A Highland Folly by Jo Ann Ferguson

Author:Jo Ann Ferguson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504009140
Publisher: Open Road Distribution

Ten

Anice heard the shouts. Looking out her window, she stared at the dark clouds rising from the valley.

“Fire!” shouts came from everywhere in the house and from beyond the window.

She moaned in horror. She had thought it had been dust from the work on the embankment for the bridge. Now she saw the angry orange flames at the base of the smoke. The road workers’ camp must be on fire. Running out onto the narrow balcony beyond the French windows in the parlor, she yelled toward the kitchen garden.

“Gather everyone and bring any buckets you can find quickly,” she ordered before hurrying back into house. Calling more orders to the household, she raced toward the door.

Neilli burst out of a room across the narrow foyer. Anice ignored the questions shouted at her and motioned for her cousin to follow. Whether Neilli did or not, Anice did not see as she ran out of the house, grabbed several buckets from the trough by the sheepfold, and raced through the lower gate. Pippy followed, barking wildly as if he were sounding the alarm.

She could not outrun her fear. Lucais would be in the midst of fighting the fire, putting himself in danger to protect his men and the road camp.

The smoke swept up the hill. Anice waved it aside as she half ran, half slid along the twisting path. Behind her, she heard others from Ardkinloch. Several of the younger boys sped past her. Their voices were filled with excitement.

She paid no attention to the pain beneath her ribs as her breath pounded with every step. The smoke clogged her throat and made breathing even harder. As she rounded the corner at the bottom of the hill, she had no time to look at the flames. Her bucket was pulled out of her hands and a filled one shoved in her direction. She passed it to the person standing beside her.

With every motion she tried to look toward the camp to see where the fire was. Lucais would be there. She swallowed her moan when she saw flames coming from a half dozen different spots. The whole camp must be on fire.

“Get out of here!”

At her cousin’s shout, which resonated over the crackle of flames, Anice looked toward the river and saw Parlan in front of a group of men she did not recognize. He had his back to her, his feet spread, and his hands clenched into fists. When she discerned through the smoke that the men were wearing the livery she had seen at Chester Hills, she rushed over to stand beside Parlan.

“What is the problem?” she asked.

Parlan snarled, “I will handle this, Anice.”

“Lady Kinloch,” one of the men from Chester Hills said, “we saw the smoke and came to offer our help in putting out the fire.”

“We don’t need your help.” Parlan’s chin jutted toward the man. “It will be a sorry day when the Kinlochs need assistance from anyone who works for Lord Chesterburgh.”

Anice grabbed Parlan’s arm. “Are you off your hooks? We need every person who can swing a bucket!”

“Not their help.

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