A Discovery Sought And Another Found
“It was none too far from here,” Richard said, looking around but seeing mostly trees. He and Mr. Hudson had been riding for hours, but with very little to show for it. In one village they stopped to ask questions, they were merely spat on and ignored before choosing to move on and look themselves.
“I am sure that it is, Lieutenant. You are an excellent scout. If you remember it being nearby here, then I’ve no doubt it is so,” Mr. Hudson replied.
Richard smiled, knowing Mr. Hudson would always remain supportive of him even if they were lost in a highland wood somewhere.
There was no telling whether or not they really were close to their destination, but it was the best Richard could remember. It had been dark that night. Now it was daylight and he trusted himself less and less by the moment. “Hold on,” he said suddenly, seeing their first hint in a long while. “Do you see that? Is it what I think it is?”
“Indeed, Lieutenant Holloway, that’s a camp,” Mr. Hudson replied.
Satisfied, they began to press forward until they came close to the camp.
“We’d best be slow. And cautious. We’ve no idea how the men will respond to our presence here. We cannot allow them to see us before we see them. They might remember me from that evening and I sense that they will not be thrilled to look upon my face again,” Richard warned.
“I understand, Lieutenant. We will be cautious,” Mr. Hudson agreed.
The two men dismounted and tied their horses where the trees were thick. Afterward, they went on foot and silently made their way to the clearing in order to observe.
However, what lay before them astonished them both.
It was not a camp full of soldiers, but rather the abandoned remnants of those who had stayed there previously. They could not say whether or not there still dwelt a man or two among the tented rooms, half of which seemed to have collapsed in on themselves, yet they were confident that further investigation was necessary.
“Remain quiet, and low. We do not wish to draw any attention to ourselves should there still be an inhabitant remaining,” Richard said, warning his friend once more.
They both crouched in a way that allowed them freedom to walk. Entering the camp from behind, where the trees nearly touched the backs of the tents, they felt no one would see them infiltrating.
Richard pulled back a sheet meant to be a door and saw that the previous occupant had not been a man of order. Strewn about the ground were papers and tobacco and garbage. A nauseating smell overpowered Richard and he gagged, leaving before he discovered the source of the odor.
Further into the camp they went and in each room they attempted to piece together a little more of the puzzle. It had definitely been the same group as those who had attacked the wedding party. Moreover, they certainly seemed to have a Hanoverian leaning based on what the man had said that night and the findings they now discovered.
However, despite the fact that the men had seemed to be mutinying, Richard had found a letter in one man’s room—perhaps the room of the man who had been in charge—hinting about orders at a village affair.
There was very little detail and it seemed that the orders had already been communicated before this letter was written, but it caused Richard to wonder. Was this the village affair they had been ordered to be present at? In addition, did their presence mean they had to attack?
It seemed that he would not get his answers that day, but Richard and Mr. Hudson continued to look through the camp until they were satisfied there was nothing left to see.
“I cannot imagine what led them to this. Or what reason they would have to be on orders to engage in this sort of thing,” Richard mumbled to himself and Mr. Hudson.
“Nor do I, Lieutenant. It seems madness and chaos. And yet that is precisely what our world is coming to day after day. Do you think they would have ceased to engage like this if they had drunk any less?” he asked.
“I think not. Whether they got drunk aware of orders or merely did it while intoxicated does not matter. You didn’t see their faces. They wanted to be there. They wanted to attack and to destroy. This was not something carried out by men who had no desire to do it. They chose this.
“And now they are gone…” Richard finished with a sigh of frustration.
“Yes, but where to? What would cause them to leave all this behind?” Mr. Hudson asked.
Richard scoffed. “I can think of a number of things. They are cowards. Or they had orders elsewhere and had to leave this all behind in a rush. But I imagine that more than anything, they were chased out. At least, that is my hope,” he said.
It made sense. After the attack, why wouldn’t the villagers chase the men away? There were a lot more villagers than men stationed here. This increased Richard’s suspicion that the attack had not been ordered. Why would they be ordered to attack the very people they were living beside?
Still, it seemed the Hanoverian army was in process of recruiting and regrouping and perhaps mistakes had been made in orders given to these men. Richard wondered with slight amusement at the thought of those horrible, drunken men being chased away in the middle of the night.
“We will find them soon enough, I am sure,” Mr. Hudson said, snapping Richard from his thoughts.
“Indeed, I am sure that we will. It will be a good thing once we do. We might do our best to ensure that it never happens again,” he replied.
“Here, have a look at this,” Mr. Hudson said, showing Richard a paper with further orders.
“East? Toward Edinburgh?” Richard asked. “That makes no sense. I mean, the castle is already under Hanoverian guard, but why would the army be marching there? Do you think there is a plan underway? A siege there or nearby?”
“I cannot pretend to have any ideas, Lieutenant Holloway. It makes no sense at all to me,” Mr. Hudson responded honestly.
Richard wondered why a group of soldiers might be leaving their station for Edinburgh. It didn’t make sense. The area was already under Hanoverian watch. This region had very little.
It left Richard with an uneasy feeling that there was some even greater plan at work, something heinous and wrong. However, there was no evidence and he did not wish to put himself in a situation of asking and perhaps finding trouble as a result.
The discovery of this letter caused the two men to search further and go through each tent once more. The second search turned up very little that the first had missed and, more than anything, Richard felt they had just wasted their time and exhausted themselves.
“I am sorry for bringing you to do this, Mr. Hudson,” Richard apologized. He felt that he had forced his friend into wasting a day of his life. They would need to turn back before long.
“Here, we ought to eat something. We’ve not eaten since breakfast. To be sure, it’s a late lunch, but I do not wish to keep you out this evening past dark, so it would be wise that we take a quick rest to refresh and then return to our own camp,” Richard suggested.
Mr. Hudson nodded and offered to grab some things from their bags saddled to the horses. He returned shortly with dried meat and nuts, the protein they consistently relied on for journeys. Richard had grown tired of it long before, but it remained his only option the majority of the time.
They sat against the trees that lined the camp, ensuring they had visibility before them in case any man returned or any villagers came looting. Richard and Mr. Hudson did not want to be seen by either party.
After a time of silence, Richard looked over and saw that Mr. Hudson had fallen asleep. He was tempted to do the same, but knew he had to keep watch. Despite their need to return, he figured he could give his friend a half hour of solid rest before they mounted to leave.
In the meantime, Richard thought about Adeline. He had consistently tried to push her from his mind, but he could not. Even with this journey, this distraction, she was present.
He tried to concentrate on the mystery of the raiding party being sent to Edi
nburgh. No answers came. He shifted his thoughts to the quandary of being a Hanoverian soldier when he trusted his side less and less by the day.
Still, he had no answers to satisfy himself.
He pushed on in his thoughts, going around in a circle of worries and anxieties. Happy thoughts and things of joy were few and far between in his life these days, so it seemed senseless to search for those. It was worry that truly provided a distraction. Yet even in the worry, he would find himself returning to his wonder of Adeline.
Finally, Richard knew the time had come. He and Mr. Hudson had to return, whether they liked it or not. He was sad to say goodbye to the land, knowing he had made the firm decision not to leave camp again unless it was on orders or leave to return home for a time.
Richard gently shook Mr. Hudson awake.
“Oh, forgive me. Did I sleep?” Mr. Hudson asked.
“It is nothing. Please, let me help you,” Richard replied, aiding the elder in rising to his standing height.
“And what did you do as I slept?” Mr. Hudson inquired on the walk toward the horses.
“I mused about life as it is now,” Richard laughed.
“And here we set out to distract you from life as it is now!” the older man replied.
Richard smiled and looked up when he heard a sudden sound of branches crunching. All of his breath left him. It was as if his musings had breathed a vision into life. There, before him, a horse with a rider entered the clearing.
“Adeline!” he exhaled in shock.
He watched her eyes grow wide in equal surprise before a smile set itself on her face.
“Ye’re here?” she asked, sighing a great breath of relief. “I thought I might have to travel for days!”
Richard was utterly confused by this. Did she mean that she had been searching for him? That she had longed to find him?
Mr. Hudson took Richard’s hand and gave it a fatherly squeeze. “I had best leave the two of you. I will ride back to camp. Don’t worry about your absence, I will come up with something,” he said with a wink.
Richard dumbly watched him as he left. His eyes then snapped back to the woman from his dreams, atop a stunning mare. She was there before him like a ghost out of the dawn. Was this real? Or had he fallen asleep beside Mr. Hudson and his imagination was playing cruel tricks on him?
“Ye dinnae want to say anything?” she asked.
Richard still felt he was unable to respond. He watched as Adeline hopped down from the mare and led her to a tree to be tied. Then she turned toward him.
Slowly, confidently, womanly, Adeline walked to Richard in a way that left him imagining everything he desired about her. This time, he was certain. This time, he would not let her go. He would convince her to stay.
He would give anything to make it so.
Confessing What Always Was
“Forgive me for my silence, I am utterly stunned to see you,” Richard said.
Adeline eyed him up and down and could not keep the joy from her face. “And I to see ye! I was on me way to yer camp, but could not help going to the estate to see the effects. It is a miracle I stumbled upon this clearing and ye. Is this the camp of those horrid beasts?” she asked.
“Yes, indeed it is. But it doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that you and I are here, and I have not yet asked you why,” Richard said.
Adeline smiled and looked around for a place to sit.
“We could remain here, but it is unadvisable. We never know if the men will come back or if the villagers will come to loot the place,” Richard said, reading Adeline’s mind.
“Ye’re right. So where shall we go?” she asked.
Richard thought for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t know the area well enough to say. But if you have the energy for it, why don’t we make our way back to the house?” he asked.
Adeline nodded. Her smile was wide at the thought of being there with him again. So long as the occupant had not returned, as it seemed they would not, they would be free to use the home once more for their purposes.
Richard returned her smile. She saw that he was overcoming the shock and was now allowing himself to dwell in his joy.
Adeline untied her mare and walked beside Richard to where his steed was. They each mounted and set about on their way.
The journey was fairly quiet, but not the anxious quiet of before. Rather it was a satisfied quiet. It was a quiet that let them each know that they were settled, content, aware that they were together and all was right with the world now.
Soon they found themselves coming upon the village they had stayed in that night. Riding to the end, they saw that the home was still empty and quiet.
Evening had descended and it was dark. They went in and Richard lit the fire as he had before. The air was not as cold as their previous night had been, but there was enough chill and dark to warrant the flames. He also lit the stove so Adeline could cook potatoes once more.
The night felt so like the previous one, yet it was as if a door had been opened, a door that allowed them to be with one another in a peaceful tranquility. Words need not be spoken, although Adeline knew they each had much to say. However, they waited until dinner was ready before settling at the table and preparing themselves for the talk that had to come.
“Are you ready to tell me why you came searching for me?” Richard asked.
Adeline smiled at him. “I suppose I regretted me decision very strongly. Will ye allow me to explain why I refused ye?” she asked, her smile changing to worry lines.
“Of course. Please explain,” Richard said, dropping his fork and taking her hand. He seemed eager to listen to her reasons, something to soothe his soul.
“Well, I was frightened to think that ye might mean it. It made more sense to me that ye only asked out of duty. Responsibility. Ye had been alone with me the night before and I figured ye were just choosing to do what was expected. I was concerned, ye see,” she said, looking down in shame.
“I should have trusted ye,” she continued. “I should have believed that ye wouldnae have faked like that. I should have kenned that ye were a good man who would only ask a woman to marry him if he really loved her.”
Richard smiled at her again. “Yes, yes you should have believed that,” he said. There was lightness in his voice that assured her he was only teasing, but did care deeply about her feelings.
“I ken that now. But before, it was too much for me. We had been through a lot the night before. I still cannae believe it was just two nights ago. I mean, so many people were killed, it was a tragedy. And then ye rescued me and proposed the next day and it was all so much.
“In me mind, the only explanation I could find was that ye were doing yer duty out of respect to me and not getting either of us in trouble if ye showed up by me side to deliver me to me clan,” she said, finishing.
“So that’s what it was all about?” he asked, looking at her like she had been very naive.
Adeline felt the look was both compassionate and patronizing all at the same time. As if she was a child. She tried not to take it personally, because she realized that she had acted that way, after all. “Aye, that’s all it was. And I am terribly sorry. I am sorry for having been so foolish and childish. I am sorry for hurting ye. I hurt meself too,” she said.
“You were foolish. Really, to think I was not in love with you was very foolish indeed. However, I do understand it. And yes, I was hurt, but knowing that it was hurting you as well is the worst part of it all. I never want to see you hurt. Ever. Especially not on my account,” Richard replied.
Adeline watched as he stood from his seat, leaving a half a plate of food, and came over to her. Kneeling down before her, he cupped her cheek in one of his hands.
For a moment Adeline stared into his eyes, but it was not long before she leaned into him and their lips joined softly in a kiss.
It held the same passion as before, but now it also contained their mutual profession of love. Adeline and Richard were
kissing as a commitment to what the future held. It was a promise. A dream.
Adeline’s mind swirled with the fact that Richard was not of her own kinsmen. He was from an entirely different background. His culture, his loyalties, they varied so greatly from her own. Richard was the epitome of everything she was not.
Yet she could not deny the love in her heart, or the desires she felt for him. No matter the validity of her concerns, she was too overwhelmed by her love to take them as seriously as she knew she ought to.
So Adeline chose to lean further into the kiss. Before long, she felt Richard’s other hand reach around the small of her back and pull her closer before lifting her from the chair altogether and carrying her to the sofa he had slept on previously. They sat entwined, holding and kissing one another.
Adeline knew that her desires were becoming too great again and she pulled back. Richard’s eyes were looking at her with wonder and she gazed at him shyly. She felt his understanding that she was not wanting more that night. Or rather, no matter how much she wanted, she was not able to give in to the temptations she felt.
Once more, his smiling green eyes gazed at her. She sensed his respect for her, the way he was committed to protecting her virtue as she wanted it protected. It made her fall even more in love with him than she had already been.
“Would I be a fool to ask you again that question which before sent us into such a state?” Richard asked with a small laugh.
“Aye, ye would be a fool to again ask to be wed to a woman who refused ye previously. But I cannae tell ye how desperately foolish I hope ye are,” Adeline replied in a near whisper, unable to break away from those green eyes.
She held her breath, waiting to see if he would be willing to ask. He caused her to wait for what seemed an eternity. Adeline’s mind raced with stress and worry that he might actually not be willing to take the risk now, but she held onto the hope that he loved her and would not let her get away again.
Kidnapped Highland Bride: Ladies of Dunmore Series (A Medieval Scottish Romance Story) Page 9
