Page 61 of Wild Highland Rose
Allen had pulled out of his lethargy and was staring intently at Cameron. "Yer no' telling us the truth o' it. I tell you, Father, there's more here than he's willing to explain."
"Look, I'm not lying to anyone. I just wanted to go out in the damn boat. I had no idea Marjory would decide to come along and I certainly had no idea there was going to be a storm. That's all there is to it." He took a deep breath, his anger rising. Enough was enough. "Would you rather I tell you that Ewen is dead and that I'm a traveler from another time occupying his body and that I know how to swim?"
Silence filled the campsite. Allen sat frozen in place, his mouth open, his chin resting on his chest. Marjory and her kin had obviously heard his outburst. Fingal looked bemused. Marjory looked terrified. His anger slowly drained from his body, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. What the hell was he doing?
Blowing out a breath, he turned to face Torcall. The man stared at him, in shock, his eyes narrowed as he tried to process the import of Cameron's outburst. The two men glared at each other in silence. Then, suddenly, Torcall threw back his head and laughed.
"You jest." He pounded Cameron on the back, the power of the blow nearly knocking him forward into the fire. Torcallcontinued to laugh, finally calming enough to wipe his eyes with a sleeve. Still breathing hard, he threw a heavy arm around Cameron's shoulders. "I've missed ye, boy. 'Tis glad I am that ye've survived, yet again. And I trust that, now, ye'll know better than to head out on the loch on your own."
He nodded, relieved that Torcall seemed to have let the matter of the curach drop.
"A time traveler, did you hear that, Allen?" He looked at his son and dissolved into laughter again. Cameron ducked to the side to avoid the already flying arm, his gaze meeting Allen's.
Allen wasn't laughing. He was staring at Cameron, with speculative eyes. He offered no response, nor did it seem that Torcall expected one. Cameron suppressed a shiver. Brother or not, this man was his enemy.
Cameron idly threwsticks into the fire and looked around the campsite. Men were sprawled in every direction, some sleeping, others tossing about trying to find a comfortable position. It almost looked like someone had drawn a line across the encampment, Camerons sleeping on one side, Macphersons on the other.
Marjory was somewhere across the way, sleeping securely within the Macpherson ranks. It reminded him of something out of Romeo and Juliet. The Montagues and Capulets. Not that he was much of a Romeo. Hell, he wasn't even a Montague.
Disturbed by the turn of his thoughts, he concentrated on the glow of the campfire. It had burned low, only shooting flames when he flicked a twig into the coals.
"Cameron?"
He turned at the sound of his name and smiled. Not exactly 'wherefore art thou Romeo', but it would have to do. Marjory emerged from the shadows, her mouth opening to speak again. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for her to come and sit by the fire.
"I couldna sleep," she whispered.
"Neither could I."
They sat for a minute in companionable silence. He could feel the warmth of her body next to his and curbed the desire to pull her into his arms. The time for intimacy of that sort was long past.
"What did you tell him?" She shot him an inquisitive look.
"Torcall?"
She nodded, the movement making her dark hair dance in the firelight.
"You mean besides the fact that I'm from the future?" She'd heard that part loud and clear. Hell, probably everybody in the valley had been able to hear his outburst.
"Aye."
He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. It wasn't like Marjory to miss a chance to go for the jugular. "I told him I wanted to see what it was like in a boat, and that it never occurred to me that I might need to swim."
She nodded again, this time drawing her brows together in a frown. "Do you think he believed you?"
"I don't know. Possibly." It had been a lame explanation.
"'Twould have been nice if you could have invented a more plausible tale."
"Well, it was the best I could come up with. Next time, you be the one to try and pacify him."
Marjory flinched.
He reached out to touch her hand. A mistake. Sparks flew between them. He withdrew his hand. "I was just joking. I would never leave you alone to face him."
She relaxed. "Well, at least he thought your outburst was merely a jest. Whatever possessed you to tell him the truth?"
It was his turn to flinch. "It was crazy, I know. It's just that I was so sick of the inquisition about my, or should I say Ewen's, inability to swim. Anyway, you're right, he thought the whole thing was a joke of some kind. Frankly, I think Torcall is willing to believe whatever I say. He wants Ewen alive so badly, he'll buy into almost anything."
