Carn Mo'r Read online

  I was getting it, ‘keep her off balance and out manoeuvred.’

  ‘That’s the idea man. Then at the end of the evening you ask her to go for a walk.’

  ‘Ah, the classic manoeuvre.’

  He smiled and nodded, ‘show her the stars; impress her with your knowledge. Then when she’s least expecting it… …’

  ‘Aye,’ I was impatiently hanging onto his every word. ‘Then what?’

  ‘Take her in your arms. Look deep into her eyes and… …’

  ‘And?’ I almost screamed.

  ‘Slip her a bag of sugar.’

  ‘What?’ He howled with laughter.

  ‘John!’ I roared and kicked him off the tussock.

  He rolled onto his knees, tears streaming down his face. ‘Oh Alasdair man, you ought to have seen your face.’

  I was fuming with helpless indignation. ‘You’re a dirty bastard, John Buchan.’

  He howled with delight, ‘maybe I could even find you a wee tin of coffee.’

  I bunched a fist under his nose, ‘so help me God I’m this close to striking you down.’

  He pushed my fist away. ‘Relax Alasdair; you’ll know when the time is right. Nature will show the way, it always does.’ He chuckled all the way round, and the more he laughed the madder I got.

  My bad mood evaporated the moment I caught sight of her sitting on a blanket beside the pool next to Connie, drinking tea. Had there ever been a more beautiful sight in the entire Glen? John sighed and I scowled, but he only had eyes for Connie.

  The walk back was slow but pleasant. We’d filled the bags. Robyn’s ankle started playing up so I offered my arm and she seemed to take it willingly enough.

  ‘It’s a long way to come just to shoot,’ she ventured. ‘There’s lots of game round about the castle. Why not shoot there?’

  I regarded the question thoughtfully before answering. ‘Partially tradition, part necessity. We plant crops in the castle grounds and close around as grazing for the deer in winter.’

  ‘That’s good of you.’

  ‘Yes and no, there is no more beautiful sight than waking up on a frosty winter’s morning and finding a herd of deer grazing in your garden, but if the winter has been a hard one and food is running short in the Glen… well, we don’t have to risk anyone’s life by going hunting. All the game is close at hand.’

  ‘Oh! I see’

  I could tell by the tone of her voice she didn't like that idea at all. I went on hastily, ‘these hills have their own little weather system. I’ve seen us cut off for months. A storm can come and go in minutes or last for a week.’

  John picked up the threads, sensing my panic. ‘Only a fool walks these hills in winter if he doesn’t have to. Twenty to fifty foot drifts aren’t unusual and neither are avalanches. A rifle shot is just the thing to set one off too.’

  ‘Does everyone here still hunt for food?’

  I nodded. ‘Most of the people in the Glen supplement their diet with fresh game.’

  Her face screwed up a little, ‘and you just let them? Doesn’t it all belong to you?’

  I sighed. ‘Technically I suppose it does, but that’s not how we look upon it. We are still very isolated up here. Most of the people on my property are tenant farmers-crofters. None of my ancestors cleared the land and replaced the people with sheep the way other big estates did. My family preferred to invest in the people of the Glen instead.

  We have quite a busy cottage industry. Much of the skills that have disappeared elsewhere in the Highlands are still very much in existence here. Take these tweeds I’m wearing for example, they were spun right here in the Glen.’

  ‘Really? Do your tenants always pay their rent?’

  ‘Of course.’

  John and Connie burst out laughing. John pointed across. ‘He’s wearing last year’s rent from Mrs. Fox.’

  Robyn laughed too and squeezed my arm. ‘The material’s beautiful.’

  ‘It is,’ I agreed, ‘and well worth a year’s rent. This quality of garment would have cost me twice what her yearly rent’s worth down in London.’

  ‘Still, it must be a precarious existence.’

  ‘Not at all, goods from here are transported worldwide. The skills of the men are also in great demand. I make money from investments and academics with large research grants. It keeps the estate going.’

  ‘Why do I get the feeling you wouldn’t let anyone starve?’

  ‘I’m Chieftain to some, Laird to others. It’s my job to make sure no one starves, and as long as I’m able to draw breath, no one will.’

  ‘Aye,’ John nodded his agreement.

  Dinner that evening took a humorous twist. It was late because of our hunting trip. A decanter of the 100-year-old malt took pride of place on the table.

  ‘I believe you enjoy the occasional dram Doctor?’

  ‘I’ve been known to partake of a good malt from time to time.’

  ‘Well you’ll find no finer than this here.’

  ‘Is that your own special brand John told me about in Germany?’

  I raised an eyebrow at him but he looked to the ceiling. ‘Aye, this would be it.’

  ‘What’s so special about it?’ Robyn asked.

  ‘This one’s about a hundred years old.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Really?’ Echoed her father. ‘This should be interesting.’

  ‘May I try some?’ she asked.

  ‘No!’ John and I voiced together.

  Her beautiful forehead wrinkled with indignation. ‘Why not! Because I’m a woman?’

  ‘No not really, you just wouldn’t be able to handle it.’

  ‘What do you mean? I’ve drunk scotch before.’

  ‘This is different.’

  ‘No, no, Robyn’s right, she has drunk scotch before,’ her father claimed.

  I was about to protest further but caught a slight smile play across John’s mouth and he shrugged.

  ‘Ok! But be it upon your own heads.’

  She smirked a little in triumph. I laughed. She wouldn’t be feeling so smarmy in a minute. I poured little more than a thimble full in hers.’

  ‘What is that supposed to be?’ she demanded.

  ‘That’s all you will be able to handle,’ I answered not unkindly.

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘I know so.’

  ‘It would be nice if I could actually see it.’

  John was openly grinning now. ‘All right.’ I poured a decent nip. ‘Is that better?’

  ‘Better,’ she smirked.

  ‘May I have some water?’ The Doctor asked.

  My jaw dropped and John muttered something dark under his breath.

  ‘Oh, bad form. Ok, your health gentlemen.’

  They raised their glasses and tipped them back. We waited with baited breath. Connie even had her hand over the baby’s mouth. I’m sure Robyn was showing off as she downed it in one. John and I hadn’t touched ours; we didn’t want to miss the fun and neither did we.

  It was always the same. For a few seconds both were paralysed by the shock. Neither could do anything but gasp for breath. Then Robyn went for the water jug.

  ‘I wouldn’t…’but it was too late. A quart of it disappeared down her throat. John and Connie were having fits.

  ‘Oh my God,’ she squeaked.

  That set me off.

  ‘I’ve never tasted anything like that before,’ whispered the Doctor, with tears rolling down his face. ‘What proof is it?’

  I shrugged. ‘I have no idea. We have no way of measuring it.’

  Robyn finally caught on, ‘you mean you make it yourselves?’

  ‘I refute that allegation, it’s illegal to make your own whisky,’ but my laughter left her in no doubts.

  ‘Daddy…’ she squeaked, ‘he just gave us moonshine.’

  ‘Oh no my darling, this isn’t moonshine. It’s the best God-damned whisky you’ll ever taste in your life.’

  ‘You swore,’ she accused.<
br />
  ‘If there’s ever a time in a man’s life he’s due to use a swear word Robyn, then this is it.’

  John leaned over the table still laughing and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Feel free Doc, you aren’t the first.’

  ‘May I?’ he asked, picking up the decanter.

  ‘Please do, it was brought down to celebrate your arrival.’

  ‘I am honoured, I truly am. How much of this is it safe to drink before you fall over?’

  ‘You can actually drink a fair bit if you’re used to it and don’t mix it with anything. Like water,’ I added looking at Robyn, ‘it dilutes it and gets into your blood stream quicker.’

  She stood and promptly sat again, ‘Oh!’

  ‘What’s the matter dear?’

  ‘My legs aren’t working properly Daddy,’ she gave them a poke. It was hilarious.

  ‘I did try and warn you.’

  ‘Surly it can’t work this fast?’ Her words were already beginning to slur.

  ‘It can if you’re not a drinker.’

  ‘Oh shit!’

  John stomped his foot and guffed with delight.

  ‘Robyn!’ her father admonished.

  ‘I’m allowed a swear word too Daddy.’

  ‘Just the one I hope?’ he asked me.

  ‘Aye, just the one for ladies,’ I confirmed.

  ‘I think I’ll go to my room.’

  She tried to stand again but it didn’t work. I went round and helped her to her feet. ‘Here, take my arm.’

  She clung to it like her life depended on it, and once outside the kitchen her legs folded. I swept her up into my arms. Robyn wrapped her arms around my neck. Her head lolled back and she looked up into my face.

  ‘You’re very strong.’

  ‘Am I now?’

  ‘Yes, this is the second time you’ve carried me.’

  ‘I remember.’

  ‘I prefer it this way.’

  ‘You do, do you?’

  ‘Yes I do. Did you know you smell different from other men, Alasdair Sinclair?’

  ‘Do I now?’

  ‘Yes … you smell of … the fresh air … the mountains, of whisky and peat fires. You smell like CarnMo’r.’

  ‘Is that a compliment?’

  ‘It is,’ she reassured, releasing a small hand and fixing the collar of my shirt. The small gesture set my heart beating.

  I stopped outside her door and set her down. She clung to my neck on her tiptoes. Her eyes smouldered. I clung to her waist as she pressed herself against me. I could feel her pubic bone press against my leg through the thin material of her dress. I felt inebriated, yet I hadn’t touched a drop.

  ‘Do you like me Alasdair?’

  ‘Like you?’ I grated, ‘I think you were placed upon this earth by the devil himself to tempt the souls of men.’

  A slow smile spread itself across those moist lips. ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

  Our heads began to sway together, my whole body was aflame and then I heard footsteps and drew back.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ she protested.

  ‘Connie’s coming.’

  ‘Where?’ she released me and leaned back against the doorframe.

  Connie rounded the corner. ‘Is she all right Alasdair? I came to help.’

  ‘Oh she’s just fine,’ but I cursed Connie all the way down the stairs.

  Chapter 17

  Robyn woke to the new day with a parody of emotions sweeping her slender frame. She hadn’t been as drunk as she had made out the evening before, but had she gone too far? What would he think of her today? More to the point, what did she think of herself?

  Her mind went over the previous day. Why has she come onto him so strongly? Her whole body began to tingle as she remembered her lips hover close to his, then her sense of loss as he drew back. Silently she had cursed Connie as she had slipped off to sleep.

  Then her thoughts went back to the moment at the pool when Connie had told her the legend of the pool and the surge of joy that had swept through her.

  Why had she felt that way? Was she falling in love with Alasdair? How long had it been since she had felt the sort of feeling she was feeling now? The answer was never. Never before had she felt an attraction so strong. Robyn tried valiantly for a moment to remember the face of her old sweetheart, and failed. A single tear ran from the corner of her eye.

  Wiping it away, she got washed and dressed. Connie was in the kitchen and already hard at it. She didn’t object when Robyn began to pitch in.

  Connie had a long list of food she had to prepare for the Ceilidh. Robyn found it and began to read through it. Soon they were talking recipes. Connie was astounded by Robyn’s knowledge and soon both women were hunting through the kitchen cupboards for every kind of spice they could find.

  There were spices from all over the world, some years old, Connie had never heard of half of them, so they had been stuck away in the back of a cupboard and forgotten.

  Robyn, however, had not only heard of most of them, she had intimate knowledge of how to use them. Connie was astounded and excited. Together they went through Connie’s list and Robyn wrote down the spices that could be used to enhance certain recipes. Together they would assault the Clan’s taste buds on the day of the Ceilidh.

  Chapter 18

  I couldn’t stop myself grinning at the sight of the Doctor as he made his way down to the river, guided by Black Tam. He looked rough.

  ‘Good morning Doctor.’

  ‘Alasdair.’

  He slumped on to my small fishing stool. I reeled in and cast again. ‘Do you feel how you look?’

  ‘If I look bloody awful then that’s how I feel.’

  I fished out a small screw top bottle from the stream, ‘here, try and drink this.’ I had taken a quick detour this morning.’

  ‘I don’t think I can. Connie made me eat some breakfast and I’m not sure how long I can keep that down.’

  ‘Trust me, special Highland recipe.’

  He reluctantly accepted the bottle.

  ‘Drink it all in one,’ Black Tam advised.

  He did so and was left gasping. The sparkle had already returned to his eyes. ‘I feel better already. What was it?’

  ‘Plain old natural spring water.’

  ‘You could sell that, you know.’

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘I’ll bet there are a lot of minerals in it.’

  ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘You should send some off for analysis.’

  ‘No I don’t think so. We like it just the way it is.’

  He laughed. ‘Maybe you’re right. Sometimes it’s better not to know.’

  ‘Especially if it works, Doctor.’

  ‘It’s no wonder you made such a remarkable recovery, Alasdair. Now I think it’s about time I made a contribution.’ Tam took him off to a good spot and we settled down to a day’s fishing.

  I’d caught a good dozen or so but had put four females back in. John came in with the Doctor and Tam. He had done well, too.

  ‘I’m sure you gave me the best beat,’ he accused.

  I grinned. ‘They’re all pretty good around here.’

  ‘You really have a wonderful place and way of life here.’

  John smiled at him, ‘I did tell you that Doc.’

  ‘Yes you did, and I believed you, that’s why I’m here.’

  Tam stretched out his bad leg to ease it. ‘It can be a little uncomfortable in the winter for the old war wounds though.’ We laughed at him.

  ‘That is a common complaint,’ the Doctor sympathized. ‘Tam tells me you’re losing a lot of salmon. I have to admit I didn’t notice.’

  ‘I know it doesn’t seem like it to you, but we’ve been here all our lives and have noticed a drastic fall in their numbers. Our grandfathers once told us they were so thick you could have walked from bank to bank across their backs. Eh John?’

  ‘I remember that.’

  ‘So you return the females to let them sp
awn?’

  ‘Yes that’s right.’

  ‘What’s causing their drastic fall in numbers?’

  I shrugged, ‘more modern methods of fishing. Larger boats, bigger nets, over fishing lower down and at sea.’

  ‘And poachers,’ John growled.

  ‘With nets?’

  ‘With nets and arsenic,’ John supplied. ‘They throw a big net across the river. Then go up stream and pour arsenic into the river course. It kills everything for miles. Plants, fish; wipes out whole sections of the river, not just the migrating salmon.’

  ‘My God, that must be devastating.’

  ‘It is Doc.’

  ‘Have they been up this far yet?’

  ‘No, we’re pretty inaccessible, but not completely.’

  ‘Lucky.’

  I rejoined the conversation, ‘no not really. A keeper was shot further down the river a few weeks ago. So there’s a lot of activity down there. That makes me think they will try their luck further up. There is only one road into CarnMo’r but there are hundreds of tracks that cut right across the Ladder hills. A good driver with the right vehicle would have no problems.’

  ‘You think they’re coming here, don’t you?’

  ‘Aye I do. Last week John and I shadowed three men for miles. It looked like they were doing some kind of reconnaissance of the river banks.’

  ‘Did you challenge them?’

  ‘No we kept out of sight, we weren’t armed.’

  ‘Of course, if it were them they could be dangerous.’

  ‘Very, but we now know the route they’re going to use if they do come and it’s being watched night and day.’

  ‘What are you going to do if they do come?’

  ‘Stop them.’

  ‘By yourselves? What about the police?’

  ‘We’ll inform them of course, but by the time they get there it would be too late. Half the river would be dead. There is little choice but to stop them before they can put the poison in.’

  ‘You’ll be armed?’

  ‘Necessarily I think, but don’t worry; we’ll only use violence as a last resort, and the only men allowed near them will be trained professionals, the men who served with me in the war.’

  ‘Please be careful.’

  ‘That’s something I insist on.’

  ‘Then if you need me I’ll be here.’