They stood so high on the slope that the great bird glided beneath them, the sun bright on its outspread wings. Below, the moorland spread out like a golden quilt, meeting the heatheredhillsides, the sky above sweeping and clear. Christina smiled, sighing with admiration at the beautiful landscape.
“Aye, it’s lovely and peaceful,” Aedan agreed, watching her. “I came here often as a lad. It is one of my favorite spots.”
“Then why take blasting powder to it?”
“Black powder, madam,” he corrected. “There was a great deal of rock, so we had little choice. And we thought there would be nothing of historic value here, for there was no sign of anything.”
“My uncle always believed something might be found on Cairn Drishan,” she said. “There are ancient ruins elsewhere in these Strathclyde hills.”
“My father shared that hope.”
“But you do not,” she said astutely.
“Not particularly. Can you continue, Mrs. Blackburn, or do you need to abandon your stays?” He lifted a brow.
Her cheeks grew hot. “That is none of your concern.”
He smiled in answer and offered his hand again. She took it and they moved upward, soon reaching a large cluster of rocks, which they clambered over. The wind fluttered Christina’s hat ribbons against her cheek and billowed her skirt.
“Careful, lass. My crew has not yet cleared all the rubble from the explosion. I must ask you never to come up here alone. It is not safe.” He pulled her upward.
She stepped up beside him and faced him. “I am not helpless, sir. I would do fine here by myself.”
He stopped to glare down at her. “Christina Blackburn,” he said sternly, “it is dangerous up here, and you will not come here alone. Either I will come with you, or one of my men will do so. Never alone. Is that understood?” He frowned, his brows straight and black over blue eyes of a brilliant clarity.
She considered arguing, then nodded. “I understand.”
His hand tightened on hers as he drew her over more rocks. “Come up. Good,” he said. “And here it is.”
She looked around, then stared.
Dark with age, irregular in shape, the stones upthrust like teeth in a monstrous jaw, savage, primeval, but with underlying structure. They had not been shaped by nature or blasting powder, but by tools, and had been stacked in a deliberate pattern. Many had fallen out of the set, resulting in a jumble.
She released Aedan’s hand and walked forward, heart pounding. The wall was in shambles, black with age, strangely glossy. Beyond its staggered line, she saw a gaping hole in the hillside, like a mouth opening to show fierce teeth and bones.
“Oh,” she said. She dropped to one knee, touched a few stones. “Oh, my.”
“I hope you are not disappointed, having come so far.”
Neither disappointment nor thrill described her reaction. Dismay was closer to the mark. Unable to make sense of the puzzle of stones at first, she did not know what to say. Aware that she was touted as an expert, she hid her uncertainty. She had expected a ruin, but not utter chaos.
After a moment she pulled a small notebook from her reticule and knelt on the cushion of her skirts to make quick notes and sketches. Then she rose to her feet. MacBride moved toward her, stepping over the toppled barrier.
“Be careful,” Aedan warned behind her.
Nodding, she made more sketches as she tried to puzzle out the relationship of turf and stone. How long had this been here, and what sort of structure was it? Were clues buried in the earth? Toeing the dirt, she turned over a few small stones.
Kneeling, she traced the tumbled-down wall with her hand. Something was odd here, but she could not decipher it as yet. She frowned. Some instinct told her to keep looking, that it needed time.
“No cache of gold, as you see,” Aedan said. “Little to recommend investigation.”
“I am not sure yet.” She hefted a small, dark stone thoughtfully in her hand. “This may indeed be quite old. My uncle’s research indicates that there was an ancient Celtic settlement in the area of Dundrennan. Caledonian people, or Picts.”
“There is a hill fort a few miles from here. He may be thinking of that.”
“Where there is a fort, there are homesteads in the vicinity. I am not ready to dismiss this pile of stones just yet.”
“Soon, I hope.”
