It took around half an hour to reach the cottage and Andrew was grateful to see a fresh pile of wood piled outside, and a freshly baked loaf of bread awaiting them on the hearth.
“What a charming little cottage,” and stooping inside she gazed around.
The cottage had been swept, and the bed was made, and whilst Nairne looked around Andrew busied himself preparing a fire which soon cast a merry glow into the cottage. Nairne soon settled herself down before it and Andrew placed a pan of water above the flames. It was a most charming scene and one Andrew had long imagined.
“Are ye happy, Andrew?” Nairne rested her head upon his shoulder.
“Aye, very happy.”
* * *
Nairne and Andrew spent the day together at the cottage and as the afternoon turned to dusk neither wished to leave.
“I … I have tae stay here tonight, Nairne,” Andrew spoke somewhat shyly after they had eaten a simple meal of bread and a stew Andrew had made from vegetables and potatoes from his Godmother’s little garden at the front of the cottage, “would ye like tae stay here with me?”
“Aye,” she smiled without hesitation, taking his arm in hers, “I would like that very much indeed.”
Nairne could think of nothing else but remaining there with Andrew. She knew that she would be missed, though her mother would not be like her father and send out search parties and guards. Nairne had told her that she wished to spend as much time as possible with Andrew and that if she were late back, then she should not worry.
It felt right to stay with Andrew, and as the evening drew in he held her close, the two delighting in one another’s company as around them the darkness fell around the little cottage.
“Do ye mind living here amidst the trees?” she asked as they stepped out for a final breath of air, the moon now high above them and casting its cold light across the treetops, an owl hooting in the distance.
“I have loved the forest since I was but a bairn, it holds no fears for me, I am more at home here than I could be anywhere else.”
“Yer mother and father must be kind people tae allow ye tae such freedom.” Nairne looked up at the starry canopy above.
“They are good folk, we forest dwellers are good people,” Andrew still did not wish to tell Nairne the truth about who he really was.
“And yet ye live so close to the Cameron’s, ye are like an in-between people, neither Mackintosh nor Cameron, not caught up in the difficulties which beset the two clans.”
“Our business is our own, and we dinnae involve ourselves in the conflicts of yer father.”
“My father will be hunting the stag now, he always brings home a magnificent beast and claims it tae be bigger than the last one,” she imagined her father’s reaction if he could see her now, cavorting once more with the forbidden laddie.
It was such rebellion that gave her hope, a spark of resistance against the oppression she had felt for so long. It delighted her to think that her father had no idea where she was, nor that it was she who had helped Andrew Macleod to escape. It was such acts as these which kept her going, and she was determined that her feelings for Andrew would not be taken away by the man she so despised.
“Ye are very different from yer father, aren’t ye?” Andrew asked.
“I like tae think I am more like my uncle, though where he is now, I cannae imagine.” She often thought about her uncle, was he anything like her father at all?
Surely not, for Stewart Mackintosh had rescued Rhona Cameron from her father’s clutches. He must be a noble man, quite unlike the clansmen who surrounded her father on the hunt. Had he always been like? Or was it her father’s actions which had changed him into a man desirous of rebellion against his own clan?
Andrew remained silent and turning she kissed him beneath the moonlight, as he embraced her, the two returned inside where the fire was glowing in its embers.
“Ye are like no man I have ever met before, Andrew Macleod.”
“And ye are like no lassie I have ever met, the feelings ye have stirred in my heart are such as tae make any man happy for a lifetime of memories,” and once again he kissed her.
Taking his hand, she led him to the bed, the two sitting nervously side by side and Andrew kissed her again, his hand upon her waist as she embraced him. The fire crackled and glowed, as he gently lay her back upon the bed, kissing her neck and running his hands across her body. His touch was gentle and sent a shiver through her as his hand sought hers. The two kissed again, their intimacy growing as they expressed the feelings of both their hearts.
Neither Nairne nor Andrew had experienced such a thing before, but with all the naturalness of two lovers, they found themselves embracing ever closer, their bodies drawing together as they made love amidst the stillness of the cottage, lit by the light of the fire and the moonlight streaming through the window.
Chapter Twenty-Five
‘The Truth Will Out’
Andrew awoke as the sunlight streamed through the cottage window, Nairne was resting in his arms, and he looked down at her with a gentle, loving look. Her skin was soft to his touch, and he stroked her hair, causing her to stir.
“Sleep on, Nairne, if ye wish,” he whispered, and sleepily she turned over, as Andrew placed his hands around her, holding her close to him and kissing her neck.
Andrew could have lain there forever, holding the lassie whom he loved more than anything in the world. Contentedly he held her, whispering occasional sweet nothings in her ear until eventually, she awoke, placing her hands around his neck and kissing him.
“Did ye sleep well?” she sighed with happiness and rested her head upon his chest.
“Aye, very well.” He smiled and reluctantly rose, and leaving Nairne warm amidst the blankets of the bed he stoked the fire and lay some wood upon it, causing the flames to spring to life.
“We shall both smell of woodsmoke, shan’t we,” Nairne watched Andrew from the bed, as the smoke from the fire enveloped him.
“Then I should say we need a swim in the pool before ye run home.”
Nairne roused herself from the bed and kissing Andrew, she warmed her hands by the fire. He watched her as she made herself ready, dressing in her simple tunic and tying her hair back.
“Ye are very beautiful, Nairne, the most beautiful lassie I have ever seen,” Andrew could not resist, but held her in his arms once again and kissed her.
“And ye are a most handsome laddie, Andrew Macleod, come now, I shall race ye tae the pool,” and running from the door she cried back to him as he followed.
The sun was casting its first rays upon the water as they arrived at the side of the pool and without waiting for Andrew, Nairne stripped off her tunic and dived into the water, her body forming an arc as she glided effortlessly to the surface, shaking her hair as he leapt in beside her with a splash.
“Ye are not graceful in the water, are ye?” she laughed as he spat out a mouthful of water and swam over to her.
“Ye think not?” and diving beneath her, caught her legs and threw her up out of the water, causing her to shriek.
The two frolicked for a while, swimming back and forth and teasing one another as they went. It was a merry scene between two young people in love and Andrew could not remember a time when he had felt happier, but despite his happiness, he knew that he must tell Nairne the truth about himself, and as they emerged from the water he stole himself in preparation, ready for any reaction she might give.
* * *
My mother will worry if I am not back by noon,” Nairne dried herself on her tunic and retied her hair with a ribbon from her pocket.
“I wish ye could stay here with me forever,” Andrew took her in his arms once more.
“We shall see each other very soon, I promise ye, though when we shall again spend the night together again, I dinnae know.” Nairne knew that her father would never allow her to spend a night away from the castle alone with a man, not least one he had imprisoned in the castle dungeons so re
adily.
“All I want is tae be with ye, Nairne, I love ye with all my heart,” but there was a look of sorrow on his face, and Nairne wondered what was wrong.
“Dinnae look so sad, Andrew, we shall see each other very soon, of that I promise ye.” As she spoke, Andrew looked away and hung his head.
“I … I have not been honest with ye, Nairne, there is something I must tell ye if we are tae see one another again though when ye know the truth perhaps ye shall never wish tae see me again.”
Nairne was startled by his words and wondered whatever he was about to say. Was he promised to another woman? Or had his parents forbidden him from loving a Mackintosh? A tear came to her eye, and she took hold of Andrew’s hand, beseeching him to tell her what was wrong.
“Andrew, whatever it is ye have tae say then, please tell me, there is nothing that could make me not love ye, my heart is yers, as ye have said yer heart is mine, what has so changed yer mind?”
Andrew sighed and stroked her hand, catching her eye, a nervous and sorrowful look across his face.
“I am … I am not who ye think I am, Nairne, and I am sorry that I have deceived ye, I am not Andrew Macleod, a forest dweller.”
Nairne shook her head in disbelief and looked at him with puzzlement.
“What do ye mean ye are not Andrew Macleod? But we have just spent the night together in yer parent’s cottage, yer mother is a wise woman whose herbs have helped my own dear mother in the past, what do ye mean tae say ye are not a Macleod, a forest dweller?” and taking her hand away from his, she stepped back a little way.
“My name is Andrew, but not Macleod, I am Andrew Cameron, a clansman of yer father’s sworn enemies.”
Nairne could not believe his words, and as she was about to speak when he raised his hand.
“There is more, ye have heard the story of Rhona Cameron and yer uncle, Stewart, how they escaped with Rhona’s bairn into the hills and safety all those years ago when yer father wished tae make Rhona his wife.”
Nairne nodded, a realization slowly coming into her mind.
“I am that bairn, I am the rightful heir of the Cameron’s, Nairne, and yer uncle is my stepfather. I am sorry, but I couldnae tell ye at first and as I got tae know ye better I wished for ye tae come tae love me for myself and not tae judge me upon everything ye have heard about my people,” Andrew looked at her imploringly.
For a moment, Nairne was speechless, she could not believe this revelation. The gentle, kindly forest dweller Andrew Macleod was in fact heir to the lairdship which her father so jealously guarded, it was Andrew, and to Murdoch, who held the rightful claim to the castle and whom her father hated so much.
“I dinnae wish tae hurt ye, Nairne, but I canne continue this deception any longer, it was breaking my heart, I wanted ye tae know the truth about me, but please dinnae hate me,” His eyes were wide, as though a tear were about to run down his cheek at the thought of losing her.
Nairne had never knowingly been in the presence of a Cameron, and since her childhood, had been taught to fear the name of the clan her father so hated. To think that before her was not only a Cameron but also her uncle’s stepson was incredible and for a moment, she had no words. How could Andrew have deceived her so? She had fallen in love with him, but he was not the man she thought him to be, he was a Cameron, and all she knew of the Cameron’s was of their treachery and wicked ways.
“I … I dinnae know ye, do I?” she stammered, her words uncertain and faltering, “and what of the cottage? And yer mother?”
“My Godmother lives in the forest with her husband, Alistair, I told her the truth long before I told my mother and stepfather. They too were horrified that I should have fallen in love with a Mackintosh, let alone the daughter of Murdoch himself,” Andrew reached out his hand to Nairne, who refused to take it.
“And it was at her cottage that we stayed, and where do ye live then? Where do the Cameron’s live?”
“We live up on the mountainside, far above, but ever since I was a child, I have loved tae run down intae the forests and amongst the trees. When I first saw ye, it was on just such an occasion. I am not like so many of my clan, hungry for war, I love the peace and solitude of the forest, and when I saw ye I knew ye too were a kindred spirit. Dinnae believe the stories told about the Cameron’s, Nairne, we are not like that, just as I know ye are not like the Mackintosh’s I have been taught tae hate since I was a bairn.” Slowly she placed her hand in his, smiling weakly
“But why did ye not tell me this before? Ye could have confided in me on so many occasions, I would never have been so reckless in allowing us tae be caught if I had known who ye truly were. If my father had known then …”
“If yer father had known, then he would have had me killed there in the castle, and there would have been no chance tae escape. Ye may have betrayed me unwittingly, but it was yer belief that I was just a simple forest dweller which convinced him of my story so that no harm came tae me, he had tae believe that I was not a Cameron, let alone the son of the Laird he killed.”
Nairne sighed deeply, the shock of learning the truth had been almost too much to bear, yet she could forgive Andrew and understood the reason why he had kept his identity a secret.
“I dinnae blame ye for hiding the truth, ye too must have been shocked tae discover who I was, the daughter of the man who killed yer father, it is hardly the starting point for a romance.”
“But ye are not yer father, Nairne and I can see that readily enough, I have come tae love ye, and I know that ye love me tae, now ye know the truth ye can make up yer mind as to whether ye still wish us to know one another.”
Nairne paused for a moment, and in answer, placed her arms around Andrew’s neck, drawing him close and kissing his lips.
“For both of us this is a forbidden love, but the good Lord has seen fit tae bring us together and it seems that ye and I are destined not tae be parted,” and the two stood in silence, holding one another closer together.
“Aye, thank ye, Nairne, and I am sorry I was not truthful with ye from the beginning.”
Kissing him again, she wrapped the shawl about her shoulders.
“There is one thing I wish tae see, and that is where the Cameron’s live. I presume they will not take me captive if I am spotted close by,” she laughed.
“We must be cautious, I dinnae think my stepfather would welcome ye but ye and I could run tae the edge of the forest and ye could look from the trees up to the crofts above,”
With that, the two ran off into the forest, racing through the trees and taking paths which Nairne had no familiarity with, rising towards the mountainside above.
Chapter Twenty-Six
‘An Unfamiliar Familiarity’
She had never been this far up the mountainside, it was unfamiliar and mysterious, but the thought of seeing her uncle, even from a distance, fascinated her, and as they came within sight of the heathers, they paused to catch their breath.
“Is he … is he very like my father?”
“He is a good man and quite unlike yer father, but ye will see a similarity in their looks, there is no mistaking the two are brothers though age has changed them and my stepfather is not disfigured as your father is.”
He took her hand, and they crept towards the tree line, Andrew watching for any sign of his fellow clansmen. They paused just as the forest gave way to the heathers and Andrew pointed towards the crofts beyond, where several figures were practising their swordsmanship.
“See there, that is my uncle Duncan, whom yer father banished here when first he arrived at the castle,” Andrew pointed towards Duncan, who was sparring with another man.
As they watched the door of Andrew’s croft opened, and Rhona and Stewart emerged, talking earnestly.
“And there is …” Andrew began.
“Rhona and Stewart,” Nairne replied, captivated by the sight of the two people she had heard so much about yet who appeared so different to what had been told. As a bairn, her fath
er had told her that Rhona was a wicked woman and that his brother was equally as treacherous. The two had conspired against the good name of the Mackintosh clan and ensured that Murdoch was humiliated. But now as she watched, Nairne saw a woman who appeared kind and gentle, the way they looked at each other reminded her of Andrew’s gentle touch, and she was mesmerized by the sight of the uncle she had wondered so much about.
“They are quite different to the way I imagined them tae be,” she whispered
“My mother is a good woman, though sometimes she can be a harsh taskmaster, as can Stewart and Duncan,” Andrew smiled as he turned to look at her, “one day ye shall meet them I promise ye, it will just take a little time for them tae get used tae the idea of us being together.”
Highlander's Rightful Claim (Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance) Page 18