Page 57 of A Two-Faced Laird
The wooden boardon the wall of the garden read:Lady Eleanor Findlay. Private.The wall around it was sturdily built of blocks of granite and stood at least eight feet tall. Aidan had to dig into the ground beneath the biggest of them to reach a large key, which he inserted into the lock on the stout wooden gate.
He stepped inside and saw a plain oblong marble gravestone inscribed with the words:
Here Lies Lewis Findlay
Beloved Son of Lairdand Lady Eleanor Findlay
Brother of Aidan
Taken Too Soon
May He Rest In Peace Forever
Aidan could not hold back his grief any longer, and fell prone in front of the headstone, then began to weep bitterly until he had no tears left. If men were not supposed to cry, then he was obviously a weak man, but he did not care. He was a brother, and as a brother, his heart was broken at his loss.
Finally, he looked up and gazed at the stone for a moment. A little moss had grown on it, and he scraped it away irritably with his fingernails before he began to speak.
“Lewis,” he murmured. “My brother. How I miss you! I wish I could see you one last time so that I could tell you how much I love you. I hope that wherever you are, you can see me and know how I feel. We are separated now, but I hope one day we will be together again.”
He paused, then smiled.
“Do you remember Edina? Little, naughty, pretty Edina who used to run rings around us and get us all into trouble? She came back a while ago, and I fell in love with her. Lewis, she is so beautiful, but she still has the same wild spirit she always had.
And do you know the most remarkable thing? She loves me too! I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but there it is. Father is trying to marry me off to someone else, but we are going to elope, because no one is going to separate us, Lewis. I know that I will be giving up my rights to the estate and the castle, butMother is on my side and has supported me all the way. I want to take my life back and not be controlled by Father and his ambitions.
I have never loved a woman so much in my life as I love Edina, and when we make love, Lewis, it is paradise on earth.”
He stopped, then stood up.
“I have to go, my brother, but please know that I will love and miss you forever.”
He leaned down and kissed the headstone, then walked to the gate and looked back.
“Goodbye, Lewis,” he said softly.
It wasdark by the time Aidan reached Drumnaird. In fact, the light had been dwindling during his journey, but he had made it safely to his destination. He hoped that his mother had been able to distract his father long enough to make it too dangerous for any guards to follow him through the darkness.
He dismounted from his horse and walked along to Edina’s cottage, where he saw the gleam of lantern light peeping out from between the shutters. He knocked on the door and after a moment, a voice which he recognised as Mairi’s asked cautiously, “Who is there?”
“Aidan,” he replied.
No more than a split second later, Edina was in his arms, having practically flown out of the door. She kissed him fervently, then pulled him inside.
“I escaped, I think,” he told her, grinning, “I’m quite sure my father will be hot on my heels at first light, though, Edina. It will not take him long to guess where I was heading.”
“The guards cannot ride in pitch darkness,” she replied. “We have a few hours yet, so let’s eat, and you can rest for a while. I sent my guards back to your father, so you have no need to worry about them. Oh, Aidan, I am so glad to see you!”
Mairi smiled as she said, “I am glad ye are well, Master. Sit down an’ rest an’ I will heat up some food for ye.”
Edina moved to help her, but Mairi waved her away, smiling.
“Sit there an’ have a cuddle, Mistress. The Master has come a long way tae see ye.”
Edina grinned, then sat down on Aidan’s lap, and his eyes widened.
“You remember what happened last time we sat like this?” he asked, pretending to be alarmed.
Edina giggled. “Yes, I do, but Mairi is here to stop you being wicked,” she told him. “All I want to do is hold you, my love.”
