Ye Ballade o' Fair Lady Mary Bell - Verse III

In the dead of night, the sentries atop Caidhaugh Tower see a torch light glimmering towards them ....

"You there, in Caidhaugh Tower, see you, I have a friend here!" Sir Julian bellows into the cool night air.

"Send out my daughter, Lady Mary, and no harm shall come to Mistress Nixon here!"

A sentry rushes below to alert Rab Kerr to the situation.

Above, his comrade lets off a shot from his caliver, but to no effect.

Rab appears on the battlements of the Caidhaugh Tower.

"Kerr, you scoundrel, release my daughter!" yells Sir Julian from the shadows below.

Meanwhile, some of his men, armed with bundles of kindling and smoking torches, force their way into the ground floor steading below the tower.

In the room above, two of the Kerr household ready themselves for combat.

"Stay here, sweet Mary" one of the Kerr sisters implores .... 

... but the Lady is not only fair, but fearless, and she joins Rab on the battlements.

"Show them our mettle, lads!" shouts Rab, and all three calivermen let rip at the surrounding English reivers.

A ball whistles between Jessie Nixon and the reiver who was threatening her, causing him to flee in panic!

Rab and one of the sentries descend to reinforce the defenders on the second floor of the tower.

Whilst the sentry puts a ball right through the forehead of one of the besiegers, forcing Sir Julian to retire to the cover of a nearby cottage!

More of the English reivers are now in the basement steading .... 

.... as the Kerr's descend from above, their dirks and swords flashing in the light of the fiery torches!

In a couple of rounds of close combat .... 

..... half the attackers are put to flight!

Rab Kerr runs his blade through the leader, whose lifeless body slumps to the cobbled floor ... 

..... but most of the raiding party, under a tongue lashing from Sir Julian, have returned to the fray.

"Time to retire, boys!" yells Rab, motioning his men to retake the stairs to the room above. The last to depart, Rab slams the heavy oaken door in place, bolting it closed behind him.

Of the original 5 defenders, only 4 remain, and two of those are sorely wounded.

But the attackers have suffered many more loses, and to add to their woes, they are unable to get the tower alight.

"Retire, damn it, retire" Sir Julian snarls through gritted teeth. Jessie makes a sudden move to break free and run, but the English nobleman is too fast for her, grabbing her roughly in a vice-like grip. "No, you don't, you scheming little harlot!" he barks and drags the struggling girl away. "We are not done with you yet!"

Back in Caidhaugh Tower, Rab comforts the womenfolk. "Oh Rab, what have I done?" Lady Mary cries. "Poor Jessie, she has done nothing but be a true servant and leal friend to me and look at the trouble it has brought upon her. We have to find a way to help her!"

"Hush now, lass, we will think of something" Rab says gently, but in truth, he is not sure what can be done.

Tune in next time for all the excitement of verse IV!