Chapter 3
“I
dinnae understand why Ma is sae adamant that I should get married tae David of all people,” Emma said, pulling a face as she helped her father gather some crops.
Douglas Galbrith was a broad-chested man with muscles layered atop muscles.
Even in his later years, he could still prove himself stronger than many men who had the advantage of youth on him, and Emma knew that she would always be protected with him around.
His hair had lost none of its flaming color, and Emma was always envious of him.
Douglas pulled a face and stopped what he was doing for the moment. He clasped his hands together. Emma was pleased to see him wearing the gloves that she and Lyndsay had picked up for him.
“Yer ma is nae trying tae force ye intae anything,” Douglas began, but Emma rolled her eyes.
“It feels that way,” she pouted.
“I know it does, but she is only looking out for ye. We both want the best for ye, Emma. That’s all we’ve ever wanted.”
“And ye think the best for me is marrying someone like him? Or even marrying at all?”
Douglas sighed again and waited a few moments before he spoke.
Sometimes her father did this. He said that he liked sorting out the words in his mind before they left his mouth, otherwise they might get him in trouble.
It made conversing with him an irritating prospect sometimes, though, as the gaps could be long.
“Yer ma knows what it’s like tae be alone in this world.
Ye know what happened when we were younger, before ye came intae our lives.
We were both in danger, and we relied on each other for protection.
I know this village is peaceful, but ye never know when ye are gaeing tae need tae rely on someone else.
Life is better when ye hae someone tae share it with.
That’s all. As for David, well, he is Hamish’s son, and Hamish showed us a great kindness when he brought us here.
They nursed me back tae health. Without his help, I might hae died. I owe them a lot.”
“Ye owe them a lot, nae David,” Emma said fiercely.
“Why dinnae ye want tae marry him?” Douglas asked.
Emma averted her gaze from him and scowled. “I just dinnae want tae.”
“I’m nae sure that’s a good enough reason.”
Emma sighed. “When we were younger, he teased me. I dinnae see why I should forgive him. Aye, he may well hae changed, but I still remember the way he treated me.”
Douglas nodded. “I can understand why that would play on yer mind. Unfortunately, there are nae many other prospects in the village, Emma.”
“Then perhaps I should look beyond the village,” she said.
It was the first time she had thought about such a thing, yet it seemed so obvious.
She began to pace back and forth, a trait she often displayed when she was deep in thought.
“Aye, it seems sae obvious now! Ye and Ma both haed tae leave yer homes before ye found each other. I may need tae dae the same thing! My husband could be waiting out there for me in some part of the Highlands that I hae never seen.” She turned her gaze to the horizon, staring toward the life that was possibly waiting for her.
Douglas was there to pour cold water on her prospects, though.
“Dinnae get ahead of yerself, lass. I cannae say I’m fond of the idea of ye leaving the safety of the village. I know more than most how dangerous it can be out there, and I dinnae think yer ma would like the idea either.”
“But it’s nae fair! Ye and Ma got tae hae a grand adventure. Why shouldnae I?”
Douglas ran his hand along his jaw and arched his eyebrows. Emma didn’t feel as though there was any way for him to deny the logic of what she was saying, yet still, he was reticent to actually agree with her.
“Ye wouldnae want tae gae through what yer Ma and I went through. It was through sheer fortune that we were able tae survive. If luck haed nae been with us and the gods haed nae been smiling upon us, then one or both of us might hae been dead. We hae always tried tae give ye a safe home. We never wanted ye tae suffer through what we suffered.”
“And yet yer suffering brought ye happiness. How am I supposed tae find where I belong if I am nae given the chance tae explore?” Emma said sharply.
Recent discussions with her parents had always ended the same way.
They were intractable and always convinced that their way was the right way.
They claimed to care for her and want the best for her, but when it came time to actually see things from her point of view, they were incapable of doing so.
She was always left feeling distraught and desolate, and she often stormed off, as she did now.
Emma found herself walking through the village, striding powerfully as anger swirled within her heart.
Her parents had always been kind to her and had never treated her unfairly.
She had heard how some of the other children had been punished, and it had made her gape, and she was thankful that her parents had never deemed to treat her like that.
However, now that she was becoming her own woman, she found that they were finding it difficult to accept her as such.
They still treated her like a child far too often for her liking.
She had the capability to choose her own path in life, and it seemed unfair that they should deny her the things that they had experienced in their own lives.
They had a narrow spectrum of things that were acceptable for her to experience.
Anything that wavered from that was unacceptable, and Emma wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
The most obvious solution was to run away from home and forge her own life.
She had considered the matter a number of times.
In a practical sense, it was not difficult to accomplish; she could gather together supplies in a pack and slip away from the village while everyone was sleeping.
Her father was good at tracking animals, but he had taught her everything he knew, so she felt confident in being able to hide her tracks.
The Highlands were a vast land filled with territory that she was yet to explore, and even beyond this, there was England too.
She wasn’t sure about that because she had seen how Highlanders had treated her mother, and she assumed that the English would treat Highlanders the same way.
She was too English for Scotland and too Scottish for England, so it was always a struggle to figure out where she was supposed to belong.
However, although it would have been easy to slip away from the village undetected, separating her heart from this place was another matter entirely.
The thought of leaving her parents behind brought a deep sense of anguish to her soul, and she thought herself weak for being unable to tear herself away.
For better or for worse, this was her home.
It was the only place she had ever known, and as much as she dreamed of seeing somewhere different, it was not so easy to embrace the reality.
While she was thinking about all of this, she was not paying attention to where she was going.
Most people in the village knew to avoid her when she was in this mood; they recognized the thunder in her eyes and the heavy steps she took, but there was a stranger in the village who was not familiar with her behavior.
She felt the impact as she bumped into him.
He had been looking up, admiring the decorations the people of the village were raising to celebrate Beltane Day, but now he was sprawled on the ground.
Mud stained his coat, and he patted himself as he regained his footing.
Emma looked on in horror. “I’m sae sorry, sir, I didnae see ye!” she said.
The man was dressed in fine clothes and did not look familiar to her.
She wasn’t sure what would have brought a man like him into the village, but she certainly wasn’t complaining.
He examined himself and then looked at her.
Thankfully the expression on his face wasn’t one of anger.
Emma was struck by the sight of him. He had a thick head of brown hair that rolled down to his shoulders and a thick beard on his jaw.
His eyes were bright and bold, and she got the impression that he was not a man who would ever shy away from anything.
His body was incredibly broad. His chest specifically was huge and looked like it was made of stone, which she thought strange, for she had only seen such physiques in men who worked the land.
However, she was well aware that her knowledge of the world was slim, so she wasn’t about to assume that she knew everything.
“You do not have to apologize. It was a simple accident, and I should have been paying more attention too,” the man said.
To her surprise, he spoke with an English accent, and Emma was even more intrigued by his presence.
What could an Englishman possibly be doing here?
His gaze fell upon her, and he seemed to be staring at her head.
Emma adjusted her shawl, trying to hide her golden locks of hair, but it was always impossible to keep them entirely from view.
“Pardon me, but those are unusual locks,” he said.
Emma could feel warmth kissing her cheeks. She swallowed a lump in her throat and hated the fact that she stood out from the other people in the village.
“And that’s an unusual accent around these parts,” she bit back.
The man didn’t seem to be fazed by her tone of voice, though.
“Perhaps not too unusual, I hope. My name is Trevor Whitehall, and I’m actually looking for a flaxen-headed woman…I don’t suppose you would be Lyndsay Smythe, would you?”
Emma hoped that the shock in her eyes did not betray her. She steeled her face and tensed her entire body.
“I’m nae her, and in fact, I hae never heard that name before.
I think ye hae the wrong village,” she said, and quickly made an excuse to leave.
Trevor called out after her, but she was already gone, her mind whirling as she tried to wonder what an Englishman would be doing in the village, looking for her mother.
It seemed as though her parents had the same question.
When Emma returned, Lyndsay and Douglas had been sitting together, waiting to talk to her about the matters that were so close to Emma’s heart.
Emma didn’t give them a chance to begin, though.
She burst through the door and asked them if either knew of a Trevor Whitehall and then explained that he had been in the village and was looking for Lyndsay.
“The name means nothing tae me, and I cannae understand why anyone from England would be looking for me after all this time,” Lyndsay said with a mystified look upon her face.
Douglas was more taciturn. Emma could see the fear in his eyes, the fear of losing this life he had built and the woman he loved. Lyndsay had left so much in England behind for him.
“What if the baron haed tried to hunt ye down? He might still be sore that ye never became his wife,” Douglas suggested.
Lyndsay dismissed the idea almost immediately. “After all this time? If the baron is still alive, it would be a miracle, and I imagine he would hae found another wife as soon as I was lost in the Highlands.”
“Perhaps a son then, a son who heard the story and wants tae prove something tae his da?” Douglas asked.
“I don’t know,” Lyndsay said softly.
“Well, we’re nae gaeing tae let him find ye.
The people of this village will nae give ye up, and if he comes poking around here, I’ll make sure he doesnae stay for long.
In fact, I think I’ll gae intae the village and speak tae him myself.
I’ll make sure he knows he’s nae gaeing tae find who he’s looking for.
” Douglas grit his teeth as he spoke and clenched his fists, getting up.
When he acted like this, he looked like a great bear ready to protect its cubs.
Anger flared within and made his eyes look as though they were glowing, as though they were two fireballs.
“I think I should gae,” Emma said, standing up as well and getting in between her father and the door. “Let me find out who sent him, and then we can decide whether tae attack him or nae.”
“He’s coming after my wife. I will nae let him take her away!” Douglas said.
Emma had rarely seen him so angry.
“We don’t know what he wants yet, Da. Allow me tae learn his intentions. There’s no need for ye tae get intae a fight if ye dinnae need tae,” Emma said.
Douglas began to protest, but Lyndsay agreed with her daughter, and the matter was settled.
Douglas sat with Lyndsay and wrapped his arm around her.
Her parents had always seemed so content and happy, yet now the shadow of the past threatened to sully their perfect life.
They looked vulnerable. She had heard their story many times over, but now was the first time when she could really see the toll it was taking on them.
Their eyes were haunted, and they seemed to age decades in the span of seconds.
Whoever this man was, Emma did not like the effect he was having on her family, and she was determined to send him away before he could cause any more trouble.
“I will be back soon. Ye dinnae hae tae worry. I will nae let anything happen tae ye,” Emma said.
Her parents had said similar words to her many times over the years, and she thought that perhaps this was just another sign of maturity, another sign that she was leaving the girl of her youth behind and embracing the woman she was about to become.