Page 119 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
Norah’s jaw dropped as she looked at him, hardly able to believe her ears. Then suddenly one of the men’s remarks made sense. They had been laughing, and when she had asked them why, they had said it was because ‘Tearlach finally found ye.’
Now she realized what they meant! “How long have you been looking for me?” she asked, astonished.
“I was thinkin’ about goin’ back to see Mammy an’ Da,” he said sadly. “And I got as far as the edge of the village, but redcoats were swarmin’ all over the place, so I didnae manage it. I got close enough to see that they were fine, though. I wished I could have gone to see how you were farin’ though, Norah, but I did hear fae some women that were gossipin’ in the street that ye had left, an’ why.”
“So you knew I had run away from my wedding?” she asked.
“Aye, so I went tae Rosblane an’ some o’ the other villages lookin’ for ye,” he answered. “But I couldnae believe it when we found each other!”
Norah stared at him for a moment, not knowing whether to be angry or not, but despite herself, she was curious. “What did the ladies in Dunnaird say?”
Tearlach shrugged. “Ye are well-liked in the village, Norah,” he told her. “They were a’ on your side. Archie Patterson was always goin’ into the tavern to interfere wi’ the tavern lassies who were only tryin’ to dae their jobs. They were a’ good girls. Well, ye know that.”
“I do.” Norah replied, frowning. “And I expect he could not keep his hands to himself?”
“Indeed not,” Tearlach growled. “None of them wanted anythin’ to dae wi’ him. One day one of the lassies had had enough an’ knocked his ale over. It went all over him, an’ he was just about to hit her, but one o’ the guards fae your father’s place stepped in for a wee dram after a hard day. He wasnae in uniform, an’ that auld eejit never looks at them anyway, so he cannae tell one fae the other anyway. The guard twisted his arm up his back an’ marched him out. That was the story I heard, anyway. After that, he never went back to the tavern again.”
“That warms my heart,” Norah remarked drily. “Has he tried to propose to anyone else?”
“Not as far as I know,” Tearlach replied. “But I doubt any other lass in the district will have him.”
“So he is still on the loose?” Norah asked, beginning to panic. “Then I can never go back there, and god knows what will happen if he ever finds me. I imagine my running away was a terrible humiliation for him.”
“Go up north wi’ the boys,” Tearlach begged. “Ye will be safe there. The redcoats darenae venture on to McMillan lands. Please, Norah.”
Norah looked at the desperation in his bright green eyes and was almost undone. He was pleading with her, and even when they were adolescents she had been almost unable to resist him. Now, he was a man, and she was in love with him. Moreover, she desperately wanted to be by his side, and the thought of leaving him alone at the mercy of brutal English troops was something she could not bear to do.
She shook her head vehemently. “Where are the horses?” she asked. She had approached the place where Tearlach had told her to stop from a different direction in a bad light and had no idea where she had been. Now, she had absolutely no idea where she was. She was completely unable to get her bearings, and the only feature of the landscape she remembered was the marsh.
“Never you mind,” Davie said. “Tearlach is right, hen. We are in the open here, an’ these men are ruthless. Come wi’ us.”
“But you promised not to leave him!” Norah cried, shocked. “You said you needed him! You said he had saved you all!” She looked around them accusingly, but it was no good. Each one of them looked ashamed, but they were resolute, and so was Tearlach.
Now he interrupted. “Norah, they need me whole an’ able-bodied, not injured,” he pointed out, looking around himself desperately for any sign of the enemy. He was terrified - not forhimself, for he had resigned himself to his fate - but for Norah. God alone knew what they would do to her if they caught her. “Go - please. Ye are daein’ nae good here, in fact ye are holdin’ the men back.”
“Fine!” she cried mutinously. “If you will not go, then I will stay.”
Tearlach suddenly realized that begging and pleading with Norah would not avail them anything. He exchanged a glance with Davie, who nodded imperceptibly. “Norah!” Tearlach hissed. “I will not argue with ye any more. You are bein’ selfish an’ stupid. How are ye goin’ to defend me? Ye are a wee woman an’ ye have nae weapons. Get out o’ here, an’ dinnae let me see your face again!”
Startled and hurt, Norah sprang backwards away from him, but she had inadvertently jumped right into the arms of Davie, who had caught Tearlach’s silent signal. Norah felt herself gripped by a powerful pair of hands that clamped themselves painfully around her upper arms.
“Let me go!” she screamed, but the hands gripped even more tightly, and Davie growled. “Norah, if ye carry on like that ye will bring every redcoat for miles around down on top o’ us!”
Norah stopped screaming, but she kicked and punched Davie so hard that he dropped her onto the ground and let out a string of curses. When he reached down with both hands to pick her up again she bit his wrist so hard that he yelled in pain, and she took the chance to run back towards Tearlach.
Tearlach could not believe his eyes. He knew that what Norah was doing was idiotic, but he could not help feeling a sneaking admiration for her. Then he remembered the way she had behaved when they were children. She never gave up.
As she ran towards him, he was reminded of the day he had been standing skiffing stones across the waters of Loch Binnie. He was an expert at this, and everyone knew it. He was the king of stone-skiffing, and very proud of it. He could throw his stone at such a shallow angle that it bounced off the surface of the water at least half a dozen times or even more.
However, the first time Norah saw him doing it, she wanted his crown. “Teach me how to do that,” she demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest and gazing at him with a challenge in her eyes.
Tearlach laughed. “Ye know that I am the skiffin’ champion o’ three villages?” he asked scornfully as he picked up another flat stone.
Norah shrugged. “So?” she asked. “Does that mean you can’t be beaten?”
“Not by a lass,” he answered. “Lassies are nae good at this kind of thing.”
This time Norah laughed out loud. “So you’re scared of a girl beating you? I see!” She tossed her head and sorted amongst the stones on the shore of the loch until she found one that was round and almost, but not quite, flat.
