Chapter 11

They talked for a while longer, with Davina making most of the conversation. When Cameron spoke, it was to answer a question that Davina asked, and no matter what she did she could not seem to draw him out. He never asked her about herself, and although she shifted her chair to be nearer to him, and put her hands over his on the table, he would always subtly draw away from her.

Cameron was weary of Davina's constant questions and eventually he stood up and said, "I must get back to work now. I have a lot to do before nightfall. Thank ye for the food an' wine."

"It was my pleasure," Davina answered, smiling. She was feeling rather discouraged, since she had come to become acquainted with her new husband, but had been roundly rebuffed at every turn. "Will you come and see me at the castle? The Laird and my father will be most eager to welcome you, as will I, of course." She smiled encouragingly at him, trying not to look as desperate as she was beginning to feel. This man seemed to be immune to her charms!

As he emerged from the doorway, Davina did something she had never done before in her life. Before he could stop her, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. For a frozen second he stood immobile, then he pushed her away none too gently.

He was so angry his face was crimson and his hands had balled into fists, and he was just about to begin yelling at Davina when he looked over her shoulder and saw Ava. She was standing, staring at him, her mouth open in shock, but as he watched, she turned and ran in the opposite direction as fast as her legs would carry her.

Davina looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Ava!" he yelled. He tried to push her way past Davina but she placed herself awkwardly in front of him, delaying him for the time it took for Ava to disappear into the trees.

"Who was that?" Davina asked, although she knew full well the identity of the young woman.

"That is the woman I love," Cameron growled. He closed his eyes and counted to ten to stop himself from screaming at the woman he had been forced to promise himself to. What must Ava be thinking? That he had deliberately kissed another woman instead of her? Oh, God, this was a nightmare.

He turned to Davina. "Excuse me. I have work to do," he said tersely.

Davina watched him rushing away. She felt angry and not a little embarrassed, but most of all frightened, because her father would not be pleased with her, and she feared him more than anything. Most of the time he was a pleasant, civil man, and at times he could even be a good father, but underneath lay a vein of malice which only she knew about.

As she walked away, Ava felt her heart shatter. All her adult life she had been in love with a man who did not exist, a man who had played with her affections for some mysterious reason of his own. He had kissed her tenderly but passionately, but had he not also kissed the woman he was about to marry the same way, with so much gentleness and love? Was Cameron capable of such deceit? If he was, he was very good at it, since Ava had been taken in by his attentions for years.

She went home, exhausted and depressed, and as soon as she saw Janet, she wrapped her arms around her sister and burst into tears on her shoulder.

Janet said nothing as she looked over Ava's shoulder at Rona, but her face said everything. At that moment she looked and felt capable of murder.

"If I get my hands on him I will beat him to a pulp," she said at last, her voice throbbing with anger. "He is no' a man. He is a worm."

Ava managed a wobbly laugh. "No, Janet. You might be strong, but you are nowhere near as strong as Cam." She stood up straight and squared her shoulders. "No, I will get over Cam, an' I will find another, better man out there somewhere - one I can trust."

"I am beginnin' to think such a man does no' exist," Rona remarked with a cynical laugh. "I have never met one."

"I will put Cam behind me," Ava said grimly. "I know it will be easier said than done, but I cannot go on pinin' after him my whole life. There are far better men than him out there. They might no' all look like the handsomest man on earth, but it is what is inside that counts."

The burial service the next morning was very simple, since there was no money for anything more elaborate than a plain wooden box and a simple wooden cross as a headstone. A few of the neighbors came to attend, since Colin had been a well-liked man, but there was no sign of Cameron.

Still, Ava thought, if she had been treated the way Cameron had been by her sisters, she doubted if she would have attended either. Nevertheless, his absence hurt her, since he and her father had always been the best of friends, almost like father and son.

There was no food afterwards. Besides the fact that they could not afford it, everyone had to get back to work, but the three sisters lingered, clinging to each other with tears running down their faces. Somehow they had managed to weather the last few days, but after seeing his coffin lowered into the ground, the reality of their father's death had just hit home very hard indeed.

When they arrived home, they all sat around the table to rest, since there would be no work on the day of a funeral.

"I wish we had some whisky," Rona said, sighing.

"Aye," Ava said sadly. "Da liked a wee bit now an' again. Maybe you will marry a rich man, Rona, then you can buy as much as you like." It was said in jest, but no-one laughed.

"Pfft!" Rona scoffed. "Men! They are too much trouble! I am never goin' to get married." Her voice was a growl.

"Da was no' a bad man," Ava reminded her. "He was one o' the best, an' ye will no' go wrong marryin' somebody like him."

She felt as though the bottom had fallen out of her world. She had no money, and since she had refused Cameron's help, there was the distinct possibility that they might starve. Other women in her situation had resorted to the desperate solution of selling their bodies on the street, but Ava could not even bear to think of that possibility. She was sinking into a pit of despair.

There was a sudden rap at the door, and when Ava opened it, she found James Henderson standing on the doorstep. She regarded him with surprise, since she could think of no reason for his visit, and she was very wary of people she did not know well, especially men.

Standing in the small doorway, he looked big and powerful and she knew they would have to fight hard to overcome him if he chose to attack them. However, although he was a big man, he looked like a person of quality, and was likely not going to risk his position and place in society by attacking three poor sisters.

"Mister Henderson?" she said uncertainly. "Can I help ye?"

"You certainly can, Ava," he answered, smiling. "How are you?"

"As well as ever, Sir," she replied politely, even though she was deeply uncomfortable. She had never liked the way he looked at her, but perhaps that was her imagination. "Come in. An' you?" She stood aside to let him in and he had to bow his head to pass under the low lintel of the door.

"Never better," he replied, with a perfect smile that made Ava wonder if his teeth were real. "And there is no need to call me ‘sir.' I consider us friends."

She felt suspicious suddenly. "An' what do ye want wi' me?" she asked, puzzled. "I want nothin' to do wi' the Laird or his estate."

"That's not what I wish to discuss," he answered, "I have something to ask you." He had suddenly assumed a serious air and she frowned, feeling that something was not quite right. She took an unconscious step away from him.

"Aye?" Ava folded her arms, feeling the need to protect herself.

"May we speak alone?" His tone was solemn, his dark eyes fixed on hers to such an extent that she felt uneasy.

"We have a tiny wee cottage," she told him. "There is only one room, but ye can say anythin ye like in front o' my sisters. We share everythin'."

"I would rather speak alone," he insisted, his dark eyes hardening.

Ava did not like the thought of being alone with him, so she threw a meaningful glance to Janet, who gave an imperceptible nod of understanding. Her sisters would look out and make sure she came to no harm. "Then we must speak outside." She raised her chin, steadfast and defiant.

James sighed with irritation. This was going to be quite a bit more difficult than he had thought it would be. For a moment, he looked at the ground, then he raised his eyes to hers. "Is there somewhere we can sit?" he asked.

Ava pointed to a pile of sawn logs a few feet away from the cottage. "We can sit there," she said firmly. "It is no' the most comfortable place, but it is a' we have. It is that or the grass."

James swallowed his annoyance and sat down, and waited for Ava to sit beside him. Despite his annoyance, he relished the thought of her soft body touching him as they sat close together.

However, instead of sitting on the log, Ava settled herself on the ground and leaned back against the wall of the cottage, then raised her eyebrows inquiringly. "What do ye want to ask me?"

"Before I speak to you about my request, I need to clear up a few more matters first," he replied.

Ava nodded, wondering when he would get to the point. "I am listening," she said, sighing wearily. "But please make it quick. I have work to do."

"Your friend Cameron was going to marry you, was he not?" James asked.

"How is that any business of yours?" Ava was furious. "My life is my own!"

"He did not even come to your father's funeral, did he?" he asked pointedly.

"No." Ava shook her head and looked at the ground, not wanting him to see the anger and hurt in her eyes

"When the marriage of my daughter and Cameron takes place, Cameron will be a wealthy man," Henderson said evenly. "And since you are his friends, I imagine he will be sending you some help in the form of food, clothes and other household requirements, even though he is marrying my daughter. Is that right?"

"No." Ava shook her head firmly. "I want nothin' from him, and neither do my sisters."

"Are you quarreling?" James was curious.

Ava looked at him with eyes that were blazing with rage. "Will ye say what ye came to say or go away? Some o' us have to work for a livin'!"

James realized that he was losing his way by being too inquisitive. Ava was not listening to him, and she was becoming angry. "I want you to marry me," he said at last, then held his hand up as she opened her mouth to object. "Please listen, Ava. I am not pretending that this will be a love match or anything like that, but I can look after you and your sisters. You will have a home to call your own and you will not have to starve.

I am never going to be as wealthy as a Laird, and I know I am much older than you, but I am comfortably off, and if there are children, well and good. If there are not, that is also fine. I have no name to live up to, but I will be a good husband to you, I promise." He schooled his expression to look as hopeful as he could make it, even though it angered him. He was used to getting his own way, and begging was not something he relished.

"This is a shock," Ava replied, her eyes wide with astonishment. "An' I hardly know ye." She felt quite dazed as she met his eyes again. This man seemed pleasant enough and he was definitely not ugly, but he was not Cameron. However, Cameron had deceived her in the most despicable way possible. Why should she ruin her life for him? But by the same token, how could she trust this stranger who made her feel so uneasy?

"Ye will have to give me time to think," she replied. She felt as if she was teetering on the edge of a precipice, and if she gave him the wrong answer she would fall off the edge into misery.

"Of course," James stood up, then helped Ava to her feet so that she was standing very close to him. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her lips, but he raised her hands and kissed her knuckles instead. "How long do you need?" he asked gently.

"A week?" It was the first thing that came into her head.

A fleeting frown of irritation crossed James's face, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. "Of course," he said pleasantly. "If you make up your mind before then, come and see me at the castle. The guards will have instructions to let you in."

He bowed again, then mounted his horse once more and rode away, leaving Ava to stand by herself and think for a while. She was still in a state of shock and disbelief when Janet came to stand by her side.

"What did he want?" Janet's voice was thunderous. "Crowin' about that daughter o' his I suppose? Somethin' like that?"

"He asked me to marry him." Ava turned to her sister, sighing. "I don't know why."

Janet stood staring at her in complete astonishment for a moment, then she threw back her head and laughed heartily. "You said no, I hope?"

"I said I would think about it," Ava replied, sighing. "I could do worse. He will look after me - all o' us."

"But why, Ava?" she asked, frowning. "Are ye mad? Ye don't know him!"

"We need to eat," Ava answered. "We can't go on like this."