Page 27 of A Dangerous Highland Affair

Behind her, Neacal’s breathing was now audible behind the gorse bush. For some reason, it seemed he was still not coming out. Glancing warily at it him, he flashed her a brief smile, with a furtive pose to keep quiet about him.

“Aye, aye,” said the man, but, infuriatingly, he did not divulge any more information about himself. Instead, he fixed her with his shining brown eyes. “An’ I’m right, aren’t I?” said the beaming man. “It’s Teasag, isnae it? Annie’s lassie?”

At the mention of her mother’s name, Teasag’s heart pounded fast. “Aye, sir, aye it is,” she said, suddenly disoriented.

A sudden sick feeling swept over her as nausea crept into the base of her stomach. Maybe it was because she hadn’t eaten since the previous evening, or perhaps she was just tired, but Teasag felt her energy drain from her.

Suddenly, the heavens opened up above them, sending thick spots of rain sliding across the glen side. They began landing thick and fast on top of the three of them, although the smiling man had not seen Neacal yet.

By the side of the road, she could see the man’s cart, piled high with hammers, tools, and other implements - as well as several pieces of wrought iron. Teasag’s sharp eyes picked out charcoal blocks at the back of the cart, which she immediately longed to use for sketches.

However, she had other issues in the present moment, like working out who exactly this man was.

“Ye dinnae ken, do ye, nae mind lassie, it’s been a long time, hasnae it…like ye said, ten years?” said the blond man, his fat face smiling.

“Eleven,” Teasag reminded him. Inside, her heart was stirring. Memories had mounted in her mind over the last few days, but it was only recently she had begun to feel overwhelmed by them.

“Eleven, aye, it dinnae seem ten minutes since ye were a young lassie setting oot on the path to the Highlands!” said the man, his eyes twinkled kindly. “I remember it well…!”

Teasag smiled, “Noo, so, yer from the village…?,” she asked, desperately trying to find who he was while pretending that she already knew.

“Aye,” said the man, lifting his cap and looking up to the heavens, as if only just noticing the spots of rain. Then, he indicated the laden cart, smiling. “If ye didnae already ken, I’m the smithy…!”

He added this with a wink, making it clear that he knew Teasag didn’t have a clue who he was.

“Robert?” Teasag asked, her brain racing fast. “… The smithy?”

Plucking a stray bramble from her hair, Teasag blushed. She was still getting to grips with running into such a familiar face out here in the wilds of nowhere. The fact that it was someone from her hometown only made it even more embarrassing.

“Aye, the same!” said the man beaming. Then, he looked around him. There was a silence as the smithy’s three horses whinnied and kicked I the dirt.

“Tsk!” exclaimed Robert, crossly. He made his way over towards the braying animals. “They’ve done naething but fuss an’ fight all the way doon!” he complained. “Fact is, they really dinnae get on, it’d have been better to nae bring them all, but I’m still trying to break the stallion in…”

He went over to the larger of the three horses, a fine black stallion, and stroked it softly.

“Easy noo,” he said fondly to the animal. “Yer mair bother than yer worth, I dinnae ken how we’re gonnae tak’ ye back to the toon, say, ye dinnae want a horse, do ye?”

He said this with a smile as if he was only half-serious, but Teasag immediately jumped at the chance.

“Well, noo ye come to mention it….,” her voice trailed off. She couldn’t believe the offer was serious, but if it was, she was more than interested. “It’d be braw to speed up the journey, for sure!” she added.

“What, do ye mean to say ye havenae horse, at all?” asked the smithy, incredulously looking around. “Hoo on earth did ye get here lass?”

“Shanks pony,” said Teasag, smiling. She indicated her feet, and the smithy looked up, shocked.

“Yer traveling alone, lass?” he said, his face a contortion of worry. “It’s nae safe!”

The man looked so genuinely concerned that Teasag felt bad. Why did Neacal have to hide, she wondered? All he had to do was say hello, and show the smithy that he was with her, and he would let them on their way.

“N…nae, nae quite,” said Teasag, wondering why it was so hard to answer him and not quite sure what to say.

“Because, ye ken, well, maybe ye could come wi’ me on one o’ the mares,” said the smithy, looking keenly at her.

Now she did remember him, a kindly man who used to give her little sweet treats as a child. He also gave her brother, Lorcal, a trio of tin soldiers, which had been his prized possession.

“I see,” said Teasag, wondering how to get out of this. Although the temptation of a horse was a great one, she couldn’t leave Neacal alone. Couldn’t and didn’t want to. She gave a quick glance to the bush where he was hiding.

The smithy’s eyes followed hers to the gorse bush, making it evident that someone was hiding. Reluctantly, Neacal emerged, through a frantic rustling of leaves.