by Cat Knight
It was Fiona who controlled her movements, the way she thought, even the way she looked. No matter. Nothing matters. Without Lachlan, I am lost. Blair tried to correct herself.
Callum, without Callum. Blair fought to hold on, but utter hopelessness robbed her soul. ‘Lachlan, can ye hear me? Wait for me, I’ll be but a wee minute.’
The dirt sifted up between Blair’s toes and the wind whipped her hair around her face, she could barely see. Howling winds echoed between the hills as dusk began to settle around. In the recesses of her mind Blair knew her feet were bare and wondered at her strange behaviour, yet at the same time – she’d never owned shoes, had she? And didn’t her feet tread easily over the rocky terrain? The path down by the cottages seemed more familiar than usual.
A large vegetable patch grew to the side; she had planted that with her Ma last spring. It was withered now, past its prime, but some cabbage stalks grew tall, their seed long since blown in the winds. The cottage was desolate, absent the chatter it used to hold. She thought to touch it to glean some of the love that used to dwell here, but the cottage with its empty windows and cold stone was only a glaring blackness that ate her soul. Lachlan, I’m coming. The coach house was just up ahead. The door was already open. Blair’s eyes fell to the carriage. It held the Wallace crest, pressed in gold inscribed on shining black doors. The coverings were a soft maroon. The old farm cart stood to the left of it. She and Lachlan had ridden in that old cart, on market days. Blair kept walking past old horse drawn farm machinery. Purposefully she moved through to the stables.
The fragrance of well-oiled leathers and sweet fresh hay mingled with the sweat of the horses. Their soft snorts and stomping gave her strange comfort. Once inside Blair headed instinctively to the far wall where a thick row of tack hung. Selecting exactly what she needed, Blair climbed the ladder to the loft; peaceful, resolute, knowing it would only be a moment before she was safe. Taking one end of the rope she tied a small loop and threaded some cord through to make a noose. Pulling it over her neck she removed her hair to the outside and knotted the loose end securely to a beam, by the edge of the loft. The time had come and now all that was needed was to step out, over the edge, and she would be free; away from the pain and hurt. Lachlan would be waiting for her. Heavy boots crunched along the gravel alerting Blair to danger. The Laird was coming and there was urgency to his pace. He must not catch her; she must do it now before he can cut her down. Lachlan, I’m almost with yea, just a minute now. The sound of the boots stopped outside and rattled at the door. Blair stepped off the loft. The noose grabbed her neck and Blair bounced in the air. It burns. Gurgling noises came from her throat. Be quick rope. Her thoughts became confused and blessed blackness took her.
Chapter Thirteen
“Blair, OH GOD NO. NO. Blair.”
A voice called to her. It wasn’t Lachlan, but it was not the Laird. Struggling in the chasm between life and death, Blair found the will to fight. Light came flooding back, sound whooshed and air began entering Blair’s lungs. She was aware of being cradled on someone’s lap. Someone’s hands were stroking her head.
“It’s OK, it’s ok. Ye’re gonna be fine. ‘Thank ye, God’.”
Blair sunk into the comfort of the arms that held her and the relief of her emancipation engulfed her. Confused, she tried to think back, but her memories were hazy. Blair tried to speak but her hands rushed to her throat experiencing a burning sensation. Fiona and Lachlan flashed into her mind.
Alarm rushed through her and she sat straight up, taking in the length of rope hanging from the ceiling and the cut pieces around her on the floor.
“Callu…” She began to sob as the memories flooded back.
“It’s alright now. Ye’re safe. Let’s go back to the house”
Callum helped her to her feet but Blair was weak from shock. Her head spun and she clutched at him for support.
“I’ll take ye. Here, put yer arm around my neck.”
Callum swung her up into his arms and carried Blair the distance. She relaxed fully into his body, safe. Once inside, Callum placed her gently on the sofa of the hotel sitting room.
“Will ye be alright for a minute, Blair?” Blair nodded and watched him head in through hallway.
When he returned to her he carried two mugs of hot tea and a blanket. Blair hunkered down under the blanket, resting her head on a cushion and sipping at her tea. He had made it with honey and lemon and it soothed her bruised throat.
“Should I get the doctor?”
“No.” Blair croaked, “They’d think I was mental and probably admit me, at least for ‘observation’. I might never get out!” Callum smiled.
“Well, we won’t do that then.”
“Do you think I’m mental, Callum?”
“No, I don’t. I have to think myself mental as well if I did. I saw things that scared the hell out of me. I’ll keep yer secret, if yer’ll keep mine.” He brushed the hair back from her face.
The night air crept in and Callum lit the fire while Blair rested on the sofa. Flames flickered in the grate and the chill began to lift. He carried in the pie and some plates in from the kitchen, arranged the coffee table in front of the fire, and poured two stiff whiskeys. By the fires glow, and calming with the whiskey, Blair’s voice still trembled and almost disbelieving herself.
“I know – this is bizarre, and I wouldn’t blame you for not believing me. But it wasn’t me who wanted to die. It was the ghost of the girl Fiona. She took a hold of me and I lived her grief, Callum. I couldn’t stop her. I tried, but her pain was overwhelming and I had no choice. I saw you from the window and I saw the Laird attack you. Callum, he killed you.”
Blair stopped for a moment and wiped her eyes from the tears. “I tried to warn you but you couldn’t see me and after you died, I knew it was Lachlan - kicked to death by the Laird, and all Fiona wanted was to die with him. That’s how I came to be on the end of the rope.”
Tears ran down her face. Callum took her hand.
“The boy – the one ye call Lachlan – he saved ye Blair. I saw him, he told me where ye were.”
“Lachlan... what do you mean?”
“Ye weren’t the only one to see strange things tonight. Like I told ye, if they knew I’d be in the loony bin along with ye. I saw the young girl tonight, in the window of yer bedroom. A little slip of a thing with long black hair. It wasn’t ye Blair, she were only about thirteen or fourteen. I wondered who she was and why she was waving to me. Walking over to the house I had the strangest sensation. I kept going and going, but I couldn’t get there. It were like I were treading water, except it were air. When I finally made it, I went straight to yer room to find ye, or that girl that were there. I wanted to know what was going on. But ye weren’t there. When I came back down stairs a boy was waiting. He was only a kid. He’d been beaten. He says to me ‘Come quick, Sir, the Mistress, she’s in trouble’. So, I ran and followed him to the coach house.”
Callum’s voice all but disappeared. “And then I saw someone hanging. If he hadn’t told me where to find ye, Blair... the knot was tight... If I’d been a moment later ye’d be dead. I was scared to death I wouldn’t get it free from yer neck. I had to cut right through.”
He indicated to her neck and Blair touched a spot where his knife had nicked her skin.
“But when I first saw ye there it wasn’t ye that was hanging. It was the girl I’d seen in yer room. It were only when ye were on the ground, when I cut the cord off yer neck, I could clearly see it were ye.”
Blair reached out and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you.” She let go and pulled the pie up to cut and serve it. “At least I know I wasn’t just having wild dreams and going mad.” They were silent for a moment before Blair continued. “I need to bury them, let them rest now. I’ve barely slept in my room for days. I’ve been camping out downstairs a lot because... of everything. Fiona wanted me know how it happened. It was brutal though and her pain was so strong, she nearly took me
with her.”
“Would ye like me to stay?”
“I would. Let’s just grab cushions and blankets and make beds here by the fire. We can bring in extra cushions from the dining room.” A comfortable glow flickered through the room and Blair fell asleep on the sofa peacefully, while Callum slept on his bed of cushions by the fire.
Chapter Fourteen
“Oh. My. God. This is so gorgeous I can’t believe I missed this when we drove in before.”
Blair fixed her face to the car window before opening it up and snapping image after image of tremendous rolling hills punctuated now and again by rocky outcrops. They were making the drive back into Inverness. The morning sun topped the hills and outlined them in a living work of art. Reams of velvet green rolled down from rocky knolls to spread out into meadows at the foot.
“I expect ye were pre-occupied with other more pressing issues.”
Callum grinned as she stretched her head out from the window to get a better look. A large body of shimmering silver water came into sight, another beautiful Loch.
“Do ye know where we are?”
“Somewhere beyond beautiful.”
Blair snapped photos with her phone.
“What’s the most famous Loch in the world?” He teased. Blair’s eyes opened to double their normal size.
“NO WAY – Loch Ness?”
A beaming smile spread across Blair’s face. She had been so swallowed up by the happenings up at the estate she had been mostly oblivious to anything else.
It was as if she was seeing the highlands for the first time. The contrast of the dirty city of Detroit and the boring predictable life she had left behind floated into her mind. A lot had happened since Detroit and unexpectedly a little of the before Blair resurfaced. Before, her parents had died. In a reckless moment, she climbed to her knees and hung her torso too far out of the window for safety and stretched skyward, hands to the heavens. The gusts flattened her hair against her head and she screamed into the wind.
“Good-morning Loch Ness. It’s grand to be ALIVE!”
“It’s good to see ye so happy.”
Callum’s eyes shone as he watched Blair climb back in and re-fasten her seatbelt.
“I am happy, happier than I’ve been in many years, and I think I’m just getting started. So... have you ever seen the monster?”
“Well, that’d be telling. And next yer’ll be asking me what I wear under my kilt!”
It was around midday when the city limits came into view and driving pace slowed as they pulled into the outskirts of Inverness and headed toward the museum.
“Thanks for the scenic tour today – and, for everything. If the dead didn’t get me then driving on the wrong side would’ve done me in for sure.” Callum waved her away.
“Tis naught. I’ve enjoyed showing ye around a wee bit.”
They knocked on Moira’s door, Blair with the book tucked under her arm. Moira, Blair, and Callum sat in the museum tea house, enjoying lunch. Moira's book ‘The Highland Clearances’ sat to the side of the table.
“So, did ye enjoy the book then?”
Blair sunk her teeth into her sandwich and spoke through a full mouth. “Thanks for lending it to me. I learned a lot. It’s good to know where I come from, kind-of.”
“How long before ye open the lodge up? Can I come to the grand opening?” Moira's eyes twinkled with enthusiasm. Blair shook her head in frustration and gazed into her tea.
“We’re almost ready to open. If I could get the staff. None of the locals will work for me. There’s too much concern about the place being haunted. I am beginning to think I’ll have to turn the outbuildings into staff accommodation and employ people from out of town.”
“So, what if the locals knew the gorsts were laid to rest? They have been laid to rest, haven’t they?” Blair and Callum exchanged glances. Blair said carefully.
“Not completely. I’m going to bury them properly. I was just waiting for the Campbell’s to move in, we’re collecting them today. And then... as soon as possible, I want to bury them in the family plot. The Laird’s not there. I checked.” Moira's antennae picked up on Blair’s comment.
“So, ye think it was him – like the rumours said?”
Blair and Callum exchanged another secretive glance. Callum remained silent.
“Ah... yes. I do think that. Everything points to it really. Why else would they both be buried with a tree planted on top of them? And not even a marker, let alone that they weren’t even buried in the cemetery. I think he did it... I know he did.”
Blair averted Moira’s gaze. Explaining everything that happened was just too much and Blair really didn’t want to scare her new friend off, although in truth Moira would have loved it. Moira’s chin tilted and a little smirk crossed her face.
“So... do ye recall how I said we are just a family from a long line of gossips?”
“Yeah?” Blair response was quizzical.
“What if I told ye that my sister is a journalist. The other form of nosy gossips? I have a stellar idea. I would bet ye that she’d jump on this story because it’s a well-known piece of folklore. But now ye’ve solved it and yer going to lay the bairns to rest. All the highlands will want to know.” She raised her eyebrows in a knowing fashion, and gave her signature wink. Callum bit his lip to curb his smile, and Blair could have hugged her. Moira continued on. “I don’t think ye’d have a problem with staff after that. And the publicity couldn’t hurt, could it?”
Chapter Fifteen
“And so, what do you think?”
Blair was showing off the cottage to the Campbell’s. Callum and one of his men carried in their furniture. Morag walked around the little cottage, going from room to room, Ewan on her heels. Every now and again Morag would speak.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?”
She paused in the kitchen, hovering at the cooktop and wall oven. Blair showed them the central heating.
“I’ll probably have to take my woollens off.”
Blair guessed this was her attempt at either humour or a thank-you. Even though the stoic couple said little, neither cringed when Blair hugged them and Ewan’s eyes were bright when she said, “Welcome home, it’s been too long coming.”
Blair arranged the small bouquet she had picked for the children and tied it in a Campbell tartan ribbon and held a large bundle of letters she had received from well-wishers around the highlands. Moira’s prediction had been correct.
The reporting of the missing children drew interest from all around the area. Today the television crew would be here. Blair had considered allowing them to film the burial, but she got the distinct impression that the children didn’t want that.
Fiona had instilled that impression upon her with a bout of nausea every time Blair thought about it. Once Blair realised what it meant, the nausea had disappeared. She placed the bundle of letters in a box.
“These are all for you. The people of the highlands wish you God’s speed; I’m sending their love with you today. And mine. It’s not enough, I know, and it’s far too late, but I’m doing the best I can.”
“They know ye are.” Morag stood in the doorway. “Yer a good woman, Blair Wallace. It’s not gone unnoticed.”
How long Morag had been there, Blair didn’t know. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words. Morag held Blair in a steady loving gaze for a moment and then turned back toward her cottage.
Chapter Sixteen
Elspeth was a tall thin, ‘skinny malinky’ as Moira called her. She positioned Blair by the uprooted tree. Callum, David, and Moira watched from a safe distance refusing to be brought into the limelight. “We’re coming to ye live from Elleric Estate today, with the astounding news that the folklore of the missing Campbell bairns has been proven true and amazingly has been solved. Their remains will finally be laid to rest today. Blair Wallace inherited the property from a little known relative, and took on more than she knew when she arrived here in the Highlands. It’s
been a well-known story handed down from generation to generation that the children went missing after they took employment here at the estate early in the 1800s. Many believed the Laird had murdered them, but it was never proven. There have been persistent rumours of hauntings as the locals tell it.”
She turned to Blair.
“Blair, did ye know of the haunting rumours about the place?”
Blair’s mouth went dry; she hadn’t expected to be quite so nervous.
“Get a close up.” Someone shouted.
The camera man adjusted his lens and it seemed like a million eyes fell on Blair. “Ah, no, not initially, but I soon heard about it from the people who live nearby here.”
“What was it that made ye go digging? Do ye believe the house is haunted?”
Blair considered briefly what to say.
“No. No it wasn’t that at all. It was just in the re-doing of the landscaping that we came across it.”
“Get a shot of the grave.” Someone yelled. The camera man swung his lens over the uprooted area. Elspeth continued.
“So, what did ye think when ye found a skull, did ye think it was one of the bairns?”
“I didn’t know what to think, but I’m glad that it has turned out the way it has. I do feel that the discovery was meant to happen and that the children can be finally laid to rest. It’s the least I can do for them now.” The camera shot back to Elspeth as she began walking over to the lodge.
“Blair Wallace has restored the Elleric Lodge into a luxury accommodation for tourism and catering events, and Blair has plans to turn the stables into self-catering cottages. And, there was more than one happy ending to this story. Ewan Campbell who agreed to have his DNA tested and helped to prove the identity of the remains, has moved back up to the estate with wife Morag. They have been named as owners of Heather cottage.”