Resisting the Highlander: A Scottish Romance (13 page)

Alice was crying softly as she looked at her daughter’s pale face and the swelling above her right eye.

Besse came into the bedroom carrying a tea tray. “Here, Mrs. Campbell, have a cup of hot tea and you’ll feel better. We are all so broken up about the poor lamb. She is such a good girl, and I’ve come to love her like she was my own.”

“I know, Besse, and she liked you, too. I’m grateful for your kindness to her,” Alice said, wiping her eyes.

Besse’s face reddened momentarily, but she managed to keep hold of herself. “I don’t see how anyone could be anything but nice to her, she’s a wee angel,” she said, and off she went, weeping and berating the one responsible for this terrible thing.

Bridget’s mother quickly took things in hand. She said to her father, “If I can’t take her home, I’m going to stay her for a few days and care for her. I would have no peace of mind otherwise wondering about her. Aileen and Bethia can go stay with their uncle’s family while I’m here. I wish James was home.”

She looked at her father, wondering how he would react to what she had just told him, but whether he liked it or not, she was determined to stay near her injured daughter.

“That’s fine, lass. It will be better for you to be here for a time. I’m quite sure she is going to be all right, but it will be a relief for me to know you are here.”

“All right then, Father. Will you sit with her until I come back? Then, I will take over. She will probably sleep for a while with the morphine tablet the doctor gave her. I want to be here when she wakes up. Poor lassie, I imagine her body will be very sore from all those bumps and bruises she has on her.”

For a small, quiet woman, Alice was showing her authority, and at the moment nothing mattered to her but her child’s welfare.  Secretly, Robert was relieved.

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hortly after she had left, Aidan came to give Robert the news from Dr. Thompson about Margaret. Her mind seemed to have snapped, partly because of jealousy of Bridget but likely it would have happened eventually, he’d said. He had ordered her to be hospitalized for tests and observation.

Aidan looked with concern at Robert’s pale face. “How’s our lassie now, sir?”

“Just the same, son. Still asleep from whatever it was the doctor gave her. Oh, laddie, this has been a bad day for us all. Maybe I did wrong in bringing her here, and if my selfishness is to cause her some permanent damage, I’ll never get over it.”

Aidan put his hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Don’t feel so badly about it, sir. The doctor seems to hold out great hope for her, but I am the one who should be feeling guilty. I should never have left her alone on the steps with her cousin, but how was I to know that Margaret would try anything like that?”

He now looked at Bridget, lying so pale and quiet on the bed before him, his heart and body aching for her. He longed to hold her close and shelter her from any additional harm but that was impossible.

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t was just before supper of the same day when Bridget showed signs of life, tossing her head from side to side and moaning softly. Alice stroked her forehead, talking quietly to her. “It’s all right darlin, your mum is here. You’ll be safe enough now.”

The gentle voice seemed to quieten Bridget. She grasped her mother’s hand tightly, but when she opened her eyes there was no recognition in them.

“Don’t you know me, Bridget?” Alice asked. Bridget silently looked around with a blank stare. Her gaze settled on her grandfather. She held out her hand to him. When he took it in his own she held on to him tightly as if frightened.

With tears in her eyes, Alice said, “She doesn’t know who I am. Oh, Bridget, my lassie.”

At about the same moment, Dr. Thompson arrived to see his patient.

“Well, Bridget, how are we tonight? You are looking much better than the last time I saw you.”

As he bent over her, a frightened look came into Bridget’s face and she clung to Robert’s hand.

“There now, Bridget, my girl,” said Robert, “it’s all right, no one is going to hurt you. This is Dr. Thompson.” She relaxed somewhat then, but still clung to Robert’s hand and remained silent.

When he had finished his examination the doctor said, “Physically she is fine, but just as I thought she apparently has a temporary memory loss. She seems to recognize you, Robert, that’s why she clings to you in her bewilderment.”

“Her mother wants to take her home, doctor.”

“No, no, Mrs. Campbell,” the doctor said emphatically, shaking his head side to side. “That would be the worst thing you could do right now. She would feel completely lost away from the surroundings she has gotten used to, but you could stay here with her if you can.”

Wiping away her tears, Alice answered, “I was planning on staying ’till she’s up and around again. How long do you think that will be?”

“I would like her to stay in bed at least three, maybe four days and to rest completely. Don’t try to force her to eat too much either. Just thin broth or beef tea, and maybe an occasional piece of toast. Rest is the best thing for her now. I’ll leave these mild tablets with you but just give her one at night to make sure she gets her sleep. I will look in again tomorrow, but there isn’t much any of us can do. Rest, love, and understanding are the only things that will bring her back. It will take an awful lot of patience.”

“We will do all we can, doctor,” said Alice, “and thank you very much for your help and concern.”

That night, Alice insisted on sleeping with Bridget, but Robert was the only one from whom she would accept the sleeping tablet.

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he next morning, Aidan left the house early for another work day and in passing the room where the two women were sleeping, noticed the door was slightly ajar. He pushed it wider, thinking Alice might be in need of help. They were both asleep, Bridget cradled in her mother’s arms, head resting against her bosom.

Motherless as a small lad, Aidan had never experienced such a love. He quietly closed the door, feeling a choking sensation in his chest as he walked down the hall.

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s the doctor had said, youth was definitely on Bridget’s side, and in less than a week nothing could keep her in bed. Robert was the only one she seemed to recall. She wanted to be with him constantly.

She’d moved back into her own bedroom, saying it seemed familiar and comfortable. As Robert, Alice, and Bridget sat together there, Robert told his granddaughter, “Look now, lassie, this is your mother who loves you very much and wants to help you just like I do. Don’t you remember?”

Bridget looked at her mother closely, touching her cheek with the backs of her fingers. “I–I seem to know you, but I can’t remember very well. When I try, my head hurts.” She turned away and held her head between her hands.

Alice, sick at heart, said, “Don’t try too hard, love. The doctor says your memory will come back when you least expect it.” She decided it was time to return to her own home and the rest of her family, knowing in her heart there was nothing she could do to hurry Bridget’s recovery.

She said to her father, “James will be home soon. Maybe Bridget will remember him?”

Robert smiled weakly. “I hope so, lass, I hope so, but if not we will do as the doctor says and give her all the love and care we are capable of. We’ll pray that in some way her memory will return.”

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s the days passed, the swelling over Bridget’s eye went down but refused to subside completely. One day, she asked her grandfather what had caused it.

“You had a bad fall, lass,” he answered her, “but don’t worry about it. The swelling will go away in time.”

“My head feels funny, Robert. There is something I ought to know, but I just don’t know what it is.”

Changing the subject, Robert said, “It’s a beautiful day, lassie, and we might not get many more of them. Let’s take a walk down to see the horses. Would you like that?”

Without much interest she replied, “If you like, Grandfather.” She then said something that gave Robert a ray of hope. “Come on, Sarge, don’t you want to go with us?”

The collie wagged his tail vigorously and came closer to have his head rubbed.“That’s a good fellow,” she said.

Robert was hopeful that remembering the dog’s name was a sign that her memory was returning, but he didn’t say anything lest she feel pressured.

The three of them set off across the grass, still wet from morning dew. They walked towards the fenced in area where the horses were let out every day to graze and exercise. 

The big stallion was in the training ring. Bridget’s eyes lit up with pleasure as she spied him, and before Robert could stop her, she quickly climbed to the top rail and seated herself, exclaiming, “Oh, Robert, that beautiful horse. Come on over here, boy, so I can see you better.”

The huge animal whinnied as if in recognition and trotted over to the fence where she sat. She put her arms about his neck and rubbed his long face, talking softly to him all the while. “If only I had some sugar to give him, or an apple.”

A masculine voice behind her said, “Here, Bridget, I’ve got sugar. Carry it with me all the time.”

She turned towards the sound of the voice. She gazed into the man’s dark eyes as she held her hand out for the sugar.

“This is Aidan, lassie,” said Robert.

“Oh, then this must be your horse. Is it all right for me to pet him?”

“Anytime, Miss Bridget, he seems to like you, but don’t ever go into the ring with him,” he cautioned, “unless I’m here. He might get scared and hurt you unintentionally.”

He smiled as he spoke. She liked his smile. Smiling back at him, she said softly, “I’ll remember, Aidan. Thank you for the sugar.” She turned back toward the stallion and fed him the sugar lumps.  When he finished eating them, she hugged and petted him again before turning to leave.

“Here, Bridget, let me help you down,” Aidan said, extending his arms towards her, “we don’t want you falling again.” He started to reach for her and then hesitated. She smiled encouragingly and he put his hands gently around her waist. She liked the feel of his hands as he lifted her to the ground.

As Aidan set her down, she noticed two other horses with foals in the next enclosure. Several questions entered her mind. “Why aren’t the animals all in the same place, Aidan?”

“Well, lassie, while the babies are so young, we have to keep them and their mothers away from the other mares who don’t have babies. Otherwise, they would try to steal the foals away.”

“Would they really do that?” she questioned, looking from Aidan to Robert.

“Oh aye, lassie, that they would, and with the fighting that would ensue, the babies could be badly injured or even killed.”

“Well, I never,” said Bridget in disbelief, surprised at how she suddenly felt protective over the young foals. “I always thought horses were such gentle animals. You must tell me more about their habits sometime, Aidan. I find it most interesting. But I must go back to the house now. I feel a bit tired.”

She smiled shyly at him and took her grandfather’s arm as they started to make their way back to the castle.

“He’s very nice, Robert, and seems to know his job well,” she said quietly.

“Aye, he is a good lad and a very hard worker.” He looked at her sideways, and added, “He’ll make a good man for some lucky girl one of these days.”

She didn’t answer him. Her thoughts were far away.

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he fishing fleet had returned from the highland lochs and western isles of Scotland, bringing James Campbell back home. Preparations had already begun for the herring fishing in their home port. Nets had to be mended and then great vats would be taken down to the shore and fires lit under them. The men would pour liquid bark into them and bring it to a boil before soaking the nets until saturated. The fishermen did this to strengthen their nets against the salty seawater, preventing rot.

Once taken from the vats, the nets would be carted to the grasslands on the outskirts of town and spread out to dry. When rid of moisture, they would be folded and tied into neat bundles to be taken back aboard the fishing boats.

Fishermen’s wives were also kept busy, cleaning the community boat cabins and collecting clean chaff mattresses for the bunk beds that lined the cabin walls. With all this going on, the town buzzed with activity.

James went immediately to see Dr. Thompson. He had felt sick at heart from the moment he had heard of his daughter’s accident. After a long talk with the doctor, he felt reassured that Bridget would regain her memory in time and could return home to be with him and his wife for a while before she went back to the castle.

“Oh, James,” Alice cried as he arrived home, “it was a mistake for our lassie to go and live with her grandfather. I wish now I had never let her go.”

“Alice,” he said sharply, “we’ll have no more talk like that. Think back and you will remember that Bridget didn’t want to go. She did it because we all thought it would be best for her. You urged her strongly and I backed you up when she asked me about it. I believe she did it because of you, me, and your father. But none of us could have foreseen Margaret’s breakdown. Besides, the doctor has given me hope that in time, things will be all right with our lassie again. Until then, we will just hope and pray, and when we see her, as we are going to do shortly, we will act as if nothing has changed.”

Alice wiped a tear from her eye as she said softly, “All right, James, there doesn’t seem to be anything else we can do.”

She smiled wanly at him. He put his arms about her and held her close for a moment, murmuring, “That’s better, lassie.” 

And so it was that James Campbell, whom everyone thought would go to pieces when he heard what had happened to his beloved Bridget, become the rock the entire family leaned upon during this tragic time.

Alice said, “You go on to the castle by yourself this time, James. Maybe it won’t be so confusing for her as it might be with the both of us there trying to talk to her.”

He nodded his head in agreement and went on his way.