His uncle shook his head, and Stewart said nothing as Andrew wrapped the cloak about him and kissed his mother goodbye.
“Just be careful, laddie,” and kissing him on the cheek, he stepped out into the morning air.
Andrew was glad to be away from the croft, the atmosphere was tense, and the sense of sorrow was palpable. As he ran down into the forests, it was as though he were escaping into the freedom and happiness felt in Nairne’s presence. He hoped she would be there as promised, but wondered if the attack on the Cameron’s by her father and his men might have changed her mind. Had she really believed his story about being a Macleod and knew little of the Cameron’s or had she seen straight through his words and known him for what he truly was: the heir and Laird of the Cameron’s, the foe her father wished to vanquish.
* * *
Nairne had been distraught to hear of her father’s attack upon the Cameron’s, the army had returned late that night, as she and her mother sat anxiously in the Great Hall. Murdoch was full of pride and self-congratulation, thanking his men for their courage in confronting the Cameron’s face to face. It had been a cowardly attack on all accounts, sneaking upon the crofts and attacking without warning, but Murdoch had no qualms about such things. To him, the attack had been a victory, despite not having claimed the prize of killing Andrew Cameron or avenging himself upon his brother.
Murdoch himself had not taken part in the attack, instead remaining some distance off and watching as his men carried out his orders. He had no desire to fight nor to engage his brother in battle. From his vantage point, he had seen the one who had betrayed him, a distant figure, and one whom Murdoch hated with such venom that he desired only to see him crushed.
As Murdoch and his men had retreated, leaving the Cameron crofts ablaze and the people scattered and scared he had chanced a final glance back. There, standing upon the brow of the hill was his brother, and Murdoch had cursed him once again, vowing that very soon he would have his revenge.
Nairne had no desire to hear of her father’s exploits, and she most certainly did not wish to celebrate them. But Murdoch insisted, and she and her mother were forced to endure the feasting of the murderous rabble as around their Laird they rejoiced in having dealt a bloody blow to their enemy.
“But ye have not defeated the Cameron’s,” Nairne eyed her father icily as Murdoch handed her a glass of whisky and bid her toast their success.
“That day will come soon, lassie, we have set them back, and it won’t be long before we make our final attack.”
“Ye have said that for twenty-one years,” her mother shook her head, “all this bloodshed and warmongering, lives wasted by your petty feud.”
“It is not so petty woman, and if ye will not celebrate with us then ye can go tae yer chambers, ye too lassie, be gone from my sight,” Murdoch waved his arm at them in dismissal as around him the rest of the clan cheered their supposed victory.
Nairne and her mother wished each other a good night, and Nairne went to bed with a heavy heart. It seemed an age since she and Andrew had walked through the forest yet it was only a few hours, and as she fell asleep that night, wondered if he had seen her father’s men amongst the paths of the forest, hidden from sight as they passed him by. One thing she was sure of: she had every intention of meeting Andrew Macleod again, whether her father allowed it or not.
* * *
Nairne was used to sneaking out of the castle, she had done it so many times that it almost became second nature. After the incident with the guards at the gatehouse, they had become more vigilant; however, Nairne would let herself out through a side door, waiting for an opportune moment to depart. The door was to the gardens on the north side of the castle, and it emerged into the dense forest growing right up to the walls. In times of war, the gateway could be blocked, but at this time it was unbarred, a useful route for the guardsmen when they wished to leave unseen by Murdoch.
The door was mainly left unwatched, and Nairne made her way out through it early on the morning of the day she was to meet Andrew. She had every intention of fulfilling her promise to meet him and wondered if the laddie would keep his part of the agreement.
Since their meeting at the pool, she had thought of little else, and the Cameron’s upon the mountainside above. Her thoughts were so preoccupied that she had neglected many of her duties, and her mother had chastised her tardiness.
“Whatever is wrong with ye?” Una snapped, as Nairne dropped the ball of wool they were spinning for the umpteenth time.
She had not dared tell her mother of her preoccupations or of the mysterious laddie in the woods. She knew for sure that her mother would forbid her from seeing him again, mysterious laddies were not to be encouraged, and Nairne had no desire to worry her mother further. Her father had become preoccupied with the Cameron’s once again, breathing threats against them and rallying his men for a further attack, sooner rather than later.
As she slipped through the side door in the castle wall and made her way through the forest, Nairne felt her steps lighten. The excitement was building in her as she took to the familiar paths. Would Andrew Macleod be there? And what would the pools and waterfalls he intended to show her be like? What would they talk about and would he have news of the dreadful attack on the Camerons? Such thoughts preoccupied her as she walked, and it was not long before she arrived at the pool, looking around her eagerly for any signs of Andrew.
Sitting upon a rock, she threw stones into the water, watching the ripples rush out from the still waters below. The sun was at it's rising, and she knew that if Andrew were to keep his word, then he would soon arrive. She did not have long to wait, hearing a whistling coming from the trees and the sound of a cuckoo calling from across the waters.
Looking up, she saw the smiling face of Andrew Macleod emerging from the foliage, and he waved to her before splashing across the stream and coming to stand before her.
“I wondered if ye would come,” a broad smile spread across his face.
“And I wondered if ye would come tae,” as she stood, he blushed a little, “and ye have even brought some food for us.”
“Oh … aye, well my mother sent it for my … I mean … it is for us, aye,” he lied, “but first I want tae show ye tae the pools, will ye swim with me?”
“Show me where they are, and I might do, aye.” As he held out his arm to show her the way, the two of them splashed across the stream and into the woods on the other side.
Now it was Nairne’s turn to be in unfamiliar territory, she had not walked this way before, and the paths were strange and new. Still, she found herself trusting in Andrew, enjoying his company as they walked.
“It is a sad business to hear of the attack upon the Cameron’s?”
Her words seemed to cut him up short, and he turned to her with a sad expression upon his face.
“Aye, it is a deep tragedy, a terrible business, were many of yer kin involved?”
Now it was time for Nairne to appear saddened, and she hung her head a little, the image of her father’s gloating face in her mind. She had no desire to be connected and certainly did not wish Andrew to know she was the daughter of Murdoch Mackintosh.
“Some were, aye, do ye know if any were killed up there my … the clansmen said there were casualties?” Nairne was eager to understand the damage caused by her father.
“Aye, there were some killed, folk injured tae, and they burned the crofts, the smoke was visible for miles around, it was a sorry day.”
“But ye were safe in the forest, weren’t ye? They didn’t attack ye or any of yer kind did they?”
“No lassie, those in the forest were safe, we know the paths and ways far better than any Mackintosh, yerself excused of course.”
“I cannot help my birth, but I can help how I feel and for what it is worth I have no love for my clan, nor its ways. The attack upon the Cameron’s was terrible and wicked, it should never have happened.” Nairne looked truly sorry or the actions of her father.<
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“The pretender in the Cameron castle bears a long-held grudge, which is the only reason those two clans cannot live in peace. In years to come, men will wonder why ever there was such a conflict over events that happened so long ago,” Andrew replied.
“Aye, grudges can be long-held, I have seen that with my own eyes. I suppose ye keep yerselves to yersleves down here in the forest though, no Cameron or Mackintosh would have cause to disturb ye,” Nairne smiled as the sound of waterfalls could be heard some distance off.
“Aye, I like to keep myself tae myself, it is not far now,” and leading the way along a little path they emerged into a glad of such beauty that it took Nairne’s breath away.
* * *
Andrew had been nervous when first he saw Nairne sitting by the poolside, his tempered by the sadness at the loss of his kin. He knew he must continue the pretense of being a lowly forest dweller, but it would be hard given his affections for her, and the attack upon the Cameron’s was so personal to them both. He had no desire to reveal his true self yet, just as he knew that she had not told her true self. If she knew his true identity, would it alter her feelings for him? Would it make her more willing in her affections towards him? Or would it mean she could never see him again?
Nairne looked so beautiful sat across on the far side of the pool. There was a sense of inner calm about her, as though she belonged in the forest, just like the trees and the birds. He was delighted to see her, and as they walked, he found their conversation easy and free. She was so unlike the lassies on the croft, with their brusque manners and rough ways, and he found himself becoming even more enamored of her.
When she asked him about the attack upon the Cameron’s, a wave of sadness ran through him, and he longed to tell that he had been too late to fight against her father. But he knew that revealing his true identity could be dangerous. Despite her outward appearance, he must be cautious, if his uncle or stepfather discovered him conversing with the daughter of their sworn enemy, there would be trouble. Therefore he proceeded carefully, and as his natural propensity was to truth rather than lies, he soon found himself caught up in an elaborate deception.
“What does yer mother do in the forest? And yer father? Is he a crofter? Does he sell wares in the village?” Nairne asked her new friend as they approached the waterfalls.
“My father? Oh … he is … er, he is a farmer of sorts aye, he and my mother grow this and that,” Andrew tried to sound as vague as possible.
“How do they grow things in the forest? Ye cannot grow crops here,” she was laughing at him again.
“No … I mean they grow berries, and my mother collects mushrooms, we get by well enough through barter, my father carves things tae.”
“What does he carve? Ye will have tae bring me something of his when we meet again.”
“When we meet again?” Andrew was surprised and happy that she was already considering their next meeting.
“Aye, I enjoy meeting like this, the forest can be a lonely place at times, though I love the peace and tranquillity, ye seem like something of a kindred spirit. I would love tae dwell in the forest as ye do, will ye show me yer home?”
Fortunately, before she could question him further, they emerged from the forest and into the glade where Andrew’s waterfall lay.
It was here that the forest met the steep, impregnable sides of Cordroon, a great mountain rising high up above them. The sides were sheer, and from high above, there fell a torrent of water, cascading in a waterfall into a deep pool below.
The sight was every bit as impressive as Andrew had described it and he watched with satisfaction as Nairne marveled at the sight.
The pool was twice the size of the one where they first met, and its depth allowed diving from the rocks above.
“It is beautiful, truly beautiful,” Nairne gazed on, impressed.
“I am glad ye like it, ye are the first lassie I have shown it tae.”
“Ye mean tae say that there are other lassies ye show other places tae,” Nairne teased, unwrapping her shawl and sitting on a rock near the edge.
“I … no, I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant,” Andrew blushed deeply.
“I am only jesting with ye, Andrew Macleod. So, are ye going te stand there all day or are ye going tae swim?”
“Well, aye, I will if ye will.”
She nodded and pointed towards the water, “ye first,”
Andrew turned away from her, as though embarrassed at revealing himself. Stripping off to his underwear, the sunlight caught his pale, muscular body, and he turned, standing meekly before her.
“Go on then,” she urged, “I am not getting in there until ye show me it is safe tae do so.”
Andrew smiled and turning to the pool, ran to the water’s edge, leaping into the cold, clear depths and letting out a cry as the icy water embraced him.
“Come on in, it is lovely, though very cold,” he shouted back at her and struck out powerfully across the water towards the waterfall.
Nairne removed her tunic, and with a little more grace than Andrew, she entered the water, swimming strongly toward him, the spray from the waterfall cascading down upon them.
“It is a beautiful place, thank ye for bringing me here.” They sat beneath the waterfall and Andrew turned his head away in embarrassment at the sight of Nairne sitting in her undergarments, the water flowing around her.
“Dinnae be embarrassed, Andrew, tis’ only as the good Lord has made us,” Nairne laughed as he blushed.
Andrew had never seen a lassie in such a state of undress, and he was embarrassed by the feelings such a sight induced. Nairne appeared more beautiful before, and she jumped down into the water again, beckoning for him to follow.
“I am not embarrassed,” he leapt after her, “but I have never seen a lassie like this before.”
“Do ye have no sisters? Were ye not bathed together as bairns?” Swimming in front of him, she dived down before emerging again with a breathless splash.
“No, I am an only child, and ye? Do ye have brothers or sisters?”
This was one fact Andrew did not know about Nairne. Were there other children fathered by Murdoch Mackintosh, or was she misfortunate to be the only one.
“Just me,” she sounded a little sad, “but it is unusual for one of the forest dwellers tae have only one child; usually there are many, if only because of the risks in bringing bairns intae the world.”
Andrew hauled himself out of the water and lay panting on a warm, flat rock at the side of the water. Nairne climbed out too, and they lay close to each other, the water dripping from their bodies as they looked up at the clear, blue sky above.
“I dinnae know, my mother only had one bairn, and that was me.”.
“What is yer mother called? She sounds an interesting woman, living out in the forest and mothering just one bairn like ye.”
“She is named Cairstine,” he lied, “but what do ye mean ‘a bairn like me,’ is that meant as an insult,” he laughed, turning to her.
“No insult, no, but ye are an unusual kind of laddie, most men I know are interested in war and fighting, they seek tae outdo one another and show off their bravado. Ye seem tae prefer the solitude of the woods and company of nature.”
“I have had little call for bravado, and as for outdoing others, well, I have no one tae outdo. I am more at home here in the woods then amongst other men,” Andrew replied honestly, and getting up he jumped back into the pool, swimming across to the waterfall once again.
The two swam for several hours, enjoying the peace and solitude of the pretty place. The sun was high in the sky when they finally emerged, dressing beneath the boughs of a large oak tree which hung over the water.
“Would ye like some food?” Andrew asked, unwrapping the carefully packaged bundle his mother had given him.
Inside were two loaves of bread and a block of cheese, a small side of dried bacon and some oatcakes, which the two tucked into hungrily.
“So a
re ye going tae show me where ye live then? I have shown ye where I live, after all,” Nairne asked, as they finished their meal and Andrew wrapped up the last of the food for his Godmother.
“Maybe next time, I haven’t told my mother and father about the young lassie I’ve met in the woods just yet.”
To take her to his Godmother’s house seemed an indiscretion, at least before he had had time to speak with her and let her in upon his deception. He had no doubt that she would be sympathetic towards him, given his own mother’s marital circumstances; still, he thought better of turning up unannounced with Nairne alongside him.
“So there will be a next time?”
“Aye, if ye would like tae meet again then I would like that very much.”
Highlander's Rightful Claim (Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance) Page 9