The Saint

by Allison Butler

  The joy in her voice matched the joy in his heart.

  ‘Tell me about yer friends we’re soon to meet?’

  An image of Duff and Adair appeared in his head. ‘They are good men and have some similar qualities, yet are very different.’ Cal looked ahead along the deserted path. ‘Duff is dark-haired and quiet. He only speaks when necessary, preferring to listen and observe. He has a way of making everyone feel protected.’ Cal hoped Duff had discovered his origins. ‘Adair is fair of hair and loud. He speaks often and plays the rogue with the ladies. He can draw a smile from anyone when needed.’ Cal hoped Dair had learned who his family was.

  ‘Both men are loyal to Clan Elliot, both are skilled swordsmen and like me, both are orphans and have been searching the Highlands for their origins for the last year. You will like them and they will adore you.’

  ‘I can’t wait to meet them.’

  Cal couldn’t wait to see them too, but knew he and Isla were three days overdue for the planned meet-up in Braemar. He didn’t remind her, for they would travel to the Borders with company or alone. He couldn’t wait for them to meet Isla, his wife.

  * * *

  They stopped twice during the day’s travels, but due to having the bread, cheese and ale, they didn’t need to purchase provisions in Banchory, instead finding a place on the outskirts of the town and then took another short rest in a clearing further on.

  When they remounted after leaving Banchory, Isla’s struggle to sit in one place alerted Cal to her discomfort and settled her legs sideways across his thighs.

  ‘Better?’

  ‘Aye.’ A blush stained her creamy cheeks. Cal kissed her as they rode, causing the blush to darken further.

  He described the lay of the land they rode through, from the giant oak standing alone or the cluster of alders or birch trees bunched together to form small woods or distant pine forests. The track dipped and rose, meandered and straightened. Birds flew overhead squawking or sang from the branches and a gentle breeze lifted the air now and again as the few people they passed either waved a hand or gave a nod, while others voiced a greeting that fitted the time of the day.

  By early afternoon, Isla had fallen asleep in his arms and Cal couldn’t remember seeing a more beautiful sight. His heart squeezed as his gaze wandered over her face and the moment his mind thought you are my wife his heart eased. His gaze returned to look at her over and over, always in wonder. He had no clue as to what he’d done right or why he deserved this woman, but now he’d found her, he’d never let her go.

  The crude trail sloped downward as the sun sat midpoint in the sky between its peak above and its end of day destination to the west. Mountains covered in pine forests shot up out from the ground and rose high on three sides. The smell of pine filled the valley they rode into and the air settled cooler on Cal’s face and exposed knees.

  Isla woke and stretched as well as her cradled position across his lap allowed. Her timing was perfect, as if she knew they were about to arrive. She wriggled upright and tipped her nose up to sniff the air.

  ‘I smell burning wood.’

  ‘We’re riding down into the small village of Braemar and there is smoke coming from what looks to be an inn.’ Cal looked about as they rode toward the largest building of the three he could see, one of which appeared to be a stable. Neither were as large as Keddy and Mags’s Jeally Branns Inn. The third structure was a tiny cottage made of uneven timbers and held together with wattle and daub.

  This was it. Were his friends inside the inn waiting for him to arrive? Or had they left for home on the day they’d all agreed on, three days before? His heart thudded and sweat coated his palms. The year almost done seemed like five and not until this moment did he understand how much he’d missed his friends.

  Duff and Dair were like brothers to him. They’d grown up together, learned together and fought together. They also shared a special bond due to not knowing what their origins were. Had they successfully discovered who their mothers and fathers were and why they had ended up at Castle Redheugh?

  Other than the curling wisp of smoke rising into the sky, naught moved as they rode down beside one end of the inn and around to the front entrance. Before they’d left the Borders they’d agreed that a week would grant them a comfortable amount of time to make the journey from Braemar to Castle Redheugh. There were only four days left. He couldn’t fault them for leaving and Cal knew he and Isla could make the journey alone. Despite his reasoning, he couldn’t stop the faint tightening inside his chest.

  He hoped Isla wasn’t too disappointed. He cleared his throat.

  The inn’s door crashed inward and a black-haired lad ran out and almost ploughed into Mungo’s side. Cal’s hand had gripped the hilt of his sword and pulled it from its sheath the instant the door first opened. His other arm drew Isla closer to his body. Mungo held his ground.

  The lad of about ten summers skidded to a halt and peered up at the steel blade Callum held high. His own hand had grasped the hilt of the dirk he kept at his waist, but hadn’t yet pulled it free. For one so young he was quick and Cal wondered if during his short life he’d had to be. Was he the inn-owners’ son?

  ‘Are ye Callum?’

  ‘Aye.’ How did he know his name? ‘And you are?’

  ‘I’m Wallis,’ the lad said releasing his dirk. ‘We’ve been waitin’ for ye.’

  ‘I told the others we shouldnae wait.’ The deep familiar voice boomed through the inn door opening and Adair strode out into the afternoon’s brisk air.

  Seeing Adair’s familiar face and roguish grin eased the tightening inside Cal’s chest.

  ‘Nae ye dinnae, Uncle Dair. Ye said we cannae leave without …’

  ‘Ah, lad. Now he’ll think I care,’ Dair said, ruffling Wallis’s thick hair.

  ‘Uncle Dair?’ Cal said sheathing his sword. ‘We have much to catch up on.’

  ‘That we do,’ Dair replied with a nod in Isla’s direction.

  Cal looked down at his wife, wondering what she made of the exchange so far. ‘They’re here. Are you ready to meet them?’

  ‘I cannae wait,’ Isla said softly with a smile.

  By the time Cal dismounted and lifted Isla to the ground by his side, four others had joined Dair and his nephew. Cal recognised dark-haired Duff amongst them, but he didn’t know the three women standing with them.

  ‘’Tis good to see you, Duff,’ he said with a nod.

  ‘And you, Callum.’

  Half a dozen faces stared at them as a sense of pent-up excitement crackled the air.

  Cal briefly hugged Isla to his side. ‘This is Isla, my wife.’

  A unanimous cheer rose up from the others and a lightness exploded inside Cal’s chest.

  The three women rushed forward and they each introduced themselves to Isla before taking her hands and giving her a welcoming hug. Duff and Adair stepped over, and after clasping his hand they both pulled him in for a brief embrace and a slap on his back. Wallis poked his head into the mix and shook Cal’s hand.

  Cal introduced Isla to Duff and Adair and they each pressed a kiss to both of her cheeks. Wallis kissed the back of her hand, bowed and said, ‘Ye are beautiful.’

  She was, and the blush staining her cheeks only added to her beauty.

  Duff introduced his fair-haired wife Mairi to him and Isla, and Adair quickly followed suit by introducing his redheaded, soon-to-be-wife, Keila, and her companion, Moira, affectionately known as the dragon. Wallis left them to greet Mungo. The soft sound of contentment rumbled in Mungo’s throat as he pressed his black-tipped nose into Wallis’s gentle hands.

  ‘The lad has a way with horses.’ Pride deepened Adair’s quiet words.

  ‘Come,’ Duff said watching on. ‘We’ll see to Mungo and our mounts, then we can share a meal by the fire.’

  They all went to the stable to check on their horses and a cart that had been kept within for the last few days. Callum let Wallis take charge of Mungo’s needs, enabling him to give
his attention to Isla. ‘How are you, wife?’

  ‘I’m well, husband. And ye?’

  ‘I’ve never been better.’ He cupped her face and kissed her softly.

  ‘It’s time to get you two a room,’ Adair said with a grin.

  For the first time in Callum’s life, he felt heat rush into his face.

  ‘They’re wed,’ Moira stated firmly. ‘They’re entitled to share a room.’ She fixed a stern look on Keila and then Adair, who placed his open hand over his chest.

  ‘Keila and I will marry the moment we find a priest willing to do the deed, but ’tis you, Moira, who have my heart.’

  ‘Ye talk rubbish, Adair and all who ken ye know it.’

  Laughter filled the air and stirred to life the smell of straw and horses. Once the chuckles died down and the horses had fresh water and oats, they entered the inn and were introduced to the woman sitting at one end of the long table, Adair’s mother, Janette. After Cal acquired a room for the night, they all retired to freshen up before meeting in the common room a short time later.

  They all gathered at the long timber table positioned near the large open fireplace that crackled and flickered as the flames devoured the thick logs in its belly. Cal and Isla sat in the centre of one bench seat with their backs to the hearth to stop the glowing light from troubling Isla’s eyes.

  ‘Can ye nae see anything?’ Wallis’s query silenced conversations. Cal’s gut tightened.

  ‘Nae anymore,’ Isla said giving a small, sad smile. ‘I still remember some things from when I was wee lass, but I forget others.’

  Cal looked at the faces gathered along the table, their attention fixed solely on Isla. Their uncertainty obvious by the troubled expressions they all wore.

  ‘Isla showed me a way to help her remember things. Would you like to help her too, Wallis?’

  ‘Oh, aye,’ Wallis said, his voice rising in excitement. ‘What can I do?’

  Isla leaned forward, closing the distance separating her and from where Wallis sat across the table. ‘I ken yer name but I dinnae know what ye look like. Ye can help me. Let’s start with yer hair. What colour is it?’

  ‘Black,’ Wallis said without hesitation.

  ‘Now tell me something ye can see or something ye remember seeing that reminds ye of the same colour?’

  ‘Black like …’ Lines of concentration formed between his dark brows as Wallis looked about him. ‘The coals in the fire.’

  ‘Oh aye, I remember what the coals in a fire look like,’ Isla said with a smile.

  ‘Black like a raven’s wings,’ Mairi said softly.

  ‘Deep black like the night sky with nae stars,’ Adair said.

  Isla nodded with every description as if she were adding them to the picture she was forming inside her head.

  ‘Black like the dirt under yer nails, lad,’ Moira voice rang firm. ‘Ye said ye washed yer hands.’

  ‘I did,’ Wallis replied hiding his hands under the table and earning a laugh from everyone.

  ‘Nae well, then,’ Moira grumbled.

  The laughter settled and the inn’s owner delivered bowls of vegetable broth and loaves of brown bread to share. Keila was interested in healing and illnesses and struck up a conversation with Isla about how she’d slowly lost her sight.

  Cal chatted with Duff and his wife Mairi and learned the two would be returning to Castle Gordon in the west a sennight after they reached Castle Redheugh.

  ‘My father is unwell,’ Mairi said softly.

  Duff’s hand moved to cover the back of his wife’s and gave a gentle squeeze. ‘We dinnae want to be gone too long.’

  Mairi smiled at her husband and Cal glimpsed the love shared between Duff and his fair-haired wife.

  ‘Did you discover anything about you and your family?’

  Duff’s dark eyes met Cal’s. ‘Nae, but I found everything I needed right here.’ He briefly lifted his and Mairi’s joined hands up from the table.

  Cal understood completely. He looked at the woman beside him at the same moment she turned her face in his direction.

  ‘How did you and Isla meet?’ Duff asked.

  Cal began their story at the leper house where he’d cared for her father and Isla told them of how Callum had rescued her from the fire. Together they shared the rest of their journey and by the time they’d finished, everyone at the table was listening.

  ‘Did you find out anything about your family?’ Adair asked, setting his cup of ale down on the table.

  ‘Aye,’ Cal said, and took a drink before telling them all he’d learned.

  When he was done, every face looking at him and Isla wore an expression of wonder, but it was Adair’s crippled mother who spoke first.

  ‘Ye and Isla were meant to be, lad.’

  Isla smiled and Cal again looked at his wife in wonder.

  ‘What of you and Keila and the rest of your family, Adair?’

  Cal’s query was met by much agreement from around the table.

  Adair cleared his throat. ‘The first time I met Keila was when I woke after I’d been beaten senseless.’ Gasps filled the room and everyone leaned closer. ‘She was watching over me while I slept. I was naked.’ Laughter erupted and Keila’s cheeks flamed red.

  ‘I was watching over you with a dagger. I didn’t trust you.’ More laughter sounded before Adair told them all that had happened between him and Keila and the man who was his father.

  ‘I went searching for my name and found my mother, a nephew, a wife and a dragon.’ More laughter followed. ‘I am a fortunate man.’

  ‘We all are,’ Duff said quietly.

  The flames in the hearth had dwindled by the time they’d all shared their stories and the innkeeper, who been listening with great interest, elbows on the table he occupied and resting his jaw in his hands sat still and quiet, eyes now closed. Wallis yawned wide and long.

  Plans for their journey to the Borders were made. They’d meet at dawn, break their fast and leave. They had three hard days of travel in front of them if they were to make it back to Castle Redheugh by the first day of August. The day they’d given Lachlan Elliot to expect their return. They were men of their word. There would be nae compromise. Three had left but they were returning as nine.

  Hugs and yawns all round, they retired to their rooms.

  A short time later, Cal lay with Isla’s cheek on his bare chest, her fingertips drawing circles over his heart, while his traced the delicate line of her jaw. They were tired but sleep hadn’t come and Cal wondered if his wife’s mind raced with all they’d heard and of what tomorrow would bring.

  ‘A kiss for your thoughts,’ he said quietly.

  The tiny shift on his skin beneath her cheek hinted at her smile and called his own.

  ‘I have so many, but the one that recurs most often is how blessed I am.’ She drew a long breath and Cal kept silent to see if she had more to say. ‘Ye have great friends and their wives and families are wonderful. But I still struggle to believe I am married to a man who loves me, the man of my secret dreams. I cannae wait for every day to come, for every moment I have with ye. I love ye, Callum.’

  Cal’s heart squeezed tight and the love he felt for this woman spilled over and filled his chest.

  ‘Ye have my thoughts, now I’ll have my kiss.’

  He grinned and just for a whisper of time he was left to wonder at how often he’d smiled since he’d met Isla. He moved until his body lay flush against his wife’s naked side, flesh to flesh, his weight resting on his elbows as he leaned over her preparing to kiss her.

  His gaze wandered over the face he’d never tire of seeing, the face he ensured he could still see when he closed his eyes. He lifted his lashes and was rewarded anew with a loving leap of joy in his heart and a feeling of happiness he’d never known before.

  Cal swallowed. ‘You said you’ve often wondered why you survived while others perished.’ He lowered his mouth until his lips hovered above hers. ‘You lived to save me, Isla. You are the
saint.’

  Author’s Note

  Scotland is overflowing with fascinating history, breathtaking scenery and magnificent sights. I’ve shared a little information on a few places we’ve visited during our Scottish adventures. While some are no longer there to see, many have survived the passing of time thanks to historians, explorers and storytellers. I hope you too one day have the chance to see and feel the magic of Scotland.

  The Causey Mounth is a road that can be dated to the twelfth century, though may have been used earlier. It was an important route during the medieval era as it linked the town of Aberdeen with Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven and Cowie Castle at the lost medieval village of Cowie. These two castles controlled all land and sea transport in the region. Today the Causey Mounth is split into three sections. One third is within the modern road network, while another makes up paths and farm tracks and the last is lost to fields.

  Along one section of the Causey Mounth is a farm with the unusual name of Gillybrands, once the site of the Jeally Branns Inn. The current owner, Sandy Shepherd, was kind enough to show us around the property, share the history of the area and pointed out the foundations of where the original inn was located.

  Dunnottar Castle is connected to Aberdeen via the Causey Mounth and is the castle that for me just kept on giving. Perched on top of a sea cliff, the stunning location with amazing views all round and the history of the atmospheric ruins is one of the most magnificent castles I’ve ever seen.

  Leaving the Causey Mounth, continuing south and heading inland is the tiny settlement of Aberlemno, famous for its Pictish stones. Three of the stones stand on the verge of the road near the village hall, a fourth boasting a cross slab on one side and a battle scene on the other, stands in the kirkyard.

  I’ve worked in aged care for the last twenty-six years and like to touch on a medical condition, along with some history and sometimes forms of treatment or healing in my stories. In The Saint I’ve included two.

  The first is leprosy—leprosy has affected humanity for thousands of years. Separating people by placing people in leper houses and colonies still occurs in certain countries. Aberdeen’s leper house stood at Spital Hill, at a safe distance between the towns of New and Old Aberdeen and is known to have been in existence by 1363 when the ‘houses of the lepers’ are documented.