Sigh.
This man would be the death of her.
Breaking the kiss, Errol leaned his forehead upon hers. “Lass, the things ye make me want to do to ye,” he confessed.
She looked at him expectantly, without any idea of what he spoke of. When he didn’t say aught further, she asked, “What things?”
He chuckled. “Things I cannae say aloud else ye think I’m a heathen.”
His statement only confused her more. “I dinnae believe that. I couldna. E’er.”
“That is a discussion for another time.” He clasped her hand in his. “Come, let us go to the hollow.”
Her pulse quickened. They were here. She figured they were close but wasn’t sure how close they were. Letting Errol lead the way, she followed him off the pebble beach and toward the tree line. They entered the darkness of the trees, so tall and thick they blocked all of the sun’s rays from filtering through.
“Is it far?” She asked, her excitement growing.
“Nay. We are almost there.” His eyes were shiny with excitement of what they would uncover.
Would it be another clue sending them to another location? Or had they finally reached their final destination?
The trees parted to an open space. Wildflowers bloomed under thefiltering rays of the sun, their fragrant scent tickling her nose. Tall grass filled the middle. Moira spun around taking it all in.
“This is beautiful,” she said in awe.
“Aye.” Errol pulled on his neck as he watched her. “’Tis been here for as long as I can remember, but ’tis so far away from e’erything we dinnae come often. But the clue mentioned a hollow and this is the only one I ken of on MacLeod lands.”
In the center of the clearing was a huge boulder, its top covered with green and gray moss. Moira walked over and circled it, looking for something that would point to what they needed to do next. Not finding a clue, she moved to the tree line and walked the perimeter.
What if one of the trees held the clue? What if the tree had died? Been cut? These clues had been hidden years and years ago. Things happened over time. There was no guarantee that the clue still existed.
Errol had taken out his dagger and was picking away at the moss that had built up on the boulder over the years, clearing it away.
“What are ye doing?” She asked, sidling up to him and watching him curiously.
He shrugged. “Probably something foolhardy, but I had a thought that mayhap they carved something into the rock? Years ago, it may have been easily read, but now, with the all the moss, ye cannae see it.”
“That is a great idea,” she said, grabbing her own dagger and starting to do the same.
It was menial, methodical work, but they finally removed the moss from the boulder. Standing back, they both assessed it, searching for a clue. Naught stood out, showing them what they were looking for.
“Well, it indeed looks like that was a foolhardy thing to do. I dinnae see aught,” Errol said, tucking his dagger away.
Moira walked around the rock, studying the spots they’d removed the moss from when the smallest of carvings, barely visible, caught her eye.
“Errol, look.” When he approached, she pointed to a small arrow notched into the boulder. It pointed to the left of them, where a cluster of trees grew. They followed the direction of the arrow and studied the trees. “This one,” Moira tapped her finger on a notch in the bark. “And this one.” There was another notch, neither natural. “What do ye think this means?”
He looked at the ground. “I think it means we dig.”
“With what? The ground looks thickly packed.” The ground would be hard to dig through. The earth hadn’t been disturbed for years and it was packed with mud, twigs, pine needles, and dead leaves.
Errol searched the forest floor, finding a curved branch, sturdy and sharp enough to pierce through the thick top layer of leaves and pine needles packed tight with mud.
Once that was removed, it was easier to dig through the softer dirt underneath.
On her knees, she used her hands to scoop and remove the dirt, not caring that it was getting crusted under her fingernails. If her mother or sisters saw her now, they would scold her insufferably. Her mother would probably lock her away in her room and never let her come out until she acted like a proper lady.
Across from her, Errol smiled wildly as they continued to dig until their fingers brushed against something solid.
