Page 86 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
Davina nodded and smiled, then whispered, “good luck.” She closed the door and Ava heard the key turning in the lock. She waited a few more moments and heard something heavy being dragged across the door. Then she fled.
Although Cameron’s day had been utterly exhausting, he could not manage a wink of sleep either. Something was wrong. He did not know what it was, but he felt it, and no matter how many times he told himself to go to sleep his body would not obey him, and stayed stubbornly awake.
Eventually, he climbed out of bed then lit a candle, which he placed by the window, and another by his dresser, where a carafe of whisky stood. He poured himself a generous measure andswallowed it in one draught, hoping it would make him sleep, but he realised after a while that it was having no effect at all.
He paced the room restlessly for a few moments, then decided that he would do what he usually did when he had trouble sleeping - he would go up onto the battlements and chat to the guards for a while. He knew most of them anyway, since they were ordinary people like him, and he still preferred their company to that of more exalted folk.
Accordingly, he dressed in his working clothes, putting on a thick woolen coat and took an extra blanket for good measure. He moved over to the window, intending to blow the candle out, but frowned as a stray glance detected some movement on the road leading up to the castle. The moon was bright that night, enough for him to recognise a horse and rider, but not bright enough for him to identify them.
‘Who is that?’he asked himself, puzzled. There was something familiar about the figure, which was stopped by the guard before it could reach the gate. The man held his lantern up to speak to them, and suddenly Cameron’s heart skipped a beat.
Ava! It could only have been something vitally important that had brought her to his door at this time, he realised. He waved to her frantically, but although she seemed to be looking straight at him, she turned her horse around and rode away. Frustrated, he stood for a long moment gazing out of the window at the spot where she had been a moment before.
‘Dammit, Ava!’he thought angrily.‘What are ye doin’?’
Then it hit him. He rushed downstairs, taking them two at a time, then caused a panic as he ordered the guards to open the gate and the stable lads to saddle a horse for him. As he led thehorse, a spirited young chestnut stallion called Skellum, out of his stall, Jimmy gave a soft whinny, no doubt sad because he was being left behind.
Cameron stopped before him for a moment and leaned his forehead against the old horse’s nose, stroking his neck and murmuring to him soothingly. “I am so sorry, old friend, I need a young man this time, but I still love ye just as much as ever.”
Then, he kissed Jimmy on his soft muzzle and strode out towards the young stallion, who was dancing about and whickering in impatience even as the large, strong head groom tried to hold him still.
“Are ye sure ye want this one, Cam - I mean, M’Laird?” Malky looked doubtful. “He’s a right handful.”
“Aye? Well so am I!” Cameron said grimly as he leapt into the saddle. “An’ how long have we known each other, Malky? None o’ this‘M’Laird’nonsense!”
Malky watched Cameron’s skilful hands as he effortlessly brought the horse under his command then urged it into a gallop and thundered through the gates into the darkness. He stood looking after his master for a while, shaking his head, then turned to see a young stable lad who had been woken by the noise.
“What is goin’ on?” one of the stable lads, asked curiously, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“Our new Laird is takin’ a wee ride,” Malky replied, shaking his head in disbelief.
“At this time o’ the mornin’?” the lad’s voice was incredulous. “What has got intae him?”
“Aye.” Malky sighed. “At this time o’ the mornin’. I always thought he was a nice sensible lad, but there is only one reason a man goes out at this ungodly hour!”
“What reason is that?” he asked, frowning in puzzlement.
“A woman, son!” Malky laughed and patted the boy’s back. “Ye are only fourteen, but just wait a few years an’ ye will understand!”
‘No’ far now,’Cameron said to himself, over and over again. After his initial frenzied exit from the castle, he had been obliged to slow down considerably. The moonlight was bright, but not quite bright enough to illuminate everything in front of him clearly.
He was fizzing with frustration and impatience as he tried to negotiate through dark pools of shadow under trees and avoid overhanging branches. As well as that, there was the problem of large boulders that were strewn haphazardly amongst the long grass, visible in the daylight but treacherous at night.
Cameron’s heart leapt as he saw the gleam of a lantern through the trees in front of him. Could it be Ava? As he emerged from between the trees, he saw her standing in the middle of a small clearing under a big sycamore tree where they had shared their very first kiss. The yellow light from the lantern she was holding made her golden-red hair the colour of flame, but her eyes were shimmering with tears.
“Ava,” he said softly as he stepped out from under the tree. He saw her eyes widen as she gave a little squeal, then she ran tohim and threw herself into his arms, sobbing as if her heart would break.
Cameron was shocked, but he instinctively tightened his arms around her, feeling her shuddering sobs resonate in his own body. He rested his cheek on her head, making soothing noises as he pulled her closer and closer until there was no space between them.
He had always found that it was better to leave someone alone to give vent to their emotions in their own time rather than trying to force them, so he stood quietly until Ava gradually calmed down. “Better now?” he asked gently.
Ava nodded against him, but she was still trembling. “I hoped ye would remember our special place, an’ ye did.”
“How could I not?” he asked, frowning anxiously. “What’s upset ye so much, sweetheart? I have never seen ye in such a state before!”
Ava took a deep breath and looked up into the bright blue of his eyes, and at that instant she realised she could never let him go. How could she marry a monster like James Henderson when there was a good and decent man standing in front of her whom she loved with all her heart? Moreover, he loved her in return.
“I found James trying to rape Janet,” she said bitterly. “He said he was only tryin’ to kiss her, but I know the kind o’ man he is now, and I will no’ marry him. He is a devil!”
