THE GIFT: A Highland Novella (17 page)

“
Any fool could see,
”
Seanmhair said, leaning forward and tapping her finger next to her eye,
“
my grandson is lovesick for ye.
”

“
Where are you going?
”
Lily asked when Seanmhair wrapped a plaid around her shoulders and opened the door.
“
It will be dark soon.
”

“
With Roderick,
”
Seanmhair said, and whistled to her dog.

“
You
’
re taking Beag too?
”
Lily asked as the dog trotted out.

After Seanmhair slammed the door, Lily sat down hard on the closest stool. Roderick
’
s and the old woman
’
s words spun inside her head.

Ye tossed away the love of a good man
…
And for what? For four walls and some hanging herbs
…
I
’
ll be wed with a babe on the way by spring
…

She must have sat there, stunned, for a long time because the cottage was now pitch black. She fumbled for the lamp on the table and lit it. Waves of grief struck her as she looked around the cottage. She had been happy during her short time here.

In her mind
’
s eye, she saw Roderick ducking his head under the low doorframe and sharing a laugh with his grandmother. He was so good to the old woman. With a sharp pain of longing, it struck her that he would make a good and kind father as well.

Unable to bear being alone in the cottage another moment, she grabbed her cloak. As she started to leave, she noticed the candle Seanmhair had set in the window, intending to light it for the Hogmanay night, and she felt compelled to respect the old woman
’
s wishes. Though Lily would not go far, the candle would help her find the cottage in the darkness.

The path along the cliff was in deep mud from the ceaseless rain. Slipping and sliding, she found herself running down it as if she could outrun her thoughts. When she finally stopped, she stood gasping for air and holding her side as she stared out at the whitecaps that covered the black sea. The crash of the waves far below sounded like a rebuke, telling her she was a fool, again and again.

Lily squeezed her eyes closed, trying to shut out the pain. God help her, what had she done? Seanmhair
’
s voice filled her head.
Ye tossed away the love of a good man.

Suddenly the ground beneath her gave way, and she was falling into the black night.

CHAPTER 16

“
Roderick!
”
Lily called his name as she flung her arms and legs out, desperate to stop her slide toward the edge of the cliff.

When something slammed into her side, she grabbed hold of it. She held on, hugging it to her chest, as rocks and dirt hit her, threatening to take her over the side. When everything stopped moving, her feet were dangling in the air. She spit the dirt out of her mouth, but she could not wipe the dirt from her eyes without letting go. Through the grit, she saw that what had saved her was a stubborn, stunted tree that grew out of the side of the rock face several feet below where the path had been.

The tree trunk she was clinging to was only four or five inches wide. If she could stand on it, she might be able to reach the top of the cliff. She tried to swing her legs up onto it, and gasped when the tree creaked and tilted farther out over the gaping emptiness below her. Her heart beat frantically. How long could she hold on?

Roderick, come find me
. She knew he was at the castle and could not hear her, and yet she called his name over and over in her head.

As she hung there, bruised and bleeding and facing certain death, everything became clear to her. The men of her family were feckless. They had taught her the hard lesson that she could not rely on anyone but herself. But Roderick was nothing like them. If he knew she was here, he would save her. He would not hesitate to put her life before his.

The icy rain numbed her fingers, making it increasingly difficult to hold on. But she remembered how Roderick had somehow found her when she was near death on that hillside, and she began to hope.

As the long minutes passed, she thought about how she had prided herself on her strength, and yet had let fear rule her
—
fear that she would be used, disappointed, pathetic, and heartbroken. Despite what she had overheard outside the cottage, her heart told her that Roderick was worthy of her faith. Finding such a man was an unexpected gift.

A gift she had refused.

And yet she was certain now that he would come for her. Her arms ached from holding herself up, and she had begun to shake violently from the penetrating cold.

She did not have much time left.

***

With a heavy heart, Roderick climbed the treacherous steps cut into the side of the cliff in the dark and pouring rain, one more foolish act. He did not know what made him decide to sail back across the inlet as soon as he
’
d set his grandmother on the shore by the castle, but something compelled him to return. How many times did Lily need to tell him nay before he gave up?

It was after midnight, but she had left a candle in the window, a tiny beacon of light giving him hope on this dismal night. He hesitated outside the door. What more could he say to persuade her? He was out of words.

Apprehension, sudden and urgent, swept over him like a crashing wave. Without knocking, he flung the door open. One glance told him the cottage was empty. The candle had not burned down much, so Lily could not have been gone long.

Where was she? She was in trouble, he knew it.

Roderick.

He heard her voice in his head, pulling him as if a twine connected their hearts. He quickly found his grandmother
’
s old lantern and a rope and ran back outside. Icy rain pelted his face as he held the lantern high, trying to see into the blackness. On the sharp wind, he heard her call his name again. He had to find her.

Lily, where are ye?

Roderick had never had a vision in his life, but now he saw Lily with her arms wrapped around a small tree as clearly as if she were right in front of him. He sensed her growing weakness, and her deep cold was so real to him that a shiver went up his back. He must find her quickly.

He pushed back his rising panic and searched his memory. As a lad, he had scrambled all over this part of the island, and he knew every inch of the path along the cliff. He must recognize something from his vision that would tell him where she was. In his mind
’
s eye, he followed the path along the cliff. He remembered seeing a tree bent by the wind and growing sideways out of the rock with its roots clinging to the side of the cliff. That was it.

He knew exactly where she was, and it was not far. He took off at a run down the muddy path, which was quickly turning to ice with the increasing cold.

When he neared the part of the cliff where the tree was, he saw that the path had been washed out.

“
Lily! Lily!
”
he called out as he leaned over the side of the cliff, holding the lantern out.

Amidst the browns and grays of the rocks, the lantern picked up the glint of Lily
’
s red hair.
Jesu.
His heart went to his throat when he saw the white surf of the waves crashing two hundred feet below her dangling feet.

“
Hold on!
”
he shouted.
“
Hold on!
”

He set the lantern on the ground close to the edge where it would shed some light on the side of the cliff. As Lily was bound to be too weak to hold a rope, he would have to go down for her. So near the slide, the ground would be unstable. It would be easy to set off another slide, so he would have to be careful and avoid the weakest area as much as he could.

After tying one end of the rope around a boulder and the other around his waist, he started down. He rappelled down the cliff until he was on a level with her, then inched sideways.

“
Lily, stay awake!
”
he shouted when he saw that she had rested her head on the tree trunk.

She did not respond, and he feared she would lose her grip and fall before he could reach her. When he could almost touch her, she lifted her head.

“
I can
’
t hold any longer,
”
she whispered.

As she started to fall, he dove to the side and caught her around the waist with one arm. But he
’
d thrown himself off balance and banged against the side of the cliff. He quickly found his footing again, but he
’
d started a small slide. Fearing it would grow, he raced up the rope, protecting Lily from the flying rocks and debris as best he could.

When he made it to the top, he untied the rope and ran with Lily in his arms until they were a safe distance from the slide. He heard a crack and a thunderous crash and turned in time to see an entire stretch of the cliff break off and fall into the sea.

He fell to his knees and held Lily tightly in his arms.

Praise God
, he had found her in time.

“
I knew you
’
d come,
”
she said, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“
I always will,
”
he said.

“
I know that now,
”
she said.

When he got her back to the cottage, he bundled her in blankets, gave her a cup of hot whisky, and sat her on his lap before the hearth. His heart might never recover from this night, but Lily seemed to revive quickly.

Once she did, she took him to bed and tested the strength of his heart again. And in the morning, she insisted they go back to where he had rescued her the night before.

The cliff looked like a cleaver had shorn it, and there was a huge a pile of rocks on the shore below it.

Lily turned to him and held out her hand. In her palm lay the key to her shop, the one she had been so frantic to find after they had made love the first time.

She closed her hand around the key and then flung it off the cliff.

“
I take it that means you
’
re staying?
”
he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“
My home is where you are,
”
she said.
“
Always and forever.
”

Then she threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss to remember.

EPILOGUE

“
Da is here!
”

Lily turned from where she was hanging boughs over the cottage door to look at her six-year-old daughter.
“
Are ye certain, Te
à
rlag?
”

Roderick had said not to expect him until much later.

“
Aye,
”
her daughter said.
“
My brothers too.
”

At times Lily found it unnerving how strong
The Sight
was in her small daughter.

“
They brought a present for me,
”
Te
à
rlag said.

“
It
’
s meant to be a surprise,
”
Lily reprimanded her.
“
Ye know ye shouldn
’
t look.
”

Her daughter lifted her shoulders and gave her an unrepentant grin.

They had lost Seanmhair earlier this year, and Lily had wanted to return to the cottage to clean and decorate it for the Yuletide as Roderick
’
s grandmother would have done. In the morning, they would all return to the castle.

“
Da and my brothers are verra hungry,
”
Te
à
rlag said, tugging at her skirts.

Lily just had time to set the bowls for the venison stew on the table when her three sons burst into the cottage with a cold wind and boisterous greetings. They smelled of damp wool, dogs, and fresh pine boughs. They were strapping lads who would become fine men and great warriors, a credit to their clan like their father. She was so proud of them.

Roderick entered last, ducking his head through the doorway. The sight of him still made her heart flutter.

Later that night after the children were asleep in the loft, Lily lay in her husband
’
s arms, watching the flickering flames in the hearth and thinking about how lucky she was.

“
Do you think we would have found each other,
”
she asked,
“
if your grandmother had not had that vision and persuaded the Lord of the Isles send you into the Lowlands?
”

“
Aye,
”
he said.
“
We were meant to be together.
”

“
That we were,
”
she said, smiling up at him.

“
She told me that love has a magic all its own.
”
He kissed her forehead.
“
One way or another, I would have found ye.
”