Tess and the Highlander (21 page)

She blinked hard, forcing back the tears
that were standing out in her eyes.

“Did you get a chance to meet the men your
mother has send to escort you?”

She was grateful for the change in topic of
conversation. “I did.”

“Do you know them? Have you met them
before?”

She shook her head, keeping her gaze on the
table.

“Wouldn’t you prefer to have someone you
know accompany you?” Colin gently lifted her chin. “Someone you
trust and perhaps even care for? Someone who is eager to meet your
mother so he might seek her approval of him? Wouldn’t you prefer
someone like that to escort you to the Borders?”

Tess couldn’t ignore the sudden thundering
of her heart. “Are you…are you offering your services?”

He gently wiped a droplet from her cheek. “I
am, if you’ll have me.”

She laughed through the tears. “Nothing
would make me happier.”

“Are you sure you don’t want us to follow
them?” Alexander asked. He and James and the laird stood on the
battlements of the castle and watched the group of Burnett men,
accompanied by Tess and Colin and only a half-dozen Macphersons,
departing for the Borders. “What he’s getting himself into may be
far more dangerous than being washed off the deck of a ship.”

“He’ll be fine,” the laird said, looking
after the company riding down the hill from the castle.

“But you saw for yourself how surly those bloody
Burnetts were last night,” Alexander argued, “when they saw how
Colin and Tess looked at one another.”

“We know he wants to handle this on his own,” James
chimed in. “But he’ll be outnumbered the minute they leave
Macpherson land. And even if they make it to the Borders, what if
Lady Evelyn doesn’t fancy him coming along? The bloody witch could
throw him into her dungeon or—”

“I thought you two were looking forward to
being rid of him?”

“We’re serious, father.” Alexander cast
another tense glance in the direction of the travelers.

“Very well, lads, but Colin wanted it this
way. He wanted Tess’s mother to see him not as a threat. He is
truly hoping to gain her trust…for the lassie’s sake.”

“But what if things do not go as he’s
planned?”

“Then we take her castle down, stone by
stone.”

In spite of the seriousness of the laird’s
tone, it was obvious that neither of the two younger men felt
comfortable with the idea of waiting.

“I know what you two are thinking. You’re
wondering where the harm is in following along? We could be there,
nearby, if Colin needs us.”

Alexander and James both nodded
wholeheartedly.

“But that won’t be allowing him to make his
own decisions. He’s a man now and entitled to make his own
mistakes.” Alec Macpherson put a hand on each of his sons’
shoulders and turned them toward the circular stair that led into
the keep. “But I’d prefer that you
not
bring this up with your mother.”

The Burnett warriors were indeed a surly
group, and their hostility grew less veiled the farther they
traveled from Benmore Castle.

Colin couldn’t care less, though, for he and
Tess had chosen their own pace for most of the day, forcing the
Lowlanders to slow down. But with nightfall approaching, Colin sent
a couple of his own men ahead with several of the Burnetts in
search of a suitable place to settle down until morning. As they
waited for the scouting group to return, they continued on
slowly.

Despite their apprehension over meeting with Evelyn
in only a few days time, Tess and Colin had had a truly enjoyable
day. He had told her much of the history of the Highlands as they
had passed across the lands of the clans. She had questioned him
about ways that she could bring more prosperity to people of the
Lindsay clan. The conversation had turned to family. Colin had told
Tess about his own immediate family.

“I am ashamed to think how little I know about my
own kin,” Tess said. “Lord Alec told me that my father had no
siblings and that both his parents were gone before I was ever
born. And I know now that my mother was from the Fleming family, of
the Borders.” She lowered her voice and glanced wearily at the
company of Lowlanders riding at some distance ahead of them. “But
as far as the family connection between the Flemings and the
Burnetts, I don’t remember anything of them.”

Colin nodded. “My mother mentioned that there are
Flemings on both sides of the Tweed, in the Lowlands and the hills
of the Borders…and in England, as well. And what my father
remembers of Edward Fleming, your grandfather, is that he had five
daughters. Before his death, he managed to arrange profitable
marriages for all of them.”

“I do vaguely remember Lady Evelyn speaking of her
older sisters. There were times, I think, when she missed them
badly. But I believe she also resented them for having either
English husbands or husbands from the Borders.” Tess shook her head
sadly. Since that morning at Ravenie Castle, the lost pieces of her
childhood memory kept falling into place. It was like an intricate
puzzle. The more pieces she added, the clearer the solution became.
“’Tis upsetting to think of my mother’s prejudice against the
Highlanders. I cannot believe she ever gave her new people…or her
husband…a chance.”

“People change.” Colin pushed his horse nearer hers
and affectionately took Tess’s hand. “She has been living under the
protection of this man, her cousin…this David Burnett…for eleven
years now. He must be a good and honorable man to shoulder such a
responsibility. Evelyn very well could be a different person than
the one you remember. Greet with her with an open mind, Tess. Give
her a chance.”

Her eyes, dark and beautiful, glowed with newfound
hope when she smiled at him. “All I have to say, though, is that
she’d better treat you well. If she doesn’t, she’ll learn quickly
how much
I
have changed.”

Colin couldn’t stop himself. He leaned over and
kissed her, and the reins slipped forgotten through his
fingers.

The sound of approaching horses jarred them back to
reality. He drew back and looked along the ridge on which they were
traveling. The group of men who’d ridden ahead were cantering back
to the main party. He glanced over at Tess. A deep blush had spread
over her perfect skin. Colin brought her fingers to his lips and
smiled.

“We have found a place,” came the shout from a
Burnett warrior. Colin and Tess both turned to look at the man.

The place they had found was a deserted cottage
beside a loch. A pine forest to the south of the place would
provide wood for their fires and a windbreak besides. Tess would
sleep in the cottage, such as it was, while everyone else could
camp by the edge of the forest.

As they descended into the glade where the small
cottage sat, Colin ordered his own men to join with the Burnetts in
setting up a watch on two small hills overlooking the area. He
hadn’t expected the place to be so isolated, and the mist rising
from the loch did nothing to dispel the feeling of gloom that
pervaded the abandoned farm. But night was already upon them, and
there wasn’t any time to search out a better place.

Colin dismounted and surveyed his surroundings. As
confident as he’d been before in not asking for more Macphersons to
accompany them to the Borders, he was now having his doubts. In
another day they’d be out of the Highlands, and Tess’s account of
coming face to face with her father’s murderer kept echoing in his
mind. It was possible that the murderer was still out there.
Perhaps he had even heard that Tess was alive. He could be biding
his time, waiting for the right moment to cause Tess harm. Between
the Macphersons and Burnetts, there were plenty of men to defend
her, but Colin didn’t know much about either the courage or the
fighting ability of these Lowlanders.

Some of the men had already started fires and were
setting up camp by the trees. Colin helped Tess down from her horse
and asked her to stay with the others as he went inside to check
the cottage.

There was a door and a narrow window in the front of
the place. The walls appeared solid enough. A hole in the thatched
roof served to let out the smoke from an open fire pit in the
center of the packed dirt floor. Colin started a fire immediately,
for the cottage was damp and cold. With the exception of a pile of
old straw in the corner, there was nothing else in the
building.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here with
me?”

Colin turned to find Tess standing by the door. She
looked bone tired, and he had a feeling her question was not
intended to tease him. He sensed she was genuinely uncomfortable
about this place.

“Do you feel it, too?” he asked, looking hard at
her.

“’Tis just that…I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she
murmured, stepping in as a loud rumble of thunder rolled in across
the hills. “’Tis not as if we haven’t been alone before. On the
Isle of May, we managed to sleep—”

“I know. But there are too many men here who will
happily carry back to your mother any story that might smack of
impropriety.” He looked at her and tried very hard to sound
reassuring. “I’ll be right outside of your door. Just call me if
you need me.”

She nodded with a sigh of resignation and leaned her
back against the wall. He went outside and carried back a couple of
blankets. She insisted on making up her own bedding, and then she
refused any supper. Right after Colin kissed her goodnight, though,
and turned to leave the cottage, she touched his arm. “You
will
be near.”

“I’ll be here just outside the threshold.” He
pointed, but the look of nervousness in her face was obvious. “Is
there something that you are not telling me?”

She shook her head. “I’m just tired.”

Colin kissed her again and went to his place outside
the door.

Tess walked blindly, feeling before her as she
pushed ahead. Through spider webs and mists, she moved, her fingers
touching the rough stone walls and the places where something cold
and wet and unidentifiable oozed down the rock. More and more, she
began to find doors on every side of her. But none of them would
budge, no matter how hard she pushed at them. They felt like thick
slabs of wood fixed by some ogre king in a cave wall of solid
rock.

The air in the corridor was growing increasingly
musty and dense. Globs of wet grit dripped off the ceiling onto her
hair and face. As she pushed on, a sense of panic was gradually
governing her movements. Her fingers scratched at the walls. She
was growing desperate for any opening, but there was nothing. Her
breathing was becoming labored. The corridors seemed to be growing
narrower the farther she moved in. But she couldn’t stay still. She
couldn’t go back. The place had the feel of a grave, but there
seemed to be no escape.

Blackness enveloped her, and she suddenly had no
idea if she was standing or lying down. There was no up. No down.
She was floating.

And then Tess saw the sliver of light coming through
what looked to be a wooden door straight ahead. Oriented once
again, she rushed toward it, but the walls continued to close in.
Stones and mud were now showering her as she ran, pelting her. She
ignored the bruising of her face—the pain in her hands as she tried
to push past the walls and reach the door.

And then she was before it.

The light of a brilliant sun poured through the
crack in the door. Warmth emanated from the very surface of the
wood. Tess saw the latch and reached for it. It, too, was warm.
Lifting the latch, she began to push the door open.

Do not go inside!

The shout of warning echoed off the walls…or was it
from somewhere inside her own head? It was a voice she knew. But
the light seemed to be drawing her on. She was cold. She was
frightened. She needed to escape this nether world, this grave. She
stared at her own fingers clutching desperately to the latch.

“But I need the light…to find my way!” Her voice was
small and hollow in the dark.

You can find your way without it. You can, Tess.

Her fingers dropped to her sides. She took a step
back. Her gaze was drawn to the latch. It had started to glow in
the darkness. She took another step backward. The door started
swinging open on its own. When it was open wide, she could see the
distant light shining at the end of the long tunnel. The walls
beyond the door were smooth. Tess took another step back as she saw
the light moving closer. Faster and faster it came, growing in
intensity with each passing moment.

It was growing warmer. She was burning. The light
continued to come, but she couldn’t back away fast enough. Her back
banged hard against a wall, and she gasped as the light transformed
into a ball of fire, hurtling toward her.

Tess sat up and stared into the blanket of darkness
around her. She couldn’t catch her breath. Shivers racked her body,
and yet she was covered in sweat.

At first, she didn’t know where she was and then, as
the dream receded, she remembered the cottage, the camp. Colin had
promised to be right outside. She scrambled to her feet. She didn’t
stop to pick up her cloak. She just knew she had to get out of this
place. She had to run. Tess stumbled over the blankets, but managed
to right herself before she reached the door.

She slipped out into the night, but Colin was not by
her door. A new wave of panic seized her, and she felt the taste of
bile rising in her throat. She had to get out of this place. She
had to run.

Run
. The same familiar voice pounded in her
head.
Run
.

She saw the gleaming waters of the loch and raced
toward it. Down through the meadow she went, following a ditch and
keeping her eye on the loch. As she passed a grove of trees, a pair
of strong hands seized Tess from behind. She fought against him,
but just as she was about to scream, she recognized the hushed
whisper. Colin. She turned in his arms.