Love Joins the Clans Read online

  ‘I must talk to – somebody. I must see – somebody who will – understand and will tell me what to – do.’

  Then she remembered that tomorrow when she went riding with Jamie she would make sure that she found out the way to Castle Cowan.

  After that she could decide how best to reach its Laird.

  Chapter Five

  Riding out of the stable yard with Jamie McBlane, Clova was conscious of feeling wildly excited.

  She was thrilled by the beauty of the morning sunshine percolating through the trees, the mist over the moors and the glimmer of silver when she was within sight of the river.

  It was all so lovely, so very unlike France, and she found herself exulting,

  ‘This is mine, mine!’

  She rode South from The Castle, deliberately keeping below the road that began to rise almost immediately over the moors.

  They moved slowly along the river where it was easy going for the horses and a number of sheep were grazing on the green grass.

  Clova found it thrilling to be once again on horseback, although she was certain that after years of not riding, she would later be very stiff.

  When her mother had first run away from Scotland with Lionel Arkwright, she had ridden every day with them both in the Bois de Boulogne.

  Even after he had left them, there were several of Lottie’s admirers who owned outstanding stables and, because Clova was a very pretty child, they had enjoyed taking her riding with them.

  It was only later, when Lottie’s suitors were apt to belong to other social circles and some of them, like Jan Maskill, came from far-off countries, that there were no horses for Clova to ride.

  Still, whenever Lottie had money to spend, she was only too glad to allow Clova to hire horses from a livery stable wherever they might be at that moment and to ride accompanied by a groom.

  But the last three years had been barren of horseflesh and Clova now felt an irrepressible joy and excitement because she was riding again and her horse was well-bred and spirited.

  She had seen in the stables and in the Park round The Castle sturdy little ponies that were used on the moors and she looked forward to riding them.

  At the moment, however, she was concerned more than anything else to discover where Castle Cowan was situated.

  It seemed to her that they very quickly reached the place near the river where she had helped Tarquil McCowan land his salmon.

  It was then that she had an idea, but was half-afraid to express it.

  She had found out that her cousin Jamie had an estate of his own, which she gathered from what he said was prosperous.

  As they talked, she found that, although he was not very eloquent, he was very interested in current affairs and she felt sure that he was more enlightened than some of her other relatives.

  They had ridden quite a way before he said,

  “I think now, Cousin Clova, we have reached the boundary of the McBlane estate in this direction. It extends very much further North and also West, but here it is bordered by the land belonging to the McCowans.”

  Clova drew in her breath and then she said,

  “You heard what I said yesterday, Cousin Jamie, about repudiating ancient feuds.”

  “I think you were quite right,” he said.

  She smiled at him and then she asked,

  “In that case, are you brave enough to come with me to call on the Laird of Cowan?”

  There was a little pause when her cousin did not reply.

  Then he enquired,

  “Do you know the Laird?”

  “I met him on my way to Strathblane.”

  “And he seemed friendly and not hostile in any way?”

  “Not in the least,” Clova replied, “although he has suffered severely from the way some of the McBlanes are treating him.”

  She knew by the expression in Jamie’s eyes that he was aware of what had occurred and that he had been told that Euan was suspected of harassing the McCowans.

  There was a pause as she waited, holding her breath until Jamie McBlane said slowly,

  “I am quite happy to accompany you to Castle Cowan if that is what you wish.”

  “Thank you,” Clova smiled. “I knew that you would not be so hidebound and so out of date as to wish to carry on this absurd enmity towards a neighbour.”

  They rode over the border following the river and, after a little while Jamie said, hastily,

  “I am afraid that you will find it difficult to convince some of our relatives that what you are doing is the right thing.”

  “Then there is no need to tell them, except that I expect they will learn about it sooner or later. I am beginning to think that in Scotland even the sheep talk and the heather itself has ears!”

  Jamie laughed.

  “There is very little that can be kept hidden around here.”

  “I am aware of that and, if they are disagreeable about what we are doing, I shall look to you to support me,” Clova said.

  They rode on and ten minutes later could see Castle Cowan ahead of them.

  As she drew nearer, she realised that the Laird had been right in telling her that it was in a dilapidated state.

  It was very old, only one tower was still intact, and the battlements were greatly in need of repair.

  At the same time there was a small loch in front of it that stretched from the head of the river and, with the moors stretching out behind it, it was so lovely that Clova drew in her breath.

  For a moment it seemed almost to have a Fairytale-like quality about it and she was afraid it might vanish before she reached it.

  But it was still there as they rode up to the door and a number of sporting dogs came running out towards them, not barking or aggressive, but wagging their tails as if in welcome.

  Jamie dismounted and Clova held the bridle of his horse as he pulled at an iron bell that hung beside an oak door that was studded and with iron hinges.

  They waited for some time before the door was opened not by a servant, but by the Laird of Cowan himself.

  For a moment he looked first at Jamie and then at Clova in surprise.

  “Good morning!” Jamie said. “Our new Chieftain, the Marchioness of Strathblane, was anxious to call on you and I have escorted her.”

  “I am delighted to see you,” the Laird said, holding out his hand.

  Then he walked towards Clova to stare up at her as she sat looking exceedingly elegant in a green habit that she had bought in Paris.

  Their eyes met and she knew without his saying so how glad he was to see her.

  “It is very courteous of you to visit me,” he said aloud. “May I invite you in for breakfast? I was just about to have my own.”

  “We would be delighted,” Clova answered.

  The servant who had followed the Laird out of the house now took the reins of the two horses and Tarquil McCowan reached up to lift Clova from the saddle.

  As he did so, she was for a moment in his arms and she felt a little sensation that she had never known before.

  It seemed somehow to tingle in her heart and move from there up to her lips before he released her.

  In a voice that only she could hear he then said,

  “I have been praying that I would see you again.”

  She felt the colour come into her cheeks and her eyes fell before his.

  Then with an effort she walked ahead of him up the steps and in through the front door.

  It was impossible not to compare the interior of Tarquil McCowan’s Castle with her own.

  It was smaller, but the rooms were well-proportioned and the view from the windows was exquisite.

  The floors were bare except for a few fur or skin rugs made from stags or wildcats and the walls were decorated mostly with stags’ horns.

  The curtains were threadbare and tattered and, although the chairs and sofas were comfortable, they were badly in need of re-covering.

  Tarquil McCowan took them through what Clova saw was the Ch
ieftain’s Room into the dining room that opened out of it.

  Again the windows looked over the Loch and the moors beyond and the fireplace was large and impressive.

  There were rugs of the same type on the floor and the table with its clean white cloth had none of the silver or the expensive porcelain that was used at Strathblane.

  Nevertheless, when they were seated, a kilted servant brought first a fresh pot of coffee and then eggs and bacon, which had obviously been prepared quickly in the kitchen.

  The bread was warm from the oven, but the butter was not of the same quality that Clova had eaten yesterday and she guessed that Tarquil’s cattle did not give as good milk as those that now belonged to her.

  She was, however, not disposed to be critical, being so excited to have reached Castle Cowan and to see the man she had thought of incessantly ever since they had met.

  As they started to eat, Tarquil said,

  “I have heard what you said in your speech yesterday and I thought that it was very brave of you and even braver to cone here today.”

  “You heard?” Clova exclaimed. “How could you have done?”

  He smiled.

  “Everything is known in Scotland almost as soon as it happens.”

  “That is just what I was saying to my Cousin Jamie as we rode here.”

  “As a matter of fact it was particularly easy for me,” Tarquil smiled, “because one of my herdsmen bravely married a McBlane and her brother, with whom she is in constant touch, is one of your ghillies.”

  Clova laughed and then she said,

  “You see, Jamie? I was right and I suspect even the fish are talking about what we do.”

  She looked at Tarquil and told him,

  “When I woke up this morning, my first thought was that it was very easy to say what should be done, but very much more difficult to make sure that it is.”

  She could see by the expression on his face that he knew exactly what she was thinking and he answered quietly,

  “There was another incident yesterday when one of my shepherds saw a young man attempting to carry away two newborn lambs, but, although they were shaken, they suffered no damage and, when they were returned to their mother, they survived.”

  There was a note of anger in Tarquil’s voice as he spoke that was unmistakable and, after a moment’s embarrassed silence, Jamie asked,

  “Have you any idea who would do anything so disgraceful?”

  “My shepherd was certain that the man in question was wearing the tartan of the McBlanes.”

  “This sort of thing has got to stop!” Clova exclaimed. “You don’t yet know, Jamie, but the Laird recently found two of his best ewes with their throats cut.”

  “I agree it is disgraceful,” Jamie said. “Perhaps, Cousin Clova, your Clansmen will listen to what you said yesterday and obey you.”

  “In the old days the Clansmen were punished for disobedience,” Tarquil pointed out, “but now it is much more difficult.”

  “Perhaps we shall be able to find out who was the instigator of such crimes,” Clova suggested.

  The two men who she was speaking to were looking at her and she knew as she spoke that they were both aware that she was referring to her cousin Euan.

  Abandoning all pretence Clova then said,

  “We must stop him!”

  “I will try,” Jamie replied, “but it will be difficult unless we can catch him red-handed.”

  “Surely that could happen?” Clova asked.

  “We are both thinking of the same person,” Tarquil said. “But he is too clever actually to commit a crime himself. He merely gives orders to those who find it an adventure to follow him and in my opinion are more sinned against than sinning.”

  Clova was convinced that this was true.

  Euan was an educated intelligent man with a sharp but twisted brain and the youths he had recruited into his special gang were impressed by him and he could manipulate them in any way he wished.

  Once again she felt helpless, knowing that because she was a woman it would be harder to assert her authority than if she was a man.

  As they rose from the breakfast table, Tarquil making no apology for the fact that it was a frugal meal, Jamie asked,

  “I wonder if you would allow me to look at your tower, which I know is the oldest part of Castle Cowan. I am, as it happens, extremely interested in the historic buildings of our country, many of which are being sadly neglected.”

  “Yes, of course,” Tarquil replied.

  He led the way to the end of Castle Cowan where there was a door that led to the tower.

  He opened it and Jamie started to climb the very narrow twisting stairway.

  “It is quite safe,” Tarquil assured him, “except that you have to be careful on top of the tower itself.”

  “I will take care,” replied Jamie, who by now had turned the corner of the stairs and was out of sight.

  Clova expected to follow him, but Tarquil blocked her way.

  He stood looking at her and once again she felt shy, her eyelashes dark against her cheeks.

  “It was very wonderful of you,” he said in a low voice, “to come to me like this. I have been wondering almost every minute since we met how I could see you again, but could not think of a way.”

  “You – wanted to see me?”

  “I dare not tell you how much.”

  There was a little pause before Clova asked,

  “Will you help me in what I am – trying to do?”

  “I have already sworn my allegiance to you,” Tarquil answered, “and you know that I am yours to command.”

  He moved a step nearer to her and said in a very different tone of voice,

  “But, my dear, take care of yourself. I am afraid for you.”

  “I am – afraid too,” Clova said in little more than a whisper.

  “Of your cousin Euan?”

  “Yes.”

  “He has not threatened you?”

  “No, but he has already asked me to – marry him, just as you – said he might.”

  “He has not wasted much time,” the Laird commented and she thought that there was a bitter note in his voice.

  There was a little silence and then he went on,

  “I have been thinking that it is important that you should make a will leaving your money to anybody rather than your husband.”

  “Are you really – suggesting that I might – marry Cousin Euan?” Clova enquired.

  “ I am afraid he might trap you into becoming his wife. Remember in Scotland we have the Law of Marriage by Consent.”

  “Yes, I know that,” Clova answered, “but I would never, never consent to marry him, whatever he might say.”

  “He might make it impossible for you to refuse him.”

  “How could he do – that?”

  She realised that Tarquil was finding it hard to think of the words to answer her with.

  Because she was afraid that Jamie would come back and they would no longer be able to go on talking, she then said,

  “Help me, you must help me – I am afraid of him. Last night he said that he intended to marry me, even though I told him that it was far too soon to contemplate such a thing.”

  “I will try to protect you, but it will not be easy. Besides – ”

  His eyes met hers and his voice died away.

  For a moment it seemed to Clova as if they met each other across time and space and she knew that he was the man she had dreamt of and the man she had always wanted to find but thought it impossible.

  There was no need for words.

  She knew by the expression in Tarquil’s eyes and the vibrations that she could feel joining her to him that neither of them could move and that he loved her as she loved him.

  Then with what seemed an almost superhuman effort Tarquil turned away.

  “I will try to protect you, if it is humanly possible,” he said harshly, “but in the position I am in there is nothing else I can say.”

>   He walked across to the window and stood with his back to her.

  Clova knew that he was thinking not only of her high rank as the Marchioness of Strathblane but also of her money, while he was comparatively so poor.

  She wanted to tell him that nothing mattered but what she felt pulsating through her body and running in her veins like shafts of sunshine.

  Then, as she hesitated because she was shy, she heard footsteps coming down from the tower and realised that Jamie was returning.

  Tarquil heard them too and he turned round.

  As they looked at each other and the expression in his eyes made Clova quiver, he said very quietly,

  “Trust me.`”

  *

  Riding home, Jamie talked enthusiastically about Cowan Castle and especially of the tower.

  “It is one of the oldest I have ever seen,” he said, “and I intend when I return to describe it to some of my friends in Stirling who are all ardent archaeologists.”

  “How interesting,” Clova remarked.

  “They are not only writing a book about Scotland,” he went on, “but are trying to raise funds to preserve some of the better examples of buildings erected by our forebears. I feel, as they do, that they are not only part of our history but of real value to the Scotsmen who will follow us in the future.”

  “I am so glad you feel like that and it was very kind and helpful of you, Cousin Jamie, to visit the Laird with me.”

  “He is a very nice young man,” Jamie replied. “It seems hard that he should be so impoverished that he cannot restore his Castle or improve his herds.”

  They were both of them aware as they rode home that the sheep grazing around Castle Cowan were inferior to those on the McBlane land and what cattle could be seen were pitiably thin.

  ‘If only I could help him’, Clova whispered to herself.

  She found herself wishing that he was living in a Castle as grand and prosperous as Strathblane and that she was the poor Cinderella in Castle Cowan.

  In that case things would be very much easier, for she had the frightening feeling that because Tarquil was proud, and what Scotsman was not, he would erect a barrier between them, a barrier springing not from the feuds of the past but from her wealth.

  There was no need to ask herself if he knew about it.