Highland Island (Book 6)

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Isla blinked up at the lattice of leaves above her head. Each individual leaf jewel like against the bright blue of the sky above. The glow filtered down around her, bathing them both in a muted green light. The peace of the moment sinking into her very bones as she lay there, mind floating in the forest silence. Eyelids fluttering closed once more as she let herself wonder, as the scents of the wild flowers, moss and trees hovered over them as if blanketing them from the world beyond. The light sifted through her eyelids in an orange glow as the warmth from the streaming light and the strong body beside her. Her hand flexed upon the tensile strength of the chest she partly lay upon. The rough fingers grazing the bare skin of her back was a tingling sensation which caused a shiver to run through her body, before she sank back into a blissful calm. The real world would come back soon enough, she could give herself this moment.

Carrick could not believe what they had just done. How he had just ruined a woman who had given so freely of herself. Yet he could not bring himself to move and ruin what was left of this moment. For when it ended he knew he could never recapture it. Running his fingers up and down the soft skin that was a little marked from the tiny rocks that were in the ground. The rhythmic movement soothed the ragged edges of his soul, yet he knew that those edges would only tear further when she walked away. Her warm breath puffed against his chest, tickling at the hairs there as he tried not to breathe too deeply himself. Keeping her resting place as level as possible. Biting his lip to stop the words which were stuck in his throat, he stared up at the too bright sky. The mottled green and blue canopy mocking him with its cheery brightness as he knew the darkness that would appear when they separated today.

His arm tightened around her reflexively, as if afraid to let her go, even as he could feel the time passing. The inevitability of the separation began to tear at a part of his chest he had never known existed. His gaze fell over to the side, the soft bed of the forest undulating out in a sea of green and brown, with an occasional cheery patch of wild flowers peeking out. It was a scene of life and peace in a time or distrust and stolen moments.

"Isla?" The voice was distant, but both of them shot into seated positions immediately upon hearing it. They froze a moment, both waiting, straining to hear footsteps, anticipating the next shout. Isla's hand clenched on his thigh, both barely breathing in an effort to make themselves undetectable in case their friends were closer than they thought.

"Isla? Where are..." The voice cut off on an abrupt growl, before the voice changed.

"Will you be careful where you step woman?" The growl sounded once more. "Carrick, will you get out here, and save me from the foolishness of women."

Before Carrick could make any reply, Isla was already scrambling from her seated position. The heat of her was still a flame against his skin as he watched her flit around the small clearing, whilst he slowly pulled his tunic towards him. He felt the overwhelming need to apologise, yet he already knew that Isla would be shamed by this time now, he did not want to draw any more attention to it than was needed. Leaving her to her own thoughts he listened to the stomping of his brother as he came closer and closer.

Just pulling on his boots as his brother called out grumpily once more, Isla spun on him as he went to march out to meet Com. Looking down on her, she looked up at his with a stern expression, finger pointed at his chest once more, but her eyes had melted into pools of devotion that he knew he would never deserve.

"You, Carrick, can take that look off your face right now." His frown deepened, unaware that he had had a 'look' upon his face. "Don't you frown at me either. We have just shared one of the best moments of my life, you are not going to ruin it by regretting it now. You liked me enough before, you can at least pretend to still like me now."

He was frowning all the more as her little speech ended. "Why would I regret this? It is you who should be regretting our actions. I have just ruined you. Do you think I am not cognizant of this fact? That if your clan ever find out what happened here you could be cast out, your standing diminished. Your parents could turn their backs on you." His voice lowered as he became more impassioned as he did not wish for her friend's to overhear.

Isla tapped her foot as she stared up into such an earnest face. She knew that he truly believed what he was saying, she just was not going to accept such a declaration from him. He was not ruining this moment by making it into a doom and gloom sermon from one of the visiting priests. Whilst he may be right about the clan, he did not know her parents, her mother would never let her hear the end of it, but no matter the shame she brought on her family, her parents would never let her go.

Looking him up and down, she took a moment to let him stew in the silence, as their names were called once more from a lot nearer this time. "Are you quite done?" She knew her tone was arch, but as she could not raise her eyebrow with the skin on her face so tight with the pain of the hit, she let her tone say more than she said.

He folded his arms in response and waited her out in turn. She tensed as footsteps crunched nearby, but the voices sounded a little further away this time. "Done? You risk your life for someone you don't know. You give up your virtue..."

The finger came back in his face as Isla interrupted him. "My choice each time. You have no right to say what I can and cannot do. You either listen to how I feel, or you keep your mouth shut." She spun to pick up her belt from just behind her. "And anyway," She looked back up at him, fire dancing in her eyes, "without my help, your man would probably be dead, along with a large number of the party you brought with you last eve. If it was not for me and my friends, you would most probably not be here to have this argument right now."

"You think I care about whether I lived or died when I could ruin your life? My life means nothing compared to that. I should never have touched you." Her eyes spat fire, so aglow they were in the soft filtered light from above.

"You didn't seem to find that a problem earlier. Now you can look back, just remember that fact. I have nothing else to say to you right now." Before he could stop her, she spun once more and stormed back through the tree line. She was already calling out "Gilbarta," when he finally snapped out of his stupor and ran after her.

She reached her friend just as he rounded a tree to spot the anger which lit up Isla's eyes as she glared at him. She must hate him now, and that would make this so much easier for her, but he still felt the tearing pain in his chest as he felt her pull away. Taking a deep breath he faced the three figures behind her. His brother's scowl deepened as he glanced between the two of them, as if he could sense what had happened.

Isla's friends on the other hand had differing reactions. Gilbarta looked perplexingly thoughtful, as if she had expected this but was now working out the advantages and disadvantages of the actions. The other woman, however, Moira, was oblivious to anything but her friend's arrival. Her hands coming to up to clasp Isla's arms as she gushed words. Com was obviously aggrieved with this woman, as the moment she uttered her first words, Com was turning his scowl on her. But there was also a look in his eyes that told Carrick there may be more to this for his brother than what was on the surface.

"Isla, thank the Lord above. I thought we may have lost you. When you would not answer and we could not find you, I was starting to fear the worst. What with us not knowing Carrick, he could have done anything with you and we could not find you. And you know how likely it is that I would get lost looking for you myself. Thankfully, Gilbarta thought that if we stayed still then maybe you would find us, instead of going to where we were calling from but had moved on." She finally paused for breath and Isla glanced over her shoulder to the knowing look within Gilbarta's eyes.

She looked at Moira once more. "Well, you can calm yourself now. I think we still need to speak about what happens after last night. Shall we?" She waved back in the direction of the brook and without even a glance in Carrick's direction she took off. If they followed they followed, but right now she needed to walk her anger off.