A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (25 page)

After a speedy, but thorough, search of the surrounding area, and after checking the tree itself, Lachlan
’
s mind was eased however.  It all looked innocent enough, and the very fact that he was still alive and un-ambushed bounded well.

It was lucky that he had been riding ahead of the carriage really! Lachlan didn
’
t like to think what might have happened if the team of horses had rounded the corner and been unable to stop before running into the fallen pine
…
supposing they had crashed, supposing Muira had been hurt
…
Lachlan couldn
’
t quite account for the searing pain that sliced through his heart.

Of course he didn
’
t want for Muira to be hurt!  She was- she was his
wife
…
he
…
cared
for her
…
but that didn
’
t seem to equate with the intensity of the feeling that had gripped him when he
’
d thought of her being injured
…
being taken from him.

He gave his head a fierce shake and swung himself back up into Faidhiach
’
s saddle, kicking the horse back on in the direction of the approaching carriage.  He only had to canter a little way before spotting them, calling to the driver to stop he explained what had happened.  Before he could stop her, Muira had alighted from the couch and was standing on the roadside looking up at him expectantly.

“
I thought you said that the roads would be clear?
”
she mused aloud.

“
I though they would be,
”
Lachlan couldn
’
t contain a growl. 

It would probably take hours of tedious work to get the tree moved.  He was worried that they wouldn
’
t reach Eilean Donan before nightfall, and he wasn
’
t certain that there was a suitable inn to stop at with Muira if they were forced to break their journey.

“
Will you be able to move it?
”
she asked, looking remarkably unperturbed by the whole development. 

“
Yes,
”
Lachlan said instantly, although he then glanced at the coach driver, who gave a silent nod before informing the MacRae warrior that they had rope and axes, and with the three men (himself, Lachlan and the footman) it shouldn
’
t be a terribly difficult feat to accomplish.

Muira had been listening to all of this intently. 
“
But it will slow us down?
”
she asked. 
“
Quite considerably?
”
 

Lachlan frowned as he listened to her, was it his imagination, or did she sound
hopeful
?  He supposed that he couldn
’
t blame her. 
He
certainty hadn
’
t enjoyed his time at Castle Cameron, but then he
’
d promised Muira that he
’
d look after her
…
didn
’
t that mean anything, didn
’
t she trust him?

“
Depends,
”
shrugged the driver, in answer to Muira
’
s question, and that was all he said on the matter.

Muira hopped back into the coach, feeling better than she had done since leaving The Three Oaks.  She might have another day
’
s grace!  She smiled happily as the carriage started to move.  It would
only
be a day, but surely that was something?  The sick churning in her stomach had stopped at least.  She sighed, and sank back into the cushions of the seat, another day in which to steel herself- in which to think of a story to explain her marriage to Lachlan in a way that might save her from being hated.

Muira couldn
’
t contain a dry little snort, as if there was anything that she, a Cameron, could do to stop herself being hated by the MacRaes.  She was just warming to this topic, preparing to lose herself in the horrible, grim facts of the matter, when the coach rolled to a stop and the sound of men
’
s voices met her ears.  She smiled to herself when she instantly picked out Lachlan
’
s deep, rich burr, and then opened up the door for herself, stepping out of the carriage to inspect the damage.

“
Gosh,
”
she said, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the large fallen tree.  It was laid right across the road. 
“
Are you sure that you
’
ll be able to move that?
”

“
Aye,
”
Lachlan nodded.  He
’
d already dismounted and was walking over to the coach driver, rolling up his shirtsleeves as he went. 
“
If we can hack off the branches then we should be able to tie a rope around the trunk and have the carriage team pull it clear of the road,
”
he explained, picking up an axe that the driver kept under his seat and then turning back to the tree.

There were three men, and only two axes, so they rotated the chopping duty (although Lachlan seemed to be doing more than he fair share, the driver was an older man, and the footman younger, so the bulk of the work fell to the MacRae), while Muira sat on a nearby tree stump close to the horses and watched.  Bored.  And cold.  She wished that there were something she could do to help.

She still didn
’
t want to reach Eilean Donan Castle any sooner than was necessary, but simply sitting thinking about it for hours on end was worse than anything!

“
Lachlan?
”
she said, standing up, only to be told to sit back down and keep out of the way.  Muira placed her hands on her hips and glared. 
“
I can help!
”
she blurted, finally capturing her husband
’
s attention, and earning a snigger from the young footman and a look of condescension from the old driver. 

However, Lachlan regarded her thoughtfully, he was breathing hard by now, and sweat was dripping off his face, he kept wiping it out of his eyes with his forearm.

“
I suppose you could pull the branches we
’
ve cut to the side of the road?
”
he said reluctantly. 
“
The
small
branches,
”
he amended quickly. 
“
And use the gloves I
’
ve got in the back of Faid
’
s saddle,
”
he added.

Muira tutted at him and set about getting to work, she eyed Faidhiach and the gloves warily, but wasn
’
t quite feeling brave enough to approach the monster of a horse. 

Within just a few minutes she had warmed up considerably.  The branches were leaving quite a few scratches over her hands, but Muira hardly noticed them, nor did she notice the first time that she snagged her skirt, or the second, and when her painstakingly arranged hair started tumbling out of its pins she simply swept it aside
…
until she took a moment to pause, and then realised with a start of horror what a mess she was in.

“
Oh no,
”
she squeaked, working her fingers through her tangled auburn curls, as the men swept aside the last of the branches off the road, and then began discussing how best to tie the rope to the tree trunk and attach it to the horses harnesses. 

She could
not
be seen at Eilean Donan Castle until she
’
d bathed, and changed her clothes, and fixed her hair!

Muira took a little relief from the fact that it was mid afternoon.  They had lost at least four hours trying to clear the road, and would therefore be forced to stay the night somewhere- she
hoped
.  She planned to ask her husband just as soon as she was able.  He was helping the driver to secure the rope to the log, but after that left the other two men alone to deal with their horses.

“
Will we make it to the castle tonight?
”
she asked quickly.

Lachlan looked exhausted and not in the best of tempers. 
“
No,
”
he grunted, taking a seat on the tree stump where Muira had originally been placed when they
’
d first stopped.

Muira gave an audible sigh of relief. 
“
Well, we
’
re not really in a fit state to be seen arriving anywhere today, now are we?
”
she said brightly, her spirits lifting.

“
We
’
ll be in an even worse state tomorrow,
”
Lachlan growled, staring blackly at the tree trunk as the driver coaxed his horses to pull it to the side of the road.

“
What do you mean?
”
Muira asked slowly.  Her lifted spirits came crashing back down.