Page 116 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
Davie, a tall, sturdy man with bright red hair that was almost the same color as Murdo’s, was the fourth member of the group, and now he spoke up. “We need to know where the redcoats who were chasin’ you an’ Tearlach, are hen. It could be very dangerous for all of us.”
“Oh, I see,” Norah frowned and took a deep breath before she began retracing what happened. She had no wish to relive the few moments when they made their escape, or the sheer terror of the chase, but she took a long gulp of her ale then began to speak.
While she was talking she did not realize that she was trembling with remembered dread, and she wrapped her arms around herself as if for protection. The story took only a few minutes to tell, but afterwards, as if a dam had been breached, Norah burst into tears. Until then, she had been unaware of the sheer weight of the fear she had been carrying with her. Now it had suddenly crashed down on her.
The men tried to calm her down with soothing words, and gradually her weeping subsided. “I am so sorry,” she apologized, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to behave like such a baby.”
Tommy patted her back. “Lass, we have a’ done the same sometime or other. It doesnae make ye weak. It just means ye are human.”
The others murmured in agreement, although Norah had no doubt that the two brothers still thought she was a feeble woman.
“Thank you,” Norah murmured, wiping her eyes. “If it is not too painful, may I ask how each of you got into this life?”
“Each of us had different reasons,” Murdo answered. “But we a’ had one thing in common. Each one o’ us had a member our family murdered by the redcoats.”
When they had all told their individual stories, Norah was horrified. She had always known that the British troops had committed acts of savagery, but the stories she had just heard were terrible, and she could not imagine how these poor men could go on living with such sorrow in their lives.
There was a short silence, then Davie, the tallest and broadest of the group, looked at Norah. “You said there were only six redcoats chasing you,” he said gravely. “But I have heard reportso’ many more in the area, an’ I think there are far more than we can see.” He shifted his gaze to the others. “I have a bad feelin’ there is a spy somewhere out there in the midst o’ our people. I dinnae know if he - or she - is willin’, or if they British have threatened them, but it makes nae difference. We have been in this same wee hut for too long an’ sooner or later they will come for us. We have become too cozy in this wee place, an’ as soon as Tearlach wakes up we must go. We know that Clan McMillan will hide an’ shelter us, but we must make our way out o’ here safely first. It is goin’ to be a long hard journey.”
“Can we wait that long?” Murdo asked doubtfully.
A thrill of fear shot through Norah. Surely they were not thinking of leaving Tearlach behind?
Her face must have betrayed her, for Davie shook his head and smiled at her. “Dinnae worry, lass. We would never dream abandonin’ our Tearlach. He is the strongest an’ cleverest of the lot of us an’ has saved us fae death many times.”
Norah nodded slowly. Now that she was here, in the middle of all these strange men, she did not know quite what to do with herself. How long would Tearlach take to wake up? Would he wake up at all? If he did not, what would she do with herself, since she was now a marked woman?
Something Tearlach had said came back to her suddenly.
‘They will hang both o’ us now.’
Would the British really do that? She thought of the stories the men had told her, and it became all too apparent to her that they would. She shivered in horror and fear. Perhaps her life would have been better if she had stayed and married the man herfather had chosen for her; at least she would have a good chance of still being alive! As it was, her life was hanging by a thread.
But then she imagined life with Archie Patterson, the old, wealthy merchant. Would it be a life worth living? She tried to imagine how it would feel having to get into bed with him, allowing him to make love to her, and she shuddered inwardly with disgust.
She contrasted the way she felt with Tearlach, and knew that the feelings she had for him would make it impossible for her to love anyone else for the rest of her life. There simply was no one else for her, and never would be. She was lost in a daydream, and had not realized that she was smiling at the thought of Tearlach when she noticed that Murdo and Davie were laughing at her.
“Why are you laughing at me?” she asked. Had she made a fool of herself somehow?
“We were just thinkin’ that Tearlach finally found ye,” Davie replied. “After a’ this time. He will be so happy.”
“Yes, he did,” Norah agreed, puzzled. “But what is so funny about that? Was he looking for me?”
“You must ask him when he wakes up,” Murdo answered, grinning.
15
Tearlach drifted in and out of consciousness for two days, during which time Norah sat beside him, watching every move he made and listening for any sound that he might be waking up. She helped Tommy change Tearlach’s bandages, only leaving when the other men came to help with washing him and helping him with more personal things.
In the meantime, she made herself useful by preparing meals, and even mended a few of the men’s clothes, many of which badly needed attention. If she had thought that she might be bored, she was happy to be proved wrong. The men could all read and count a little, and although they were not well-educated, each was intelligent in his own way, and each could hold a good conversation and express himself well.
Somehow she had always thought of rebels as vicious heathens who killed and maimed everyone they saw, but they were not like that at all. Every one of them missed his family and friends, and spoke of them with tenderness and affection.
Norah admired the way their skills had blended together to make the shelter they were living in, and how they cooperated with each other to share out the duties that made their little band work. In turn, they appreciated her presence, and made Norah feel like an asset to them and not a burden.
“It is good to have a woman’s company about the place,” Tommy remarked to Murdo, Alec’s brother, as they watched Norah sitting by Tearlach’s side sewing. “It makes us a’ behave better, an’ too many men together can end up actin’ like animals!”
Murdo laughed, and Norah joined in. “That is true,” he remarked, looking at Norah appreciatively. “An’ it helps that she is quite bonny to look at as well. It’s good for the spirit to have a lovely face about.”
