Page 67 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
Cameron stood his ground for a moment, then took a step closer to her. She opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it again as she heard Ava’s voice.
“I will deal wi’ him, Janet.” Ava’s voice was surprisingly calm as she stepped up to her sister’s side. “Go an’ finish cookin’.”
“Are ye sure?” Janet asked doubtfully.
“I am.” Ava had been staring into Cameron’s eyes all the time they were speaking, and now she stepped forward to confront him, leaving Janet to depart with a single venomous glance. She had spent all afternoon preparing a furious tirade against him, but now that she was actually looking into his clear blue eyes she found it much more difficult than she had expected.
“Ava.” His deep voice was hoarse, as if he was just about to burst into tears. “I am sorry.”
Ava waited for him to say something else, but he was silent. A ferocious fire was building up inside her, and she trembled with fury before she spoke. Her voice was throbbing with rage.
“That is all ye have to say?” she asked. “You know that I have loved ye for as long as I can remember? Ye know that I dreamt of you every night and my whole day was spent wantin’ you to kiss me? Some days ye came so close then pulled away again and I felt absolutely terrible. When ye asked me to marry ye - I thought I had gone tae heaven. All my dreams had come true, but ye are promised to p another lass! Why, Cam? Why did ye do this to me?”
Cameron watched tears leaking from her eyes as he spoke. He longed to wrap his arms around her and tell her that it was not his fault, that things would be fine, but he could not.
“Because I was forced to,” he replied huskily. “Because my father told me that I cannot have the castle if I don’t marry the daughter o’ the steward. I don’t want to, Ava, believe me, but I want to help you an’ your sisters. When I inherit the estate I can give you some o’ the food from the farms, help to mend the cottage an’ make sure you have enough to eat. I want to marry ye, Ava. You are the love o’ my life, an’ I wish I could think o’ some way I can be Laird and we can stay together. But -” He trailed off, shaking his head helplessly.
He gazed down into the amber-golden eyes and saw hope there, then, regardless of her two sisters, who were watching from inside, he pulled her against him. Her skin was soft, supple, and smelled of earth, and he buried his face into the thick wavy mass of her hair, reveling in its fragrance.
Despite herself, even though she knew she should push him away, Ava hung onto his warm body, taking comfort from the strength of his arms. Her anger was fading as she felt the thud of his heart against her ear and she closed her eyes and inhaled the warm manly scent of him.
“What are ye doin’ Ava?” Suddenly she heard Janet’s voice shouting from the door of the cottage, and she jumped out of Cameron’s embrace.
‘What have I been thinking?’Ava’s anger surged back with a vengeance and she drew back her arm to slap Cameron across the face, but he saw her intention in her eyes and caught her wrist before the blow fell.
The fury went out of Ava’s eyes as she looked at him. Despite what he had done, her heart still belonged to him. He was still the man she wanted to spend her life with, and despite what hehad done, despite how he had humiliated her, he always would be.
Cameron tilted her face to his again. “I meant what I said, Ava,” he said gently. “I will find a way for us to be together.”
Ava nodded, and he kissed her lips once, softly, before she moved out of her arms and walked towards the cottage. At the door, she turned to look back at him, her expression one of confusion.
“Goodbye, Cam,” she said softly. “I will think about what ye said.” Then she went indoors, leaving him feeling cold and bereft.
Her sisters were standing in the doorway glaring at him. “Goodbye Janet, Rona.” He said it out of politeness, since he knew the kind of response he would receive.
“Goodbye, an’ don’t hurry back!” Rona said furiously before slamming the door with all her considerable strength. “Ye are no’ welcome here, an’ ye can take your washin’ an’ mendin’ somewhere else!”
Inside, Janet poured them all some ale, and the sisters sat together for a while silently, holding hands and saying nothing, before Rona spoke. “We had better eat an’ get ready for bed,” she said sadly. “It will no’ help any o’ us to go hungry because o’ that eejit.”
“Ye’re right, Rona,” Janet agreed, glancing at the cold food on the table. She bristled with fresh irritation. “That big numpty has spoiled our supper!”
10
That evening, while Ava and Cameron were arguing, and after his long chat with the Laird and his son, James Henderson was sitting in his study, his mind racing. The old man looked as though he would not last much longer, since the pains in his chest were becoming more frequent and more severe. James knew he had to work fast, since every moment Cameron Dalziel spent on his farm kept him close to the woman he truly loved.
He needed to push Davina forward more, but she was not keen to go to Cameron’s farm, and the Laird had steadfastly refused to have him under his roof until two days before the wedding, and that was only because he needed ‘to scrub the dirt off him,’ as he put it.
James had never really understood the concept of love. His parents had married for convenience and his mother had produced three sons, whereupon she had decided that her childbearing days were over. She moved from a bedroom that connected to his father’s to one at the opposite end of the house, and both were quite happy with the arrangement.
There were rumors that his father had a mistress and his mother had lovers, but he had never found out if there was any truth in them. As far as he could see, they were friends and treated each other with courtesy, at least in public.
He had never experienced the glowing warmth in his heart that other people had, although he felt the desperate urges of his body all too well.
His wife Elizabeth had died giving birth to his daughter eighteen years previously and he had not married again. They’d had the same kind of relationship as his parents, with marriage merely being merely a means to an end. It was solely for the bearing of children, and the only regret that James had was that his wife had borne him no sons.
He thought about the man with whom he had agreed to pair his daughter. Cameron Dalziel was a prime physical specimen of a man. He was sure that he and Davina would produce beautiful children, and they would have a seemingly doting grandfather. It was in James’s best interests to be one. He would try to mold them in his own image, so that the castle would be run his way and for his benefit - and his profit.
At that moment, as if his thoughts had conjured her up, his daughter came into his study, smiling and holding a tiny ginger kitten in her arms. He thought wryly that Davina would have a whole menagerie of cats if he had allowed it, but he had no love of animals. He only allowed her this one indulgence because it kept her quiet. “Have you decided what to call that thing yet?” he asked, frowning.
