Page 31 of One Forbidden Kiss with the Laird (The Cinderella Shepherd Sisters #2)

T o Selina it felt as though she were in a dream world.

The memories of half an hour earlier were fresh and vivid and she could not help but think about them every time her clothes brushed against her skin.

It was as though she had been sleep-walking through life, unaware of the pleasures it could bring, yet now she was uncertain if she would ever get to experience those pleasures again.

‘It’s for the best,’ Selina told herself as she marched briskly down the road.

She was heading back to Taigh Blath. She would pack her bags and then ask her father for the funds to pay for her passage south.

It would be a shock, her leaving so suddenly, but she did not think her father would object to her quitting his life for good.

The morning was still warm, although there were a few clouds gathering in the sky, but as Selina walked she found the fabric of her dress was still a little damp and made her shiver despite the mild temperatures.

She made it to the outskirts of the village without mishap and slowly she started to feel a little more like herself. The interlude in the woods with Callum had a dreamlike quality to it and she could half-persuade herself it had been merely a fantasy. Perhaps it was safer to think of it that way.

‘Please, no. Please just give us more time.’ A woman’s voice cut through the silence of the morning.

She sounded distraught and as Selina rounded the corner she saw a middle-aged woman clinging on to the arm of a young man.

The man was stony faced, the only hint of emotion a little sneer pulling at his top lip.

As she hurried closer she realised she had seen the man before.

He was Mr Robertson, the local land steward who managed the estate and tenants for Sir William while he was in England.

Mr Robertson had been to Taigh Blath a few times, discussing business and advising Sir William on the value of the land and the most reliable tenants.

Alongside the middle-aged woman were five children of varying ages, from a toddler who clung to her mother’s skirts to a young teenager with fists clenched, being held back by his younger siblings.

‘Please, just another few weeks. I’ll get the money.’

Mr Robertson shrugged the woman’s hand from his arm and towered menacingly above her.

‘No more chances. You’re out today. Sir William isn’t running a charity.’

A small crowd had gathered and a neighbour stepped forward, gently pulling the woman away. She turned to Mr Robertson. ‘You’ll give Mrs Murray time to gather her belongings. Legally they belong to her, Sir William can’t touch them.’

‘Half an hour. After that I take the key and lock the door. Anything left behind will be forfeit.’

Mr Robertson took a seat on the low dry-stone wall that ran around the property, crossing his arms in front of his body. He gave her a curious look as she passed him, but said nothing.

Selina hesitated on the threshold of the cottage, not wanting to intrude at such a difficult time, but she had not been able to walk past without at least seeing if she could be of some assistance.

She was facing her own troubles, but it was nothing compared to this mother of five being thrown out into the street with her children.

‘Excuse me,’ she said to the neighbour. ‘I couldn’t help but overhear what was happening. Is there anything I can do to help?’

The woman looked her up and down and then nodded.

‘You’re that young lass from Taigh Blath.’

Selina waited, wondering if she was about to be sent away.

‘You’re the one Lord Leven is sweet on, not the one he’s meant to marry.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve always thought him a good judge. If you’re serious about helping, go upstairs and gather the children’s clothes. They all have a spare set, their church clothes. We can carry them next door.’

Selina moved quickly, aware of the minutes ticking by for this family. To lose their home would be bad enough, to lose their meagre possessions as well would be devastating.

Upstairs there was another woman whom Selina recognised from the dance in the barn a few nights earlier and had been one of the women in the crowd outside.

She was dashing around the two upstairs rooms, collecting what she could and placing it into the middle of a sheet that had been laid out on the floor.

Selina joined her, working silently as she quickly collected and folded all the clothes she could find into a neat pile.

She started with the children’s, counting the outfits and undergarments out to make sure she wasn’t missing any, and then moved on to Mrs Murray’s.

It felt good to be doing something for someone else, to forget her own troubles for a while.

* * *

Within twenty minutes the house had been cleared, the possessions taken away and stored in various neighbours’ houses. Mrs Murray was escorted, weeping, out of the cottage and Selina followed.

Outside she saw a familiar figure striding up. Callum’s face was like thunder, his expression fixed into a deep frown and his eyes flashing with barely concealed ire. He spoke to Mrs Murray quietly, nodding at her tear-choked answers and then moved to Mr Robertson.

Selina was torn, intrigued as to what he was saying to Mr Robertson, but also aware she did not want Callum to say anything foolish that might give away their intimacy earlier in the morning.

‘I have my orders,’ Mr Robertson said, raising his hands in front of him as if trying to ward off a bad spirit.

‘Sir William instructed you to do this?’

‘Mrs Murray has not paid her rent. His orders are to be tough on anyone even a day late. He wants an example made.’

‘She has five children.’

‘I’m merely doing my job. Don’t make me out to be a heartless bastard. If I don’t evict her, Sir William will just find someone else to do it.’

‘And you approached this in a kind and gentle manner?’ Callum asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mr Robertson had the decency the look away, his cheeks flushing. ‘If I am not stern with them, people think they can take liberties. I have to be respected, feared even, to do my job.’

‘You’ll let her have a final check of the place, ensure nothing has been left behind?’

Mr Robertson nodded, watching as Callum approached the evicted woman.

‘I am sorry this has happened,’ Callum said.

‘I understand Sir William’s orders are final, but Mr Robertson has said you may have a little more time to check the house over before he takes the keys.

I will speak with Sir William today, appeal to his sense of charity.

I cannot promise to work miracles, but I will speak on your behalf. ’

‘Thank you, my lord,’ Mrs Murray said, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Selina stood back out of the way as the older woman stepped into her home for the last time, walking round the tiny cottage and checking all nooks and crannies for any precious forgotten items. Only once she re-emerged and was swept away by one of the neighbours for a fortifying cup of tea did Callum approach Selina.

‘You were helping Mrs Murray?’ he said, touching her lightly on the arm. Out here in public there could be no more obvious sign of affection, but she felt her treacherous heart flutter all the same. ‘You ran away so quickly from the woods I thought I might not catch you.’

‘I was passing when Mr Robertson arrived to remove her from the house. I cannot believe anyone could be so callous. She has five children.’

‘She is a widow. I understand she takes in laundry for other people and her eldest son has started as a farm labourer on one of the larger farms a few miles away, but the family does not have much income.’ Callum shook his head in disgust. ‘Mr Robertson is only doing the job given to him, although he is a spiteful man and no doubt thrives in his work. It is Sir William who has given the orders.’

‘These are the people you wish to help,’ Selina said, her gaze fixed on the dilapidated little row of cottages. Sir William might be quick to demand a late payment, but it did not look as though he did much to maintain the ramshackle building.

‘Yes. Before my father died the Thomson family owned these cottages and dozens more like them scattered through the village and local area. They were sold to cover my father’s debt and I lost the ability to be a more understanding landlord.

’ Callum grimaced. ‘My father was many things—irresponsible, a drunkard, a fool—but he was not an unfair landlord. He pretty much left people alone, didn’t raise rents unfairly.

Sometimes it took a bit of prompting for him to do the work needed to maintain the properties he owned, but the tenants could see his lack of interest was of benefit to them on the whole. ’

‘This is what you wish to regain control of, alongside Taigh Blath and the grounds.’

‘Yes. All over the Highlands good people are being thrown from their homes and their farms for the sake of a few pounds of annual profit. It is becoming more profitable for the landowners to turn their land to sheep, rather than have all these disconnected smaller tenant farmers. Whole communities are being destroyed and I don’t want that to happen to Ballachulish. ’

She glanced around her, checking no one else could hear what she had to say next.

‘ This is why we cannot be together, Callum. I finally understand the human impact of it, the awful suffering people are going through because Sir William is in control of their lives. I know you have been telling me the same, over and over for weeks, but I do understand now.’

‘You cannot be serious,’ he said, gripping her arm and leading her a little further away from the cottage. ‘There is no other option after what we did today. We will marry.’

‘No,’ she said firmly and much louder than she meant to.

With great effort she managed to regain control of herself and lowered her voice.

‘No, Callum. I will not be the reason you break your vow to these people. It will eat away at both of us and we will be miserable. As the years go by and you see your people suffering you will come to resent me.’ She took a great shuddering breath.

‘I love you, Callum, but I will not be a mistake you made that changed the course of your life.’

He blinked quickly, as if he could not understand what she was saying.

Selina pushed on, willing him to accept what she was saying. ‘I deserve more than your regret.’

‘Selina, you cannot seriously think we could do anything other than marry, not after today.’

She exhaled slowly and shook her head. ‘I need a bath and a lie down, Callum. My head is spinning. Let us talk tomorrow. In the meantime, think what it is you truly want, for I think deep in your heart I come second.’

Before he could answer she walked away, knowing he could not chase after her out here in public. It took all her effort not to break down into tears and, as she walked towards Taigh Blath, she wondered if she would ever feel happiness again.