I have done this before, and I can do it again.Forced apart from Cailean for long periods of time, Elayne was grateful she had skills to use to barter in exchange for setting Cailean free. Tomorrow, she would watch him from a distance and hopefully reassure herself of his welfare before he returned home. She would need to save up those precious images during her servitude here.
Even though she couldn’t sleep, morning came all too soon. Elayne washed and ensured her breasts were tightly bound, then fastened on her work belt with her dirk and hammer, her hat secured over her head. She ate a full breakfast in the great hall. Then she walked to the forge and stoked the fire and placed iron in the forge. While it heated, she familiarized herself with the locations of items and their organization. Retrieving the heated iron, she took her hammer and pounded away to start making the horseshoes. The blacksmith had yet to arrive. When he did, Edward had surprised him; the lad was hard at work, having already made one horseshoe.
“Good morning, lad. I see ye are an early riser. Thank ye for fetching the water for the forge.”
Determined to keep the conversation to a minimum, she only nodded and continued to hammer out another horseshoe. Elayne had a view of the courtyard from where she worked. Cailean and his men would be visible from her vantage point when they rode out. She would remain hidden in the dark shadows of the forge.
An hour later, she heard people gathering and saw saddled horses led by grooms, presumably to await their riders. The former prisoners were led to the area in front of the forge. The men appeared clean and were all grim faced. Guards had provided water and soap to wash with early this morning, and even a lavish meal to break their fast before they returned to their clan. Warriors led Cailean to the front, and her breath caught. At the sight of him, her heart surged with longing to be with him. Cailean looked magnificent in his tartan, standing proudly with a wide stance, but watched warily.Why does yer heart call to me so, Cailean?
The laird announced they were now free, and he wished to avoid bloodshed for both clans over the matter of their being “detained” temporarily by his clan. The Cameron laird directed them to mount their horses, and guards returned their swords and dirks to them, along with bows and quivers of arrows. The laird gave no reason for their release. Eager to leave and return home, the men clenched their fists and shuffled their feet in suspicion and agitation.
Not wanting to give herself away, Elayne pounded on an item. She could have stood there transfixed, looking at Cailean. She kent he and his men would leave any moment and he would once again vanish from her life. But back in the MacPherson castle, Elayne always had the hope to see him. Now even that hope would be nonexistent. She wished fervently she could gaze deeply into his eyes once again. But it was not to be. After the men mounted their horses, Cailean raised his arm and signaled their departure. The men on their mounts rode away, with the sounds of their galloping horses’ hooves clacking on the cobblestones as if in a rush to get home. Her hollow heart answered, echoing its longing.
Cailean was but a fleeting memory again. Drawing in gulps of air, Elayne leaned for a few seconds against her anvil to steady herself. Thankfully, the blacksmith had left to watch the spectacle outside. It was harder than she had thought it would be to watch Cailean ride away and out of her life again.
Perhaps it was for the best, for soon Cailean would need to take a wife. His father would not allow him to remain unmarried for much longer, even though he was the youngest of his children.
Her life was bleaker than ever before When she worked long hours at home, her father occasionally let her ride a horse to the loch or to hunt. Those few hours of freedom had been precious. Thinking of it sparked her imagination, envisioning the elation Cailean and his men must have felt to be free again. Now riding, hunting, and fishing would be distant memories for her. Elayne thought fondly of Thomas. She kent he would continue to gain skills and do a good job for her father. She regretted the need to leave Mrs. Logan, her father, and Thomas but did not regret her decision in the least.
At least Elayne had work to keep her focused and her mind busy during the day. And she enjoyed eating hearty and delicious meals in the great hall. The warm food provided her comfort and nourishment as she ate and pondered what her family and Thomas were busy doing. Elayne hoped her father was not angry with her and that he understood her need to leave. She did not want to disappoint nor worry him.
Night was the loneliest. She used her lantern to read one of Cailean’s books she had brought. She felt closer to him as she read the book, knowing his fingers had touched these pages as he read the same passages.
The same night Cailean and his men rode away, Elayne allowed herself to cry in the privacy of her room. He had looked so handsome, masculine, and strong. She’d felt the tension radiating from him though. Cailean had stood rigid with the hard set of his jaw. Elayne noted the glacial glare in his eyes as he stared at the laird of the Cameron clan. Regardless, most important to Elayne, Cailean and his men were free. They could return home and see their families once again. Their return instilled hope in her return home—and to Calean.
Chapter Eleven
Cailean’s Return
Elayne could only imagine the joyous homecoming and feast for Cailean and his men. She hoped their journey home would be safe and uneventful. After they left, she counted the days to when they reunited with their families. Aware that a few of Calean’s guards were married, she understood their wives’ trepidation, thinking about what might have happened to their husbands.
Elayne pounded out the hard steel in the forge and focused solely on working through the days of her agreement until the fifth day after Cailean’s release. That day filled her with pride. A mere woman, although disguised as a lad, had accomplished the men’s release from their imprisonment. If not for her, the men would still be languishing in the cold and moldy dungeons of their rival clan. Elayne hoped Laird MacPherson sent his warriors soon after she left the clan, and hoped Cailean and his men encountered them on their return journey home.
When would Bessie realize her absence? When she discovered Elayne had left the clan, she would have her suspicions, but Elayne didn’t think Bessie would reveal them to Cailean. No one would rescue her. Otherwise, it could jeopardize the tenuous peace. Elayne sought to avoid bloodshed betweenthe clans. Now distrust existed between them, but given time, the clans could forge alliances beneficial to both. Elayne never ken if the MacPherson laird sent warriors to free his son and guards.
*
Cailean and his men rode hard to be fast away from Tor Castle and the Cameron clan lands. Their swift release aroused suspicion—they feared a trap and deceit. That evening, they met the warriors from their clan who were riding to Tor castle to demand their release under threat of war. Cailean and his men were happy to be reunited with their friends as they journeyed back home. The weather turned more threatening each day. It rained—a drizzle at first, then transformed into a downpour, turning the ground muddy, slowing their journey. The men camped and took shelter under a canopy of trees. They huddled around the campfire to dry themselves.
The warriors dined on grouse and pheasants, eating wild game while available. They didn’t know what the next few days held for them. If it snowed, they may not take the time to hunt for game in order to return home sooner, and could eat the oatcakes and dried or smoked meat their would-be rescuers had brought. As soon as they arrived at the campsite, they set the watch. Additional guards took their shifts, giving Cailean and his men time for rest after their imprisonment.
One warrior, who had training from the healer, examined the wounds and injuries of the former captives, applying an herbal paste and bandages to open wounds to prevent infection and promote healing. Their bruises were healing, and it did not appear they had received new bruises before their release.
The next day, they arose early in the gray dawn that had swallowed the sun. After breaking their fast, they attended totheir horses, mounted, and rode onward. The warriors slogged through mud and rain, but they were grateful it hadn’t turned to snow yet. They stopped long enough to let their horses rest, drink, and eat before they set out again. In the late afternoon, the rain became intermittent, yet the weather still deteriorated, becoming foggy and making it difficult to see the terrain. So they stopped, hoping the next day would be better for travel. A few intrepid warriors hunted for pheasants, and Cailean caught salmon and trout in the river so they could enjoy a hot meal.
As they drew closer to clan and home, Cailean focused more and more on seeing Elayne. He had missed her fiercely and couldn’t wait to be with her again. Reuniting and embracing Elayne was foremost in his mind, but protocol demanded he visit his father, mother, and siblings first. He had good news to share with Elayne regarding her original clan. Cailean had obtained the written testimony of witnesses he hoped his father accepted as proof that Elayne was Lady Grant and worthy of his hand in marriage.
The clan members and elders he’d spoken to wished for her to return and become their clan leader if she were willing. The elders kent being laird carried a heavy burden. They hinted that a warrior by her side would lighten that burden. Cailean dreamed of seeing Elayne’s reaction when he returned home, and then asking her to be his.
The next day began cold with a brutal icy headwind that bore down on them relentlessly. The horses rode on, undaunted. In the afternoon, heavy snow fell, and fortunately, the wind abated while snowflakes fell steadily. The snow blanketed the tree branches like icing on a cake. Soon the green forest became a winter wonderland. The warriors pulled their heavy cloaks around them to keep warm and dry as much as possible.Cailean’s thoughts turned to Elayne as he pondered what she was doing. No doubt, she hammered metal at her father’s forge no matter the weather. The warriors rode on in the snow, steadily making progress toward home.
Late in the afternoon, the wind whistled through the trees, sending snow flurries circling them below pewter skies as the snow fell to the ground. The men took refuge in a bothy. An old wooden stable would offer their horses shelter. Soon the fire blazed in the hearth and they hung a pot of freshly fallen snow to heat over it. A few of the men scouted in a group close to the bothy and shot rabbits for rabbit stew. In the bothy they discovered potatoes and carrots in a cellar. They added these to the stew. The men took turns by the fire to warm up. Drinking tea from the few cups they had among themselves helped a great deal.
The men stood watch for shorter durations and in a perimeter closer to the bothy. It enabled them to raise the alarm if they spotted men from other clans. A warrior took the water to the stable to water the horses, which were eating hay inside the stable that sheltered them from the wind. They were also fed a ration of dried oats each and covered with an old plaid across their backs. The men took pride in caring for their horses, for they relied on them and rode them at home most days. Their trained warhorses maneuvered expertly under attack and were extremely responsive to their riders, commands, and whistles.
The men sat on the stone floor. Fortified with shots of whiskey, they told stories in front of the fire and were grateful that fate had set them free. They had no idea that fate was the form of a petite woman armed with love and fierce determination to win Cailean’s freedom, no matter the cost toher. A warrior added logs to the fire to ensure they had heat throughout the night.
The men bunked down on the floor near the hearth, wrapping themselves in their tartans and cloaks. Soon, snores filled the room with a few random bellows throughout the night, while the fire crackled in the hearth. Different men assumed the watch while others returned to warm up and rest. Cailean took his turn at the watch like the other warriors. While outside, he listened to the wind whistle through the trees, the distant hoot of an owl, and the forlorn howl of a wolf. The rest remained quiet and still as the snow fell silently.
