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He lifted the whisky out of her reach and laughing, she grabbed it from his outstretched hand and swallowed it in one go. Hamish clapped loudly in appreciation, smiling down at her. He had often encouraged her in her recklessness. The other men cheered noisily and Ailsa called for another.
As the evening wore on the whisky only served to make her muddle-headed and did nothing to salve the pain of her sore ankle and beaten hindquarters. The exhilaration of victory over Duncan Campbell had worn off and she found herself in a circle of young men eager to get her attention.
Hamish took her hand and whispered in her ear. ‘Let us get away from all these fawning idiots Ailsa. We can slip outside and hide as we did when we were brats.’
Ailsa smiled warmly up into his blue eyes. His face was very close to hers and she noticed for the first time that his ginger lashes had blonde tips. Giddy and flushed she suddenly needed a way out of this clamour and attention.
She happened to glance across the room and locked eyes with the smouldering gaze of Duncan Campbell. That handsome face had hardened into anger and she felt a shudder of dread go through her. It was as if the whole hall had grown dark and chill in spite of the fire and the merriment. Helpless in the pull of his scrutiny, all Ailsa could do was just stare back at him. There was something invasive about his look as if he could see right into her soul. Suddenly the spell was broken as her friends came rushing up to her, squealing with delight about the dances they had had with the many handsome young men in the hall.
When Ailsa looked back she could not see him and she excused herself from Hamish and the others. Her head ached and she had to get some air and calm the tumult inside her. If she was honest the vain part of her enjoyed Duncan’s admiration whilst the saner side resented his intrusion into her thoughts and feelings. The man excited and terrified her in equal measure. There had been judgement in that black stare and she had the awful feeling she had fallen in his estimation.
She pushed through the throng and out of the hall. It was a short walk along gloomy corridors and up a winding stone staircase to the battlements. This was her favourite part of the castle, a quiet corner soaring high over the village, isolated and secretive. Several torches gave off a flickering light. The storm had blown through leaving behind a clear night sky ablaze with stars and soft moonlight. She tore loose her hair from its tight coils and let it flow like a silken river down her back. The spring wind brushed its loose curls caressingly across her face and neck and she relaxed a little. She could breathe again, think again and be free again. There was no need to go back to the hall now, instead, she would slink quietly off to bed and burrow down under the blankets to be alone with her thoughts.
Footsteps on the walkway behind her had her swirling round in alarm.
‘Enjoying the moonlight lass?’ he said quietly. ‘Or were you just bored with all the admiration?’ There was an edge to Duncan Campbell’s voice.
“I needed some air, I was hot,’ she blurted out, alarmed by his sudden proximity.
“Yes, you do look a little hot from your exertions. Shall I keep you company?’
‘I don’t want company. I came up here to be alone.’
‘And waste all your beauty on the moon and stars? I can appreciate it much more and besides, there’s a hall full of drunken young Scots below and I wouldn’t want any of your most ardent suitors to stagger up here in search of you.’
‘They are not my suitors.’
“Dotheyknow that?’ he replied with a hint of sarcasm. When she remained silent he continued. ‘I’d venture one or two of them have been emboldened enough by your charms to try to seduce you. God knows they have had enough encouragement and you have had enough whisky to fell a horse’.
‘How would you know that?’
‘I have been making a study of you all night.’
Ailsa glowered at him and said nothing.
“Come, you need not worry. I’ll not mention our little encounter to your father. I’ll bet my best horse he’s ignorant of it. ‘Twas reckless to venture out alone in these times but I admire your spirit.’
‘My family is already aware of my riding out alone so you cannot hold that over my head.’
‘Are they aware of my men and I escorting you back home?’
‘Yes of course,’ retorted Ailsa, lying through her teeth.
‘It’s strange then that your father did not extend his thanks to me this evening. We have conversed long enough for him to bring it up and courtesy would compel him to do so surely? Strange, also, that you would feel compelled to dress in a servant’s clothes to get beyond the castle unseen. That was the plan, wasn’t it, running away?
‘It is not your concern, not your business.’ Ailsa bit her lip in agitation. If her father ever did find out both she and Duncan Campbell would be in a deal of trouble. For her to be alone in the company of rough young men would scandalise and enrage him, not to mention give grist to the gossip mill around the castle. It would shame her family and it would seem that Duncan Campbell was fully aware of this fact.
‘Don’t worry yourself Ailsa, my men didn’t recognise you as the same muddy girl we encountered earlier. They didn’t get quite as close to you as I did.’ He winked at her and Ailsa felt embarrassed by his implication. ‘And whatever you were running from rest assured I can keep your secret. So now we can be friends.’
‘I have no need of friends like you.’
‘If not friends, then what?’ he teased, grinning.
How confidently he stood before her, so arrogant and full of himself. ‘I have made it clear that I have no wish to know you in any way so why are you bothering me? The other men would not have dared to follow me up here.’
‘Then they have neither the courage nor the wits to deserve your company’.
‘Oh, and you do I suppose.’
