A Heart of Stone Read online

  “All I want,” Vanora sighed, “is to give the Stone back to the McKyles.”

  “All I want,” the Earl murmured, “is you.”

  Then he was kissing her and there was no chance of her answering.

  The sheer wonder of his kisses seemed linked with the sunshine and the sound of the birds in the garden.

  They were together and it was impossible to think that anything else was of any consequence.

  *

  Ewen McKyle had just sat down to luncheon when the door opened.

  To his astonishment his sister walked in.

  “Vanora!” he exclaimed. “You are back! I was not expecting you.”

  “I have just arrived,” Vanora said, “and I hoped that you would be alone.”

  “Everyone staying here is fishing,” Ewen replied. “But why are you here? And why did you not get in touch with the man who was waiting every night in the wood for your instructions?”

  “I had nothing to tell him,” she said, sitting down at the table. “Now I have some news and thought it essential that I should bring it to you myself.”

  “News! What news?” Ewen asked her. “Have you found the Stone?”

  “I have indeed found it and it is being returned to you tomorrow.”

  Her brother stared at her as if he could not believe what he had heard.

  “Returned?” he queried. “Why did you not bring it with you?”

  “It was too heavy for one thing,” Vanora replied, “and the Earl is bringing it himself.”

  Her brother gave a startled exclamation.

  “Bringing it himself! But how can he do that and why?”

  “You will find it hard to believe,” Vanora said, “but the Earl had not seen the Stone for many years and had no idea that it was even in his possession.”

  She thought that her brother would speak and went on quickly,

  “He is upset at the thought of it lying neglected in The Castle for so long and he is coming to apologise to you in person when he hands you back the Stone which means so much to our Clan.”

  “I find it just impossible to believe what you are saying,” Ewen insisted.

  “I think you will find that the Earl will explain it to you better than I can, but, as he is anxious to make this an important occasion, he asks that you have as many of the McKyle Clan present as possible.

  Ewen made a sound, but did not interrupt her.

  “He will present the Stone to you in front of our castle so that most of our Clan and his can be there too. I suggest that this takes place on the platform you used when the Clan made their allegiance to you.”

  She finished speaking.

  For a moment he looked utterly bewildered.

  Then he said,

  “Do you swear to me that the Earl is coming here in person to hand over the Stone?”

  “That is what I have told you,” Vanora said, “and, as he will be bringing his pipers with him and, I believe, a great number of his Clan, so it is vital that all our people should also be present on such an auspicious occasion.”

  “It most certainly is!” Ewen exclaimed.

  He jumped up from the table and left the room.

  Vanora heard him shouting for his secretary who was responsible for any functions at their castle.

  She knew that she had astonished her brother and, having galvanised him into action, she knew that he would do exactly what the Earl wanted.

  ‘Neil is so clever and so wonderful,’ she said to herself.

  She wished that she could have stayed at The Castle with him.

  *

  Vanora woke the following morning to the sound of hammering and knew that the platform was being erected outside the McKyle Castle as she had suggested.

  It did not have the sea and the garden as at Killdona Castle, but it was impressive and attractive in its own way.

  Built above the river, with the moors rising behind and the river below, it was very picturesque.

  In the front there was a large courtyard and the lawn sloped down to the river itself and opposite could be seen the high hills of the Strath.

  Until she had been to Killdona Castle, Vanora had always thought that her own home was the most romantic and glorious castle in Scotland.

  The hammering grew a little louder.

  She knew that if Ewen could not eclipse the Earl in the size of his castle, he had no wish to be inferior when it came to hospitality in receiving him.

  Never had he expected for one moment to meet the Earl and that he would come himself with the sacred Stone of his Clan and apologise put him on his mettle.

  Ewen had been so busy yesterday afternoon and she had been aware that the servants and the Clansmen who lived nearby had all been busy too.

  They had alerted as many as possible of the other members of the Clan to appear outside their castle at noon.

  She was sure that a great number of them would be wanting to come, especially from the village of Aulaypool, which was less than two miles downriver.

  “Does the Earl expect to stay for luncheon?” Ewen asked his sister.

  “No, he will leave after the ceremony has taken place, but it would be polite to offer him a drink.”

  This was to be arranged in the dining room.

  Ewen could still not believe that the Earl would be so friendly, but he had no wish to discuss the situation in front of his house party.

  When they returned from fishing, he was careful what he said to his sister in front of them.

  “What is happening?” one woman asked.

  She was extremely pretty and Vanora thought that perhaps her brother would fall in love with her, as this past year he had been so busy taking his place as Chieftain he had had no time to think of women.

  She had to admit that he was very good-looking and, dressed in his kilt, he was a striking figure who any woman would find attractive.

  Vanora said that she was feeling tired and went to bed early.

  Actually she lay awake thinking about the Earl and how much she loved him.

  How was it possible that, when she least expected it, she had found him?

  And in the very North of Scotland there was the man of her dreams who lived in a dream castle.

  ‘I love him. I adore him,’ she told herself over and over again.

  She imagined that she could still feel his lips on hers and his arms around her.

  She only hoped she had done everything that he had told her to do and that there would be no difficulties.

  She also prayed fervently to God that there would be no disagreeableness when tomorrow came.

  Ewen, right up to the last moment, was suspicious that perhaps the whole thing was a joke. He thought that the Earl, having told Vanora he would bring the Stone back himself, would just send it by a messenger.

  Or perhaps he would refuse to part with it at all.

  *

  Nevertheless, wearing the sporran of the Chieftain of the McKyles and a skean-dhu in his sock, Ewen was waiting with a plaid over his shoulder outside his castle just before noon.

  There was some satisfaction to know that his call to the Clan had been successful.

  There were now several hundred assembled in the courtyard and on the lawn and the shepherds had brought their sheepdogs with them.

  They were mostly men, but some of their wives had been too curious to be left behind and they had come with their children.

  The platform itself was empty except for two chairs fashioned from the horns of stags and they were there in case the two Chieftains might wish to sit down.

  Vanora had said that the Earl would be bringing his pipers.

  Ewen had assembled his. There were four of them and they looked very colourful standing by the platform.

  It was a few minutes to twelve when Vanora joined her brother.

  “He should be here by now,” he said to her sharply, “unless he is crying off at the last moment.”

  “He will not do so and, as I believe that th
is is a historic moment for you two men, I will wait inside.”

  She thought that her brother was going to protest, but, even as his lips moved, there was the first sound of the pipes coming from a distance.

  Ewen was suddenly tense.

  The McKyle Clansmen who had all been talking among themselves fell silent.

  The sound of the pipes increased as they drew near and the McKyles could see six pipers walking side by side.

  In the centre there was something being drawn on wheels and behind was the Earl on a horse and following him were four other horsemen.

  Behind them were the Elders of the MacFiles in a brake drawn by four horses.

  Following were as many of the Clan as the Earl had managed to summon. They had come from the estate, the fishing village and the surrounding hills.

  The procession came majestically up the drive.

  Now the McKyles could see that between the pipers was their Stone that they believed to be so precious.

  It was in a frame of red velvet encircled with gold and it was being pushed on a trolley by four men.

  As it reached the platform, there was a loud gasp of delight from the McKyle Clansmen waiting for it and, as it came to a standstill, they burst into loud applause.

  The Earl dismounted and a groom took his horse.

  He walked forward to meet Ewen McKyle and the crowd lapsed into silence.

  The Clansmen could hear their Chieftain saying,

  “Let me welcome you, my Lord, to my castle and also all those you have brought with you.”

  “I am delighted to be here,” the Earl replied.

  If Ewen was resplendent, the Earl was even more so.

  His Chieftain’s sporran and the Cairngorm brooch that held his plaid in place glittered in the sunshine as he moved.

  The two men walked onto the platform.

  The women who had come as they had no wish to miss the excitement knew they had never seen two young men who were more handsome and smarter in their kilts.

  The men pushing the trolley had arranged it so that the Stone was now in the centre at the back of the platform.

  The two Chieftains were standing in front of it.

  Raising his voice the Earl began,

  “I have come, Chieftain of the McKyles, to return to you your Stone, which was taken from you many years ago, but which until yesterday I did not realise was still in my castle. If I had known it was there, I would have done my best to see that it was returned to its rightful owner.”

  There was a burst of applause and, when it died down, he continued,

  “I bring it now with my good wishes for a future in which our two Clans can live in peace and friendship and help each other towards a prosperity that we in this part of Scotland have not known in the past.”

  He paused for a moment and was aware with some satisfaction that the Clansmen were listening and several of those who were older had moved nearer the platform so as not to miss a word.

  “What is important,” the Earl went on, “is that we are entering a new era in the history of our country. Two years ago when King George IV came to Edinburgh, he was received with great enthusiasm both by the Scots and the English. It signalled the end of estrangement between the two countries and it set an example to us which we can only follow.”

  His voice rose as he added,

  “We Clansmen of the North must unite and forget the animosities of the past. For ourselves, our children and our grandchildren we are creating a new Scotland which will be stronger, richer and braver than we have ever been. This can only happen if we are united and all work for the same goal.”

  He paused before he said very impressively,

  “That is why I am asking your Chieftain to forget the past and in friendship go with us MacFiles into a future in which we shall all profit and, I hope, find happiness.”

  As he finished speaking, there was a huge burst of applause.

  Then his pipers played one of the most ancient of the songs of Scotland.

  As they did so, the men pushed the Stone forward towards Ewen McKyle.

  The Earl held out his hand and Ewen took it and the two men stood locked together with the Stone between them.

  It was then that both Clans applauded wildly and the women waved their handkerchiefs and the men waved their bonnets.

  Then, quite obviously on the Earl’s instructions, the Stone was moved to one side and he silenced the pipes.

  Ewen then spoke, thanking the Earl for the return of the Stone and agreed with him in everything he suggested.

  Their two Clans, the McKyles and the MacFiles would set an example of friendliness and goodwill to the other Clans in the North.

  As he finished speaking, the Earl said,

  “That is what I hoped you would say and to make sure that our Clans are really close, I am now asking you, Chieftain of the McKyles, for the hand of your sister in marriage.”

  Ewen gave a gasp of sheer astonishment.

  Before he could reply, out of the castle behind them came Vanora.

  She was wearing an elaborate white dress which the Earl had not seen before. It had been bought in London for a party which she had attended at Buckingham Palace.

  On her head was her mother’s diamond tiara and flowing over her shoulders was a Brussels lace veil that her mother had worn at her wedding.

  It was quite obvious that she was dressed as a bride.

  The whole company stared at her in amazement as she stepped onto the platform.

  The Earl took her hand and drew her forward and then he started in the complete silence that had followed Vanora’s appearance,

  “Chieftain and Clansmen of the McKyle Clan and Clansmen of the MacFiles, I present my wife, Vanora, to you.”

  He looked at Vanora and she said,

  “Ewen, my brother, Chieftain and Clansman of the McKyles and all the Clansmen of the MacFiles, this is my husband, the Earl of Glenfile.”

  It took even the Elders of both Clans a second or two to realise that they were now witnessing a Marriage by Consent.

  It was completely legal in Scotland, but not used often in public.

  Then the Earl raised Vanora’s hand to his lips and kissed it.

  As he did so, someone else stepped out of the castle behind them and onto the platform. It was the Minister from the largest and most senior Church on the Earl’s land.

  The Earl and Vanora turned round and knelt down in front of him.

  In only a few words he joined them together in matrimony according to the Church of Scotland.

  Then, in the complete silence of all those watching, he blessed them.

  Only when they then rose to their feet and Vanora walked up to her brother and kissed him did the cheers ring out.

  The pipers of both the Clans played The Wedding March.

  The Earl and Vanora first of all waved to those who were cheering them and then they shook hands with all the Elders and as many of the others as they could.

  It was nearly half-an-hour later before the Earl went back onto the platform.

  As the pipes stopped at his command, there was silence.

  “I want you to now celebrate my wedding,” he said, “and I have brought with me some food which I hope the women and children will enjoy and several barrels of ale and whisky in which I will ask you to drink the health of my wife and myself.”

  He smiled at Vanora before he went on,

  “We are now going on our honeymoon, but when we return there will be Highland Games at Killdona Castle and fireworks in the evening which I know you will all enjoy. Now may I ask the ladies present to see that the food is distributed and the gentlemen will, I am sure, not have to be asked twice to dispose of the ale and whisky!”

  There were cheers at this.

  Then the Earl and Vanora walked into the castle followed by Ewen.

  They reached the dining room where the drinks that Vanora had asked for were waiting for them.

  Only then did Ewen blurt out,
/>   “I am just utterly and completely bewildered. How could you have done this without my having the slightest idea of what was happening?”

  “You must forgive us,” Vanora replied. “But I was so scared of losing Neil that I agreed at once to everything he suggested.”

  “I was afraid,” the Earl said, “that you might have a heart of stone and forbid your sister to be my wife. Quite frankly I cannot live without her.”

  They looked at each other as he spoke and Ewen knew that it would be impossible for him to say anything that might spoil their happiness.

  “My heart,” he said, “melted when you returned what we had lost for so long.”

  He had put a bottle of his best champagne among the drinks, as he had thought it would be what the Earl would prefer to anything else.

  He now raised his glass and wished his sister and her husband all the happiness the world could give them.

  “I hoped you would say that,” the Earl replied, “and before we return from our honeymoon I want you to be very kind and help my people arrange the Games. I am sure it is something you can do far better than they can. We don’t expect to return until the day before they take place.”

  This was a plan that he had specially thought out and Vanora knew that however annoyed Ewen might be at their marriage, he would be thrilled to have a voice of authority at Killdona Castle.

  “I will do my best,” he said, “and do you want me to ask a number of other Clans to take part?”

  “Of course,” the Earl replied, “the more the merrier. And I think, if it is a success, it is an event that we should have every year.”

  “Splendid!” Vanora exclaimed.

  “It would bring many people North to spend their money,” he went on, “and it would be an encouragement to our young men to become fitter and healthier.”

  Ewen laughed.

  “I understand the way your mind is working,” he said. “You are quite right and there is not enough activity locally to encourage those who are strong to be stronger, especially when it comes to running, climbing or riding.”

  “It is something we must organise,” the Earl said. “Now, if you will forgive us, my wife and I are going on our honeymoon. And as it is by sea, it will be impossible for anyone to communicate with us.”