Page 65 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
The night sky stretched before them for miles, and Callum marveled at how dark it was across his lands, the torchlight from the courtyard barely penetrating so high.
Lady Bentley had cried off from stargazing, telling her daughter that she was too tired to stay up any longer after her extensive journey.
Callum had made his way to the top of the tower ahead of the girls, waiting for Lydia to join him.
Alexander settled the telescope and stepped back, looking up at the night sky. There was a new moon tonight, and the twinkling vortex above their heads was something to behold.
“It is funny, is it nae?” Alexander said, his voice quiet on the still night air.
“What’s that?”
“How ye can nae see the world until someone comes along and opens yer eyes to it?”
Callum turned to his man-at-arms, about to ask what he meant by that, but what greeted him was a sly smile. Alexander slipped through the door and away, leaving Callum alone in the dark.
He breathed in a lungful of the Highland air and went to stand against the edge of the stone.
The inky blackness around him was closing in, and the lack of moon made his lands even darker and more mysterious than they usually were.
He found himself searching the horizon, the soldier in him looking for lights on the ground, not in the sky.
Are ye comin’ for these girls, Moira? And if nae, what are ye waitin’ for?
He pictured spots of light appearing in the trees like wisps, and then more would appear, Moira’s father sending an army to destroy him.
Let him come. He isnae takin’ me nieces from me without a fight.
“What a beautiful night.”
Callum turned to find four shadows behind him.
Lydia had bundled the girls up into their coats against the cold wind that blew in all weathers on the ramparts.
Tommy had a blanket around his shoulders, and Lydia looked beautiful in a thick coat of her own, her eyes shining in the darkness.
“Well, girls, what do you think?” Lydia asked.
“It’s very dark up here,” Eilis said.
“It has to be. You can’t see the light in the sky with light on the ground.”
“There’s no moon,” Tommy exclaimed, spinning in place as he looked upward.
“No,” Lydia said, laughing. “All the better to see the stars.”
She walked across the space beside Callum, who was content to watch her, fascinated by the ease she had with the children.
Lydia bent over the telescope, closing one eye as she fiddled with the dials and screws on the side. After a minute or so, she tutted loudly.
“Is the sky nae to yer likin’, M’Lady?” Callum asked.
Lydia looked up, an irritated expression on her face as she pouted at him.
“How long has it been since this lens was cleaned?” she asked, and sounded so peevish that Callum found himself chuckling softly.
“I dinnae ken, likely decades. Angus and I certainly didnae use it.”
“Well, then, lend me your handkerchief. I must clean it.”
