She glanced thoughtfully out the window. She could just barely make out the shape of Rob’s cabin up the hill in the distance. There was a faint light visible in one window.
It has been four years now I have spent without my sister. I think of her constantly, and hope she knows her son is being loved and cared for. If my Dear Sarah had only known what she was setting in motion when she went into that cave, fleeing from the Shawnee…
Cam lay before the fire, wrapped in the thick MacFarlane plaid, comfortably nestled in Rob’s arms. She could feel his heart beating and snuggled in closer to his bare chest. She felt herself begin to doze off. He mumbled something to her.
“Hm?” she asked, blinking her eyes.
“What made ye decide? To come back here, I mean?” he asked softly.
“Well, I do love you, you know,” she said bluntly.
“Aye, but something must have made ye come back,” Rob whispered into her hair. “What made ye leave behind your flyin’ ships, and your lights that come on with a flick of a button?”
Cam thought for a moment. “I couldn’t imagine life without you. Not there, not anywhere. I had to come,” she said simply. “Do you know what I mean?”
He stared at her, the small scar under his eye catching the firelight. “Aye, I believe that I do. When I was on that prison ship, it didna matter to me that they were going to hang me, because ye were gone. I didna particularly care if I lived or not.” He kissed the inside of her wrist gently, his fingers stroking the silver band on her finger. “Twas a fine wedding today, aye?”
“Mm. I like Morag, although she seems a bit young for Angus.”
“Well, the man’s sore in need of a wife, ye ken. Besides, she’s young and hearty, and with the hips on her, she’ll be a good breeder.”
She swatted him with a pillow playfully. “A good breeder? What is she, a horse?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “Have ye ever taken a look at Morag Kerr?”
“Oh, stop it!” she laughed.
“I only meant that she’ll be havin’ bairns with him before long, that’s all.” He was silent for a while. “D’ye think we will? Someday, perhaps?” he asked softly.
She leaned up on her elbows and stared at him. “Would you like to, then?”
Rob fingered the frayed edges of the MacFarlane plaid. “Aye. I’d like to have a son, maybe.”
“All men want sons,” she giggled. “What’s wrong with daughters?”
“Nothing at all,” he replied, grinning, “but I’d like a son so I can name him for my da. I wouldna think a lass would be fond of being called Alexander, do you?”
“Good point,” she admitted.
“So,” he continued, tracing soft circles along her skin that made it leap out in fiery gooseflesh, “d’ye think we shall, some day?”
Cam smiled and gently took his hand from its intended course, and moved it down to her still-flat stomach. She had suspected for a few weeks or so, but had kept it to herself until she was certain. “I think we will very soon, as a matter of fact.”
His eyes widened. “Oh?”
She nodded. “Aye.”
Rob shifted slightly, his hand resting gently atop her, and kissed her again and again. She responded eagerly and completely, hoping – knowing -- he would never stop.
Forever, or not at all.
“Mam?” piped a small voice.
Mollie blinked. She had fallen asleep at her desk as she wrote in her journal. Little Sarah was standing in the door to the bedroom that she shared with her brothers.
“Oh, wee one, ‘tis late. Get ye back to bed, then,” whispered Mollie with a smile.
Sarah stuck out her bottom lip, and frowned. “Can’t sleep.”
“Oh, well, then, lass, come here and sit wi’ your mam. That’s a good girl, up ye go.” Mollie lifted the toddler easily onto her lap, and wrapped a blanket around the two of them. They rocked slowly, as the remains of the fire died away.
“Tory,” murmured Sarah.
“Oh, a story?” whispered Mollie. “Havena you had enough stories for one night?”
“No.” The lip stuck out a bit further.
“All right, then,” said Mollie, burying her face in the thick pale hair so like her own. “A long, long time ago, there was a beautiful faerie lass, with snow-white hair like yours and mine, who disappeared one day.” Mollie rocked the chair steadily. “Her family searched for her, but they never found a single trace of her. Then one day, a kind-hearted lady came to the family, and she said I know where your sister is, and I am sorry to say she is in the faerie world, and she will not be coming back to you. The family was very sad, but they were glad to know the sister was in the faerie world, for ‘tis a happy place,” she sighed.
She glanced up, and saw Ian standing in the doorway. She placed her finger to her lips, and smiled.
“So the good lady stayed with the faerie family, and one day a fine black-haired selkie came home from the sea, and he fell in love with the lady. But a bad king wanted the lady for himself, you see. He tried to kill the selkie, but the selkie escaped back to the ocean. The good lady thought that her selkie had died, and so she went back home.
“A witch came to the lady, then, and told her that her selkie was alive, and in the prison of the evil king. The good lady hunted high and low for her selkie, and when she found him she freed him from his prison, and the brave and strong selkie killed the wicked king. Then they went back, together, to the land of the faeries, who were all very surprised to see them, and at last the lady married her handsome, strong selkie.”
Mollie glanced down. Sarah was fast asleep, her lip still protruding slightly, one finger stuck casually in her ear.
Ian came forward, then, and took his baby daughter gently. “And?” he said softly.
“And what?” Mollie frowned.
“Were they happy for all of their days?”
She glanced out the window, and saw that the window in the cabin on the hill was now dark. “Aye,” she said quietly, a slow smile creeping across her face. “I believe they were, at that. I believe they were.”
The End
Author’s Note
Although Haver Springs is a fictional town, the town of Bedford is real. It was incorporated as a town in 1789, and was known as Liberty at the time. There had been settlers there for quite some time before that, who arrived there in the early 1700’s, including my own ancestors. Roanoke was known as Big Lick when it was settled in the 1740’s, named for its salt licks. It did not officially become Roanoke until the 1880’s. Fort Wyndham is fictitious; Ringwood and Morristown are not. Anyone who visits Ringwood can still see a replica of the Marine Chevaux de Frise on display at the home of Mr. Robert Erskine.
Contrary to popular belief, not every colonist was in favor of the American Revolution, and many hovered on the fence between the two sides. A series of ugly incidents, including the one described by Mollie involving Captain Mowat, managed to turn the public opinion in favor of revolt.
In the decades following the Jacobite Rising and the Battle of Culloden, thousands of Scottish families settled in the American Colonies. Their descendants still live today in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. While the MacFarlanes and the Duncans in this story are fictional, they are representative of several generations of immigrants.
The song sung at the ceilidh by Morag Kerr is a traditional Appalachian mountain air. Following the mass migrations of the 1700’s, the Scottish and Irish immigrants who came to settle in the Appalachian Mountains brought with them the simple traditions of music and storytelling which reflected their roots.
About the Author
Patti Wigington began writing at the age of seven. Since then, she's grown up (a little) and published a couple of books, a whole bunch of random articles, some short stories, and some other really cool stuff.
More by Patti Wigington
Summer’s Ashes
The Scandalous Miss Lydia Bennett
Call of the Clan
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