Page 7 of Abducted By the Highlander
When Freyja had wed Alasdair just over a year ago, her sister had been concerned that the burden of their legacy would now fall squarely upon Roisin’s shoulders. She’d assured Freyja all was well,that she was prepared for the responsibility of remaining on Eigg to ensure the decree of their ancient foremother was fulfilled.
The bloodline of the Isle must prevail beyond quietus.
The Deep Knowing was a sacred edict from their Pict queen foremother and had been handed down from mother to daughter for nine hundred years. Both Freyja and their eldest sister, Isolde, believed it meant if they left the isle, their bloodline would die.
Yet both of them had left, to be with the men they loved.
Stealthily, Roisin eased out of the bed so as not to wake Grear, and hastily washed before the banked fire. Neither of her sisters had made the decision to leave Eigg easily. All of their lives, they had been taught that their destiny was to protect their beloved isle and that their futures were irrevocably entwined with the land of their birth.
Their formidable Pict queen ancestor, who had commanded a fearsome band of women warriors to defend Eigg against her enemies, had entrusted the edict to her own daughter and so the legacy had been passed down through the ages.
But only through the female line, from mother to daughter. And in all that time, only one daughter of Sgur had been born in each generation.
Until now.
And so, despite their misgivings about going against the Deep Knowing, ultimately Isolde and Freyja had been free to leave Sgur because Roisin could continue the legacy by remaining on the isle and, in time, passing the history of their fierce Pict queen ancestor down to her own daughter.
Except the dark truth was, she’d never believed in the Deep Knowing the way her sisters, her grandmother, and her own mother had.
’Twas as unthinkable as blasphemy to ever breathe such a belief aloud, and she’d keep her secret until her dying breath. But just because she didn’t believe in the same way as her sisters and foremothers, it didn’t mean she wanted to leave Sgur Castle.
She smothered a sigh as she wrapped her shawl about her shoulders and left the bedchamber, Ecne at her heels. Before her sisters had married, her own questioning of the Deep Knowing hadn’t worried her. After all, it changed nothing since the three of them were destined to remain on the Isle of Eigg forever. And as the youngest sister, no one had ever asked her opinion on it, anyway.
But now she couldn’t stop fretting about it, and it made no sense. It wasn’t as though, given the choice, she’d follow her sisters to the Highlands.
As she went down the stairs and into the great hall, her mind lingered on that notion and no matter how hard she tried to stop it, the image of Hugh Campbell and his incomparable blue eyes filled her thoughts.
Why did he haunt her so? It had been eighteen months since she’d last seen him, when he had all but promised to return. She should’ve known he was only spinning her a pretty line but how truly she’d believed him.
How dearly she still wished to believe him. He’d been so easy to talk to, and she hadn’t wanted to disappear into a nearby tapestry the way she usually did when confronted by a strange man.
She’d even shown him some of her illuminated manuscripts and he’d been gratifyingly impressed. His manners were impeccable, his conversation delightful, and when his fingers brushed hers, fire forged by the fae themselves had blazed through her.
But neither Isolde nor Freyja had seen or heard any news about him, and it appeared he had vanished as completely as mountain mist on a fine summer’s morn.
If only she could forget about him as easily as he, quite obviously, had forgotten about her. And yet the sad truth remained. If Hugh Campbell arrived on Eigg this day and asked for her hand, she’d gladly accept.
Shaking her head at her folly, she left the castle and took the pathacross the bracken moorlands to the beach, as Ecne followed his nose into every nook and cranny he could find. The sound of the sea lapping onto the sand soothed her and she breathed in deep, the salty air a familiar balm to her soul.
And then she saw her grandmother walking along the shore towards her.
What was Amma doing out so early? She usually liked to see to the affairs of the castle first thing, and a flicker of unease stirred. Was something amiss?
She hurried over to her and Amma took her hand. She seemed perfectly fine and smiled, and Roisin’s fears faded.
“Ye’re up early this morn,” Amma said, before she glanced at her serving woman, who immediately took a few steps back, along with Amma’s personal guard, so she and her grandmother could enjoy some privacy. “Are ye all right?”
“I was about to ask the same of ye.” They linked arms and continued along the beach, as Ecne darted into the gently lapping waves beside them.
“I had strange dreams and needed to clear my mind.”
Roisin glanced at her. It was uncanny how often she and her grandmother seemed to experience strange dreams or inexplicable feelings at the same time as each other. She also knew neither of her sisters had any idea about Amma’s less practical side. Lady Helga was a force to be reckoned with among the people of the Western Isles, and her reputation would suffer if a whisper emerged that she’d inherited more than Sgur Castle from their formidable foremothers.
They didn’t even discuss it between themselves. It was simply something she’d become aware of over the years and, truth be told, the unspoken understanding was more real to her than their revered Deep Knowing ever had been.
“What did ye dream?” She hoped she sounded casual. And she dearly hoped Amma hadn’t dreamed of Roisin in the Highlands.
Amma sighed and they came to a halt as her grandmother gazed out to sea. The only sounds that filled the air were the call of the gulls and the waves breaking on the beach, but in her mind’s eye all she saw were the unfamiliar mountains and glens that had pervaded her dreams.
