The Scots Never Forget

by Barbara Cartland

  “But now he has – Rory.”

  “As you say, now he has Rory,” Torquil agreed, “and I do not believe he would give him up easily or, because he is a stickler for tradition, allow him to be supplanted by any son the Duchess may produce.”

  “There is not only the question of Rory’s rightful place,” Pepita said, “but the harm it could do to the children to be brought up in an atmosphere poisoned by the Duchess’s obvious hatred of them.”

  She drew in her breath before she went on,

  “I have only to see the way she looks at them, apart from the way she speaks to them, to be aware that she is exuding hatred like some evil witch. She would murder them if she would dare to do so!”

  Torquil laughed.

  “Darling, you are letting your imagination run away with you. Although I admit that the Duchess is exceedingly rude and is making herself particularly unpleasant, I don’t believe that even a McDonavan would stoop to murder!”

  “You cannot be – sure,” Pepita murmured.

  “I can only promise that I will not only look after you, which I intend to do, but also the children. No harm shall come to them while I am here.”

  “And if you – are not?”

  “We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” Torquil said. “At the moment, as you know, the Duke relies on me to run things for him and behaves as if I was his heir. But now that Rory is here, I am only too willing to act as Regent on his behalf.”

  “With no – regrets?”

  “Not in the slightest!” he answered. “I am not ambitious in that sort of way. I have no wish to be Chieftain of the Clan with all its problems and difficulties and endless complaints from those who have nobody else to complain to.”

  Pepita laughed.

  “Then what are your ambitions?”

  She spoke lightly, but Torquil’s voice when he answered her was low and serious.

  “To be married to you, my darling,” he said, “so that we can live in peace and quiet with our children and be happy ever after!”

  What he said and the way his eyes rested on hers made Pepita feel as if she was in his arms and he was kissing her. It was impossible to think as she felt thrills rippling through her like waves of the sea.

  Then, as she told herself that it was something that would never happen, she heard Jeanie calling them.

  “I have found it! I have found it!” she cried. “Oh, Uncle Torquil, please, can I climb up into it?”

  It was a little wooden house with a thatched roof that could be reached by any agile child and was, Pepita thought, a perfect place for them to play.

  After Torquil had climbed up into it himself and found that, despite the years that it had stood empty, the floor, which had been made by one of the estate carpenters, was strong enough to hold him and he lifted up first Jeanie, then Pepita.

  It was constructed in a tree that stood almost on the edge of the woods and from it they had a magnificent view of the bay which The Castle was situated on and the curve of the cliffs going North, which were much higher than those directly below them.

  “What an attractive place,” Pepita exclaimed, “and what fun it must have been for you to play here as a small boy.”

  “I used to bring a friend here during the school holidays and we would spend hours looking out to sea with a telescope and watching the pigeons coming home to the caves beneath the cliffs.”

  Pepita looked at him enquiringly and he said,

  “Did not Alistair tell you how the caves here are the nesting places for thousands of pigeons? They do a great deal of damage to the crops, but it is fascinating to watch them coming back to roost.”

  “I think I do remember his saying something about it,” Pepita replied, “but I did not understand what happened.”

  “I must take young Rory to see them,” Torquil said. “He would enjoy rowing into the caves in a boat to watch the pigeons come rushing out because one’s voice echoes and re-echoes.”

  “I am sure Rory would love that,” Pepita agreed.

  As she spoke, she thought what a good father Torquil would make for his own children when he had any.

  Then, as if from the expression in her eyes he had read her thoughts, she felt the colour come into her cheeks.

  There was no need for words.

  They just looked at each other and she knew that they both were praying that by some miracle one day their dream of being together would come true.

  It was now growing late, so they walked back to the Castle.

  Only when Jeanie ran ahead to find Rory to tell him about the little house in the tree was Torquil able to say to Pepita,

  “I love you, my darling, and, if I cannot kiss you soon, I shall go mad!”

  “It is – impossible!”

  “Nothing is impossible!” he declared. “Now that you know the way here, meet me after dinner.”

  “It is impossible,” Pepita said again quickly.

  “There is still a moon,” he went on as if she had not spoken, “and if you go to bed early, I will wait and leave at the same time as some of the other guests so that my absence will not be noticed.”

  “Supposing the Duchess – suspects that we are – meeting each other?” Pepita asked in a frightened voice.

  “You can go out through the garden door,” Torquil said. “None of the servants will see you leave The Castle. They all retire early, most of them having been here for years.”

  “Are you sure – quite sure it is – safe for us to do – this?”

  “One can never be absolutely certain of anything,” he answered, “and I have no wish, my precious one, for you to run any risks. At the same time I must hold you in my arms and tell you how much I love you, otherwise I shall have another sleepless night!”

  Pepita smiled and then she said teasingly,

  “That obviously is something that must be – prevented at all costs!”

  Torquil laughed and then he said seriously,

  “I know I am being dramatic, but that is how you make me feel and nobody, my darling, has ever made me feel like this before.”

  It was impossible to doubt his sincerity, and because she wanted so much to see him, to be with him and to be kissed by him, she said,

  “I feel it is something we – should not do – but if it is possible I will – come to the woods.”

  “It will be possible tonight,” Torquil replied, “but soon the weather will change and we shall have to find somewhere inside The Castle where we can meet, which might prove far more dangerous.”

  She could understand the logic of what he was saying, but it was impossible to discuss it any further, for they had reached the door of The Castle and they could hear Jeanie calling for Rory as she ran up the main staircase.

  *

  It was, however, with a beating heart and a feeling that she was doing something wrong that Pepita left the drawing room with Lady Rogart, who was the oldest guest present.

  She had taken the precaution when she went into the drawing room before dinner of carrying in her hand a silk shawl, as if she feared that she might feel cold during the evening.

  She had laid it on a chair just inside the door as she had seen other ladies do on previous evenings.

  Picking it up now saved her from having to walk all the way back to her own bedroom on the West side of The Castle.

  Lady Rogart’s room was in the opposite direction and, as they said ‘goodnight’, Pepita curtseyed to her and then she said,

  “You are very pretty, my child, but I am afraid where women are concerned you will find it as much a handicap as an advantage.”

  Pepita had noticed the Duchess talking to Lady Rogart after dinner and had guessed at some of the unpleasant things that she must have said.

  “Thank you for understanding,” she replied. “At the same time there is nothing I can do about it.”

  “And nothing you would want to do, if you were honest,” Lady Rogart said with a smile. “You will find that men will
always be willing to help you and look after you and it is only the women who will have very different ideas.”

  Because she spoke so kindly, Pepita had a sudden urge to tell Lady Rogart how difficult the Duchess was being.

  Then she felt certain that Lady Rogart was already aware of it and there was nothing she could do.

  ‘There is only one person I can tell the truth to and who will understand,’ she thought.

  As soon as Lady Rogart was out of sight, she hurried downstairs to the garden door.

  It was locked and bolted for the night, but she let herself out and closed the door behind her, hoping that when she returned she and Torquil would not find themselves locked out.

  If they were, she was certain that he would manage by some means of his own to get them back into The Castle again without anyone being aware of it.

  ‘All I can do is to rely on him now and forever,’ she told herself. ‘Then there will be no more problems, I shall be safe and so will the children.’

  She was not certain how she could be so sure that he would look after them and she tried to tell herself that she only believed it possible because she was in love.

  And yet she knew that her instinct was stronger than her mind and, although she had no sure grounds for thinking so, it would be Torquil who would keep them safe.

  Outside it was once again a Fairyland of beauty with the stars twinkling in the sky, and the moon, although it was now on the wane, turning everything to silver.

  It was easy to follow the small path twisting through the trees where they had walked in the afternoon and everything was now very quiet.

  The only sounds she could hear were those of small animals scurrying about in the undergrowth and an occasional bird flew off in fright as she passed beneath the bough it had been roosting on.

  Because Pepita had always lived in the country she was not afraid of the darkness and in Cornwall she had often gone for long walks after dinner so as to leave her sister and Alistair alone as they preferred to be.

  Now she thought that they must have felt, as she was feeling, that they werepulsating with love and longing irrepressibly to be close to each other.

  When she reached the tree with the little house, she did not climb up to it, but leaned against the trunk and felt as if the peace and beauty of the stars and the moonlight moved into her heart.

  Then, as she waited, feeling almost as if the world were waiting with her, she saw a movement in the distance and knew that Torquil was coming towards her.

  As he came a little nearer she could wait no longer but ran to him, wanting him so much that her whole body ached with an irresistible yearning for the strength of his arms.

  He stood still until she reached him.

  Then he was holding her so tightly that it was impossible to breathe and his lips were on hers.

  He kissed her until the whole world swung dizzily round them.

  The stars seemed to fall down to cover them and a light came from both of them that was not human but Divine.

  To Pepita it was as if she gave herself completely and utterly to the man she loved and he took from her not only her heart but also her soul.

  She was a part of him as he was a part of her and they were no longer two people but one.

  Only when a century or longer seemed to have passed and they had touched the sky and were no longer on earth, did Pepita say in a voice that did not sound like her own,

  “I love – you. I – love you!”

  “I worship you!” Torquil said. “How can I live without you? How can I exist unless you are with me and are my wife?”

  He did not wait for her answer, but was kissing her again until, as if the fierce possessive demand of his lips was too intense to be borne, she made a little murmur and hid her face against his neck.

  “My precious,” he breathed, “I must not frighten you, but you do not know the agony it is to see you and not to touch you and to know that you are sleeping beneath the same roof, but I may not come near you.”

  There was a pain in the way he spoke, which told Pepita how much he suffered and she then said,

  “We – must try to be – sensible.”

  “What is sensible?” he asked. “To know that the most priceless treasure any man could find or own is just out of reach? We cannot go on like this. I cannot bear it!”

  “There is nothing – else we can do,” Pepita answered. “I love you, but – I am afraid.”

  “I understood that when you talked about it before,” Torquil said, “but I have had an idea and I want to discuss it with you.”

  “What – is it?” Pepita asked apprehensively.

  “We must first find somewhere where we can sit,” he said. “I will not take you up into the house in the tree in case you hurt yourself.”

  Instead he led her off the path to where there was a little clearing where some trees had fallen in a gale.

  It was bright in the moonlight and Torquil drew Pepita to where there was a fallen trunk where they both could sit.

  He put his arms round her and drew her close against him as he said,

  “Now listen to me, my darling. I have been thinking, after you told me what the Duchess had said to you, that it might be a good idea for me to speak to the Duke.”

  “About what?” Pepita asked in a frightened tone.

  “I will tell him that I love you and want to marry you and that, when we are married, we will take the children, since they are upsetting the Duchess, with us to my own Castle.”

  Just for a moment Pepita thought that it would be the most perfect thing that she could think of to be married to Torquil and not to be afraid for Rory and Jeanie.

  Then she gave a little cry of protest.

  “No – no!” she cried. “You cannot do that!”

  “Why not?”

  “First of all the Duke has already – decided to get rid of me.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I forgot to tell you that the Duchess said she had persuaded him to have a Tutor for Rory and a Scottish Governess for Jeanie.”

  “Are you sure she said that?” Torquil enquired.

  “Yes, but I was so perturbed by her suggestion that I should take them away secretly that I really forgot about it until now.”

  There was silence.

  Then Torquil said,

  “It certainly sounds, if that is what the Duke intends, that the children are to be looked after without you.”

  “I realise that now. But, Torquil, I cannot leave them without being afraid – but I am not – certain what I can do.”

  “You can marry me!”

  She shook her head, but he said,

  “I will marry you whether you agree or not. How can you possibly be alone in the world with nobody to look after you?”

  “I would have to – find some work to do,” Pepita said a little helplessly.

  “It is not a question of work,” Torquil said. “You are for too lovely to be alone. There are men who would pursue you and how do you think I would feel, knowing that you were struggling on your own?”

  He spoke fiercely and, as if the idea upset him, he pulled her roughly against him and kissed her again.

  Now his lips were passionate and demanding.

  She sensed that he was subduing her with his kisses, showing his domination and making her realise that she was his.

  It did not frighten her, instead she felt something wild and wonderful leap within her towards the fire on his lips and the love that was beating in his breast.

  She felt it flowing from him, seeping through her, and as she responded to it and he held her closer and still closer, she felt as if he took possession of her.

  There was no longer any need for her to think or to be worried or to try to decide anything.

  She was his, completely and absolutely, to do with as he would.

  Then the sound of an owl hooting in the woods brought them back to sanity.

  With their hearts beating wi
ldly, their eyes seeming to glint with a burning light, they looked at each other for a long moment.

  “You are mine!” Torquil said fiercely. “Mine and nothing in the whole world will stop me from loving you and keeping you with me from now throughout all of Eternity!”

  “I – love – you!” Pepita whispered.

  He would have kissed her again, but she put up her hands.

  “Please, darling please – don’t make me love you anymore. It – frightens me, not because I am afraid – but because it is so – perfect and so wonderful!”

  As if he understood, he took her hands in his and raised them one after the other to his lips.

  As he did so, Pepita realised that she was trembling with the intensity of her feelings and that he was too.

  “I adore you,” he said, “and because I am trying to think of you rather than of myself, I will take you back, but somehow I am going to find a solution to this damned mess, as quickly as possible!”

  The determination in the way he spoke was inescapable and she knew, although it seemed impossible, that, because he was who he was and because love was greater than anything else, he would find a way.

  Reluctantly and because it was difficult to move after the rapture he had given her, Pepita rose to her feet.

  Torquil rose too and for a moment she just looked at him, thinking how handsome he was in his kilt and velvet jacket with a lace jabot at his throat.

  The moonlight was full on both of them and she felt as if his head was encircled with stars and they gave him a power against which no human difficulties could prevail.

  Then very gently, in a very different way from the tempest that they had just passed through, Torquil drew her close to him again.

  He kissed her lips, but now there was no fire, only a tenderness that made the tears come into Pepita’s eyes.

  “Believe in me and trust me,” he urged, “and, with the help of God, you and I will win.”

  He put her hand through his arm and they walked slowly and in silence back along the path through the woods towards The Castle.

  Chapter Six

  The next day was Sunday and, as Pepita was getting Jeanie ready for the Kirk, Rory came rushing into the room to show her that he was wearing a kilt for the first time.