The whole building could have fitted into the courtyard of the castle with room to spare, and it hurt Adam to think that these honest, hardworking people might be brutalized by a heartless tyrant. He was facing the biggest dilemma of his life, which could have been solved if he could only find the gold.
He walked out to the edge of the village and sat down to look into the dark water of Loch Inverinch. In the middle of October, it was beginning to become extremely cold, especially in the mornings and evenings, and even now, at midday, he felt a chill seeping into his bones.
If only he could have found Scottish soldiers to fight for him all his troubles would be over. But how could he? He knew no one around here, and no one trusted him. He sighed. If he had a guarantee that McElwee would not ill-treat the people of the village, he would gladly have given him everything he had, but he had no such assurance.
He got up and began to walk along the road again, and was so deep in thought that he did not notice that he had taken the fork in the road that led to Emilia’s house till he was almost there. As he began to climb the hill he saw Emilia and Nannie coming down towards him. He shouted and waved as he approached them, but Emilia did not acknowledge him in any way.
As she drew up beside him, he saw that there were tears running down her cheeks. She had obviously been crying for some time because her eyes were red as if she had been rubbing them.
“Emmy, what is wrong?” he asked fearfully. “What has upset you so much?”
“You really do not know?” she asked angrily.
He shook his head. “I have no idea,” he replied, frowning in puzzlement. He reached out to take her in his arms but she pushed him away roughly.
Trying to calm her down, he bent to kiss her, but he had misjudged how furious she was. She drew back her arm and slapped his face with such force that she unbalanced herself and stumbled backward. She righted herself again and glared at him. “You are abandoning us!” she cried. “You are leaving us to the mercy of that savage, Robert McElwee, who will kill, steal, rape, or torture to get whatever he wants. You are leaving innocent women, children, even animals to certain death while you trot off to England for a life of ease and comfort! For shame, Adam Cameron, for shame!”
This was so absolutely unjust that Adam’s anger rose to meet hers. “I am not leaving to pursue a life of leisure in England!” he spat. “Although at this moment I wish I were! I wrote to my cousin to ask him to send me soldiers, but he would not.”
“English soldiers?” Emilia asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” he replied, frowning at her tone and the disgusted way she was looking at him.
“I cannot believe it,” she said, shocked. She shook her head and stepped a few paces back from him. “English soldiers would never fight for us. They would slaughter us all, even McElwee and his band of cutthroats!”
“Have you got a better idea?” Adam was standing with his hands on his hips, glaring at her. He was still berating himself for his naïveté, but he would not admit that in front of Emilia. “Perhaps Robert McElwee will take pity on you when you start weeping and ask for his mercy. What are you going to do? Throw yourself at his feet? Use your charms on him? Offer him your body?”
Emilia was wounded to the heart by his words. Her mouth dropped open and she gazed at him in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard.
Realizing that he had gone much too far, Adam put his hand over his eyes, unable to look at the hurt on her face. “Emmy...I am so sorry. I am angry, afraid, and this is the only thing I can think of to do without handing the whole village over to that butcher. I am coming back, I swear to you that I am! How could I stay away from the person I love most in the entire world?”
She stared back at him in contempt. He had apologized for his hurtful, hateful words, but the sting was still there. She thought that it would probably be there forever.
“Leave, then,” she said grimly. “But remember this, Adam. If you leave us, I am leaving you too.”
15
As Adam watched Emilia ride away he felt his heart break. He had never known what the wordheartbreakmeant till that moment, but the thought of living without her, without having her in his arms, loving her, and making her cry out with pleasure, was unbearable.
Adam concentrated on making the journey as fast as he could. His errand now was desperately urgent and he was terrified of missing the chance of getting some, if not all, of the soldiers he needed.
It took him almost four days to get to Newcastle, even on a fast mount like Trojan. He was shown in by his cousin’s manservant and stood nervously waiting in the vestibule for Cuthbert’s arrival.
As soon as Cuthbert saw Adam he rushed up to his cousin, grinning widely. He embraced Adam so tightly he thought his ribs might break, then stood back and looked at him. “My God, Adam, you are a sight for sore eyes! How long has it been?”
“Too long!” Adam laughed. “Army life suits you, Bert. You look much fitter and stronger than I do.”
Cuthbert laughed and took him through to the parlor where he poured his cousin a huge glass of ale, then they sat down to drink it in front of a crackling log fire.
It is good to be back,Adam thought, looking around him.
“You should have gone into the army,” Cuthbert observed. “It is a fine life for a man!”
“I was just about to when I got the summons from my uncle,” Adam sighed. “I had almost finished my training, but we are not at war anymore.”
“That will not last long!” said Cuthbert with assurance. “The Scots are a stubborn lot, but we will beat them in the end.”
Adam struggled to hide his annoyance. “I would not be too sure of that,” he said evenly. “I thought they were barbarians, from what I saw in my youth, but maybe they have changed, or my perception has, but I have found them to be very cultured. Not the ordinary farm workers of course, but they are good people too—very honest and hardworking. They take a while to get to know you and let you into their hearts, but I would not change them for anything.”
