Chapter 9
The gates were open, large wooden gates with ring handles made of iron.
The courtyard was wide and flat, with a couple of wagons standing idly in the shadowed corner.
The estate itself looked impressive, with every stone polished.
Lionhead statues were evenly spaced before the estate, staring with blank eyes.
Guards stood rigidly upon the walls and at the sides of the courtyard.
For a moment Nora believed they were statues, so still were they.
The sounds of the outside world seemed muted, as though this place was impervious to anything that happened beyond its walls.
It must have been a good retreat, Nora thought, but as she turned her head and examined the looming walls she couldn’t help but feel as though it would make a good prison as well.
Was her life to be lived in a place like this, pushing away everything outside, never knowing what was occurring?
It made her wonder if perhaps Callan’s estimation of Laird MacPherson was exaggerated.
If he lived in places like this then it was likely that he did not know about the plight of his villagers.
“Och, tae be a Laird. Rather puts my hut tae shame, aye?” Callan said under his breath as they approached the doors.
Two servants walked past, carrying a large tray covered in cloth.
They were completely rigid, as though an iron bar had been placed against their spine.
They did not miss a step, and their clothes were immaculate.
Two guards stood beside the doors, which were black.
They held long spears in gloved hands. The only thing that moved were their eyes, which fell upon Nora and Callan, narrowing a little.
Nora felt a shiver pass through her body. Given her previous experience with MacPherson guards it was only natural for her to be anxious around them, although she had to tell herself that not all guards would have been like Brune.
Surely, they couldn’t be…
And Callan was with her this time. She drew strength from his presence and kept one eye on the open gates at the wall, ready to break into a sprint should the guards show any sign of hostility. She was not Lady MacPherson yet, after all, so her authority amounted to nothing.
“We seek Laird MacPherson. I—” Nora began, but before she could finish her sentence, Callan interrupted.
“There’s trouble in the nearby village. We hoped tae speak with the Laird. I’m sure he would be most incensed tae ken that his people are suffering.”
The guards turned slowly, shifting their gazes towards each other.
Behind them, Nora noticed the doors opening.
There was a low groan as two servants appeared.
They cleaned one door each, running damp cloths over the doors.
Long shadows crept inside the house. Nora noticed how opulent it was, with a thick red rug placed upon the floor and long tapestries hanging along the walls.
She almost gasped when she saw a huge stag, only to realize that it was motionless, stuffed. Its glassy eyes stared into an abyss.
“The Laird is nae here,” the guard on the right said.
Nora felt the twinge of defeat and frustration.
The last thing she wanted was to traipse across the Highlands with Callan, visiting all of Laird MacPherson’s many estates when there was no guarantee they would ever find him, especially if he kept moving between them.
She was going to have to make a stand at some point.
“Then send a message tae him. I am here on the most urgent business and hae traveled far. I’m assuming Laird MacPherson follows the same rules of hospitality that are shared by all in the Highlands?” she said.
“Ye are free tae enter the house and enjoy the splendor,” the guard on the left said. His words had a rehearsed air about them.
“Thank ye, lads, we’ll be sure tae dae that. Ye are daeing fine work. I’ll be sure tae mention that when we speak with the Laird,” Callan said in a breezy tone, as if all of this was completely normal and it didn’t unsettle him at all.
He gripped Nora’s arm and pulled her forward.
Nora’s breath caught in her throat for a moment as she feared that the guards would cross their spears and prevent them entry, perhaps even taking them prisoner.
This whole plan of her brother’s had been cursed from the start, and she could only imagine that something else would go wrong soon enough.
However, the guards allowed them to pass and they stepped inside the place.
The servants lowered their gazes, continuing with their work.
The house was cool inside. There was a towering staircase and as she gazed up she saw more tapestries hanging from the ceiling.
Callan walked up to the stag and placed his hand upon its nose.
Even though Nora knew it was stuffed, she half-expected it to come to life.
“I wonder if the Laird hunted this himself. It’s quite a sorry fate, aye? Imagine if ye ended up like this, stuffed and put on display for anyone tae see,” he said, shaking his head. Nora quickened her steps and caught up to him, speaking in a low voice.
“What are we supposed tae dae now? And why dinnae ye let me speak?”
“Ach, dinnae worry about that, lass. I ken how tae handle these situations. And ye can speak as much as ye want, ye just hae tae be quicker about it,” he said, winking at her.
Nora pressed her lips together and frowned, still unable to figure this man out. He approached a corridor and then saw something that caught his interest. He disappeared and Nora hurried to catch up with him, casting an uneasy glance at the stag as she did so.
When she reached the corridor, she found Callan standing beside two doe-eyed maids who were clearly taken by his rakish charm.
He ran his hand through his hair and laughed richly, while the maids giggled.
Nora was filled with the same kind of envy that had entered her heart when she saw him with Alison.
Perhaps Ellie had been wrong in her estimation of his character.
Callan certainly didn’t seem to have any trouble flirting with women, not that it mattered to Nora anyway—or at least it shouldn’t have.
She was going to be married soon enough and Callan would be just a distant memory, a fleeting thought that might stray through her mind in an idle moment but would never linger.
They would be strangers again. He would go on living in his hut while she would be moving between opulent estates, and their paths would never cross again.
The envy gave way to sadness at this thought, but she quickly brushed it away.
Callan wasn’t important to her. He just happened to help her, that’s all. And she certainly wasn’t important to him. There were the maids, and Alison, and probably countless other women to keep him entertained. She probably wasn’t even the first to be taken back to his hut.
Or to feel the warmth of his bed…
As this thought passed through her mind something twisted inside her, something she did not like at all. It was a dark feeling that burrowed in the pit of her stomach but that swept through her body quickly and colored her vision.
“Surely a bonnie lass like ye can tell me where the Laird is. I’m sure ye ken all his movements. The fairest maidens are always the most important people in an estate like this, aye?” she heard Callan say as she approached.
The maids were so dazzled by Callan they hadn’t even noticed her. They giggled and tugged their hair.
“I wish that were true. People treat us like we dinnae matter,” one of the maids replied. Callan looked shocked and dismayed.
“Well that is nae right. I ken if I were the Laird I’d be keeping the two of ye close indeed. I’d be relying on lasses who hae yer qualities,” Callan said.
The maids blushed, while Nora rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. The man was making a fool of himself. He leaned in and the maid whispered in his ear.
“Thank ye, lasses, ye hae been most helpful,” he said, and sauntered away.
As he did so their gazes followed him, and for the first time they saw Nora. The smiles instantly fell from their faces and they adopted a look that was both bitter and spiteful.
Callan smiled. “Ach, there ye are. Well, the guards were nae lying. Laird MacPherson is nae here, but I ken where he’s staying. We’ll hae tae camp for the night, but we’ll be there by taemorrow,” he said.
“Are ye sure ye dinnae want tae stay here? The place seems most welcoming,” Nora said in a clipped tone, before turning away and marching out of the estate.
Callan rushed after her. They left the maids behind and walked past the guards, who dinnae react this time, even when Callan tossed them a wee comment.
They returned to the horse. Nora pulled herself up without waiting for his assistance.
Callan mounted the horse behind her and she wished they didn’t have to be so close.
“I get the impression that ye are angry with me. I cannae understand why, I am trying tae deliver ye tae yer husband. It’s nae my fault that he is elsewhere.”
“That’s nae why I’m angry,” Nora said, and then chastised herself because she had spoken without thinking. She meant to say that she wasn’t angry at all, but now her words had betrayed her.
“Och aye, then why are ye angry?”
“I just dinnae ken why ye hae tae make such a show of things. Is everything a game tae ye?”
“Why should it nae be? If ye cannae hae fun then what’s the point of living? I think ye are too serious for yer own good.”
“Can ye blame me after what I hae been through? Just a few nights ago I was at home and everything was normal. Now I am traveling through the Highlands without any idea of what is gaeing tae happen next and nae idea of when this is gaeing tae end. All I want is for things tae be settled.”
“Ach, lass, just enjoy the ride. I ken ye hae been through a lot, but naething like that will happen again while I’m around. I think I hae already proven that I dinnae take everything seriously,” he said.
Nora felt an uncomfortable tingle sweeping across her arms.
“But how can ye just put it aside? How can ye joke and play and laugh when there’s sae much darkness in the world?” her voice grew quiet, thoughtful.
Callan didn’t try to mock her, nor did he chastise her. Instead, he spoke gently. Nora wondered if the fact that they weren’t facing each other made it easier to share their inner feelings.
“It’s because of the darkness that I joke and play and laugh, lass.
If I dinnae then it would swallow me whole, and what kind of life would that be?
I hae seen men who hae been lost to despair, and it’s nae a pretty sight.
Ye hae tae find the joy and beauty in the world, because it’s there all the time, but if ye are blind tae it then ye are only seeing half of it.
Ye are only half alive. Is that how ye want tae be? ”
“I dinnae ken… I just want tae be where I belong.”
“Aye, well, we’ll get ye there soon enough, Lady MacPherson,” he said.
This time she noticed the sourness in his voice and it made her quail.
There was no sense of pride when she heard the name, no sense of identity.
It didn’t feel quite right. Lady MacPherson was another person, and Nora could not even imagine what it would be like to be her.
She was Nora Sinclair, humble and young, perhaps too naive for her own good, but always striving to be better. Was that not enough for the world?
Why did it demand so much of her?