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Chapter Two
Blair
Blair lugged three large logs in her arms while moving quickly through the field. Her gaze kept returning to the dark clouds hanging low in the sky while the winds whipped through her dark hair, making the strands scratch against her flesh. The sky rumbled in warning, and she cursed herself for not working quickly. She still had much to finish before the rains began: tending to the mare, starting the fire, tidying the garden supplies, moving the wagon back into the barn. Lightning flashed above her, signaling she had run out of time.
She urged herself forward, grunting while shoving open the cottage door. The wood tumbled from her arms onto the floorboards while the door slammed back and forth against the entrance. The winds whistled while another flash cracked in the air. A horse cried out in the distance, and Blair turned on her heel, running outside towards the struggling mare running back and forth in the gated field.
Blair grabbed a rope lying on the fence and tied it around the mare’s neck before opening the gate. “Don’t worry,” she murmured to the mare, who neighed and swayed from side to side as thunder rumbled above them. "It will be alright. Ye will be fine in just a few minutes. I promise ye.”
She led the mare towards the barn. Rain dropped from the heavens one droplet at a time before picking up in speed and depth. Blair paused several feet from the barn door, finding a horse standing outside it.
“Who are ye?” she whispered to the stallion while stroking its dark hair, cascading down its dark flanks. “Where is yer master?” Blair looked around for a moment until her eyes narrowed on the ajar barn door.
Blair’s heart hammered in her chest. She knew being a woman living on her own could be difficult, yet she had hoped a day like today would never come. The mare behind her cried as lightning flashed again, followed by a sharp crash of sound. The rope pulled through her palm, ripping against flesh and making Blair hiss. She released the tether and whirled around, fumbling to grab it once more before the mare could run away.
“Easy!” Blair cried out, holding up her other hand while trying to calm the horse crying in front of her. “Everything is fine.” Blair’s voice quivered with her words, finding it difficult to find truth in them. She didn’t have a weapon. She didn’t know how to defend herself against any man wanting to take advantage of her. Her eyes scanned the area, landing on a hoe that still needed to be tidied. She seized it with her free hand and crept towards the door, opening it further and peering inside its shadowy depths.
“Hello?” she called out while looking around.
Silence greeted her.
She edged deeper inside, holding out the gardening tool while pulling the mare behind her. “Is anyone there?”
Something clanged. She jumped, letting go of the rope and holding the hoe with both hands in front of her. “I have a weapon, and I’m not afraid to use it,” she said while whipping it around herself. Rain poured down, clattering against the roof and dripping into the barn. “Show yerself right now!”
She heard a groan from behind and whirled around, finding an elderly-looking man stumbling towards her. His greying brown hair stuck to his face while droplets of sweat glistened his pale skin.
“Blair,” he murmured while swaying on his legs. His glazed green eyes tried to focus on her before fluttering closed. He leaned against a beam, propping his body up while wiping the sweat from his brow. “I need Blair.”
Blair slowly lowered her weapon but did not drop it. “I’m Blair,” she said while cautiously stepping towards him. “Do I know ye, sir?”
The man groaned and slipped to the ground. He reached into his pockets, pulling out a handkerchief and pressing it to his mouth as he coughed violently. Blair dropped her weapon as memories of Mamó’s death came rushing back to her. She kneeled in front of the man, watching him rasp into his handkerchief.
“Let me help ye,” she whispered while crawling towards him. She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and rose, struggling with his dead weight holding her down.
“Yer Mamó,” he murmured while she stumbled out of the barn. “Where is yer Mamó?”
“Dead,” Blair said through clenched teeth, trying to ignoring the tears welling in her eyes and the pain seizing her heart. She frowned at his horse, pausing for a moment while the rain poured down, soaking her hair and her clothes. Glancing between the horse and the man, she knew she would need to return for his horse and ensure the stallion was fed and tended to, but first, she needed to help the man inside.
The man’s head lulled towards her, and she watched his green eyes widen in horror upon her. Blair ignored his stare while urging them forward and kicking open the door to the cottage. Her arms trembled, and she clenched her teeth, biting through the burn while fighting to keep him steady. She was going to drop him soon. She just needed to get to the bed first. With one final step, she lowered him onto the cot and heaved a sigh in relief before running outside and grabbing his stallion by the reins.
“Let’s get ye inside before ye catch a chill,” she said to the horse before pulling him inside the barn and locking the doors.
She ran through the rain back to the cottage, finding the man burying himself underneath the blankets. Blair set herself to starting the fire, piling the logs underneath the pot and clicking the stones against each other with shivering fingers.
“How could yer Mamó be dead?” she heard the man whisper from her side.
Blair inhaled deeply to calm herself, knowing she would burst into tears if they continued discussing the matter. “Been dead two years now, sir. I apologize if ye had business with her.” She glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye, taking in his crimson tartan with the MacBean colors and his wildcat emblem hooked at his shoulder. His clothes were soaked through by fever and rain.
“Let me help ye out of yer clothes,” she said while moving towards him and taking his emblem, noticing it was made out of genuine silver.
“I needed her help.” Blair cringed at the desperate tone in the man’s voice. “She was the only one who could help me.”
Blair didn’t know what to say. She knew very little about her Mamó’s past. The elderly woman had kept too much from Blair, protecting her from the world and preventing her from taking part in it. She pulled the man’s shirt over his head and placed it near the fire in the hopes it would dry. She returned to help with his tartan, but before she could remove it, the man snatched her hand and wrenched her forward.
Blair bit back a scream as the man’s green eyes focused on her. Her eyes widened in horror, wondering if he was faking ill all along. She waited for him to say anything while his feverish skin warmed her fingers. His eyes, filled with a wild fear, slowly softened as he stared upon her.
“Ye look so much like her,” he breathed while releasing her.
