Page 64 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
Colin Struthers was as pale and grey as Cameron’s mother had been, and he looked completely peaceful, with all the lines of stress smoothed away from his face. Cameron had noticed that this happened with corpses, as if it was nature’s way of comforting the loved ones of the dead. He bent down and kissed his cold forehead, then pulled all of the sisters into a tight hug.
“Tell me what I can do,” he said gently.
Janet, always the practical one, pulled away first. “We must go to the minister in the village an’ arrange a funeral.” She wiped her eyes as she spoke and made her voice sound brisk.
“What about a coffin?” Rona asked.
“If the church cannot give us one, then I will make one,” Cameron said firmly. “We have plenty of trees here.”
“Thank ye, Cameron.” Rona said through her tears. “But I think the church always keeps a spare one.”
Cameron held out a hand to Ava. “I must talk to you for a moment,” he said softly, then he led her outside. “I will take ye to the church an’ we can arrange the funeral, but you will have to walk back, Ava. They want me at the castle for somethin’ else.”
He rolled his eyes heavenward and she laughed for the first time that day. He hoisted her onto Jimmy, and they rode away, but not to the church. Instead, they rode in a different direction.
“Where are we goin’?” she asked, puzzled.
“Wait an’ see,” he replied.
A few minutes later, she realised where he was going. It was a clearing beside the burn where they had first become aware of each other. Cameron had given Ava a tentative kiss here once, but had never repeated it. Still, it was a special place for both of them.
Cameron reached up to help her to the ground, then looked tenderly into her eyes for a moment.
“You heard me talking to the Laird’s steward earlier, Ava.” His voice was husky, and he cleared his throat before he spoke again. “I told the Laird the same thing as I told James Henderson, that I did not want to take the Lairdship, and I did not want the estate or the castle, but that was this morning. Now I have changed my mind.”
He took a deep breath, and his gaze met hers, and for one split second before he uttered the words, she knew what he was going to say.
“Ava, will you marry me?”
8
Cameron could barely sleep that night. A thousand things were going through his mind. He did not want the Lairdship, and he dreaded the moment when he would have to go back and accept it, since he thought that the Laird would think he had forced him to submit to his will. As well as that, he did not want to appear to be groveling and begging, but this was exactly how he felt. How else could the Laird see it? One day he had flatly refused, and the next day he was coming back like a dog with its tail between its legs begging for forgiveness. He knew that this was not the case, that he was doing it for Ava’s sake, but it did not make him feel any better.
Next morning, when he rose from bed, he washed quickly, then debated as to what to wear. He would deliberately not put on the shirt, jacket and kilt he reserved for special occasions. Laird Ross Lewis had already decided to make him Laird, so he did not have to impress him, and if he had changed his mind after Cameron’s refusal, well, he was no worse off than before.
Accordingly, he put on the ragged shirt and breeches he usually wore. The Laird would not have to look at him for very long anyway.
Cameron saddled Jimmy and urged him into a canter. The castle was about a mile away, but the road was good, and he arrived there in a very short time. Fortunately, the weather was good, with a white cloudy haze in the sky, but no sunlight. The enormous building was made of red sandstone and built on a low hill, and it looked more like a large mansion than a fortress.
Yet it was still an intimidating, imposing sight, with crenelated turrets and a huge, magnificent entrance consisting of a round arch and a robust metal portcullis. It was enough to intimidate anyone, and it had done so the first time Cameron entered, but not now. If he was to be master of all this after the Laird’s death, he decided that he had better begin to act as he meant to go on. That meant cultivating an air of authority, but not in the bullying, arrogant way such as that of James Henderson, whom he held in great contempt.
He rode into the castle and stopped in the courtyard, and was surprised to see that everyone seemed to be expecting him. He frowned in puzzlement. A maidservant was summoned to take him to the Laird’s study. He was about to receive a monumental gift, so why did he feel as if he was going to the gallows?
“He should be here soon,” Ross Lewis said, as he sipped a glass of wine and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly he doubled over as stabbing pain in his chest assailed him, so agonizing that it made him double over for a moment, moaning. It only lasted for a moment, but as he recovered and sat up, he knew that theend was near. This had been the worst bout of pain he had yet experienced.
James, who had been sitting near the fire poring over a ledger, leapt to his feet as soon as he saw the Laird in difficulty. He was always careful to look solicitous and concerned, but now there was not much he could do apart from fetch him a glass of water, which he drank in sips.
“Are you alright, my friend?” he asked, frowning in apparent concern.
The Laird nodded wearily. “The pains are becoming worse,” he said hoarsely. “I fear I do not have much longer to live.”
James did not contradict him. Whatever his other faults, the Laird was not stupid, and hated to be patronised. He knew that Ross Lewis had to be carefully handled.
“Then we must see to the succession,” James declared stoutly. “What will you do if this son of yours still refuses?”
“He will not.” Ross’s voice was firm. “The prize I am offering is too big. He did not strike me as a stupid man, James. As well as that, I saw a few character traits in him that matched my own, and that gives me hope that my estate will be in good hands.”
“He has had no training - ever. Can he even read and write?” James asked. He knew that he was on shaky ground, for although Ross Lewis had never acknowledged Cameron, he had watched him from afar over the years. He was confident that he was intelligent enough to take on the momentous task ahead of him.
