A Laird and a Gentleman (All the King's Men #4) - Gerri Russell Page 0,74

scarcely breathing. Was what they sought inside?

*

Cameron’s gaze was on Mariam, and he knew that even if they did not find any answers about her past on the isle, he would still be grateful to have this moment with her. He would remember the expression of glowing radiance reflected on her face until the day he died. As she studied the cairn, Cameron looked about the area. From the rise they now stood upon, he could see the remnants of what had obviously been a formal garden at one time, but were now tangled and overgrown. Cutting through the garden was a series of three paths, like the arms of a tree, which joined each other to form a base that stopped at the edge of the cairn.

Cameron bent lower to study the collected silt and compost at his feet, suddenly noticing a splash of blue beneath the years of accumulated decay. His heart sped up. He reached for his dagger and slowly scraped at the ground to reveal a mosaic made entirely of shells.

It took all three of them clearing the debris before they revealed a decorative band that encircled the cairn. Against a blue background lay small white flowers in a pattern that was broken after every ninth flower with a shell identical to the one Mariam wore about her neck.

“This is obviously the place we were meant to find,” Cameron said. “Do you know what it is you should do now, Mariam?”

“The only clue we have is the shell my mother gave me. Perhaps it is a key of sorts.” Beside him Mariam removed her necklace, and going to her knees, placed the shell atop one of the others in the pattern.

Nothing happened, then all at once the grass shuddered and the earth beneath their feet rumbled. A bolt of blue-white lightning snaked from the sky above and struck the cairn. Rocks vibrated then rained from the pile, tumbling past them down the hill they had just scaled. Then as suddenly as it started, the motion stopped.

The three of them stood perfectly still, gaping at the giant opening in the chambered cairn before them. “Are we supposed to go in there?” Mariam asked, finding her voice before the others.

“I believe so,” Nessie replied, then shaking off her surprise, she stepped up to the opening and entered the darkness.

Mariam picked up her necklace and put it back on. “Wait,” Mariam called after the older woman. “I should go alone.”

“Nay. Never alone. Not anymore.” Cameron retrieved a length of cloth from his sporran and wrapped it about his dagger. Next, he took out his flint and steel and struck them together, deftly directing the sparks toward the cloth until it caught and flared. Makeshift torch in hand, he asked, “Are you ready? This is what we came to do. We cannot turn back now.”

“Why would you risk so much for me?” Her face was pale as her gaze fixed on the opening.

“I would risk everything for you,” he replied, taking her chin in his hands and bringing her gaze to his. “I thought you knew that.”

Her eyes flared with surprise at something she saw on his face. “I might have magic but I cannot read your thoughts.”

“Then let me plainly state the truth. I love you, Mariam.”

She blinked rapidly. “It is obligation you feel, not love.”

He laughed and pulled her to him. “I know what I feel for you, and it goes beyond duty, beyond reason.” Just touching her grounded him in a way that nothing ever had before. He looked into her green eyes and felt love wash through him. Love like he’d never known before. “You are my heart, Mariam.”

“Why tell me this now?”

“I thought you needed to hear it.”

“You are no less important to me,” she whispered.

He stepped through the opening, taking her with him. “Now, let us find the ashes or the cauldron or whatever it is that will reveal what we need to know about your past. Declarations of love are all well and good, but I’ll be the first to admit I am not very good with words.” He slipped his arm about her waist as they took their first steps inside the ancient place. “I am much better with action. Once this is over, I intend to show you just how earnest I am about my feelings for you.”

Chapter Eighteen

Golden light from Cameron’s torch flickered through the darkness of the cairn. Mariam’s heart sped up. Excitement wedded with fear as she looked