by Katy Baker
Rabbie gave his wife a quizzical look. “Ye mean there are others?”
Elspeth raised an eyebrow but didn’t deign to respond. “Right. Now that Travis is busy mayhap ye can tell us what brings ye up this way, Cam. And why Beth is traveling with ye.”
Beth shared a glanced with Cam. He nodded.
“I...um...I came out here from Edinburgh,” she began hesitantly. “But I lost my guide. I stumbled on Cam in the woods near Cannoch and he offered to guide me home.”
Rabbie frowned. “My, that is a long way. It will take ye many days to get there.”
“Which is why we came this way,” Cam said. “The passes through the mountains will cut the length of the journey.”
“Aye, that it will,” Rabbie said thoughtfully. “But ye will need to be careful. Ye remember I said there were groups of mounted men roaming the lower trails? Well, there’s rumors they’re MacGregor’s men and that he’s holed up round here somewhere after being chased out of his last hideout by the laird. If that’s so then ye need to be careful. He wasnae best pleased with what ye did to him, Cam.”
Cam’s expression turned stony. “I am nay afraid of MacGregor, although I reckon yer worries are unfounded. His base was in the north west. He wouldnae come this far east.”
“Mayhap he wouldnae, given the choice. But he wasnae given any choice if the rumors are correct. The MacAuleys and the MacConnells launched a joint force to drive the brigands from their borders. MacGregor was lucky to escape with his life by all accounts. The MacAuleys have a new laird and he gave MacGregor and his men a sound thrashing before they were able to retreat.”
Cam’s head came up suddenly. “There’s a new laird in Dun Ringill?”
“Aye,” Rabbie said, rubbing his chin. “Goes by the name of Logan. Logan MacAuley.”
The blood drained from Cam’s face and he went deathly pale. He stood abruptly. “I...I...must see to Firefly.”
Without another word he hurried out the door. Beth stood to follow him but Elspeth caught her arm. “Best to let him go, my dear. These moods come on him sometimes and we’ve learned its best to leave him be when he does. Ye must be tired after yer long journey. Here, come with me.”
Beth glanced out into the yard. She could see Cam taking off Firefly’s saddle. His movements were jerky and tense and she knew him well enough by now to read unease in his stance. She sighed. He probably would not welcome her company right now.
Turning away, she followed Elspeth across the hallway and into one of the other rooms of the house. A narrow bed lay along one wall with a dressing table and mirror against the other.
Beth stared. Oh god! A mirror! And, was she imagining things, or was that a hairbrush?
Elspeth noticed her staring and laughed. “We sometimes get trader caravans coming through here in the summer. They keep us supplied with what we canna provide for ourselves, including a few little luxuries. Here, sit down and I’ll brush yer hair.”
Beth did as she was bid, perching on the little stool by the dressing table. “You’ve been very kind,” Beth observed. “Thank you.”
Elspeth waved away the thanks and then picked up the hairbrush. “Nonsense. To be honest, tis good to have another woman around and any friend of Cam’s is a friend of mine.”
“You seem to know him pretty well.”
She laughed at that. “Aye, we do. About as well as anyone can know Camdan MacAuley. That lad is better at keeping secrets than any confessor priest, I can tell ye.”
Beth smiled. “Ah, so you’ve noticed that?”
“Let’s just say I’ve learned when to pry and when to leave him be. Now, lean forward a little.”
Elspeth began brushing Beth’s hair as though she was some grand lady. It seemed strange being pampered like this but Beth didn’t make any complaint. It felt wonderful. Elspeth was careful not to snag her hair and the gentle tugs on her scalp eased away her worries better than any massage.
“You’re good at this,” Beth murmured. “You should get a job as a masseuse. Any posh spa would be glad to have you.”
“I’m sure I dinna know what those words are!” Elspeth laughed. “But I’ll take it as a compliment.” She cocked her head in the mirror as she regarded Beth. “Yer accent isnae one I recognize. Are ye Spanish? French?”
“Neither,” Beth replied. “I’m American.”
Elspeth frowned. “I canna say as I’ve heard of such a place. It must be a very long way away. Ye must miss it terribly.”
Beth thought about this and was surprised to find that she didn’t miss home half as much as she thought she would. Sure, she missed her friends. She missed modern comforts like hot showers and a comfy mattress. But beyond that? There was nothing pulling her back, nothing that anchored her to the twenty-first century. She had no family. Not anymore.
She shrugged, uncomfortable with Elspeth’s scrutiny. “Yeah, I guess. And work are probably going crazy by now trying to cover my shifts.”
“Work?” Elspeth asked. “Ye work in yer homeland?”
“Yes. In a coffee shop. Although I’m training to be a human rights lawyer.”
Elspeth’s eyes widened. “A lawyer? The only lawyers I know of reside in the king’s court and have studied in the great Italian universities. Surely only men can aspire to such a calling?”
“Not where I’m from,” Beth answered with a laugh. “Anyone can do it. Although finding a damned placement isn’t easy.” She looked at Elspeth. “What about you?”
“Naught so grand. I grew up in a village on the banks of Loch Tay. My father was a fisherman and my brothers and I used to help out on the boats when I was a girl. I thought I’d marry a fisherman and my children would go into the trade after their father. That all changed one day when a trapper by the name of Rabbie MacGovern came to my village to sell his pelts.”
“So he swept you off your feet?”
“Aye, something like that.” She paused in her brushing, eyes going wistful. “He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. I still remember the first time I saw him. I felt like my heart had stopped. He asked me to dance that night at the summer fair and within the week he’d asked my father’s permission to marry me.” She shrugged. “So here I am.”
Beth felt something shift inside her. Elspeth radiated contentment in a way she herself had never experienced. She and Rabbie had built a life for themselves out here and it was more than enough for Elspeth.
Beth was suddenly struck by the differences between her own time and this one. In the twenty-first century life was lived at breakneck speed. Everyone was always striving, always yearning for something more. There was always the latest gadget to buy, the latest fashion to follow, the latest gossip to catch up on. But here? Here there was only the now and the simple pleasure of enjoying what you had.
Beth had never thought about it like that before and the sudden insight left her a little unsettled. The twenty-first century was her home. It was where she belonged. Wasn’t it?
“Are ye all right?” Elspeth asked.
Beth shook herself. “I’m fine. I was just thinking about how happy you and Rabbie seem. And your house is wonderful.”
Elspeth smiled warmly at the compliment. “That’s mighty kind of ye to say so. Rabbie built it. He has a knack for building things. And Cam helped, of course. The two of them worked night and day for months to give us this.”
Cam? Beth thought. He helped build the house?
“How do you know him?” Beth asked.
“Through happy accident,” Elspeth replied. “Or unhappy maybe, considering the circumstances of our meeting.” She pursed her lips, her eyes becoming thoughtful. “It was several years ago now. Rabbie was out setting his traps on the upper trails when he came across a body lying by the side of the trail with a warhorse cropping the grass nearby. Except it wasnae a body, it was Cam, filthy, starved and on the cusp of death. Rabbie brought him here and I nursed him back to health. It was a long road and more than once we thought he wouldnae make it, despite
our best efforts. We didnae know what had befallen him but it was obvious he’d been in a battle. He was covered in wounds and there was a hole right through his thigh that could only have been made with the point of a spear. It was a miracle he’d survived as long as he had alone on the mountain trails.”
“Did he tell you what happened?”
Elspeth shook her head. “He never talked about it and we didnae ask. People come up into these mountains to escape from something. Eventually he recovered and he stayed with us for around six months. Helped Rabbie build this place. Built the wheelchair for Travis. Every so often a black mood would come on him and he would disappear for a day or so. When he came back he seemed a little better. Then, when he was finally healed, he left. Said he couldn’t live on our charity forever. We were sad to see him go. Having him around the place was a great help and Travis adores him. But he comes back every now and then, bringing us things he thinks we might need.”
Beth remained silent, mulling over Elspeth’s words. Just when she thought she’d got Cam figured out she discovered something about him that threw everything into a muddle again. The fact he’d been injured in a battle didn’t surprise her. The fact that he’d designed and built Travis’s wheelchair did.
If she had any sense at all she ought to distance herself from Camdan MacAuley. He was dangerous. Any sensible person would steer well clear. But she was no longer sensible where he was concerned. Damn it! What was happening to her?
“There,” Elspeth said, stepping back. “All done.”
Beth looked at herself in the mirror. The snarls had been worked free and now her hair spilled over her shoulders like a shiny blanket. She grinned at Elspeth.
“Wow. Who’s that in the mirror? I’m sure I don’t recognize her.”
Elspeth snorted a laugh and moved over to a trunk. She pulled out some clothes which she laid on the bed and then poured water into a large bowl.
“There’s some soap on the dressing table. I make it myself from lavender that grows further down the valley. I’ll leave ye to have a wash and I’ve taken the liberty of laying out some fresh clothing. Ye look around the same size as me so I reckon some of my old dresses should fit ye. Help yerself to whatever ye need.”
Beth scraped the stool back and stood. She caught Elspeth’s hands in both her own. “I don’t know how I can repay your kindness.”
Elspeth blushed. “Dinna be daft,” she said. “What are friends for?”
Beth smiled. Friends. She liked the sound of that.
“I’ll be in the other room trying to get that unruly son of mine to practise his letters,” Elspeth said. “Take yer time and join us when ye are ready.”
After she’d left Beth washed and then changed. As she dressed she thought about what Elspeth had told her of Cam’s background. Where had he come from? And what battle had he been involved in?
The only thing she’d managed to glean from him was that he was the brother of a former laird. As his name was MacAuley, it followed that his brother must have been Laird MacAuley. Hmm. Beth’s eyes narrowed in thought. Rabbie had told them that the MacAuleys had a new laird—a guy called Logan—and Cam’s reaction to the name had been instantaneous. Beth frowned. The name obviously meant something to him.
Beth shifted uncomfortably. There was something going on here. Something she didn’t understand. She got the feeling she was in way over her head, that there were currents and plots swirling around her of which she was woefully ignorant.
It all started with Irene MacAskill, Beth thought. Could this all be connected? Could my tumble back in time, my meeting with Cam, his hidden past and the tattoo on his arm all lead back to one old woman?
Her eyebrows pulled together as she thought back to the words Irene had spoken to her before she’d stepped through the arch. Ye are running, my dear. Running from the past, thinking that if ye can only become a lawyer ye can somehow fix the wrongs that were done to ye. But it doesnae work that way. Ye canna find happiness by running from yer past: only by running towards yer future. Are ye ready to do that, Bethany Carter? Are ye ready to find yer true path?
What had Irene meant by that? She wasn’t running from her past! How ridiculous! True, she’d left the US and all the painful memories it held but she’d come to Edinburgh to study. It didn’t mean she’d been running away. It didn’t!
Beth closed her eyes and thought back to that January day. Even now her thoughts shied away from it as though it was an old wound that would reopen if she pressed it. But she forced herself to remember. She remembered the knock on the door. She remembered opening it. She remembered the sight of the police car parked on the street. She remembered the sombre expressions of the two officers standing on her doorstep. She remembered...
No! she thought. That has nothing to do with any of this! Nothing!
But she was no longer so sure. Did her own past and her destiny have something to do with Cam? Was he the reason Irene had brought her here?
She blew out a breath and placed her hands on her hips, thinking. Since the moment she’d got here she’d been swept away by events out of her control. It was time to take back that control. Starting with some answers.
She went into the main room where she found Elspeth sitting at the table with Travis. From outside came the sound of Rabbie splitting wood. There was no sign of Cam. Travis was holding a piece of chalk in his fingers and peering at a slate tablet. He looked up when Beth walked in.
“Beth!” he said. “Would ye like a game of cat’s cradle?”
“Nay, young man,” Elspeth scolded. “No more games until ye have finished yer letters. Uncle Cam will take a look when he comes back. Ye wouldnae want to disappoint him would ye?”
The stricken look on Travis’s face answered that question. Beth smiled and ruffled Travis’s hair. “We’ll have a game later, promise.” She turned to look at Elspeth. “Do you know where Cam is?”
“He hasnae come back yet. He’ll either be in the barn seeing to his horse or down by the lake.” She nodded in the direction of the northern trail. “About ten minutes walk that way.”
Beth nodded her thanks and set off to find him.
Chapter 9
Despite the cool Highland evening, Cam’s body gleamed with sweat and his lungs were burning. Good. That’s what he wanted. He’d come out here to practise his sword forms and also to forget. He moved effortlessly into the next form, the sword blade singing through the air, glittering like a bar of silver in the gathering dusk before holding the pose until his biceps quivered.
Several paces away lay the edge of Loch Morn. It wasn’t big enough to be a loch really, just a mountain lake, but to Camdan it was one of the most beautiful places in the Highlands. Perfectly circular, the lake was so smooth and still that it reflected the sky above in perfect detail until it was hard to tell where sky ended and land began.
He’d come to this spot often whilst he’d been recovering with Rabbie and Elspeth. It was here, sitting on this bank in the lonely wilds of the Highlands, that Camdan had begun to piece his life back together, such as it was.
His arm muscles quivered as he held another pose and the sword-tip dropped. He grunted in annoyance and raised it, forcing his rebellious muscles to obey. His father had taught he and his brothers the sword forms long ago and insisted they practise every morning.
When Camdan had taken over as commander of the Dun Ringill garrison, he’d impressed the same discipline on his men. Even on dark, cold winter mornings, he and his warriors would be out in the bailey going through the forms. Sometimes his elder brother would join them when his duties as laird allowed, and even more rarely, his younger brother, Finlay. But Finn was not a born soldier and more often than not he would miraculously disappear when it was time for sword practice and then miraculously reappear again just in time for breakfast.
Camdan smiled at the memory and then glanced down at the tattoo on his forearm. It was not glowing. In fact, it had faded to a light gray and his rage lay quiet, quieter tha
n it had in months.
Being here helped, of course. It was the place where he’d started to calm the turmoil in his soul, to forge a new life out of the wreckage of the old. Being near Elspeth, Rabbie and little Travis was like a balm. They were his dearest friends, as close as family, and it warmed his heart to visit with them again.
And then there was Bethany Carter.
He stumbled as he thought of her, losing the form. He frowned at himself and swiped the air with his blade, regaining the pose.
Bethany Carter.
Her face flashed into his mind and it was all he could do to keep concentration. That smile. Those eyes. That fierce, brave intelligence.
Aye, being near her helped as well.
He knew he ought to keep her at arm’s length and avoid any kind of attachment but the more time he spent with her the more time he wanted to spend with her. He found himself looking for her when he walked into a room and dreaming about her when he was wrapped in his cloak alone at night.
Resolutely, he pushed thoughts of her from his mind and instead thought of what Rabbie had told him earlier. The MacAuleys have a new laird. Goes by the name of Logan. Logan MacAuley.
Cam shook his head, flinging sweat from his hair. Logan could not be laird. It was impossible. The bargain they’d made ensured that.
He fell still, the sword clasped loosely. A heron was wading slowly through the reeds at the lake’s edge, eyes fixed on the still water as it searched for fish. A gentle breeze swept through the leaves, making them whisper.
He heard a footstep and whirled, bringing his sword around in a glittering arc. Before he realized what he was doing, he’d placed the tip against Beth’s throat, who was standing two paces behind him.
Her eyes went wide and her lips parted in a gasp. Camdan snatched the blade away and sheathed it.
“Are ye mad?” he snapped at her. “Why did ye sneak up on me like that? I could have skewered ye!”
Beth massaged the base of her throat where the blade had rested. “I wasn’t sneaking anywhere,” she replied indignantly, her eyes flashing with annoyance. “I made plenty of noise and shouted you more than once.”