A Very Highland Holiday - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,13

and something of a groan escaped.

“M-My God,” he said hoarsely. “I-It’s his haversack. This is my brother’s haversack.”

Gaira nodded, carefully depositing it into his trembling hands. “It is,” she said. “Last night, when I heard ye speak about yer brother, I was certain that this belonged tae ye. Ye see, I’ve had it for a long while and I… well, I have much tae say about it before ye go. Would ye give me a moment of yer time, m’laird?”

James was unbuttoning the haversack with shaking hands. In fact, he could hardly get it open, but he wasn’t so singularly focused that he didn’t hear Gaira’s soft plea. He nodded so vigorously that his hair wagged about.

“O-Of course,” he said, reaching out to grasp her by the arm. “C-Come and tell me everything you know. What is your name again?”

“Gaira, m’laird,” she said. “Gaira Dunmore.”

“G-Gaira,” he repeated, clutching the haversack as he led her away from the livery entry and into a quiet area near the stalls. “I-I remember you. I helped you and Carrie escape the battle in the common room yesterday.”

Gaira nodded. “Ye did,” she said. “I’m sorry I dinna thank ye for it yet. There’s not been the opportunity.”

“I-I know,” James said. Then, he dropped to one knee and set the haversack down on a pile of clean hay so he could poke around in it. “C-Christ, I can hardly believe you found this. Did you know my brother, then? How did you come by it?”

Gaira watched him pull out a stack of carefully-tied letters. James’ question was one with a complicated answer. She was afraid if she didn’t tell him everything, and tell him quickly, that she would lose him to the excitement and relief of finding his brother’s haversack. He might even chase her away so he could be alone with his brother’s memories. Already, she could see that he was distracted with it.

Taking a deep breath, she summoned her courage.

“The haversack was brought tae Carrie by a man who was scavenging the battlefield for metal,” she said steadily. “Carrie put it in her chamber with all of the other things she had collected, and as I had done with others, I looked through them. Only this haversack was different. Ye asked me if I knew yer brother, m’laird, and the answer is that I do. I know ye, too. Did ye know he kept the letters ye wrote tae him since the time ye were a young lad until recently?”

James’ hands were still trembling, but his initial shock was being overtaking by some confusion. Bewilderment. He fingered through the stack in his hand only to realize something.

“B-But… but some of these are very old,” he said, peering at one. “M-My God, these are all from me.”

Gaira knelt down beside him. “They are,” she said softly, looking at his face as he unfastened the hemp string. “M’laird… I read through every single letter. Everything ye wrote tae yer brother. Because of the catch in yer speech, ye wrote him letters when ye quarreled because when ye became upset, the catch grew worse and it was difficult for ye tae speak.”

He stopped pawing and looked at her. “H-How did you know that?”

Gaira found herself staring into eyes that were as beautiful as a new day. “I told ye,” she said, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Because I read every single letter. Did ye know that yer brother replied tae every letter ye ever wrote him?”

James’ gaze was riveted to her. “H-He did not,” he said. “H-He never wrote to me.”

Gaira’s smile broke through as she reached into the haversack and pulled out another pile of letters. She held them up between them.

“He did,” she said. “I dunna know why he never gave them tae ye, but for every letter ye wrote him, he wrote one in return. They’re all here, in order. I put them in order of the date, or at least as close as I could get.”

James’ mouth opened in astonishment as he took the stack from her, looking at it. It was a shocking revelation. After a moment, he swallowed hard.

“Y-You read all of these?” he asked.

Gaira’s smile faded. “I did,” she said. “Believe me when I tell ye that when I first found the haversack, I only intended tae read one or two, tae find out who the sack belonged tae. That was my original intention and I swear that tae ye. But the more I read, the more