Devil of the Highlands Page 0,79

No one seems to be sure if 'twas an accident, or nae, and that just adds to the confusion."

Cullen was silent for so long, it seemed obvious he was going to ignore the request. Evelinde sighed to herself and settled back against him, resigned to not having her request fulfilled. It was another twenty minutes before she realized that rather than approach the front of the castle, they were riding toward the back of it and the cliffs there.

Sitting up before him, she peered curiously around as he drew his mount to a halt on a windswept cliff behind the curtain wall at the back of the castle.

It was a narrow spot, Evelinde noted, as Cullen dismounted and lifted her down. The area that ran along between the high stone wall and the edge was only about ten feet wide, but ran on for quite some way.

Cullen caught her arm as she moved to peer over the edge, holding her back as if he feared she might tumble to her death. Evelinde was glad he did when she looked over and saw how steep it was and how far it was to the ground below. It was dizzying. The fact that a strong wind was swirling around her, rushing up the cliff wall to catch at her skirts, tugging at her gown as if to pull her over the edge did not make her feel any better.

"He had his horse with him?" Evelinde asked, easing back from the edge and trying to eradicate the image that had entered her mind of an older version of Cullen lying broken and battered on the stones below.

"Aye."

"Do they think he dismounted and somehow fell over the edge? Or that his horse was spooked and he was thrown from the saddle?" she asked with a frown.

Cullen shook his head. "No one kens, or at least no one I have been able to find yet. If there truly was a witness, he may be able to tell us."

"And if 'twas murder, his murderer could tell us," Evelinde said quietly.

Cullen nodded.

Sighing, Evelinde turned away. Coming here had not really helped her envision how the "accident" might have happened. There was nothing here but some sparse grass and a pile of stones; nowhere for an animal—or a man—to have leapt out from to startle Liam's mount and send him rearing. More to the point, she could see no reason for the laird to have been here in the first place.

Her curious gaze slid to the pile of stones. She'd thought it just a rocky outcropping, but suddenly noted 'twas not a natural formation. Evelinde moved toward it. "What is—?"

The question died on her lips as she suddenly thought that it might be a cairn for his father. Or his first wife.

" 'Tis Jenny. Biddy's sister," he explained.

Evelinde hesitated, then asked, "You mean she is actually buried under those stones?"

Cullen nodded.

"Why?" Evelinde stared at him with dismay.

" 'Tis where Biddy wished it," he answered simply, and when she turned a confused face his way, explained, "She killed herself and could not be buried in hallowed ground. But she liked this spot and spent a good deal of time here, so Biddy decided this should be her final resting place."

"She killed herself?" Evelinde turned her gaze back to the stone grave. "Why?"

Culled frowned. "I was only fourteen at the time, but I've since learned she was supposed to marry the Campbell."

"The Campbell?"

"Aye. He's been dead these last five years, but he was an evil bastard, cruel and heartless. They said she killed herself rather than marry him."

Evelinde nodded, but her mind was not really on the Campbell. "You were fourteen when she died? That was the year your uncle died, too, was it not?"

"Aye. She died just two weeks ere the hunting accident."

Evelinde turned to peer at the spot where the cliff fell away. It was a barren spot, lonely and cold. "Did she really like this spot?"

"Aye. She used to come here often the first time she visited."

"The time she killed herself was not the first time she was here?"

"Nay. She had been here once before that, about two months earlier," Cullen said. "She was much younger than Biddy, and that was the first time she came. She was supposed to stay for a month, but only remained three weeks. Tralin was most disappointed. He thought her the prettiest lass he'd ever seen," he confided.

Evelinde smiled at the confidence, pleased that he was actually talking to her. Eager