Chapter 18
They had hoped that Mr. MacIvor, the man who was to take them to the far side of the island, would return from delivering his load of lobsters on Monday, but he was nowhere to be found.
Kate was there when Nathaniel asked Mr. MacRitchie about it.
The innkeeper responded with a shrug. “He’ll get here when he gets here, I suppose. ”
Fortunately, Murdo had a never-ending supply of interesting places to take them near Stornoway, so they spent their days agreeably occupied observing merlins and oystercatchers, red deer and dolphins while waiting for Mr. MacIvor to grace them with his presence.
He finally arrived in port on Wednesday night, and so their departure was fixed for Thursday.
Mr. MacRitchie supplied them with wool blankets, sacks of oats and potatoes, and barrels of smoked fish.
Although Murdo had shown them a few local plants they could forage for, it appeared there would not be a great deal of variety in their diet for the next few weeks.
Paradoxically, Kate welcomed the challenging conditions.
She had always longed for the chance to prove herself, to demonstrate that she was capable of performing just as well in the field as a male illustrator.
She’d been secretly thrilled when Nathaniel had allowed her to row the boat into shore.
That was precisely the sort of task she had never been allowed to perform as a woman, and although she wasn’t as strong a rower as Nathaniel, she had proven equal to the task.
As she readied herself for bed on Wednesday night, she vowed that she would prove equal to the task that was to come.
It took them most of the day to sail around the northern tip of the island to another beautiful, white-sand beach. This time, mountains loomed in the distance.
Mr. MacIvor ferried them to shore and directed them to one of the summer shelters, called a shieling, that dotted the island. They would spend the night here, then the next day, they would make the hike to Loch Raonasgail.
As they carried their provisions up from the beach, Kate surveyed the shieling in which they would spend the night.
It was a small, rectangular structure consisting of dry-stone walls and a thatched roof.
Shelves and a tiny hearth were built into the walls, as well as low stone platforms that could function as tables or desks.
It was exceedingly spare but adequate for their purposes.
Kate could not help but notice that after allowing a little room for their baggage, the area left for sleeping was about the same size as the bed they had shared at the inn in Stornoway.
So, she was out of that particular frying pan, straight into this new fire.
She imagined that they would lie down in separate bedrolls, so, although they would be close in terms of distance, surely they would not awake entwined as they had fallen into the habit of doing.
Kate was not entirely successful in convincing herself that the emotion this thought elicited was relief, rather than disappointment.
Sharing a bed with Nathaniel had been embarrassing and terrifying, as she was in constant fear of discovery.
But she could not deny that it was also thrilling.
And this would surely be her only chance to be close to the man she adored more with each passing day.
If she had met Nathaniel another time, in another way, as Kenneth Weatherby’s daughter, he might have courted her.
The possibility was remote, but it wouldn’t have been nonexistent.
Little had she realized that by achieving her ambitions as an illustrator, she would be sabotaging her romantic hopes.
Although there were a range of reactions that Nathaniel might have to discovering that she was a woman, few of them could be described as good.
And had she truly realized her professional aspirations?
She would have to go back to being Kate at some point, and for the rest of her career, she would have to avoid Nathaniel, lest he recognize her.
The scientific world was small enough that it was difficult to imagine that their paths would not cross at one time or another.
Unless she was willing to give up her work, discovery seemed inevitable.
The more she considered it, the more it seemed that revealing her true identity was her only course.
But it was imperative that she did not do so until they returned to Edinburgh and her work with Nathaniel was complete.
He had shown himself to be a man of the utmost honor, and she was convinced that if there was the slightest chance of damage to her reputation, he would insist upon marrying her.
Although Kate did want to marry Nathaniel, she didn’t want him to propose out of a sense of obligation.
He was so gracious, he probably wouldn’t utter a word of complaint.
But the fact that he had not been free to make his own choice would always cast a pall over their marriage.
Yes, she would let him know, but not until their current project was complete. And then, she would have to pray that he would keep her secret.
Although they had lain down on opposite sides of the small shelter, Kate awoke to find herself wrapped in Nathaniel’s arms, as usual.
Her first mortifying thought was that she had invaded his bedroll in her sleep, but a quick glance around the shieling revealed that they had met one another in the middle.
Which was odd. Kate had accepted that she was hopelessly drawn to Nathaniel, as the tides yearned after the moon.
But it seemed improbable that he would have similar feelings for “Kit Witherspoon,” who possessed all the attractions of a scrawny fourteen-year-old boy.
As usual, upon waking, Nathaniel released Kate and muttered an apology as he hurried outside. When she emerged from the shieling, he was splashing himself in the stream that emptied into the ocean.
After breaking their fast on bowls of porridge, they began the hike to Loch Raonasgail.
This was the part of their assignment that made Kate particularly nervous.
She was confident that her artistic abilities were up to the task.
But, although she prided herself on being a vigorous sort of girl, she had never been in a situation that would test her in the ways she would be tested in the next few weeks.
She would be hiking long distances while carrying heavy loads.
Then, for the next four weeks, she would be scrambling up cliff faces and working outdoors all day in whatever weather the Hebrides could throw at her.
In the weeks before her departure, she’d spent hours trooping up and down Arthur’s Seat with Roderick in an attempt to build up her stamina.
Now came the moment to discover if her preparations had been sufficient.
She was determined to prove herself, so she loaded her pack until she could barely heft it onto her back.
They set out, following the stream through the treeless landscape that was particular to the Hebrides.
The hike wasn’t overly long—only about three miles to the base of the loch—nor was it steep, although the ground was boggy in places.
Kate didn’t utter a word of complaint, but she sensed Nathaniel watching her at times.
He was always the one to suggest that they stop and rest.
They had to make three circuits in order to bring in all their supplies. By the end of the day, Kate couldn’t decide which hurt more, her feet or her back. But she also felt exhilaration mixed in with the exhaustion. At least she had managed the first step.
Loch Raonasgail was long and narrow, with mountains ringing its far end. Kate watched an eagle circle three times against the cloudy sky, then disappear in the cliffs above.
Nathaniel came up beside her. “First thing tomorrow, that’s where we’ll be going.”
Kate shivered with anticipation. For how many years had she dreamed of an opportunity just like this? It was finally here, and she didn’t mean to squander it.
There was another shieling on the banks of the loch similar to the one they had sheltered in the previous night.
It only took fifteen minutes to unpack their scant belongings.
They feasted on smoked mackerel and baked potatoes.
The dinner might have been simple, but hunger truly was the best sauce, and after a day spent packing in their supplies, Kate ate eagerly.
As the sun began to dip below the mountain peaks, they crawled into their bedrolls. Kate fell asleep, both anxious and eager for the day ahead.