Page 84 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
Life, he could see, was going to be demanding, but now that he had no need to worry anymore about where his next meal wascoming from, he could face up to the challenges and overcome them. He knew that he would enjoy doing it.
Presently, he passed by his own little cottage. He smiled as he looked at it and a flood of happy memories washed over him.
This was the place where he and his mother had spent many happy hours together while she taught him some basic sewing and he taught her the alphabet. However, most of the time they had just talked about anything and everything, and she had imparted to him the simple wisdom and philosophy of her life.
He had handed the keys to a young couple who were just starting out on their life together, and he would never forget the delight on their faces as he opened the door for them.
“It is no’ much,” he told them, “but it was the last roof Ma an’ I had while I was growin’ up, an’ I was very happy here. I hope you will be too.”
“M’Laird!” the lad whose young wife was six months with child, shook his head in disbelief. “This is wonderful! How can we repay you?”
Cameron had smiled. “By raisin’ your family an’ makin’ the best o’ this land. But one thing I promise - ye will never go hungry, because if ye need help come an’ ask me or one o’ my men. I know what it is like to be hungry an’ I would no’ wish it on anyone.”
His wife burst into tears of gratitude, and Cameron handed the young man a bottle of wine. “Enjoy your new home,” he said warmly. “There is a lot o’ love among these four walls.”
“An’ there will be much more,” the young man assured him, grinning from ear to ear.
There was one last call that Cameron had to make. When he had given his cottage to the Aitkens, Ava had promised the Struthers family home to someone else after she was married. The man who had killed Brian Lewis was called Fergus Collins, the head of a young family who had fallen on hard times when he could not find employment.
He and his wife and five-year old son had been living in the forest near the castle, struggling to survive on whatever they could forage. One extremely wet day he had seen a magnificent stag that would have kept the family going for some time, and had attempted to kill it.
His fingers were wet and slippery from the rain, however, and the shot went wide, and it killed the Laird’s son, who was in a hunting party that day. Fergus had tried to flee, but he was caught and hanged before the day was out, leaving his family destitute. They would have starved to death if one of the guards had not found them and brought them back to Cameron at the castle.
Cameron suggested to the Struthers sisters that they should give the cottage to the young widow, and they had agreed.
However, Ava was unwilling to let the family move in before she was safely married, so at the moment they were living in a tumbledown shepherd’s hut in the forest. Cameron was appalled when he saw it, so he had the roof repaired, put some rudimentary furniture in it, and supplied them with food, clothing and blankets. It was not yet a proper home, but it would keep them warm and dry.
The woman had been pathetically grateful, and the little red-haired boy’s eyes shone with happy tears as they surveyed their temporary home.
This would be the first time Cameron had seen the young family for weeks, and he was a little anxious. He need not have been. When she opened the door and saw him, Andie Collins gave him a huge smile. “Oh, M’Laird, I am that glad tae see ye!” she cried.
“As I am to see you, Andie,” Cameron replied, smiling. “I have brought ye a few wee things.” He handed her a basket of assorted foodstuffs and she gave a cry of surprise and delight.
“Ye are such a good man, M’Laird,” she said, smiling tearfully. “After what Fergus did -”
“It was an accident and I am sorry he had to die for it.” Cameron’s voice was full of regret. “Now, I must go. If you need anything, come to me.” He waved a quick goodbye and rode away.
Andie nodded and watched him. If only his father had been as kind as his son!
It was a long day, and by the time Cameron arrived home darkness was already creeping in. The guards’ shift had changed, and Cameron did not receive the message about Ava’s arrival. He ate his evening meal swiftly then tumbled into bed, utterly exhausted. He slept dreamlessly until morning, and had the best night’s sleep he had had for ages.
Ava had returned home, determined to speak to James. The first place she looked was his study, where he spent most of his timewhen he was not at the castle, but he was not there. She growled irritably, then tried the parlor, the dining room, the kitchen, and finally she knocked on his bedroom door, but it did her no good, for she could not find him anywhere.
All the way home she had been turning over the matter in her mind. Should she confront James? Perhaps he’d had a little too much to drink and was one of those people who could not handle it well. One thing she knew for certain - she was no longer prepared to marry him.
Should she act as if she knew nothing and simply wait until she had a chance to tell Cameron? James had said he wanted to wait until after the wedding to kill him, so he was safe for the time being, was he not? On the other hand, James Henderson could change his mind at any moment - he was clearly not quite sane.
Ava decided that saying ‘yes’ to James’s marriage proposal had been one of the worst decisions she had ever made. She had hardly known him, and yet she had been willing to give her life to him. What had she been thinking? As well as that, there were her sisters to consider. What if he decided that they were an inconvenience? It would take very little effort on his part to kill them in his own house. No, she thought. She would have to get them out of here, and she knew that the only person that could keep all of them safe was Cameron.
She sighed and turned towards her sisters’ chamber then opened the door and looked inside. She screamed.
19
From the first time James saw Janet, he wanted her. Apart from her beauty, there was something about the strong young woman that appealed to him on a primitive level, and every time he saw her he lusted after her even more. He watched and waited, and finally this evening he saw his chance to corner her.
Janet was unlocking the door of the bedroom she shared with Rona, yawning. She did not know why she found life in the mansion so tiring, because it was nothing like the hard physical labor she had to do on the farm. All she did here was ride, learn to read, and play with the servants’ children. It was not tedious but it felt very strange.
But at least here she had a soft feather bed and warm carpets under her feet, and best of all, she had space. Her and Rona’s bedroom was bigger than their whole cottage.
