After the 15th Mr. Grant durst not send any Letters to Lord Loudoun, but both the 16th and Munday the 17th (the Day that Inverness was taken)[576] he sent two Expresses each day with accounts of the Rebells motions. And even after Lord Loudoun was gone to Ross, Mr. Grant found means of conveying to him an account of His Royal Highness the Duke marching Northward from Perth, and by the same Conveyance got a Return signed by Lord Loudoun and the President, which he transmitted to Sir Everard Falconer.[577] Mr. Grant was made to believe that his Royall Highness was Immediately following in Pursuit of the Highlanders, and therefore kept his men together in order to join the army till Sunday 23rd February that he received a letter from Mr. Murray, secretary to the Pretender (which at present is fallen by hand), Reproaching him for assisting the Government, and for the further offers of assistance made by his Father Sir James Grant which the Rebells had Discovered by Letters sent Mr. Grant by Express by Lord Justice Clerk whom they had Intercepted, and therefore ordering him Betwixt a Day limited to send to Inverness all the arms in the Country with hostages who were named in the Letter for the peaceable Behaviour of the Clan. Mr. Grant at this time had Intelligence, that the Macphersons, some of the Athol men and the Menzies were in a body in Badenoch above him that Glenbucket with about 300 men were in Strathaven and Glenlivet and that another party was Marching by Murray to enter Strathspey by the Lower end of it; He was Informed that the Duke was still at Perth. He was not an equal Match for all these partys alone, and could not hope for assistance from any Quarter. Therefore he had no Choice but that of either being Besieged in his own House or making good his retreat to the army. The House could not hold out long, and therefore the other was resolved on, and he chose rather to force his way against Glenbucket, than to venture by Ruthven where the M‘Donalds by Joining the M‘Phersons had it in their power to intercept them. Monday 24th Feby. Lord Findlater and Mr. Grant and their Ladys set out for Strathaven escorted by between 5 and 600 men, and the Better to encourage them to leave their Houses, he proposed to give them his Bond to repair all the Dammage that the Rebells should do them; But the men said that they relied upon his word without any Bond.