Read Online On a Highland Shore by Kathleen Givens - Free Book Online Page A

she shared with Nell, appointed with every comfort Somerstrath could provide: rugs on the floor from faraway places, silk coverings for the bed they shared, a chest in the corner that held clothing and small things. A candle so they did not have to fumble in the dark. And a small window, a luxury in itself, an arrow slot really, overlooking the courtyard below and village beyond, but affording a view of the trees that ringed the base of the mountains, then the mountains themselves. She and Nell knew when the sun came up, knew when it was raining or the wind blew as it did now. Could she live in a cell in the abbey with no vision of the outside world? Could she kneel and pray for the rest of her life? Never run along the beach again, never feel the sunshine on her bare head? Could she leave the world forever?
    The wind swirled around her, lifting a lock of her dark hair and laying it across her face, bringing her back to the present. Today would be full, and that would distract her. Some of the shielings, the huts they would visit, were clustered together, some separated by a burn or even a glen, but the riding would be easy. The sky was clear, the air already warming, promising a bright day. She’d get to visit people she liked. It would be a long journey, but with Nell’s company, it should be a pleasant one, despite Rignor, who would no doubt still be bruised from last night’s argument with their father. She’d heard the shouting even here, in her room. The wind snapped the draperies of the bed, and Margaret’s mood lifted. She couldn’t wait to leave.
    Her good-byes were perfunctory. Her mother put a hand on each of her shoulders and leaned toward Margaret, but her lips did not brush Margaret’s cheek, as they briefly did Nell’s, or as they did Rignor’s, lingering there while Mother whispered something to her eldest son. Margaret turned away, to meet her father’s gaze, surprised to see tears in his eyes. And was that regret she saw there as well, quickly suppressed? His embrace was solid, his kiss on her cheek comforting.
    “Promise me ye’ll think long and hard on this, lassie mine,” he said softly.
    She nodded, unable to speak.
    “That’s all I ask of ye,” he said, and released her. “Safe journey, then.”
    She thanked him and hurried to her pony, stopping only to hug each small brother, each laughing as he threw his arms around her. Fergus gave her a flower, grubby from his hand. Ewan and Cawley told her that they would drive Lachlan away so she could find someone else. She thanked them for the thought. Davey simply hugged her tightly, his dark eyes filled with shadow.
    “What is it?” she whispered to him.
    “I dinna want ye to go,” he said.
    “I ha’ no choice, Davey.”
    “Aye.” He nodded, his lips pressed together.
    “I must go,” she whispered. “But I’ll be back. I swear it.”
    “Dinna go, Margaret. It’ll be so long until I see ye again.”
    She smiled, touched by his affection, then kissed his cheek, his skin smooth under her lips. In a few years he’d not allow her this familiarity.
    “Be careful,” he said.
    “I will. And ye in my absence,” she said, smiling into his eyes.
    “I’ll miss ye.”
    “And I ye,” she said, suddenly struck that no one else had said he would miss her. No one. She threw her arms around him again and kissed the top of his head, releasing him before he could protest. “God keep ye safe until we meet again,” she said, using the old phrase of parting.
    “And ye,” he answered.
     
    She’d almost escaped the village when Fiona caught her, running alongside her pony, clasping Margaret’s ankle and asking her to stop.
    “I never meant to hurt ye, Margaret! Surely ye ken that!”
    Margaret did not look at her.
    Fiona tightened her hold. “I never meant to hurt ye!”
    “What did ye think would happen when I found out?”
    “I dinna think ye’d find out.”
    “And when we went to Lachlan’s? What then? How did ye think I’d not