“What do you mean, a woman like me? You mean a woman who moved halfway around the world? Who can perfectly take care of herself? Who—”
“I said no,” he cut her off, knowing that no explanation would be good enough for her.
She glowered at him and rightly so.
“You say no? I told you Callum, I am finished having a man tell me what I can and cannot do — even if he thinks it’s for my own good. Thank you for the fun. I’m happy to have provided you some amusement.”
Victoria stalked over to the rock where she’d left her clothes in the sun. It hadn’t been long and he knew they must still be wet, but she was a stubborn thing, and began to redress under the blanket as he stood watching, fighting an internal war between going to her and making her his forever, and turning around, leaving her here, where she would be better off without him. Her fingers shook with anger as she dressed, but she finally threw off the blanket and adjusted her clothing before untying Star and leading her away without a backward glance toward Callum.
“Victoria,” Callum said imploringly, walking after her, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He didn’t want her to go, and yet he also didn’t know how to make her stay… or whether or not he should.
“No,” she said, turning and putting a hand out to stop him. “Stay here. I’m going back to the road, and it would not be seemly for us to be seen walking out of here together.”
She turned and took off briskly for the road, leaving him behind.
Callum had been on his own since he had arrived — but never had he felt so alone.
19
Victoria ran into the house, so eager to get to her bedroom before Aunt Sarah could guess that anything was wrong, that she crashed into the bottom bannister. She fell backwards but still managed to resume her footing and make it up the stairs before she caught Sarah’s attention.
She sat on her bed for a moment or two, hoping that Sarah hadn’t heard her as she would quite like to be alone.
“Victoria, is that you?” Sarah eventually called up the stairs. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, Aunt Sarah, I simply... I’m not feeling well,” said Victoria, poking her head out the door. “I’ll be a bit late to the clinic today.”
“Let me come in and have a look at you. It sounds as though you fell — did you?”
“No, no, that’s fine. I’m fine. I just need to lie down. I’m a touch tired, is all.”
“All right then. Come find me if you need anything. Stay and get some rest if you’d prefer. I’ve left bread out for you, make sure you eat.”
“Thank you!”
Victoria firmly shut the door and fell down face first on the bed. She tried to keep her tears in, but they started to fall, stemming from all of her pent-up emotions. She was angry, she was frustrated, and more than anything, she was just plain sad that she had finally found a man who she could actually stand to be around for more than five minutes, and he was either not interested, or at the very least made excuses for not letting her get close to him due to ridiculous reasons that certainly were not as insurmountable as he made them out to be.
Although, perhaps it wasn’t quite as ridiculous as she thought, but still, if he truly wanted her, they could find a way to be together — she just knew it.
Victoria wasn’t sure how long she lay there, tears falling from her eyes, but when they finally began to ebb, she felt oddly cleansed and renewed in a sense.
Pull yourself together, Victoria, and find some use for yourself.
She hated letting her emotions get the best of her, especially when there was not much she could actually do to improve her situation. So Callum didn’t want her — at least, not like that. She wasn’t sure what had so repulsed him once they began to kiss, but clearly he had drawn back away from her with the knowledge that she wanted him more than he did her.
The fact was, Victoria felt that she had failed him somehow, in allowing her own needs and emotions to mask her judgement as she tried to determine how best to aid him in his quest. All she had managed to do was distract him from what truly mattered.
Well, she would tamp down her apparently unrequited feelings for Callum, but she could still help his cousin. She was certainly an advocate for justice and would do what she could. A distraction would also be of use to her at the moment.
She figured a good start might be Charlie. As owner of the general store, he knew everyone in town and everything about them.
Victoria gathered herself together, splashed water on her face, and headed out the door.
* * *
Victoria approached the general store and pushed open the door. Instantly, she spotted the burly man tidying behind the counter.
“Charlie?”
“Victoria! What a nice surprise,” he said with his typical wide grin. “Your aunt stopped in before heading to the clinic and said you weren’t well. How are you finding the adjustment? I remember the first months here. It’s a shock at first, but eventually it will come to feel like home.”
“Oh, I … yes, it is quite different,” she admitted. “But it truly is already beginning to seem like home to me. I do hope Aunt Sarah does not think I’m ungrateful. I really, truly am thankful for all she’s done. I’m not sure what you know about my journey here and the reasons why but—”
“Ah, lass, no need to discuss that here. But you’re in good hands and in a good place.”
Victoria smiled at him. “Charlie … you care for Sarah, do you not?”
“Of course I do,” he said with a chuckle that was almost bashful. “She knows, I know, you know — I’m sure the whole town does.” He sighed. “But it must flow both ways, Victoria, in order to move forward.”
That was a concept Victoria had recently become more than familiar with. In this case, however, her romantic heart saw no barriers.
“I believe, Charlie, that she feels the same,” said Victoria carefully. “She just needs time. She truly did love Uncle Albert, and she must come to realize that he would want her to be happy again with someone else.”
“You’re wise for your age, lass.”
Victoria blushed.
“No, I just know Aunt Sarah. Anyway, Charlie, I was just wondering, what could you tell me about the three Hudson’s Bay men who live at the Johnson Inn?”
Charlie’s usual uplifted face turned into a frown. “The Scots and the Englishman? Why would you be wantin’ to know about them? I would suggest you stay away from men around the town when you’re on your own.”
“Well the one — the good-looking one, Chester, I think his name is — he called and asked me to go walking with him, and I wanted to know more about him first.”
It wasn’t a lie — he had come around, but Victoria had initially declined his offer, unable to think of spending time with anyone but Callum. Perhaps she should take him up on it, and learn more about him.
“Smart of you to ask. Chester’s not a bad sort. Friendly. Comes in from time to time to talk about home and buy chocolate. His problem is the amount of time he spends with the other one, Brandon. The two of them together… well, I’d steer clear.”
“You do not like Brandon?”
Charlie shrugged. “He’s never wronged me, mind you. I get this feeling that something’s not quite right. Those two and the old man, Alistair, they were better off trapping and tradin.’ They’re the type that belong in the forest, on their own, away from others, you know what I mean?”
“I think so.”
“And the way they sneak around at night — I just hope they’re leaving the town girls alone. There’s a lot of good folk here who don’t deserve the likes of them messing around with their daughters.”
Victoria attempted to downplay her intrigue at his information. “How do you know they sneak around?”
“I have trouble sleeping. I’ve seen them through my window, after midnight, heading out to the stables in the back. Not much good to be doing out at that time of night.”
�
�How… interesting. Well, thank you for the talk, Charlie. I’ll see what I can do about my aunt, I promise.”
“Ah, don’t overly worry about me. Just take care of yourself, lass. Remember, your only time with men should be in the daylight, and never alone. Here, have some sweets to go.”
Victoria missed catching the bag he tossed at her, and after crouching to pick it up off the floor, as she stood, she nearly collided with a harried mother who was tugging her child along behind her.
“Archie, come! We are almost done.”
“Maisie!” Victoria exclaimed.
“Oh, Victoria!” Maisie let go of Archie’s hand and enveloped her friend in a hug on the threshold of the shop. They moved out of the way of passersby and outside into the sun. “How wonderful to see you. We were going to stop in but Archie is not being a good boy today. Are you, Archie?”
Victoria took in her friend’s disheveled appearance, including her flushed cheeks, askew bonnet, and mismatched shoes. Archie, similarly, had on a frightening combination of pants, vest, and jacket, all in different hues.
“How have you been?” she asked, her lips twitching as she tried to hold back her smile.
“Oh fine,” said Maisie with a wave of her hand. “It’s just… not quite what I thought. The farmhouse is half done, so we have one room to live in, and we only have one cow and one chicken, so all we have is milk and eggs. We could really use a bull and a rooster, but we just don’t have the means right now.”
“And how is being reunited with Gilbert?”
“It’s nice, it’s just, with the one room, we do not really have…” Maisie leaned in close and whispered in Victoria’s ear, “time alone, do you know what I mean?”
“I think I do,” said Victoria, now allowing the smile to spread across her face.
“But it’s fine. It is wonderful to be back together as a family and for Archie to have his father with him again.”
“How about this,” said Victoria. “Why do you not leave Archie with me tonight? Archie and I are friends and I’m sure Aunt Sarah will love him. You can come back tomorrow to pick him up after a night of just you and your husband. It will be fun — for all of us.”
“Well, I think that would work just fine!” said Maisie exuberantly, her entire countenance changing. “I shall bring him by in an hour!”
Victoria laughed at Maisie’s quick acceptance and consigned herself to a day away from her search. If there was ever a distraction required, Archie was the answer.
Maisie rushed into the store, forgetting all about her child, who stood on the step and looked up at Victoria with the seemingly innocent expression he always wore — though she knew far better. He smiled when Victoria slipped him a sweet and gave him a wink. “She’ll be back.” Sure enough, ten seconds later the door slammed open. “Archie, there you are!” Maisie grabbed his hand. “I shall see you soon, Victoria!”
Victoria smiled to herself as she walked down the steps. She was really starting to like this town.
20
The timing of Callum’s arrival at the boarding house was fortuitous, for it seemed the only person presently within was Mrs. Johnson. The rest were out working, and even Mr. Johnson was at his usual haunt, the diner down the street. He claimed he could only eat so much of his wife’s cooking, but Callum figured it was more the whiskey behind the bar that drew Mr. Johnson, though he certainly wasn’t sharing that thought with Mrs. Johnson.
“Would you like anything, dear?” she asked.
“No, thank you,” he replied. “But when the others come back, would you call me? I would join them for dinner.”
And her approach up the stairs would be a warning sign.
“Of course,” she replied.
Callum took a breath to cool himself down from the ride in the warming afternoon sun as well as his encounter with Victoria. The woman was… well she was too much. Too beautiful, too fiery, too caring, too— close. She was getting too close. He had no idea how he was going to leave her when he returned to Scotland, but leave her he must.
Even now, thoughts of her made his blood race hot through his veins. Never in his life had he seen anything quite as enticing as when the sun had glinted off her dark, wet, chestnut hair, which had floated about her bare shoulders, showing bits of creamy skin between the tangled strands. The image of her in a blanket took his mind to another place. He could picture her lying in his bed, blankets rustled around her, her body covered with his.
Huffing a breath to ease his frustration, he set the notion aside and searched through his bag for his small toolkit before heading down the hall to the first bedroom — Chester’s. It didn’t take him long to turn the lock. The room was as bare as Callum’s own, despite how much longer the man had lived here. The bed and nightstand were pushed against the wall, and when Callum quickly searched the dresser he found nothing but a few items of clothing, neatly folded. Ensuring there would be no trace of his search left behind, Callum locked the door and continued.
Alistair’s room was far less tidy. An organized clutter would be the appropriate term, with boots in various corners of the room and clothing hanging on the bedposts and wash basin. The room was accented by the tartan draped over the bedding, and overall there was the air of someone who had lived here for some time. But it similarly gave up no secrets.
Brandon’s room was an altogether different story. Boots and clothing were strewn around the room as though it had already been ransacked. Soiled sheets lined the unmade bed, and there was bits of paper and items throughout the room. Callum grimaced, then meticulously looked through clothing, boots, and dresser drawers.
He finally came upon a piece of paper, upon which was scrawled, G.C. 15:00 Lebret.
G.C. — Gregor Campbell? He hoped so. Lebret wasn’t far. Was there something there? Finally, he thought, relief overcoming him, he had a clue or, if nothing else, some direction on what he was supposed to do next.
“Mr. McDougall!” Mrs. Johnson’s voice called up the stairs. “Dinner is ready!”
Callum quickly slipped out the door, closing it softly behind him.
“Coming!”
* * *
The meal was a fairly silent affair. It was still the six of them staying at the boarding house, with the two additional rooms unoccupied at present. Brandon was his usual self, sullenly shoving food into his mouth. Alistair and Chester seemed more downcast than usual, but were still polite to Callum. Daniel and Nathan seemed pleased, as always, to make small talk.
“Have you found any land yet?” Daniel asked, as he always did.
“No, not quite yet. Still looking,” Callum responded, attempting to temper his annoyance at being asked the same question every evening.
“We can help ye,” Alistair surprisingly offered tonight. “Hudson’s Bay has some beautiful plots and we’ve seen most of them.”
“Perhaps one of these days I will take you up on your offer,” Callum replied, considering that it would be the ideal way to learn more of these men. “I have certainly enjoyed getting to know the town and its people.” He paused, wondering if he should continue with his questioning, but then decided no harm could come from it. He hoped his words would sound nonchalant. “You know, I learned something interesting today, about the man who used to live in my room.”
“Oh?” said Alistair as Chester’s eye twitched and Brandon’s fingers began drumming the table.
“Apparently he went missing. He also worked for Hudson’s Bay and one day he just up and disappeared. Did ye know him?”
“We met him a few times of course,” said Chester with a forced smile. “Nice guy. Eager. Too bad about him.”
“Too bad?”
“Oh, I just mean, too bad it didn’t work out for him here. They liked him at the Company. He could have gone far. He must have found something better.”
Frustrated, Callum could not think of a plausible explanation to continue his line of questioning. He had to find out more without arousing their suspicions. What was i
t they had been saying the other night outside of the barn? He should have paid more attention to Victoria earlier. To her words, that is.
“It was a strange thing,” Nathan chimed in, finally offering some information of value. “He was here with us on an evening like this, talking about how much he loved the place and that he was looking for land, like you are, McDougall, and we were ourselves. Then the next day he was gone. Never said goodbye, never cleaned his room out. We have not seen or heard a trace of him since. I always wondered—”
“Well, we are heading back out, to find ourselves a drink,” said Alistair, cutting the conversation off. “Evenin’, Mr. McDougall.”
They put on their hats and walked out the door in a hurry.
It took everything within Callum not to follow them out.
* * *
“Archie, no!”
Victoria raced across the kitchen as fast as she could, but she wasn’t quick enough. The bag had already tipped off the shelf. By the time she reached it, half the powdered ground wheat had spilled, covering Archie, the floor, and now her.
“Oh Archie, why did you have to do that?”
“Snow!” he cried and scooped up handfuls of the wheat and tossed it in the air.
Victoria sighed. She now knew why Maisie was so tired and desperate for time alone with Gilbert. As adorable as Archie was, he was a menace. The two-year-old was so tiny, but he had somehow managed to open every cupboard door, find every hiding place, and grab onto every object that was forbidden. He laughed at the word “no.”
Victoria was exhausted, and Archie had only been in her care for two hours, with an entire evening stretching out in front of them. Sarah had come home for a moment an hour before. She took one look at the house and told Victoria she had to return to the clinic.
Callum’s Vow: The Victorian Highlanders Page 13