MacFarlane's Ridge (16 page)

“Tis a shame. Does she no’ have a husband of her own?” Tom asked Rob, who simply laughed in response.

“Excuse me!” she shouted. They both turned and looked at her. “If you don’t mind,” she said coldly, “I think it is incredibly rude to discuss me as though I was one of your cows.”

Tom Kerr blushed. “Begging your pardon, lass. I meant no harm of it.”

Rob merely stared at her.

“And as for you,” Cam continued, glaring at him, “I think you need to mind your own business. My marital status, or lack of it, is really none of your affair, is it?”

“As a matter of fact, lass, it is.”

“How so?” Cam snarled.

Tom Kerr handed Rob a small package and waved goodbye, then hurriedly led his horse down the path. “Must be going,” he mumbled. “Good to meet you, ma’am!”

“How is it your business?” she repeated. “And would you please show me the courtesy of using my name?”

He folded his arms across his broad chest. “All right, then, Cameron Clark. D’ye have any family here?”

“No, you know I don’t.”

“And do ye have any family in Charleston?”

“Well, no,” she answered warily.

“Then as the oldest man in the house in which you are biding, it is up to me to be responsible for you,” Rob stated plainly.

“Responsible for me! I am responsible for myself!” Cam exclaimed.

He shook his head. “Nae, I’m afraid not, lass. As long as you’re under the protection of the MacFarlane family, then I am responsible for ye, and in my absence Ian shall be.”

“Protection of – what are you talking about?”

“Tis a long and honorable Scottish tradition, laddie. The Clan MacFarlane gives protection and sanctuary to all within their borders. Tom Kerr wasn’t asking you to come visit, he was asking
me
if you could come visit.”

“Why would he ask you? This is ridiculous, you know.” Cam sat down on a stump. Her head hurt.

“He asked me out of respect. I answered in a way that let him know you could come visit Sally, but that you were not looking to marry one of his many sons,” Rob explained.

“How many sons does Tom have?”

Rob thought for a moment. “Well, when he was married to Elizabeth, he had Alan, Dougal, Hugh and then James. Then he married Mary, and she had another four boys, although I canna remember all of their names. Oh, and she had Betsy, too. Then he married Sally, and she’s got nothing but girls, a whole passel of them. The wee one is the same age as Hamish. There’s anywhere from thirteen to sixteen bairns in that house, although I canna keep them all straight. Unfortunately all the lasses look like Tom, and all the lads are handsome but dumb as posts.”

“Sixteen children. I’m impressed. I hadn’t thought Tom was that old.”

“Aye, well, he’s in his fifties or so. The oldest boy, Alan, is your age, and already married. So is Dougal. But as I said, they’re all a wee bit thick. I didna think you’d like being married to a man who was stupid.”

She laughed, and suddenly felt at ease in his presence, as she had those few nights on the trail. “Thank you. I don’t think I’d like that at all, myself.”

“Aye, tis nothing.”

They sat in silence for a while. “Robert?”

“Aye?”

“Have I done something to offend you?”

Rob started visibly. “Why do you think that?”

Cam shrugged. This was awkward, but she needed to get things out in the open. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since we got here. You’ve barely spoken to me in the past two weeks. You and Ian disappear up to that cabin you’re building, and then when you come back you don’t talk to anyone but Mollie.”

He sat beside her and stared at the small package in his hands. “Well, a man gets tired working all day.”

“Ian talks to me.”

“Aye, that he does.”

“Listen,” she said. “I know you promised to help me find Wanda when the spring came. I won’t hold you to that.” She sighed. “If you’d rather I left, then I will. I don’t want to intrude.”

“Intrude? Upon what?”

“Er, well, you and Mollie,” she said as tactfully as she could. Perhaps she could find her way to the town called Big Lick, where Wanda’s family lived. Wanda would help her.

“Me and Mollie?” he asked, alarmed. “What about me and Mollie?”

“I think she’s in love with you,” Cam blurted.

Rob laughed. “In love with me?”

“Yes! Don’t laugh! I saw you two talking one day, when we first got here. You were out by the barn. You both looked like you had been… caught.” Why on earth did he think this was so funny?

“Nae, you’re wrong. Mollie’s not in love with me.”

Cam shook her head. “I’ve spent every day in this house with her. I see her moping around every day until you get back at supper time.”

Rob was laughing so hard he was shaking. “I’m sorry, lass. I havena’ laughed like this in a while. Nae, she’s not moping about me. Tis Ian she’s in love with.”

Cam was stunned. She’d had no idea. All this time, she thought there was something going on with Rob and Mollie. “Oh,” she said in a small voice.

Suddenly Rob looked up. “Oh, lass, I’m sorry. I know how ye feel about Ian.”

“What?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry to break it to ye like that. I know ye have feelings for him, fool that he may be.”

“Feelings for Ian? Oh, no,” she protested.

Rob frowned. “Ye’re not after marryin’ Ian?”

Now it was Cam’s turn to laugh. “I’m afraid not. I like him, he’s very sweet. But I certainly have no plans to marry him.”

Rob nodded. “Well, then.”

“Yes. Well, then,” she echoed. There was an uncomfortable pause. The stump they were sitting on was not very wide, and she was acutely conscious of his leg next to hers. “So, what was that song you and Ian were singing the night we got here? The one about the cows?”

He laughed. “
Thogail nam Bo theid sinn!
To Lift the Cows We Shall Go
. The MacFarlanes have a long and proud history of cow-thieving.”

She wrinkled her nose. “And this is something you actually have a song about?”

“Aye. In Scotland, lifting cows is a way of life. My da used to tell us stories about when he was a boy. He and his brothers would go steal cows from the Clan Colquhoun herds. Then the Colquhouns would steal them back. The lads got to be so good at it, that the full moon was known as MacFarlane’s Lantern,” he smiled proudly.

“Amazing. I can’t believe you actually have a cow-stealing song.” She shook her head with a smile, thinking of some of her own favorite songs. None of them were even remotely about stealing cows. “So, going back to my original question?”

“Which was?” Rob asked.

“Have I done something to offend you?”

“Well, no, not exactly.”

“What do you mean, not exactly?” Cam asked, eyes narrowing.

“Well, you did throw yourself at poor Ian when we got here.”

“Throw myself? What on earth are you talking about?” He was doing it again, turning things around.

“The way you came out that first morning, all dressed up and lookin’ like a woman again. Ian was like a puppy, following you about the house.”

“He was not! And if he did, I can’t help that,” she added indignantly. “At least he noticed the way I looked and was polite enough to say something about it!”

Rob glared at her. “Is that what it was? Ye just wanted to be looked at by a man?”

Cam threw her hands up in frustration and leaped to her feet. She was so mad she was quivering. “Who in the hell do you think you are? I’m sorry that you look at me and see someone you found sopping wet in a creek, who doesn’t know how to cook over a fire or ride a horse or skin a rabbit! And I’m sorry that your brother was considerate enough to notice when I started to look like a woman again! And most of all,” she yelled, “I am sorry that I met you and inconvenienced you so much, Robert MacFarlane!”

She stormed off to the barn, kicking over her milk bucket on the way.

“Good Lord, but ye’re a fool, Robbie,” said a voice behind him.

“That’ll be enough from you, Mollie,” Robbie told her, as he watched the barn door slam shut.

She sat beside him. “Robbie.”

“What are you wanting this time?” He turned over the small package in his hands.

She patted his hand. “It’s a shame, it is.”

“What’s a shame?”

She sighed. “That the ghost of a woman who never loved you can still haunt you after fifteen years.”

Mollie pulled her shawl tighter and went back to the house. Rob began his trek to the half-finished cabin further up the hillside. Physical labor would do him a world of good.

Damn him, damn him
, Cam thought furiously, as she stomped around the barn. She was angry with Robert MacFarlane, and angrier with herself. She had allowed herself to become attracted to him, and the more he ignored her the more she thought about him. Now it was obvious that he was not interested. More than that, he apparently disliked her intently. He had all but called her a whore. Well, as much as she liked Mollie and Ian, she certainly couldn’t stay here. The snow was nearly gone, and if she packed enough food and ate sparingly, she could get to the nearest settlement within a day or two. She had learned from Ian that there was a settlement called Liberty, which would later be known as Bedford, not far from here. If she could stay on the trails, she could get there. What she would do once she reached Liberty, she had no idea.

“Ian, what d’ye mean she’s gone?”

“I mean she left, Robbie! She said she was going into Liberty to look for her friend and when she found her they’d be going back home!”

Rob scratched his head. “Was she on foot?”

“Well, no, not exactly.”

“Not exactly what?” Rob roared.

“I gave her your horse,” interrupted Mollie from her spot by the fire.

“Ye gave her my horse. Aye, that’s just what she needs. My horse,” he grumbled. “And how am I to go find her if she has my horse?”

Mollie frowned. “I think she’d rather ye dinna go find her.”

“Well, if I dinna look for her, she’ll freeze to death long before she reaches Liberty. She canna even start a fire by herself!”

“Aye, but she can. I showed her how.”

“Thank you, Mollie. And did ye show her how to skin a rabbit and cook it too?”

Mollie shrugged. “She shouldna’ have to. I gave her some bread and some salted meat to last her a few days.”

Ian was beginning to panic. Rob was enraged, and Ian wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe they shouldn’t have let her go, but she had been so polite about it. “Well, Robbie, if ye didna’ want her to leave, ye should’ve told us so.”

“I didn’t
know
she was going to leave!” he shouted. Even the dog was looking at him disdainfully.

Finally Mollie rose. The tip of her nose reached Rob’s chest. “Now, ye listen, Robbie,” she said, poking him in the sternum. “After the way you’ve been treating her, what did ye think was to happen?”

“Mollie, I …”

“Robbie,” she said softly. “You and I are not so different. Have the courage to go after what ye want.”

Rob stared at her, and looked back at Ian, who was scratching his sandy head and looking confused. “You too, Mollie. You need to have the courage as well.”

“I’m afraid,” she said simply.

He lifted her chin and kissed her on the forehead. “Without fear, there is no courage.” Rob grabbed his plaid and his heavy coat, and went out into the dusk.

“What was that about, Mollie?” asked Ian, perplexed. Mollie merely smiled.

Cam had been riding most of the day, and by the time the sun began to set, she felt as though she had made some progress. She noticed she wasn’t sore, even after riding all day. Maybe it was because she was in better physical condition than she had ever been in her life. Ian had pointed her in the right direction toward Liberty, and told her which landmarks to look for. With any luck, she would be there in two days.

She started a small campfire, and pulled out a hunk of bread. She had changed into a pair of Ian’s trousers for the journey, and wore a bedraggled old hat. The moon was full, and the stars were out. Even though it was a cool night, Cam was warm. A teary-eyed Mollie had made sure she had blankets. She watched the twinkling stars, and dozed off.

Christmas morning dawned, and Cam awoke to the soft nuzzling of the horse, Betsy. The fire had died, and remembering her days as a Girl Scout, Cam made sure she stomped on it heartily before leaving her camp. She gulped in the cold mountain air, and for the first time since falling into the whirlpool, Cam felt as though she might actually be able to survive in this place. She did miss Troy, and Alice and Hal. She wondered if she would ever find out if Troy was alive. Or maybe time stood still while she was here, like in the movies, and when she got back he would still be lying on the ground on the mountainside. She hadn’t thought about Wayne Sinclair in a while, and shivered at the idea. She fervently hoped he had drowned in the cave.