Chapter 13
“I’ll lead the way, if ye dinna mind, Garrett,” Madeleine said when they set out from Mhor Manor twenty minutes later. A curious smile tugged at Garrett’s mouth, and she thought he might protest, but instead he inclined his head in deference to her wishes.
“Lead on, Mistress Fraser,” he said gallantly.
She smiled briefly in return and kicked her dun-colored mare into a gallop. She purposely veered them away from Farraline and the much-traveled roads connecting the villages in Strathherrick, opting instead for a lesser known route across the valley.
She had no intention of passing through any villages in the company of a redcoat. It was bad enough that word had already been spread that she and Glenis had nursed Garrett back to health. Meg was less trustworthy than Madeleine had thought, it seemed.
Her kinsmen had questioned her about the rumor when she met them to plan last night’s raid, but fortunately they had accepted her explanation that Glenis had taken pity on Garrett and required her help. An old woman’s lapse was easily forgiven. She, on the other hand, had to be more careful.
She could not afford to fan the flames of gossip any further by riding brazenly at Garrett’s side for all to see. Her people trusted and respected her, and she wanted it to remain that way. If this route took them longer, so be it. At least her credibility would be preserved.
They rode in uncomfortable silence for the first half hour, skirting Loch Mhor and the village of Errogie, then headed northwest, where they forded the River Farigaig.
The lathered horses seemed to enjoy the crossing. The day was very warm, and the sun was brilliant in the blue sky scattered with clouds. The river’s shimmering depths and shady banks offered a cool respite from the midday heat.
Madeleine was halfway across the rushing stream when her mare paused for a long drink. If the river had not been so swollen from recent rains she would not have cared, but she feared the strong currents might topple them. She tugged at the reins, but to no avail. The mare would not lift her head.
“Ye stubborn beast,” she said with exasperation as Garrett drew up alongside her. “On with ye now.”
“Problems?” he asked.
“‘Tis plain to see, Garrett. She winna budge!”
With a hearty laugh he took the reins from her and gave the recalcitrant mare a good yank.
Madeleine nearly lost her seat as the mare bounded forward after his massive bay, and the horses splashed across the river.
When she and Garrett made it to the shoreline, they were soaked and laughing uproariously.
She smiled at him through the water droplets clinging to her lashes. “Will ye look at us,” she exclaimed breathlessly. “We might as well have fallen into the river!”
“We’ll be dry soon from this heat,” Garrett said with a grin. He reached out and gently wiped a damp tendril from her flushed cheek. “The water felt good, though, didn’t it?”
“Aye,” Madeleine replied, sobering at his touch. She felt a flutter deep inside her breast as he handed her the reins. It was all she could do to murmur her thanks.
They resumed their journey, but the strained tension between them had been lifted.
Madeleine began to point out sights of interest here and there, especially when they reached Wade’s Road.
Loch Ness stretched to the north and south as far as the eye could see, a great expanse of smooth, blue-gray water flanked by sweeping green hills and steep rock walls dropping into its depths.
There was a decidedly gloomy air about the loch, despite the bright sunshine. Perhaps it was because the waters were so vast and so deep. Or perhaps it was the eerie stories that leaped to mind whenever one beheld the mysterious loch. Madeleine shuddered, and her skin tingled with goosebumps.
“Is it true that the Scots believe a monster roams these waters?” Garrett asked, pulling up beside her. “When I was a boy my grandmother told me such a tale, and I had nightmares for days.”
She glanced at him in surprise, wondering how he had read her thoughts. “Aye, ‘tis true,” she replied, staring back out across the dark water. “‘Tis said to be a great black beast with humps, a long neck, and wee horns on its head. I’ve never seen it, but my parents swore they did once.”
“Really? When was that?”
“Long ago, when my mother was carrying me. They were sitting over there.” She pointed to a green plateau high atop a rocky cliff, aware that Garrett was watching her with a curious mix of wonderment and skepticism. His interest spurred her on. She enjoyed telling this story immensely.
“‘Twas a cloudy, late autumn day and the wind was strong, ruffling the surface of the loch.
Suddenly the water began to bubble and churn.
The beast rose up from the depths and cut through the water with great curved paddles, like black wings.
It left a huge wake, then ‘twas gone.” She chuckled, a faraway look in her eyes.
“Da thought for sure my mother would birth me there on the cliff, she was so frightened.”
“And you believe this story?”
Madeleine stared into his eyes. “Aye, I believe it, if my father and mother said ‘twas so.” She said nothing for a long moment, then gave another little laugh and looked away.
“I used to complain whenever we journeyed by the loch, because I was never gifted with a sight of the beast.” She grew thoughtful, her voice soft and quiet.
“My da always said ‘twas a good lesson. ‘Maddie,’ he would tell me, ‘it teaches ye to believe in something ye canna see.’”
She sighed, touched by a wave of sadness. To think of her parents together and happy, her father alive and whole. She felt close to tears but choked them back.
“Your mother must have been very beautiful,” Garrett said sincerely, startling her. “Why is there no portrait of her at Mhor Manor?”
“All the family portraits were slashed to ribbons by the redcoats who came before ye,” she replied, watching his eyes darken.
“I’m truly sorry, Madeleine. If I’d been there, I would have done what I could to prevent—”
“‘Tis over with, Garrett,” she said with a small shrug, cutting off his unexpected apology. “I’d rather not speak of it.”
He fell silent, looking out across the loch, and she wondered what he was thinking.
She felt surprisingly little resentment toward him.
She could hardly blame him for what had happened to her home, nor could she imagine him ever participating in such madness.
She sensed a decency in him that reminded her of her father.
Madeleine bit her lip, stunned by her comparison. Dougald had never elicited such thoughts from her, nor had he ever looked at her quite the way Garrett did, making her flesh tingle and her heart hammer, fanning the heat building within her.
No! Dinna forget Garrett is yer enemy! she chided herself fiercely. Ye canna compare him to yer da or to Dougald. ‘Tisn’t right!
Oddly enough, her self-reproach rang hollow within her. Things didn’t seem so clear anymore, at least not when she was around Garrett. He seemed to have the uncanny ability to soften her hatred. He was becoming less of a redcoat in her eyes and more of a man, a most intriguing man.
With great effort she forced the whole confusing matter from her mind. “Ye were right about my mother,” she began anew. “She was said to be the prettiest lass in Strathherrick—lively, sharp-witted, and a bit stubborn when ‘twas needed.”
“She sounds just like you, Madeleine,” Garrett said softly.
His compliment caused her to shift uncomfortably in the saddle.
“Do ye see that faraway bluff on the northern shore?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject.
She flushed under his amused scrutiny and was more than relieved when he looked to where she was pointing.
“‘Tis the ruins of Castle Urquhart. ‘Twas a fine castle once, belonging to the Grants. There’s little left now but crumbling walls and a dungeon.”
“A dungeon? I suppose it’s haunted by ghosts, as many of Scotland’s castles are rumored to be.”
“No, I havna heard any stories of ghosts at Castle Urquhart,” Madeleine replied. “But there are two vaults in the dungeon, left unopened for hundreds of years. One’s rumored to have treasure in it, and the other the plague.”
“That’s a choice I would not wish to make,” Garrett said with a deep, rumbling laugh.
He glanced back at her, his expression growing serious.
“I’ve enjoyed these stories, Madeleine, but I think we should move on to Foyer’s Falls.
Perhaps we can find a nice spot overlooking the waterfall where we can rest and talk further.
Jeremy was good enough to pack a lunch for us. ”
Madeleine nodded. She suddenly felt foolish and a little hurt. Here she was carrying on about water beasts, ghosts, and castle ruins, when all along Garrett had nothing on his mind but Black Jack.
“I dinna mean to bore ye, Garrett,” she said defensively. “Nor waste yer precious time.” She jerked on the reins and kicked her mare, urging the animal into a fast trot.
Garrett was caught unaware by her swift action. She left him behind, but he quickly overtook her, his bay’s powerful strides far surpassing those of her mare. Again the silence lay oppressively between them, both keeping to their own thoughts as they rode side by side along Wade’s Road.
Madeleine ignored the groups of English soldiers they passed, her eyes fixed straight ahead as she and Garrett dodged in and out of the bustling highway traffic.
She was grateful that the paved, steeply graded road was heavily traveled during the day.
The crowded highway prevented many of the supply trains from traveling between Inverness and Fort William in the daytime.
If supplies were to get through at all, the redcoats had little choice but to use the road at night, despite the threat of raids.
There was no other route across the mountainous Highlands.