The Marriage Contract (Marriage #3) - Cathy Maxwell Page 0,58

dared to go all the way up to the nearest one. She sniffed. Besides the smell of salt air, there was the scent of something acrid. It made her nose tingle.

The men were coming back empty handed. She dashed to cower behind some rocks close to the water. The edge of her dress started to get wet, but she didn’t dare move.

Three times she watched the men perform their task. She strained her ears for any clue for what could be in the kegs and where they had stored them, but they were grimly quiet.

Her vivid imagination took over. There must be a cave in those cliffs. A smuggler’s cave. A shiver went through her that had nothing to do with the chill in the water lapping at her hem.

When they’d finished, it was as if they vanished into the night. One moment they were working, the next they were gone back to their homes and families.

But where was her husband?

“You can stand up now, Anne.”

Aidan’s voice startled her. She looked up and found him looming over her rocky hiding place. He held out his hand.

Slowly she came to her feet, pointedly ignoring his hand. “How did you know I was there?”

“The scent of the soap. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to know what was going on. Obviously it has nothing to do with a pregnant horse.”

“For what purpose?” There was a testy note in his voice.

Well, she could be testy, too. “My husband sneaks around in the dark. Is that not reason to want to know what he is doing?”

He took hold of her by the chin, raising her gaze to his. “And what did you find out?”

Anne tried to pull away. She couldn’t. “You know my history. I don’t like smuggling.”

Footsteps ran along the path. It was Davey. “Hugh said the gunpowder is covered with a tarp…” His voice trailed off as he realized Aidan was not alone.

Alarmed at what he’d said in front of her, he began backing up the cliff. “I’m sorry, Laird.”

“Go on, Davey. Go to your bed,” Aidan told him curtly.

The boy took off running.

Anne was stunned. “Major Lambert is right. You are planning a rebellion.”

“It’s not what you think.” He reached for her arm but she shook him off, backing away from him.

“You have stored gunpowder in the cliffs. In what? A cave? Are you mad? Do you realize what Major Lambert will do to you if it is discovered? What he could do to all of us?”

He grabbed her arm above the elbow, his hold tight. “Quiet, or you’ll wake all of Caithness.”

“I thought I saw all of Caithness on the beach helping you.” She shook her head. “How could you bring Davey into this?”

“I didn’t, Anne. He came with his brothers.”

She almost collapsed. “Does their mother know? It will kill her if any harm comes to her sons.”

“I know.” His voice didn’t sound like himself, full of confidence and certainty.

“Aidan, are you saying you question this course of action?”

“Yes!” The word shot out of him as if he’d held it too long. “But I have no choice, Anne, and I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Then explain it to me. What is so important that it would drive you to rebellion?”

He sat on the rock she’d hid behind. “I’ve tried to avoid it, Anne, but Deacon is right. You saw Lambert. He wants my blood whether I am innocent or guilty.”

“He could hang you guilty at this moment,” she said crisply.

It surprised a laugh out of him, a laugh she didn’t understand. “What is so funny?”

“I realized you are correct.” He stood. “You’ve heard of the Clearances, haven’t you?”

She shrugged. “No.”

“Well, some call them ‘improvements,’” he said sarcastically. “A landlord gives his tenants a week to clear out. Whether they do or they don’t, the homes are burned and the land is used for grazing.”

“Why?”

“It’s more valuable with sheep on it than it is with people.”

“Where do the people go?”

“Who cares? Or at least, that is the attitude. Some move in with family, others go to Ireland, and still others are forced to emigrate even further.”

She frowned at the sand, digesting what he’d told her. “I suppose if they are renting, then they should expect to be asked to move on?” It was hard to believe people would do such a thing to others.

“I forget how English you are,” he said softly. “Anne, people are being burned out because they are poor. But their families have lived on the land here