Authors: Patricia; Grasso
“Damsel, I’ll be right here,” he told her.
Rob curtsied. “Thank ye, my lord-hero.”
Gavin grinned and bowed from the waist. Turning on his heels, he dashed toward his mother.
Rob watched him a moment and then lifted her gaze to the voluptuous, dark-haired beauty. Kendra stared hard at her, and there was no mistaking the cold hatred leaping at her from the dark eyes.
Rob lifted her chin a notch and turned to leave. By chance, she glanced down at her beggar bead necklace, and a ripple of fear danced down her spine.
Her star ruby had darkened redder than pigeon’s blood.
Chapter 13
Rob saw no one but Gordon during the next two weeks.
Under cover of darkness, a heavy blanket of gray clouds shrouded the mountains and the glens of Argyll. Before dawn, those sadly drooping clouds yawned. Sheets of rain slashed the land, and blasts of howling wind swirled around the mountains and slapped the woodland trees.
The women and the children remained hidden within their stone and turf beehive shelters during those long, lonely days. Mothers used this quiet time to knit warm stockings for winter. Only the older children ventured outside to tend the cattle that huddled together among the rocks.
Gordon and Rob, alone in their lodge, passed the better part of those two weeks in bed. When they weren’t making love, she cooked and cleaned for him while he escorted her pup outside and tended their horses.
“Wake up, angel. The sun is shinin’.”
Rob opened her eyes and saw Gordon sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. Brilliant sunshine streamed into the chamber through the open door and bathed the lodge in a yellow glow. Her husband offered her a freshly picked bouquet of wildflowers and the gift of his smile.
“Have I already slept for forty days?” Rob asked, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.
“Only fourteen,” Gordon answered her. “I’ve made ye breakfast this mornin’.” He set a bowl of oatmeal porridge on her lap.
Rob looked at the porridge and felt her stomach lurch sickeningly. She covered her mouth with her hand and gulped the nausea back.
“I’ll eat later,” she said in a muffled voice.
“Are ye ill?” Gordon asked, worry creasing his brow.
Rob managed a faint smile and shook her head. “I’ll be fine once I feel the warmth of the sunshine and breathe the fresh air,” she assured him.
“Dewey’s waitin’ outside for me,” Gordon told her. “Would ye care to go fishin’ with us?”
“No, Smooches and I will walk to Glen Aray and visit with Gabby,” Rob said, refusing.
“I’ll meet ye there later,” Gordon said, and then leaned close to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. After setting the bowl of porridge on the table, he winked at her and left the lodge.
Two hours later, Rob completed her housekeeping chores and her morning toilet. Leaving the lodge, she scooped Smooches into her arms and started down the path to Glen Aray.
Everywhere she looked, Rob saw voluptuous nature in bloom. The trees seemed greener; a colorful variety of wildflowers adorned the woodland; lush blossoms promised a bountiful harvest. The morning air resounded with bird song as grackle, robin, finch, and wren went about the business of nesting and feeding their young.
Birds signify new beginnings, Rob remembered her aunt telling her. Was she about to experience a new beginning in her own life? Did Gordon cherish her? Her husband certainly behaved as if he did. Could the Campbell clansmen accept her as their lady? They’d seemed to have accepted her at the Beltane celebration, but why had her beggar bead necklace darkened? Was it only because Kendra harbored such negative feelings for her?
That must be the reason, Rob concluded. She wasn’t in any real physical danger from the other woman. Her star ruby had sensed the negative feelings emanating from the dark-haired woman.
Keep a guarded eye on the ruby today, Rob told herself. She reached to touch the beggar bead necklace and stopped short. She’d forgotten to wear it. Should she return to the lodge to get it? Where was the sense in that? She was closer to the glen than the lodge, and in no real danger.
Rob continued walking along the path and hummed a merry tune to herself. Gavin’s apology renewed her dream of acceptance, and she hoped she’d see him on her way to look for Gabby. Perhaps the three of them could play games together.
Leaving the path behind, Rob started across the valley of Glen Aray. The sunshine on her shoulders warmed her, the grass beneath her bare feet tickled, and the mingling fragrances of myriad wildflowers wafted through the air and made her nose twitch pleasurably with their scents.
Rob felt wonderfully alive. The day and the valley were simply perfection. She was home in the Highlands; and for the first time in her life, she felt that she truly belonged there. In spite of Old Clootie’s mark, her husband’s people accepted her. And their acceptance was all she’d ever wanted.
Sublime happiness made Rob giddy, and she twirled in a circle like a young girl. Her gaze fell on one of those deadly glenside sundew blossoms. A butterfly struggled for freedom on the flower’s sticky tendrils, and a feeling of foreboding washed over her.
Rob paused and watched the butterfly. Leaning close, she lifted it to freedom. Now the sundew flower would starve.
Rob banished the disturbing thought from her mind. Letting the death of a flower trouble her was ridiculous. She’d done the butterfly a good turn that day. Perhaps the favor would be returned to her on another day.
Rob strolled across the valley in the direction of the natural pool formed from the mingling of Sorrow and Care. Even from this distance, she spied the older children swimming in the pool. A group of women, including Gabby and Kendra, sat together and talked animatedly. Apparently, they were as happy with the idyllic day as she was.
And then she saw Gavin. The six-year-old sat alone on a rock and watched the other children, including his brother, romping in the water. Her heart ached at his dejected expression. The boy seemed so alone, a feeling she well understood.
“Gavin!” Rob called.
With a smile of greeting lighting his face, the six-year-old turned in her direction. When Smooches dashed forward to greet him, Gavin reached out and patted the pup.
“Is aught wrong?” Rob asked, sitting beside him.
“The others willna play with me,” Gavin answered, looking longingly at the boys frolicking in the pool. “Duncan said I’m too little.”
Rob felt the insistent tugging at her heartstrings. She knew from experience what rejection was. “The others canna keep ye from swimmin’,” she told him. “They dinna own the water.”
“I dinna know how to swim,” Gavin admitted. “Some day I’ll swim out away over my head. Perhaps I’ll float across the seas to the New World.”
Rob smiled. “Yer father will be here by and by. He’ll give ye yer first swimmin’ lesson then.”
“I’d like that.” The boy’s expression brightened with hope. Then he asked, “When will my baby sister be arrivin’?”
Rob stifled a giggle, but wondered about her morning queasiness. Could that be a sign that she was carrying her husband’s child? No, that couldn’t be. They’d only been intimate for a few weeks, and surely getting with child took longer than that.
“Gettin’ a sister isna as easy as ye may think,” Rob told the six-year-old, “but yer father and I are tryin’ really hard to accommodate ye . . . There’s a shallow stream in the woods near yer father’s lodge. If the weather holds tomorrow, would ye care to go ticklin’ a trout with me?”
“What’s that?”
His ignorance surprised Rob. “My brothers taught me how to tickle a trout when I was younger than ye. Has yer father never showed ye?”
Gavin shook his head.
“Well, ye wade into a stream and stand perfectly still,” she explained. “Ever so slowly, ye submerge yer hand into the water. Fish, as ye may know, are curious creatures. When one swims close to investigate, ye stroke its belly with one finger. Once it’s paralyzed with pleasure, ye flip him onto the shore.”
Gavin grinned. “And then what?”
“Why, ye cook him up and eat him,” Rob said. “’Tis a grand way to pass a summer’s afternoon.”
The six-year-old lost his smile and remarked, “’Tisna grand if yer the fish.”
“I do believe yer a lover, not a fighter,” Rob said, lifting his little hand in hers and planting a kiss on it.
“Good day to ye, Lady Rob,” Gabby greeted her, and plopped down on the ground beside them. “I’m verra excited and canna wait ’til this summer’s gone.”
“Why?” Rob asked, surprised. Winter lasted a long time in the Highlands. Most people relished the coming of summer and savored each day of its warmth.
“Gordy told my Dewey that he planned on takin’ ye to Edinburgh to meet the king,” Gabby answered. “Since I’m yer tirin’ woman, I’m goin’ too. Dewey will come along and play the part of Gordy’s valet.”
Rob giggled. “I canna imagine Dewey bein’ a verra good valet.”
Gabby burst out laughing, and Gavin smiled, though it was obvious from his expression that he had no idea what a valet was. Suddenly, shouts of alarm sliced the air and drew their attention.
“Help! The cattle are dyin’!” one of the older boys shouted, racing across the glen toward them. The others on duty with him ran close behind him, but the group stopped when they reached the women.
Rob scooped Smooches into her arms and stood to watch what was happening. Gabby and Gavin stood when she did. Even the children playing in the pool swam to the water’s edge and listened.
“Tell us what happened,” one of the women ordered. “And for God’s sake, speak slowly.”
“I dinna know for sure,” the boy answered. “Everythin’ seemed peaceful; but then the cow keeled over, shuddered for a minute, and died.”
“Just the one?” Kendra asked, her alarm apparent in her voice.
“Aye, the cow Lady Rob led between the Beltane fires,” he said.
In unison, the women turned around and stared at her. The suspicion in their gazes told Rob that her worst nightmare was coming true.
“The witch killed the cow with her evil touch,” Kendra spoke up.
“Aye, look at her left hand,” a second woman agreed. “Old Clootie marked her as his own.”
“Shut yer foolish mouths,” Gabby snapped, taking a step toward them. “The laird will have yer tongues for voicin’ such lies.”
Rob squared her shoulders proudly. She held her left hand out toward the women who leaped back quickly in fear.
“’Tis a birth stain, not the devil’s mark,” Rob told them. “I am yer new lady and have yer best interests at heart. Never would I do anythin’ to jeopardize yer welfare.”
Silence reigned for several long moments while the women mulled that over in their minds. In the end, Kendra ruined whatever chance Rob had for winning the women’s trust.
“I heard her mother is a Sassenach witch,” Kendra said. “She passed that infernal ability along to her daughter. Look at her Sassenach dog. Why, ’tisna a dog at all. ’Tis a cat and her witch’s familiar.”
“Suffer a witch to die,” one of the women agreed.
“The laird will kill the lot of ye if ye dare to lay a finger on her,” Gabby warned.
“She cast her witch’s spell on Gordy and the laird,” Kendra insisted. “’Twill be broken once she’s dead.”
“Aye, let’s drown her and her cat,” a woman said.
“Let’s have done with it,” another agreed.
Gabby stepped protectively in front of Rob as the group of women started forward. That gave Rob the chance she needed.
“Take Smooches and run into the woods,” Rob ordered Gavin, thrusting the pup into his arms. “Follow the woodland path and find yer father.”
Without hesitation, Gavin clutched the pup close against his chest and dashed toward the forest. “Da!” he shouted. “Help! Murder!”
“Fetch yer brother back here,” Kendra ordered Duncan.
The boy looked from Rob to Gavin and then his mother. Finally, he shook his head and refused to budge.
“Ye must go through me to get to Lady Rob,” Gabby informed them.
“Get her!” one of the women shouted.
Five of the women rushed Gabby who, in spite of her healthy size, was unable to fend them off. The women tackled her to the ground and then sat down on top of her. Gabby struggled in vain.
Kendra and two other women grabbed Rob, who fought frantically for freedom. They dragged her to the water’s edge and shoved her to her knees. Kendra pushed her head toward the water.
“Gordy!” Rob screamed, and then sucked in her breath as her head plunged beneath the water’s surface . . .
Strolling leisurely down the path that led to Glen Aray, Gordon and Dewey heard the screams for help. Both men dropped the fish they’d caught, raced toward the valley, and burst upon a shocking scene.
Clutching Smooches to his chest, Gavin was running toward them and shouting for help. Beyond the boy, five women sat on top of Gabby, who was cursing them loudly and struggling to buck them off. At the water’s edge, Kendra and two women were drowning his wife.