Chapter 18

After what she had heard, Ava was too restless to sleep. She lay, tossing and turning for a few hours then rose from bed and began to pace the room. She kept thinking of every possible way that James could murder Cameron and there seemed to be a million different means.

He could be drowned in the burn that ran past her cottage and the castle, pushed off one of the turrets, poisoned, or even be trampled by one of the guards' horses. James could use any one of dozens of poisons that were completely undetectable once a person was dead.

She shook her head and growled in frustration, because the truth was that the possibilities were endless. If anything happened to Cameron it would be her fault, though, because now that she knew what James was planning, it was her duty to stop it.

Ava waited, agitated beyond bearing, until the coming of dawn began to chase the darkness away and she could see the sky turning from grey to pink and finally showed the first fingers of blue. She paced the floor for a little longer, then threw on her clothes, splashed some water on her face and rushed down to the stables. Then, much to the astonishment of the newly-risen stable hands, she saddled up her horse and galloped away as if the hounds of hell were after her.

The words ‘save Cameron' repeated themselves over and over again in her mind to the rhythm of the horse's gallop, and by the time she had covered the distance to Kilcarron, she had worked herself into such a frenzy of anger and anxiety that she was shaking with it.

She slowed her horse down to a walk just before reaching the entrance, to calm herself down and rehearse what she was going to say, although she was fairly certain that by the time she saw Cameron she would be unable to talk any sense at all.

She dismounted and walked her horse over the drawbridge and into the courtyard, where she was approached by a guard. "Mistress Struthers," he greeted her, smiling. "What can I do for ye?"

"I would like to speak to the Laird, if ye can call him for me, please." Ava returned his smile, looking around her at all the servants who were busy cleaning, polishing and sweeping. She decided to be as friendly and informal as she could. "I expect there is a lot o' clearin' up today."

The guard laughed. "Indeed there was, Mistress," he agreed, "but one good thing came out o' it. Laird Dalziel asked us to give the leftover food to the poorest tenants so that nothin' is wasted. He seems like a good man."

"He is," she agreed. "I know him well." She looked up at the guard expectantly. He was a man in his middle years with blue eyes and greying fair hair, and there was something gentle about him. She could always sense such things.

"Sorry, Mistress," the man said ruefully. "I will have one o' the maidservants find him for ye."

He walked away and came back a few moments later with a tall manservant. "I am sorry, Mistress Struthers, but the Laird has gone out to visit tenants." He gave a proud smile as he said, "he told us a' he wanted to waste no time in gettin' started wi' his work. As well as that, he is takin' a' the extra food around wi' him."

"Damn!" Ava said irritably. "He will likely know most of the tenants already!" Then she smiled. "You like him better than the old Laird, I take it?"

"Aye, Mistress, we a' dae," he replied. "The old man was a right tyrant an' I was no' sorry tae see him goin'." He turned back to the guard. "A' the lassies in the kitchen are singin', an' they only dae that at Hogmanay! No' keen on that steward o' his either, mind," he said, shaking his head and frowning.

"Aye, no' a very nice man!" the manservant agreed, before walking away.

They all laughed, but Ava's mind was in turmoil. How could she get in touch with Cameron? Quite obviously she was not going to tell the guard what her message was, and even if she had been able to write she could not have put down on paper something that was so dangerous.

"Mistress?" the guard asked, jerking Ava out of her reverie.

She jumped. "Sorry." She laughed nervously. "Daydreamin'. Could ye tell him I was here?"

"I will," the guard assured her. "Do ye no' have a message for him?"

"No." Ava smiled again. "Just tell him that. Thank you."

As she walked away, he frowned. The man had sensed by her preoccupied look that there was something worrying the young woman. She was nervous, and her smile looked forced. He knew that she had been a sweetheart of Cameron Dalziel before he became Laird, and wondered if there was something still between them.

It intrigued him, but it was none of his business, and he soon forgot all about it.

Cameron had had a very rewarding day. He knew most of his tenants, since they had mostly been old friends and neighbours, and everyone was delighted to see him. He was hugged, kissed, and told in no uncertain terms by everyone he met that he deserved every bit of his newly-acquired good fortune.

"It is aboot time that old swine recognized his son," Aggie McGuire, one of the oldest women Cameron had ever seen, said bitterly. She claimed to be over a century old, but Cameron seriously doubted that, even though her face was fissured with wrinkles and her hair was snow white. "May God forgive me, but I am happy he's deid - he was an angry, unhappy man, an' he took it out on everybody!" Then she smiled a gap-toothed smile and put a hand on Cameron's shoulder. "But you, Cam - I have known ye since ye were a wee bairn, an' ye have always been a good boy, an' I can see ye are a very good man too."

"Thank ye, Auntie Aggie." Cameron smiled at the old woman and gave her a tremendous hug that set her off in a peal of laughter.

"Will ye no' let an old woman alone?" she protested. "Look at the muscles in those arms! Ye will break these old ribs!"

"I am sorry, Auntie Aggie," he replied, trying to look suitably ashamed. The effect was rather spoiled when he burst out laughing. Everyone around him did too, and suddenly Cameron felt like the luckiest man alive. He was here amongst people he loved, people who loved him in return, and he had the means to make them happy by giving them the simple things they needed.

He had the feeling that this was the start of a new and fulfilling chapter in his life. Because Cameron had been poor like his tenants until very recently he knew what it was like to be without the good things in life, and sometimes even the essential things.

He was only one man, though, and could not do everything by himself, but he could inspire others to help him by setting a good example and being the kind of Laird they needed.

He had not brought James Henderson with him, however, since his steward had informed him that he would be busy with accounts for the whole of the day. Before, Cameron had wondered how that could be, but as he rode around his land and looked at the sheer extent of it, he realised that it would be perfectly possible to spend days adding up and taking away sums of money.

He was sure, however, that accounting was far more complicated than that, and was looking forward to learning all about it. Yet he was not sure that Henderson would be the right man to teach him.

Life, he could see, was going to be demanding, but now that he had no need to worry anymore about where his next meal was coming from, he could face up to the challenges and overcome them. He knew that he would enjoy doing it.

Presently, he passed by his own little cottage. He smiled as he looked at it and a flood of happy memories washed over him.

This was the place where he and his mother had spent many happy hours together while she taught him some basic sewing and he taught her the alphabet. However, most of the time they had just talked about anything and everything, and she had imparted to him the simple wisdom and philosophy of her life.

He had handed the keys to a young couple who were just starting out on their life together, and he would never forget the delight on their faces as he opened the door for them.

"It is no' much," he told them, "but it was the last roof Ma an' I had while I was growin' up, an' I was very happy here. I hope you will be too."

"M'Laird!" the lad whose young wife was six months with child, shook his head in disbelief. "This is wonderful! How can we repay you?"

Cameron had smiled. "By raisin' your family an' makin' the best o' this land. But one thing I promise - ye will never go hungry, because if ye need help come an' ask me or one o' my men. I know what it is like to be hungry an' I would no' wish it on anyone."

His wife burst into tears of gratitude, and Cameron handed the young man a bottle of wine. "Enjoy your new home," he said warmly. "There is a lot o' love among these four walls."

"An' there will be much more," the young man assured him, grinning from ear to ear.

There was one last call that Cameron had to make. When he had given his cottage to the Aitkens, Ava had promised the Struthers family home to someone else after she was married. The man who had killed Brian Lewis was called Fergus Collins, the head of a young family who had fallen on hard times when he could not find employment.

He and his wife and five-year old son had been living in the forest near the castle, struggling to survive on whatever they could forage. One extremely wet day he had seen a magnificent stag that would have kept the family going for some time, and had attempted to kill it.

His fingers were wet and slippery from the rain, however, and the shot went wide, and it killed the Laird's son, who was in a hunting party that day. Fergus had tried to flee, but he was caught and hanged before the day was out, leaving his family destitute. They would have starved to death if one of the guards had not found them and brought them back to Cameron at the castle.

Cameron suggested to the Struthers sisters that they should give the cottage to the young widow, and they had agreed.

However, Ava was unwilling to let the family move in before she was safely married, so at the moment they were living in a tumbledown shepherd's hut in the forest. Cameron was appalled when he saw it, so he had the roof repaired, put some rudimentary furniture in it, and supplied them with food, clothing and blankets. It was not yet a proper home, but it would keep them warm and dry.

The woman had been pathetically grateful, and the little red-haired boy's eyes shone with happy tears as they surveyed their temporary home.

This would be the first time Cameron had seen the young family for weeks, and he was a little anxious. He need not have been. When she opened the door and saw him, Andie Collins gave him a huge smile. "Oh, M'Laird, I am that glad tae see ye!" she cried.

"As I am to see you, Andie," Cameron replied, smiling. "I have brought ye a few wee things." He handed her a basket of assorted foodstuffs and she gave a cry of surprise and delight.

"Ye are such a good man, M'Laird," she said, smiling tearfully. "After what Fergus did -"

"It was an accident and I am sorry he had to die for it." Cameron's voice was full of regret. "Now, I must go. If you need anything, come to me." He waved a quick goodbye and rode away.

Andie nodded and watched him. If only his father had been as kind as his son!

It was a long day, and by the time Cameron arrived home darkness was already creeping in. The guards' shift had changed, and Cameron did not receive the message about Ava's arrival. He ate his evening meal swiftly then tumbled into bed, utterly exhausted. He slept dreamlessly until morning, and had the best night's sleep he had had for ages.

Ava had returned home, determined to speak to James. The first place she looked was his study, where he spent most of his time when he was not at the castle, but he was not there. She growled irritably, then tried the parlor, the dining room, the kitchen, and finally she knocked on his bedroom door, but it did her no good, for she could not find him anywhere.

All the way home she had been turning over the matter in her mind. Should she confront James? Perhaps he'd had a little too much to drink and was one of those people who could not handle it well. One thing she knew for certain - she was no longer prepared to marry him.

Should she act as if she knew nothing and simply wait until she had a chance to tell Cameron? James had said he wanted to wait until after the wedding to kill him, so he was safe for the time being, was he not? On the other hand, James Henderson could change his mind at any moment - he was clearly not quite sane.

Ava decided that saying ‘yes' to James's marriage proposal had been one of the worst decisions she had ever made. She had hardly known him, and yet she had been willing to give her life to him. What had she been thinking? As well as that, there were her sisters to consider. What if he decided that they were an inconvenience? It would take very little effort on his part to kill them in his own house. No, she thought. She would have to get them out of here, and she knew that the only person that could keep all of them safe was Cameron.

She sighed and turned towards her sisters' chamber then opened the door and looked inside. She screamed.