Page 19 of The Shadow of a Laird
He had met the young lady several times and had been quite impressed with her. She was good-humoured, intelligent and passably attractive, but there was nothing very remarkable about her. Compared to Maura, she was dull in the extreme, but if it came to the choice of marrying her or letting Maura die, he knew what he had to do.
“Ye dinnae look too happy about it,” Archie remarked, frowning.
Gavin sighed. “Nobody likes asking for favours, Archie,” he replied. “And this favour is bigger than most. We have no official agreement with the Jamiesons, and asking them for help seems rather disrespectful. I will have to think about this.” He changed the subject abruptly. “Where are you staying, Archie?”
“Dinnae worry about me,” Archie said soothingly. “I have plenty o’ pals here, an’ I move around between them. If things werenae sae serious, Iwould say it was quite good fun.”
Gavin looked at him doubtfully. He and Archie had always shared the same kind of wicked sense of humour, and were able to see the funny side of just about anything. They had always played pranks together. However, now he knew that Archie’s situation was rather more desperate than he was admitting to. Like Gavin himself, Archie had to keep his head down; he was probably taking a great risk in coming to the village at all.
“I would offer to let you stay at the inn,” he said sadly, “but this is not my property, so it’s not my place to do so.”
“I wouldnae let ye put yourself in such danger.” Archie patted his shoulder and smiled. “But if they suspect that you are here, then they know that I will follow ye, an’ I am more use tae all o’ us alive. I have already spoken tae many people that would fight on our side out o’ loyalty tae your father.”
“But not loyalty to me,” Gavin said bitterly. “I cannot blame them, Archie. I have been a terrible Laird, and treated somany of our people with utter contempt. I deserve whatever punishment they give me.”
“Stop feelin’ sae sorry for yourself,” Archie snapped. He had just spoken to Gavin in a way he had never done before, with a complete lack of respect.
Gavin’s first instinct was to put him in his place before he realised that the man was right. Archie was risking his life for him, and all Gavin was doing was bemoaning his fate and considering giving up.
“Archie, I am so sorry,” he said. “I am only thinking of myself. I will do as you suggest.”
“Good man.” Archie nodded. “But I dinnae know when they will come for ye, so make it quick, Gavin.” He looked extremely worried, and it struck Gavin suddenly how much he had taken their friendship for granted.
“I don’t deserve a friend like you,” he said, smiling. “And no—I am not feeling sorry for myself. I just consider myself very lucky. Thank you, Archie.”
For the first time that night, Archie smiled. He stood up and patted Gavin’s shoulder. “Ye have changed, Gavin,” he observed. “Back tae the man I used tae know, the one I liked an’ respected. Well done, pal.” He put on his cloak, which was still dripping wet, then patted Gavin on the shoulder.
“Where will you go?” Gavin asked anxiously.
“Best ye dinnae know,” Archie replied. “Look after yourself.”
“I will,” Gavin replied. “Thank you, Archie. Look after yourself and stay safe.”
Archie hugged him briefly and smiled, then he was gone. Gavin looked after him sorrowfully, hoping that he would see his friend again.
9
Gavin was troubled; he had no idea how to tell Maura the truth without confessing to her who he really was. However, that would put her in extreme danger because the Duncairn men were very unlikely to believe that she had not known his identity. After all, he was not exactly inconspicuous. There were plenty of men with red hair in Scotland, but not many who were over six feet tall.
Perhaps he could just flee in the night, he thought. Yet, that left the same problem as before; Maura would not know who he truly was and why he was leaving, and she would still be in danger. Anyway, he had only a few coins in his pocket, and he would need money for food and lodging. Moreover, he simply could not abandon her in that way; it would hurt her far too much. He poured himself an ale and sat down in front of the fire to think, but although he turned the problem over and over in his mind, he could come up with no solution. He would have to leave, but he would also need to make up some plausible excuse to give to Maura. No—not an excuse—she deserved the truth.
I am such a coward,he thought bitterly. He had brought all of this on himself, and now other innocent people were going to suffer because of him.
He had no doubt at all that the men chasing him were totally ruthless. They had tried to kill him and had almost succeeded in killing his friend. What would they do to Maura if they got hold of her? Gavin could not bear to think of the possibilities. There were many guards who were only employed because they had to support their families, but they were not all like that. Some actively enjoyed cruelty and the infliction of pain. Gavin shuddered at the thought of these men laying hands on Maura.
Just then, as if he had conjured her up, Maura appeared. She was wearing a plain grey woollen dress, and her golden-brown hair was loose and flowed down her back like a shining river. In the half-dark of the small room, the firelight bathed her in a golden glow. She might have been clothed like an ordinary working-class woman, but he thought she was as beautiful as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love he had learned about in his classics lessons.
“Ah, there ye are,” she said. “I wanted tae talk tae ye. Why are ye all wet?” She looked troubled as she sat down. She was keeping a good distance between them, which had been her practice ever since their kiss, as if she was afraid that sitting too close to him would invite more temptation.
Gavin gazed at her, trying to pull himself together as his treacherous man’s body responded to her in the most primitive way possible. He would have dearly loved to kiss her again, but he was not sure of her response. “I forgot to bring my boots inside after I came in from washing, but by the time I picked them up they were soaked—and so was I.” He gave a self-conscious laugh. He was not a good liar, and they both felt ill at ease as they faced each other.
“I wanted tae have a word wi’ ye,” she said, looking down at her hands. “I was a bit drunk the other day, an’ I shouldnae have kissed ye like that. I am very sorry.”
Gavin’s first response was to laugh and say that he was glad that she had kissed him, but as he looked at her face, he saw that she was truly distressed and embarrassed.
“There is no need to be, Maura,” he said softly. “I did not exactly push you away, did I? I think we both enjoyed it—it was a moment of madness that happens to everybody once in a while. You have nothing to reproach yourself for, so be at ease.”
Maura looked up at him and gave him a tentative smile. “Thank ye. You are a wonderful friend.” However, when she saw the expression in his eyes, she was concerned. “What is troublin’ ye, Gavin?” she asked, concerned.
