Page 48 of A Scottish Island Summer

The tentative sunshine danced through his hair. ‘It didn’t end well, I’m afraid. Bella wanted to visit her sister and they arranged a secret meeting here on the island, but her brother-in-law found out about it and betrayed her.’

I clapped one shocked hand to my mouth. ‘No!’

‘Yep. When Bella and her sister met up, little did they know that McKew and McMaster clan members were waiting for them. They were ambushed.’

Logan shifted in his seat. ‘One of the locals got word to Garth and his men. They’d been deliberately sidetracked by the two clans, with hospitality and ale, so they could capture Bella and her sister.’

‘Did Garth rescue Bella then?’

‘He tried, but by the time he and his crew made it up to Kilt Rock, Bella was in real danger.’ Logan continued. ‘There was a battle to try and get her back, but Bella had been told that Garth was already dead by this time.’ Logan hesitated. ‘It was a lie, but Bella didn’t know that, and she was distraught; so much so, that it’s said she managed to get away and threw herself to her death from the top of Kilt Rock.’

I let out a horrified gasp. ‘That’s awful. And what about Garth?’

‘He was the one who discovered her broken body lying on the shore. He insisted on taking Bella back to Norway for a proper Viking funeral. And that’s where the Skye Lovers’ Cross comes in. To commemorate his late wife, Garth insisted on a token of his love being made in her honour, by one of his craftsmen. But on seeing the piece of jewellery, Garth didn’t think it was beautiful enough and went into a rage.’

‘What happened?’

Logan eyed me. ‘Garth was said to have tossed the pendant off the top of Kilt Rock when he came back to Skye to seek revenge for Bella’s death.’

I digested this. ‘That’s so sad. And was the cross ever found?’

Logan’s brows arched. ‘It depends on who you speak to. Some locals say it was discovered and Bella’s mother buried it somewhere on the island. Others say it doesn’t exist and the whole story is up there with the Loch Ness Monster and little green men.’

I examined his pensive face. ‘And what do you think?’

Logan let out an amused sigh. ‘I’d like to think that the Skye Lovers’ Cross was real and is buried somewhere here on Skye, but I wouldn’t bet money on it.’

I screwed up my eyes in sudden concentration. ‘That man just now with the beard, he was going on about it, wasn’t he?’

Logan nodded. ‘That’s what made me think he might be local. Nobody, apart from islanders, really knows the story, and anybody not from Skye, whose heard about it, tends to laugh it off as some tall tale.’

I turned over the tragic story in my mind. Romance, passion, grief … it had it all. It’d be great to mention the story in my travel guide.

I yawned yet again. ‘Sorry.’

Logan smiled and encouraged me on. ‘Come on, sleepy head. We’ll head for the nature trail. Some fresh air will do you good.’