the mountain of Mealfuarvonie, lofty and impervious, kept watch over all.
...
Having quite outdistanced her two attendant grooms, she left the hated road General Wade had built to help put down the Highlands and turned into a narrow lane leading down towards the water where the tower of a great house could be seen above a fine stand of trees. The girl rode on through sun-dappled woods to emerge onto broad, neatly scythed lawns and gain a full view of the thick-walled grey stone manor house and the structure beside it that had caused many guests to halt in astonishment: a good-sized pyramid.
MacTavish Family +--------------+ | | James Victor=Hortense | +-----------+ | | Robert Victor Prudence b.May/June? 1727Cousin Hilda and Aunt Geraldine
Montgomery Family +--------------------------------------+ | | Hector Montgomery=Margaret Halsted Joseph=Sybil (5th Baron Delavale)| d.1730 (7th Baron Delavale) d.1744 | +-------------+ | | Geoffrey John Penelope Anne b.5 Aug 1722 b.1726 (6th Baron Delavale)The Duke of Marbury is Geoffrey's godfather.
Military Colonel Archibald Cunningham
Troop that sights The Monster - Sergeant Hobson, Corporal Corbett, Trooper Jenkins, Trooper French, and Trooper Church
Villains Captain Roland Otton
Zeke and company
Joseph Montgomery
Servants Kitty - Prue's abigail
Sidley - superior English butler and Jacobite hater
Mrs. Carrie Cairn - housekeeper
Lucy - housemaid
Haggerty - groom
Miss Grover - Robbie and Prue's governess (only mentioned)
Lockerbie - Geoff's man
Cole - Geoff's groom who comes up from England
Other Folk Dr. Cauldside - Geoff's doctor
Sir Matthew Garry and Mr. MacKie - Hortense's suitors and conspirators
Robert MacTavish, Jamie Dougal, Jock Cameron, Willie Mayhew, Quentin Chandler, Ensign Harry Stephens - some of the upwards of 50 men "Ligun Doone" rescued
Johnnie Robertson - courier with the second part of the cypher, who was captured and executed at Perth 10 June, 1746. He managed to get the cypher to a shepherd.
Sir Ian Crowley - officer with Prince Charlie
Stuart MacLeod - Scot who struck down Geoffrey, not knowing he was "Ligun Doone" They had fought at Prestonpans - and Geoff had won.
Animals Señorita - big grey cat given to Hortense by a Spanish admirer
Braw Blue and Flaxen - MacTavish horses (Braw Blue is a huge half-broke horse belonging to Robbie, Flaxen is a lady's mount)
Flower (spaniel) and Grimy (bloodhound) - Geoff's dogs at Highview Manor
Travels Day 1
From Lakepoint, Prue and Geoff traveled southwest along the Great Glen. They met up with Cole, Lockerbie and others and slept in a croft along the way.
Day 2
They traveled the length of Loch Ness, and turned north. They hid below cliffs to avoid a troop of soldiers. They crossed a glen, and a west-flowing stream, before arriving at the cave hidden behind the waterfall. This is where Geoff was knocked down by Stuart MacLeod.
The trip from the cave to the coast, and then to Highview Manor in Oxfordshire will be coming soon. I need to get back to the library one more time.
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Four views of |
Up and down the hill and vale
Daringly the eagle flies.
I would give my soul to be
Soaring past the wind, as he.
Sorry me.
You be free.
Trivia Hortense and a true prediction
Hortense said defensively, "My charts say that a man wearing outlandish attire will come seeking the death - the death, Prue! - of a resident of Lakepoint."
She thought 'Wretched villain! Ye'll no shoot my papa or my aunt!' Snatching up the shovel, she swung it high, and ran forward. The man was very big and in a remote way she noted that he wore a most unusual coat of variegated coloured leathers. With both hands he aimed a blunderbuss that must surely blow a great hole in the heavily laden Monster. Enraged by such infamy, Prudence brought her shovel whizzing down. The shock of the blow made her wrists tingle, and the man went down without a sound. Horrified, she dropped the shovel and stared down at him. His legs flopped feebly. With a gasp of relief she looked up again.
Geoff eventually recognized the man as being from Oxfordshire, and realized that his uncle was trying to have him killed.
Geoff's 'nom-de-guerre" Ligun Doone was a tweak at authoritative British noses. It means Long Down, which was an early name for London.
The price on "Ligun Doone's" head went from £400 alive and £200 dead, to £600 in the month of June.
Geoff is a talented forger - as well as a wily strategist.
Like Zorro, Geoff left his mark (an L inside a D) to let the English military know who was causing them such frustration.
Geoff has a passion for gardening (like Quentin, perhaps?) and a fascination with all living creatures.
Rob and Geoff did go to school together, but I can't tell if they attended Cambridge, or whether they were both at a public school at the time.
Last updated 20 September 1998
http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Acropolis/7517/Veryan/jte.html
Kristen Skold email kskold@aol.com
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