“What is this place?” Elise asked quietly, looking around.
“It’s called Cnaimh Bay. It used to be a thriving settlement. Fishermen and their families.”
“What happened to it?”
“The winter storms.” Jamie swung down from the horse, then held up his hands to help Elise down. “Every year, without fail, the sea took someone. A boat smashed. A house swept away. Someone caught by a rogue wave. My father watched the tally grow too long.”
He stepped forward, boots squelching through wet gravel as he approached a humped tarpaulin held down with rocks.
“So he ordered the village moved inland,” he continued. “People grumbled—Isles folk always do—but he saved dozens of lives in the years after.”
He gripped the edge of the tarpaulin and tugged. Water poured off it in thick sheets. Beneath lay a small sailing boat, narrow and sturdy, the wood weathered but sound.
Elise raised an eyebrow. “You hid this here?”
“Not hid.” Jamie flashed a grim smile. “Stored. Every lord of Islay keeps escape routes and secret shelters. My father taught me that. ‘Never let yer enemies know the only road ye’ll take,’ he used to tell me.” He ran a hand along the boat’s worn hull with something like pride. “She’s calledStormrunner. She might look like some ungainly old tub, but she’ll see us safely to where we need to go.”
Elise didn’t look convinced. “I’ll have to take your word for that.”
“Oh, ye of little faith. Ye’ll see.” Straightening, he walked over to Tempest and took off his bridle and saddle, storing them beneath the tarpaulin.
“Time to go home, lad,” he murmured, stroking the horse’s neck. “A nice warm stable is waiting for ye.”
The horse nickered, stamping anxiously.
“Will he be all right?” Elise asked.
“He’ll be fine. He knows the way home. Go on, lad.”
He slapped the animal firmly on the hindquarters, and the horse bolted, disappearing over a hillock.
Elise tucked a stray strand of hair out of her face and studied the sea. The waves were capped with white, and the wind was lashing furiously.
“How long will it take to get to Barra?”
“It’s not a short journey. Maybe two days, but we’ll camp on one of the islets at night.”
“Camping,” Elise muttered. “Awesome.”
Jamie propped his shoulder against the gunwale of theStormrunnerand heaved. Sand and gravel sucked at his boots, but he kept straining, gritting his teeth and pushing with all hismight until the boat slid down into the water. Freezing water and foam swirled around his ankles.
He grabbed the boat’s side, steadying the craft against the pull of the tide, holding it steady for Elise. With a look of extreme distaste, Elise waded into the water, gasping at the cold.
“Bloody hell,” she muttered. “And I’ve only just dried this dress.”
“Careful,” he warned, reaching out a hand.
She took it, getting one leg over the side of the boat and then clambering inside in a very undignified fashion, taking a seat in the stern. She clung to the side so hard her knuckles turned white.
Jamie vaulted in after her and pushed off. The small vessel rocked hard as it caught the first swell.
“Hold on,” he murmured, adjusting the sail and turning the bow towards the open sea. He guided the boat beyond the surf, into deeper water, and the wind immediately wrapped around them, filling the sail and sending the vessel skimming along the waves like a stone on a frozen pond.
Ahead, the horizon was a smear of dark cloud and rolling sea. To anyone not born of the ocean, it might look intimidating. But to Jamie, it spoke of freedom. Out there, the future waited.
He set his face into the wind.
Chapter Seventeen
