Tess and the Highlander (9 page)

Colin finished his food and sat studying the flute.
Tess leaned quietly against the wall and made the effort to string
the shells that she no longer found so beautiful. Not long after,
they both settled in early for the night, but sleep eluded Tess and
minutes rolled into hours. She could hear the dying sounds of the
winds outside. Gradually, the fire burned to embers and the chamber
slipped into darkness.

Sometime during the night, when Colin’s steady
breathing indicated that he was asleep, Tess got up and went
outside, throwing her cloak over her shoulders as she went out the
door. For the first time in days, the wind had dropped off to an
occasional sea breeze, and the cold seemed bearable. She raised her
face to the sky and gulped a chest full of air. If she could only
force down the painful knot of loneliness that she was feeling.

Makyn still had not birthed her lamb, which
surprised Tess somewhat. The young woman was too restless, though,
to sit beside the ewe. The scent of dawn was already in the air.
She pushed herself to her feet and started walking toward the rocky
shores.

The sea, the air, the
sky…everything seemed calmer.

But not inside of her. Without the distraction of
the wind and the storm, the reality of her situation on the Isle of
May was suddenly pressing harder on Tess. In all her years here,
she had never once considered the possibility of leaving the
island. She’d never even thought of being forced to live somewhere
else. The thought was frightening.

She still had the nightmares from time to time. The
fleeting images of a terrified young girl running through dark
corridors and passages. And there were other memories, too, that
continued to haunt her. Faces that she could put no name to.

Eleven years had passed, and she had grown less and
less eager to find the answers to her childhood questions.
Charlotte and Garth had protected her and cared for her, and Tess
had gradually become more than happy to forget the past. She’d
never thought beyond just living the rest of her life right
here.

She stood on the edge of a rock and let the cold
water lap up to her shoes. Looking around her, Tess realized she
was standing on the same rock that she’d dragged Colin onto not so
many days ago. How had everything changed so quickly?

In a storm he’d come to the May. Like a storm he’d
thrown her life and what she’d always thought she needed into total
disarray. Restless and confused, she pushed a loose lock of hair
behind her ear and braced herself against a gust of wind whipping
off the gray-green sea.

Then, far to the north, she saw them riding the
swells. Feeling a sense of panic rise in her chest, Tess strained
her eyes to be sure.

Boats.

They were coming for him.

Colin woke with a start. He sat up, unsure for a
moment if Tess had called his name or whether he’d dreamed it. He
glanced immediately across the room. Her bed was empty.

She called him again. Her voice came from outside
the prior’s house. In an instant he was up and reaching for his
shirt when she dashed into the chamber.

“They’re coming!” she said breathlessly. She was a
whirlwind of motion. Colin didn’t think that she even knew that she
had pulled his shirt down over his head and was adjusting his
tartan on his shoulder. “Down the east side of the island. I saw
them. We must make a fire…signal them so they know you’re
here.”

Tess continued to speak hurriedly. Her fingers were
flying as she attempted to help him finish dressing. But she never
once looked up into his face.

“‘Tis important where you set up…the fire. If you do
it by the inlet, then ‘tis an invitation for them to come ashore
there. If ‘tis on the high rock on the island, then you are only
warning a ship of the dangers of the island reefs.”

She continued on, but Colin was in no hurry. The
morning light cast a soft blue tint across the chamber. Her cheeks
were flushed. The smell of the sea and fresh salt air surrounded
her like the most exotic of aromas.

“Come with me,” he blurted out, surprising
himself.

All her movements suddenly ceased. Dark, astounded
eyes stared up at him.

“Aye. Come with me, Tess. I will take you to the
Highlands. My family will welcome you. You’ll like Benmore
Castle…and you can stay there as long as you wish.”

“Nay!” she whispered softly. “I cannot.”

He tried to reach for her. “Tess—”

“Don’t!” she said more firmly, taking a step back.
“But you must go. Now. Please…now…Get them to take you to the
mainland.”

Colin paused. His mind raced with arguments, but
she’d already heard all of them.

“And please don’t tell them about me. Don’t say
anything about Garth and Charlotte being dead. Please.”

He nodded, feeling no enthusiasm.

She reached down, picked up the flute, and put it in
his hand. “Now go!”

She left him no choice. Frustrated. Angry. A chill
of desperation settling in his belly, Colin strode out of the room
and across the moor to the sea.

I will take you to the Highlands. My family will
welcome you…

Tess shook her head to clear the echo of Colin’s
words from her mind. They were
his
family.
His
people. She was nothing more than a stranger that he’d run into
during a storm. He didn’t need a complication like Tess in his
life.

She walked as far as the ruined building of the
chapel, watching him until he disappeared over the crest of hill.
He never once looked back.

She stabbed away a tear. She could feel a sob rising
into her throat and fought to choke it down.

Gone.

The urge to run away boiled up inside of her. The
unfairness of what the rest of her life was to be was tearing at
her gut. She thought of him standing by this ruined chapel, looking
in. Tess could not take it any longer and turned to the western
cliffs. Where could she go, though, to escape her thoughts of
him?

Before she could take a step, however, Makyn’s
bleating penetrated Tess’s distress.

She hurried to the animal. The pregnant ewe was
still lying on the dried bedding. This was not the way the births
normally went. If the ewe were not having difficulty with the
lambing, she would have delivered by now. Tess immediately crouched
beside Makyn and, pushing up her sleeves, tried to examine her for
trouble. She had stood by many times as Makyn and the other ewes
had given birth. For the most part, the sheep would simply lie down
and birth a pair of lambs. Once and twice, though, she had watched
Garth try to help a mother having difficulties.

Tess put a tight leash on her emotions and focused
on the struggling ewe.

“Come on, mother. What is wrong?”

Makyn continued to cry out, but didn’t move when
Tess began checking her. It didn’t take long to discover the cause
of the sheep’s trouble. She could feel the head, but there was only
one leg of the lamb in the birth canal. The other leg must be
stopping the birth from proceeding. And if Tess didn’t do
something, Makyn and the lamb could both die.

An instant of panic took hold of her, as suddenly
she couldn’t remember what to do. None of the births she’d
witnessed had involved trouble like this. A complaints of the ewe
penetrated her thoughts again, though, and she forced herself to
focus on the laboring animal.

“We need to put this right, now, don’t
we?”

Tess tried to not think about the large amounts of
mucus tinged pink with blood that were darkening the dried seaweed
bedding. She forced herself to ignore Makyn’s pained cries and
futile struggles. Instead, she closed her eyes and, feeling with
one hand, physically pushed the lamb back up the birth canal. It
was hard going, but when there was space, she slipped her fingers
around the shoulder, trying to find the missing leg.

Her fingers wrapped around the thin leg. Somehow, it
must have caught on the rim of the ewe’s pelvis. Working carefully,
she started pulling it into the birth canal.

Her efforts had an immediate effect. As soon as the
leg was free, Makyn took charge. Two feet appeared first. With the
knees came the lamb’s nose. She held her breath as Makyn paused
before pushing again. And then the head and shoulders were out,
with the rest of the lamb following.

Tears were coursing down Tess’s face, and she sat
back on her heels in awe as a second lamb slipped out with none of
the trouble of the first one.

Makyn acted as if nothing were amiss and started
cleaning both of her lambs. One of them was white and the other
nearly black.

Her laughter mixed with her tears as Tess watched
the new family. Animals were so much more resilient than people,
she thought a few short moments later as the lambs tried to push
themselves to their feet. The ewe stood up and shook herself before
lying down again a few feet off.

“You’re welcome,” Tess whispered, letting out a
breath of relief.

Clouds were racing overhead, though the wind was
barely a breeze now. The morning sun was shining in its full glory.
Thoughts of Colin pierced the moment, and she looked with a frown
at the hill to the east. The weight in her chest returned
instantly. Tess started to wipe away her tears, but she noticed her
hands and arms and sleeve were a mess. She rose to her feet and
found the front of her dress soaked and stained, too.

Tess turned to go inside and change, but stopped
dead in her tracks

“And I thought you’d be spending the day pining over
me leaving!”

Colin saw her blink once, twice, as if she couldn’t
really believe what she was seeing. He pushed away from the wall of
the old church and took a step toward her.

“Well, is this the only welcome I get?”

“You…you’re still here.”

He cast a quick eye over her soiled dress and
tearstained face. She was a mess, to be sure. But a beautiful
one.

“Why? Why didn’t you go?”

“I decided the sea was still too rough.” He came
nearer. “And there was the problem of not knowing who it might be
that I was entrusting my life with. And then the question of which
village these fishermen were going back to. And then the hardship
of finding a way back to Benmore Castle.”

“Those are not very good reasons.”

“Aye.” He touched the flute at his belt. “The truth
is, lass, no one had ever complimented me on my musical talent
before you. How could I go?”

She smiled, but shook her head.

He halted only a breath away. Their clothes didn’t
touch, but he could almost feel the heat emanating from her body.
He reached out and looped a finger around dancing tendrils of her
hair. Tess’s face was lifted up to his.

“Why did you come back?” she pressed.

“I couldn’t go, Tess. Not without you.”

Fresh tears dropped onto her cheeks, and a world of
hope shone in the dark jewels of her eyes.

Colin glanced quickly toward the animals. “That was
the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. How you helped her! I
felt such…I don’t know how to say it! Nothing has ever made me feel
the way I did watching you. Watching them.”

Her cheeks were flushed prettily. “I didn’t do much.
‘Twas Makyn’s doing. ‘Twas only nature at work.”

They both looked at the lambs, who were now nursing.
Everything seemed so perfectly normal.

“Well, those wee beasties are contented enough. You,
on the other hand, lass, are the one who needs some tending.” Colin
began leading her toward the house. Stopping at the well, he drew a
large bucket of water.

“You should have gone with those fishermen. You’ve
only made it more difficult for both of us by staying,” she said
softly as they entered the house. “You belong out there. Among real
people. Your
own
people. And I belong here.”

“I don’t believe you belong here, Tess. The people
who cared for you are dead. The churchmen that own this island will
think of you only as a nuisance.”

This time she didn’t argue. He put the water near
the hearth and built up the fire until the room started losing some
of its chill.

She finished washing her hands and face and reached
for the dress hanging on a peg—the same one she had been wearing
that first night. “Turn around.”

“Let me help you, Tess.”

“I’d do better to dress myself.”

“I was talking about helping you with your
past.”

“Oh!”

“
And
the dress.” He
couldn’t help himself.

She put her hands on his shoulders and physically
turned him. He suppressed his smile and walked to the window. In
the distance, Colin could see the white caps on the sea.

There had been more than the birthing of a pair of
lambs that he’d witnessed outside. Watching her, he had seen her
self-reliance and her readiness to act, but he’d also seen her
frustration, her fears, and her unhappiness when she’d looked off
in the direction that he’d gone. For an old hermit—or even a
husband and wife—to choose this lonely life was one thing. It was
not right for someone Tess’s age—it was not right for Tess—to be
all alone.

“Are we friends, Tess?” He had to ask.

“I…have never had a friend before you. So I suppose
we are.”

“Then do you trust me?” he asked without turning
around. “Do you believe me when I say I genuinely care about your
safety…about you as a …a friend?”

“I do.”

Her immediate answer gave Colin the confidence he
needed. “Then why don’t you tell me how you came to be living on
Isle of May? And why is it that you are so determined to stay
here?”

There was a long pause before she spoke. “I am
needed here.”

“Tess, this island does
not
need you.” There
was no sound of movement behind him, so Colin turned around. She
had changed her dress and was standing beside the hearth, quietly
braiding her hair. “I don’t mean to belittle the feat you
accomplished today or anything else that you do here. But for
centuries these buildings have stood—such as they are—and for
centuries more they will stand, too. What you cannot ignore,
though, is the very real risk that you take living on this island
alone
.”