Whatever he might once have been, now he is nothing more than a hired servant.
That was a much better thought. She was accustomed to dealing with servants.
‘Will you tell me now just exactly where we are going?’ he asked her.
‘I am paying you to take me to Glen Muick, Mr Rathmore. What more do you need to know?’
‘It would be helpful to know the name of the house and the family you are to meet there. I did not press you for the information before, I quite understand that you would not want to say too much at the inn, but now we are alone I think you should tell me.’
Damn him, he sounded so reasonable.
‘My father has instructed me to go to the Lochalls in Glen Muick.’
‘Jacobites?’
She bit her lip. ‘He does not say as much, but it may well be so.’
‘You still have his letter?’
‘No. He instructed me to burn it once I had read the contents.’
‘Which suggests it might incriminate you if you are stopped by government soldiers. Hell and damnation, what was the man thinking of, sending you such a way?’
‘That is not your concern,’ she retorted.
‘It very much is my concern if I am to keep you safe! Well, there is no help for it now. We must press on.’
Maddie glared at him, wanting very much to tell him to go to the devil, but the truth was she needed his help, so she kicked her little pony into a trot and went on ahead in what she hoped was a dignified silence.
They had not gone far when Grant caught up with her.
‘If you have finished sulking, we need to cross the river here, where it is shallow.’
She thought it best to ignore the first part of his speech.
She slowed her pony. ‘The road is on this side of the water, Mr Rathmore, and it is the route we will take. I am assured that by going this way, we can reach the crossing at Dinnet by nightfall.’
‘The landlord told me of a lesser-known trail. It is a little longer, but it will be safer.’
‘But it is not the route that I was advised to take.’
‘And I am telling you ’tis the one you should use if you want to avoid trouble.’
She put up her chin. ‘Then why did the landlord not tell me of it yesterday, when I told him where I was going?’
‘He directed you to the next change house at Dinnet, I suppose? Yes, of course. He could scarcely do anything else for a lady travelling with only her maid for escort. But, trust me, we will be much safer if we head east rather than take the route he described to you.’
She said stubbornly, ‘Then why did he not say as much to me? I am perfectly capable of following directions.’
He gave her a look that showed plainly he doubted it and her temper rose.
‘This is also the route my friends in Inverness described to me and I believe we should follow it. I am informed that it avoids those roads most used by the military.’
‘In normal times, perhaps, but since the last battle, government troops are everywhere and especially the glens to the west of here. The area will be crawling with soldiers.’ He gave a sigh of exasperation. ‘By heaven, madam, did your encounter yesterday not teach you anything?’
‘Yes!’ she retorted. ‘It taught me not to trust anyone!’ His mouth tightened and she was suddenly stricken with guilt. She hurried on. ‘I beg your pardon. You came to my aid yesterday when you did not need to do so and I am truly grateful for that.’
‘You have a strange way of showing it, madam!’
Maddie pressed her lips together. He was angry, she could understand that, but trusted friends had advised her to take this route. For all his chivalrous actions towards her yesterday and his handsome good looks, Grant Rathmore was a stranger. She narrowed her eyes to regard him. It was a look guaranteed to quell upstart servants and she was taken aback when he laughed suddenly.
‘You would very much like to tell me to go to the devil, would you not? I confess I would like to do the same to you! I do not know when I have ever met such a stubborn lass or one so determined to have her own way. But you hired me to escort you and I cannot, will not, allow you to ride into danger.’
Still she hesitated and after a moment he exhaled, looking up at the sky before turning to address her again.
‘You are not in Inverness now, Miss d’Evremont. You are a stranger to this country, but I am a Highlander. I understand this land and its people. I know how best to keep you safe. Trust me in this.’
Could she trust him? Madeleine looked into his eyes. Instinct said she could do so, but the events of the past few days had unsettled her and her head urged caution. True, he had saved her honour, perhaps even her life, but she knew nothing of him. Yet what choice did she have, other than to turn him off and proceed alone?
‘Very well, sir. We will try your way.’
She would go with him, but she would be on her guard and take note of the route, that she might turn back if necessary.
* * *
They set off again, crossing the burn to follow a faint track that took them up and through the hills. They passed an abandoned village, the houses burned-out shells and the fields scorched and blackened. Madeleine drew rein and stopped.
‘Mon Dieu, what has happened here?’
‘British soldiers. They are supposedly looking for rebels, but they slaughter the men indiscriminately, throw the women and children out of their homes, torch the houses and burn the crops.’
She looked about her in horror. ‘I cannot believe they can be so...so merciless.’
‘No? I have seen it. I have seen how they take pleasure in their vicious deeds. The army is laying waste to my homeland and the British government condones it.’
He was looking at her, his eyes blazing with such cold fury that she recoiled and looked away.
‘It is barbaric,’ she muttered. ‘I had no idea.’
‘It is war, mademoiselle. Cumberland wishes to be rid of the rebellious Highlanders once and for all.’
He sighed and she felt the tension around them lessen, but his anger and pain were almost tangible. She was emboldened to reach out to him.
‘I am so very sorry.’
The words were woefully inadequate. She watched him as he stared at her hand resting on his sleeve, wishing there was more she could do, more she could say to comfort him. At last he raised his head and his face was shuttered, blank. He would not accept her sympathy.
‘We should get on,’ he said. ‘We have a long journey ahead of us.’
* * *
They set off again, moving higher into the hills and as the land became more barren Madeleine gazed around her with growing anxiety. Apart from the occasional bird of prey wheeling high overhead she saw no signs of life. Below them were empty valleys while bare, craggy mountains towered above. At last she was moved to speak.
‘Are you sure you know where you are going, Mr Rathmore?’
‘If you mean have I travelled this way before, ma’am, then, no, but we are heading in a southerly direction, which is what is required.’
‘But it could take us miles out of our way!’
‘The army will be patrolling the main routes, the drovers’ trails, so we are safer keeping to the mountains.’ He threw her a glance. ‘Your experience of Alpine bandits may prove useful.’
‘Pray do not tease me.’
‘I am not teasing. Many poor souls fleeing from that last bloody battle dared not return to their homes and they have taken to living in the hills. However, they should not trouble us.’
‘Because you are one of them,’ she guessed shrewdly. ‘Are you, too, fleeing from Culloden?’
‘Aye, madam, I am.’
She waited, hoping he would say more, but when he did not, she found her curiosity was too strong to remain silent.
‘But you are not dressed as a soldier, or even a Highlander. You wear clothes more fitting for a clerk, or a gentleman’s gentleman.’
‘I came upon an inn shortly after the redcoats had called.’ His mouth twisted. ‘No one was alive there. These clothes were in one of the guest rooms.’
She gave a little gasp and he turned his head to look at her.
‘I did not remove them from a corpse, if that is your worry! Let us just say their owner had no more use for them.’ Maddie felt a little sick and she put a hand to her mouth. He said, roughly, ‘Would you rather I had not told you? I might have lied and said I bought them.’
‘No, thank you, I prefer the truth. I had heard tales, rumours, of the army’s brutality, but I assumed it was a few rogue troops. Even after my own experience I did not quite believe it.’
‘Then believe it now. The Scots are to be made to suffer the consequences of defying the government and, from what I have witnessed, vengeance is not confined to Jacobite supporters. The people have moved from their homes to hide out in the hills and moors. The soldiers are more wary of following them there for fear of attack.’
‘But it can be bitter here, even at this time of the year.’ Maddie shivered and pulled her cloak more tightly around her. ‘It is summer now, but how will they survive in winter?’
‘Many will perish, but they will take their chances with the weather rather than the soldiers.’
As if to prove his point, they soon found themselves enveloped in cloud. Maddie strained her eyes as she looked around, expecting at any moment to see the blur of redcoats appear through the mist. Even when they had crossed the hills and moved down to the tree-covered slopes there was no relief.
The dank weather dragged on her spirits and the path seemed never ending. Madeleine felt exhaustion creeping through her body as she followed Grant Rathmore through woodland where the lichen on the trees seemed to glow greeny-grey in the half-light. She was hungry and her aching bones screamed for rest. When he eventually came to a stand, she brought her pony alongside his.
‘The day must be very far advanced now, Mr Rathmore. We should—’
‘Hush!’
His urgent hiss silenced her. He was tense, alert and she felt the hairs rising on the back of her neck. She nudged her pony even closer, straining eyes and ears for the slightest sound.
Then she saw them. Shadows emerging and turning into solid shapes. Burly Highlanders, each one bristling with murderous-looking weapons.
* * *
Grant heard his companion’s sharp intake of breath as the figures emerged out of the mist.
‘What’s your business here?’ One of the men stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his broadsword. He was a large fellow and looked older than the rest, possibly the leader, Grant decided.
‘Peace, my friend, we are merely travellers, trying to avoid the redcoats.’ He took a chance and added, ‘As are you, I suspect.’
‘Who are ye and what d’ye want?’ demanded the man again.
‘I am called Grant Rathmore.’
‘Rathmore, did ye say?’ Another man stepped forward. ‘There was a soldier o’ that name at Fort Augustus, after the battle.’
‘Aye, that was me.’
‘Let’s have a look at ye.’
Grant took off his hat and looked down as the fellow stepped closer to peer at him.
He said, ‘I left, as you did, when the Prince told us it was every man for himself.’
The man looked him up and down. ‘Ye look mighty different now.’
‘Aye, well, I have been shifting for myself since I left there. I thought I’d be safer without the beard. And if I wasn’t wearing the plaid.’ Grant noted their attention had shifted to his companion and added, ‘This lady is travelling under my protection.’
The older man’s shaggy brows rose. ‘Is she now?’
‘Aye.’ Grant looked the speaker in the eye and moved one hand to his own sword. ‘She has had a taste of English manners. I assured her Highlanders do not behave like such savages.’
‘Indeed, we do not.’ The fellow spat on the floor before looking up again. ‘So, what are your plans, where do ye stay tonight?’
‘Under the stars, if we cannot find someone to give us shelter.’
‘Ye’ll no’ find habitation before nightfall. You and the lass are welcome to eat with us at our shelter and to rest there the night.’
Grant glanced across at the lady. She looked calm enough, but her face was unreadable.
He nodded. ‘Aye, we’ll sup with you and gladly. Lead on, man!’
CHAPTER THREE
Madeleine did not understand a word and she could only guess from their movements and the tone of the conversation that her escort had managed to allay their suspicions. The look he had given her was reassuring and when they set off again, she kept her pony alongside his so that she might speak to him.
‘Well, Grant Rathmore, who are they, what is happening?’
For a moment he looked nonplussed, then he laughed.
‘I beg your pardon; we were speaking the Gaelic and I had not realised!’
‘I have noticed it with other Scots,’ she said. ‘They slip easily between languages.’
‘Aye, I suppose we do. But to answer your questions, we have been invited to dine with them. As to who they are, my guess is they are fugitives, like myself.’
‘Jacobite soldiers.’
He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. ‘You would like to ask me if we will be safe with such outlaws, would you not? I hope we shall be.’
One of the Highlanders had dropped back and now he turned and waited until the riders caught up with him.
‘Ye’ve no need to be afeared of us, my lady,’ he addressed Maddie in a heavy brogue. ‘When Angus Gillies issues an invitation, we all abide by it.’
‘Thank you.’ She smiled at him. ‘What is your name?’
He touched his cap. ‘Dougal Hepburn, madam. Late of Colonel Anne’s regiment. So ye see, we have great respect for the ladies.’
‘Lady Anne Mackintosh,’ explained Grant, seeing her bemused look. ‘She raised a regiment for the Prince, despite her husband being a Government officer.’
The Highlander grinned. ‘Aye, a fine grand lady she is, Lord bless her!’
He turned away, quickening his pace to catch up with his companions and leaving Grant and Maddie to follow on.
‘Is your mind easier now?’ he asked her, smiling.
‘A little. Although I am not sure I shall ever be completely easy again.’
‘War is a terrible business. My father knew it. He tried to discourage me, when word went out that the Prince was in Scotland and raising an army.’
She heard the sombre note in his voice. How old would he have been a year ago, when he marched off so eagerly to follow Charles Stuart, two-or three-and-twenty? He could not be many years her senior, but the lines around his eyes and mouth hinted at hardship and made him look older, as did the air of world-weariness that hung about him.
‘But you would not heed his advice. I believe it is often so, with young men and their fathers.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I was two-and-twenty. Not so young, just damned foolish.’ He glanced up. ‘It grows dark. I hope we shall reach our destination before too long.’
He had changed the subject and Maddie accepted it with an inward shrug. She had paid him to escort her to Glen Muick, nothing more. And she was not sure she wanted to know too much about this man.
* * *
They followed the Highlanders through a murky twilight and Madeleine had to concentrate to keep her pony from stumbling on the rough terrain as the track wound upwards along the side of a steep hill. She was about to ask how much further they must go when she noticed that the men at the front of the group had disappeared. A few yards more and she saw
the dark, yawning mouth of a cave ahead. The leader, Angus Gillies, waited for them to come up to him.
‘Ye are welcome to our abode, such as it is.’ He spoke in English, his brogue thick but understandable to Madeleine. ‘Come ye in. Dougal will look after your ponies. Dinnae worry, they’ll be safe enough and ready for ye to be on your way in the morning.’
* * *
Madeleine was so tired even the sparse amenities of a bare cave were a welcome respite from riding. Her vision soon adjusted to the dark interior as she and Grant were escorted inside and they found themselves in a long, twisting tunnel. There was a faint smell of smoke and her eyes detected a glow ahead of them that had not been visible from the entrance.
A few more yards and they were in a large, cavernous space illuminated by rush lamps and the flames of a cheerful fire. Smoke curled around a large pot suspended on a trivet over the flames and moved on upwards until it disappeared into the darkness above. Two women were tending the fire and they looked up briefly as everyone came in.
Maddie could not understand what Angus Gilles said to the women, but it seemed to satisfy them, for they returned to their cooking and paid no more heed to the newcomers.
‘All the comforts of home,’ remarked Grant.
‘Aye, well, we have no home but this, now,’ retorted Angus.
* * *
The rest of the evening passed in a blur to Madeleine. A welcome meal of venison was served up by the women, who refused her offers to help them and waved her back to her seat on a rocky ledge beside Grant. She tried to listen to the conversation, but it was mostly in Gaelic and apart from the odd word she could not understand it. She grew sleepy and drifted off, waking up some time later to find her head resting on Grant’s shoulder.
She sat up quickly. ‘Oh, I beg your pardon.’
‘No need.’ He put his arm about her and pulled her close again. ‘Rest now, while you can.’
She was too tired to argue and sank back against him, dozing until they were shown to a corner where there was a covering of bracken and heather on the floor. It was clear they were expected to share the makeshift bed, but before Madeleine could say anything Grant spoke.
Harlequin Historical May 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 3