Tess and the Highlander
Page 16
He gently wiped a droplet from her cheek. “I am, if you’ll have me.”
She laughed through the tears. “Nothing would make me happier.”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to follow them?” Alexander asked. He and James and the laird stood on the battlements of the castle and watched the group of Burnett men, accompanied by Tess and Colin and only a half-dozen Macphersons, departing for the Borders. “What he’s getting himself into may be far more dangerous than being washed off the deck of a ship.”
“He’ll be fine,” the laird said, looking after the company riding down the hill from the castle.
“But you saw for yourself how surly those bloody Burnetts were last night,” Alexander argued, “when they saw how Colin and Tess looked at one another.”
“We know he wants to handle this on his own,” James chimed in. “But he’ll be outnumbered the minute they leave Macpherson land. And even if they make it to the Borders, what if Lady Evelyn doesn’t fancy him coming along? The bloody witch could throw him into her dungeon or—”
“I thought you two were looking forward to being rid of him?”
“We’re serious, father.” Alexander cast another tense glance in the direction of the travelers.
“Very well, lads, but Colin wanted it this way. He wanted Tess’s mother to see him not as a threat. He is truly hoping to gain her trust…for the lassie’s sake.”
“But what if things do not go as he’s planned?”
“Then we take her castle down, stone by stone.”
In spite of the seriousness of the laird’s tone, it was obvious that neither of the two younger men felt comfortable with the idea of waiting.
“I know what you two are thinking. You’re wondering where the harm is in following along? We could be there, nearby, if Colin needs us.”
Alexander and James both nodded wholeheartedly.
“But that won’t be allowing him to make his own decisions. He’s a man now and entitled to make his own mistakes.” Alec Macpherson put a hand on each of his sons’ shoulders and turned them toward the circular stair that led into the keep. “But I’d prefer that you not bring this up with your mother.”
CHAPTER 15
The Burnett warriors were indeed a surly group, and their hostility grew less veiled the farther they traveled from Benmore Castle.
Colin couldn’t care less, though, for he and Tess had chosen their own pace for most of the day, forcing the Lowlanders to slow down. But with nightfall approaching, Colin sent a couple of his own men ahead with several of the Burnetts in search of a suitable place to settle down until morning. As they waited for the scouting group to return, they continued on slowly.
Despite their apprehension over meeting with Evelyn in only a few days time, Tess and Colin had had a truly enjoyable day. He had told her much of the history of the Highlands as they had passed across the lands of the clans. She had questioned him about ways that she could bring more prosperity to people of the Lindsay clan. The conversation had turned to family. Colin had told Tess about his own immediate family.
“I am ashamed to think how little I know about my own kin,” Tess said. “Lord Alec told me that my father had no siblings and that both his parents were gone before I was ever born. And I know now that my mother was from the Fleming family, of the Borders.” She lowered her voice and glanced wearily at the company of Lowlanders riding at some distance ahead of them. “But as far as the family connection between the Flemings and the Burnetts, I don’t remember anything of them.”
Colin nodded. “My mother mentioned that there are Flemings on both sides of the Tweed, in the Lowlands and the hills of the Borders…and in England, as well. And what my father remembers of Edward Fleming, your grandfather, is that he had five daughters. Before his death, he managed to arrange profitable marriages for all of them.”
“I do vaguely remember Lady Evelyn speaking of her older sisters. There were times, I think, when she missed them badly. But I believe she also resented them for having either English husbands or husbands from the Borders.” Tess shook her head sadly. Since that morning at Ravenie Castle, the lost pieces of her childhood memory kept falling into place. It was like an intricate puzzle. The more pieces she added, the clearer the solution became. “’Tis upsetting to think of my mother’s prejudice against the Highlanders. I cannot believe she ever gave her new people…or her husband…a chance.”
“People change.” Colin pushed his horse nearer hers and affectionately took Tess’s hand. “She has been living under the protection of this man, her cousin…this David Burnett…for eleven years now. He must be a good and honorable man to shoulder such a responsibility. Evelyn very well could be a different person than the one you remember. Greet with her with an open mind, Tess. Give her a chance.”
Her eyes, dark and beautiful, glowed with newfound hope when she smiled at him. “All I have to say, though, is that she’d better treat you well. If she doesn’t, she’ll learn quickly how much I have changed.”
Colin couldn’t stop himself. He leaned over and kissed her, and the reins slipped forgotten through his fingers.
The sound of approaching horses jarred them back to reality. He drew back and looked along the ridge on which they were traveling. The group of men who’d ridden ahead were cantering back to the main party. He glanced over at Tess. A deep blush had spread over her perfect skin. Colin brought her fingers to his lips and smiled.
“We have found a place,” came the shout from a Burnett warrior. Colin and Tess both turned to look at the man.
The place they had found was a deserted cottage beside a loch. A pine forest to the south of the place would provide wood for their fires and a windbreak besides. Tess would sleep in the cottage, such as it was, while everyone else could camp by the edge of the forest.
As they descended into the glade where the small cottage sat, Colin ordered his own men to join with the Burnetts in setting up a watch on two small hills overlooking the area. He hadn’t expected the place to be so isolated, and the mist rising from the loch did nothing to dispel the feeling of gloom that pervaded the abandoned farm. But night was already upon them, and there wasn’t any time to search out a better place.
Colin dismounted and surveyed his surroundings. As confident as he’d been before in not asking for more Macphersons to accompany them to the Borders, he was now having his doubts. In another day they’d be out of the Highlands, and Tess’s account of coming face to face with her father’s murderer kept echoing in his mind. It was possible that the murderer was still out there. Perhaps he had even heard that Tess was alive. He could be biding his time, waiting for the right moment to cause Tess harm. Between the Macphersons and Burnetts, there were plenty of men to defend her, but Colin didn’t know much about either the courage or the fighting ability of these Lowlanders.
Some of the men had already started fires and were setting up camp by the trees. Colin helped Tess down from her horse and asked her to stay with the others as he went inside to check the cottage.
There was a door and a narrow window in the front of the place. The walls appeared solid enough. A hole in the thatched roof served to let out the smoke from an open fire pit in the center of the packed dirt floor. Colin started a fire immediately, for the cottage was damp and cold. With the exception of a pile of old straw in the corner, there was nothing else in the building.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here with me?”
Colin turned to find Tess standing by the door. She looked bone tired, and he had a feeling her question was not intended to tease him. He sensed she was genuinely uncomfortable about this place.
“Do you feel it, too?” he asked, looking hard at her.
“’Tis just that…I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she murmured, stepping in as a loud rumble of thunder rolled in across the hills. “’Tis not as if we haven’t been alone before. On the Isle of May, we managed to sleep—”
“I know. But there are too many men here w
ho will happily carry back to your mother any story that might smack of impropriety.” He looked at her and tried very hard to sound reassuring. “I’ll be right outside of your door. Just call me if you need me.”
She nodded with a sigh of resignation and leaned her back against the wall. He went outside and carried back a couple of blankets. She insisted on making up her own bedding, and then she refused any supper. Right after Colin kissed her goodnight, though, and turned to leave the cottage, she touched his arm. “You will be near.”
“I’ll be here just outside the threshold.” He pointed, but the look of nervousness in her face was obvious. “Is there something that you are not telling me?”
She shook her head. “I’m just tired.”
Colin kissed her again and went to his place outside the door.
Tess walked blindly, feeling before her as she pushed ahead. Through spider webs and mists, she moved, her fingers touching the rough stone walls and the places where something cold and wet and unidentifiable oozed down the rock. More and more, she began to find doors on every side of her. But none of them would budge, no matter how hard she pushed at them. They felt like thick slabs of wood fixed by some ogre king in a cave wall of solid rock.
The air in the corridor was growing increasingly musty and dense. Globs of wet grit dripped off the ceiling onto her hair and face. As she pushed on, a sense of panic was gradually governing her movements. Her fingers scratched at the walls. She was growing desperate for any opening, but there was nothing. Her breathing was becoming labored. The corridors seemed to be growing narrower the farther she moved in. But she couldn’t stay still. She couldn’t go back. The place had the feel of a grave, but there seemed to be no escape.
Blackness enveloped her, and she suddenly had no idea if she was standing or lying down. There was no up. No down. She was floating.
And then Tess saw the sliver of light coming through what looked to be a wooden door straight ahead. Oriented once again, she rushed toward it, but the walls continued to close in. Stones and mud were now showering her as she ran, pelting her. She ignored the bruising of her face—the pain in her hands as she tried to push past the walls and reach the door.
And then she was before it.
The light of a brilliant sun poured through the crack in the door. Warmth emanated from the very surface of the wood. Tess saw the latch and reached for it. It, too, was warm. Lifting the latch, she began to push the door open.
Do not go inside!
The shout of warning echoed off the walls…or was it from somewhere inside her own head? It was a voice she knew. But the light seemed to be drawing her on. She was cold. She was frightened. She needed to escape this nether world, this grave. She stared at her own fingers clutching desperately to the latch.
“But I need the light…to find my way!” Her voice was small and hollow in the dark.
You can find your way without it. You can, Tess.
Her fingers dropped to her sides. She took a step back. Her gaze was drawn to the latch. It had started to glow in the darkness. She took another step backward. The door started swinging open on its own. When it was open wide, she could see the distant light shining at the end of the long tunnel. The walls beyond the door were smooth. Tess took another step back as she saw the light moving closer. Faster and faster it came, growing in intensity with each passing moment.
It was growing warmer. She was burning. The light continued to come, but she couldn’t back away fast enough. Her back banged hard against a wall, and she gasped as the light transformed into a ball of fire, hurtling toward her.
Tess sat up and stared into the blanket of darkness around her. She couldn’t catch her breath. Shivers racked her body, and yet she was covered in sweat.
At first, she didn’t know where she was and then, as the dream receded, she remembered the cottage, the camp. Colin had promised to be right outside. She scrambled to her feet. She didn’t stop to pick up her cloak. She just knew she had to get out of this place. She had to run. Tess stumbled over the blankets, but managed to right herself before she reached the door.
She slipped out into the night, but Colin was not by her door. A new wave of panic seized her, and she felt the taste of bile rising in her throat. She had to get out of this place. She had to run.
Run. The same familiar voice pounded in her head. Run.
She saw the gleaming waters of the loch and raced toward it. Down through the meadow she went, following a ditch and keeping her eye on the loch. As she passed a grove of trees, a pair of strong hands seized Tess from behind. She fought against him, but just as she was about to scream, she recognized the hushed whisper. Colin. She turned in his arms.
“What is it, Tess?” He touched her face, her arms. “You’re shaking. What happened?”
She shook her head and a sob rose in her throat. “I couldn’t find you,” she whispered. “I couldn’t find my way.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked her toward the loch. “I thought I heard something…or someone...by the horses. I went to look and then saw you run this way.” At the stony edge of the loch, he knelt down and trailed his hand in the water.
“You are burning.” He ran his wet hand over her face. Tess welcomed the bracing feel of the water, but even more so, she cherished his touch.
A crackling hiss drew their attention back toward the cottage, and they stared uncomprehendingly for a long moment. The cottage was on fire.
Colin drew his sword and pushed Tess behind him as a handful of riders broke out of the woods near the cottage and raced past the burning building. As they rode, some shot flaming arrows through the window and into the doorway, while others dropped bundles of sticks in front of the door. Soon, those too had been torched, and the building became a blazing inferno.
Those in the camp were up and running after the retreating riders, while others were rushing toward the cottage. But before they could do anything, the roof of the cottage caved in and moments later the walls began to collapse inward. Flames and sparks of yellow and gold climbed high into the night sky.
The scene before her was unreal. Tess sat in a heap on the stones at the side of the loch. How close she had come to being caught inside of the burning building, perhaps even shot by a burning arrow. She saw it in her mind…like a fireball, the arrow hurtling toward her.
Tess looked around for Colin. Two Macpherson warriors, standing with their weapons drawn, were standing near her. But Colin was up by the burning cottage, shouting orders to the Burnetts and the Macphersons. There seemed to be no sign of the outlaws. They had disappeared into the night with the same speed that they had materialized.
A few minutes later, Tess saw Colin coming across the field to her, and she pushed herself to her feet. Instead of saying anything, he simply pulled her tightly into his arms and held her for the longest time.
“That was too close. Propriety be damned, I am not letting you out of my sight until we arrive at Ninestane Castle.”
“Who were they?”
“The Burnetts think they were just outlaws.” He cupped her face and looked into her eyes. “But you saw what happened. I think they were after you, Tess.”
She shivered uncontrollably.
“If you feel strong enough, I’d like to get moving now. If these bastards are watching us, which I assume they are, ‘twill not take them long to realize you weren’t hurt or killed in the attack. We won’t be caught in such an unprotected place again.”
“I am fine.” She mustered all of her strength, and took another look at the dying bonfire that was once a cottage. “I have been given another chance. I don’t want to waste it.”
CHAPTER 16
Tired and cold from the falling rain, the travelers first saw the tower at twilight rising drearily above the brown River Tweed. Ninestane Castle, situated on a muddy pile of rock at a bend in the river, did not present a picture of hospitality in the increasing gloom, and the impression only served to heighten Tess’s anxiety.
Tess rubbed her hand across her stomach to ease the tight knot that had gripped her insides for days.
“How are you bearing up?” Colin asked, bringing his own horse to a stop beside her.
“I don’t know.” She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the formidable structure. “I suppose I’m frightened.”
“She is your mother, Tess. How could she not love you?”
She frowned, realizing there were no excitement left in her. Only apprehension.
“No battle cry has been sounded, and yet you are armed and ready,” he told her with a smile. He ran a finger gently over her cheeks, brushing away the droplets of rain.
There were calls from the group that there were riders from the castle approaching. Resigned to face what lay ahead, Tess rode beside Colin and was soon greeted by a larger group of Burnetts. These people were no more cordial than the ones she had been riding beside for what felt like an eternity. With an encouraging nod from Colin, she again pushed ahead.
As they passed through a small village huddled against the curtain wall of the castle, Tess couldn’t help but notice the ramshackle condition of the houses. The threadbare group of villagers they passed stood in the rain and gawked at Tess and Colin and the Macphersons, surrounded by the Burnetts as if they were a captured enemy. Tess looked into the thin, haggard faces, and she knew that she wasn’t going to like this David Burnett.
So much of what she saw here reminded Tess of what she’d seen in the faces of Lindsays. There was no doubt in her mind that this same man must have been responsible for employing Flannan to manage Ravenie Castle and its holdings.