“You’ve accomplished so much already.”
“Would you tell me how oldyouare?”
She paused first, but then answered.“Seventeen.”
“Seeing how well you take care of yourself andeverything around here, I should sayyouhave accomplishedquite a bit.”
“’Tis hardly the same,” she whispered.
He saw the flash of sadness in her eyes. “Why do youstay here?”
“This is my home…where I belong.”
“But you were not born here.” He held her gaze whenshe looked up at him, startled by his words. “Tess, I told you Ihave sailed these waters. For as long as I can recall, there wasnever any word of the old keeper and his wife having anychildren.”
“I have been here a long time. If no one knew aboutme, that is because these good people were trying to protect me.They were afraid of what might happen to me if people knew I washere—the sailors of passing ships…or the fishermen from themainland…or even the occasional pilgrims coming here during thewarmer weather. Auld Charlotte and Garth wanted to keep mesafe.”
“I am not questioning what they did. What I amwondering is where you came from. Who is your family?”
She moved away from him without answering, and Colinfollowed, fighting back his frustration. At least she was no longertrying to feed him stories about her family being out fishing instorm-tossed seas. He caught up to her.
“With Garth and Charlotte gone, how will you stayhere all by yourself? What if you should fall ill? or break an armclimbing the cliffs for birds eggs? or slip on one of those damnedshells and crack your head open?”
She turned her back to him. He wasn’t giving up,though, and moved around her. “What the keeper and his wife wereconcerned about before is nothing compared to what you should fearright now. You are a beautiful young woman, Tess. Do you have anyidea of the dangers that…”
“Do youwantto see this priory ornot?”
Temper had moved in with the speed of a Highlandstorm, altering her mood immediately. Colin knew he needed torestrain himself from pressing on his argument until she understoodher dilemma. At the same time, he understood her stubbornness…andher desire for independence.
He nodded resignedly, knowing full well that theywere far from done with this argument. The wind seemed muchstronger as Tess walked away from the cluster of buildings and ledhim to the middle of the old cemetery. Looking about him, beyondthe walls, Colin couldn’t help but be affected by the wildness andthe beauty of the terrain—so much like the young woman who stoodbeside him.
“For such a small island, there are a lot ofgraves.”
“Garth told me that more than one person is buriedin many of the graves,” she answered.
“How did he know?”
“In his years here he had to bury a number ofpilgrims who died of their illnesses while visiting. He told me itwas common to dig and find two, or three bodies buried in the smallgrave with only a layer of shell sand separating them.” Tess stayedto the grassy path. “A few years back, I came upon some recordbooks in the old chapter house. I believe the monks who lived herebefore left them. They are accounts of births and deaths on theIsle of May going back some three hundred years.”
The rugged terrain seemed too uninhabitable. “’Tishard to believe families actually lived here.”
“I don’t believe any families did live here,” sheanswered, turning her back to the wind and facing him. “Not for anylength of time, anyway. For all the years I looked back through inthe books, there was only a record of one birth, and that wasimmediately followed by the woman’s and the child’s death. Butthere were many, many deaths. I think most of the pilgrims who cameto visit St. Adrian’s chapel and monastery were very ill. Somemight have been cured and left here. But many died and were buriedon the island. The accounts of it seem to have stopped, though,when the last of the monks was recalled to the mainland. Or perhapshe died, too, because no one took the books with them.”
Tess continued to talk, but Colin’s mind was focusedon what she had said about reading the account books.Reading. Not many families in Scotland taught theirdaughters to read and write. The puzzle of her past continued tointrigue him. He doubted that Garth and Charlotte would have beenable to read.
As a light rain started to fall, they headed backtoward the huddle of ruined buildings.
“Does the Crown own the island now?”
“Nay, I remember Charlotte saying that St. Andrew’sCathedral Priory has held it for more than a century. Not that theyare doing anything about it.”
“But they were the ones who sent the husband andwife here, didn’t they?”
“Aye.” Instead of going back inside, she turned hersteps toward the sheep.
Colin followed. “Don’t you think they should be toldthat Garth and Charlotte have passed away?”
“I am doing everything that they were doing. Theplace is not getting any worse because of me.” Tess searched amongthe sheep.
