“To Tam!” she cried when she was on her horse. “Let’s rouse him from his bed. He’ll want to hear how the MacGregor wears the brand of the MacArran.” She laughed as she thought of the rage of the man when he saw the present she’d given him.
But they weren’t destined to get home so easily. Suddenly the skies opened, and a deluge of very cold rain poured down on them. All of them wrapped their plaids over their heads, and Bronwyn thought with longing of the warm skirt she’d left on the ground. Lightning flashed and t
he horses jumped about, skittish at the light and sound.
They rode back to Larenston along the cliff edge of the sea. It was not the safest way but the quickest, and they knew the MacGregors would not pursue them on unknown, dangerous pathways.
Suddenly a stupendous bolt of lightning tore through the skies and hit the ground directly in front of Alexander. The horse reared, pawing the ground frantically with its forefeet. The next instant a roar of thunder threatened to bring the rocks down about their heads. Alexander’s horse changed direction, and its feet came down in midair, hanging over the edge of the cliff. For an instant horse and rider hung suspended, half on land, half in the air. Then suddenly they fell, Alex coming out of the horse’s saddle.
Bronwyn was the first one to dismount. The cold rain pelted against her face. Her legs were blue with cold.
“He’s gone!” Douglas shouted. “The sea has him now.”
Bronwyn strained to see through the darkness and rain to look at the sea below. A flash of lightning showed her the horse’s body below, still as it lay against the rocks. But there was no sign of Alex.
“Let’s go!” Douglas shouted. “You can’t help him.”
Bronwyn stood. She was as tall as Douglas, on an equal level with him. “Do you give me orders?” she demanded, then looked back toward the water. “Hold my ankles so I can see farther over the edge.”
Bronwyn stretched out on her stomach as Douglas grabbed her ankles. Immediately two men came to her side to steady her arms. Another man put his hands on Douglas’s shoulders.
Inch by inch Bronwyn eased herself over the side until she could see down the side of the sheer rock wall. It was frightening hanging over the edge, trusting her life to the strong hands about her ankles. Her first impulse was to say she saw nothing but she couldn’t leave Alex if there was a chance he was still alive. She had to wait patiently for the next burst of lightning, then scan the area. Slowly she moved her head to see another part of the cliff. Her half upside-down position was making her dizzy, and the fear was making a knot in her stomach.
It was when she turned her head the third time that she thought she saw something. It seemed like an eternity before lightning illuminated the wall again. Her neck felt as if it would break from holding her head up.
The lightning flashed, and suddenly all her pain left her. There, to her left, about halfway down, was a familiar flash of the red plaid Alex favored.
She waved her hand, and the men pulled her up. “Alex! Down there!” she gasped, her mouth filling with rainwater. She impatiently wiped her forearm across her eyes. “He’s on a narrow ledge. We’ll tie a rope around me. I think I can get to him.”
“Let me go!” Francis said.
“You’re too big. There’s not enough room on the ledge. Get me some rope and I’ll put it over my shoulder. Understand?” Her shouts were accompanied by hand gestures.
The men nodded, and almost immediately she was coiling a rope to put around her shoulder. She gave one end to Douglas. “When I jerk twice, pull him up.” Next she tied another rope about her waist. “When Alex is safe, get me.”
She walked to the edge of the cliff. She wouldn’t look down at the hard nothingness below her. She paused for a moment. “Tam is my successor,” she said, without adding that he would be only if she died.
The heavy rope cut into her waist, and although the men eased her down as slowly and gently as they could, she slammed against the rock wall several times. Her knees and shoulders ached painfully, and she could feel the skin coming off her hands as she clutched the rope. Think of Alex, she thought, think of Alex.
It was a long time before she reached the narrow ledge. There was barely room for her to put her feet beside Alex’s big body. After some careful maneuvering, she managed to straddle his hips.
“Alex!” she shouted above the lashing rain.
The young man slowly opened his eyes, then looked at Bronwyn as if she were an angel on earth. “Chief,” he whispered while closing his eyes, the sound of his words lost in the storm.
“Damn you, Alex, wake up!” Bronwyn screamed.
Alex opened his eyes again.
“Are you hurt? Can you help me with the rope?”
Alex suddenly became aware of his surroundings. “My leg’s broken, but I think I can still move. How did you get here?”
“Don’t talk! Just tie knots!”
She was standing in a precarious position, and there was very little room for moving about. She bent forward, keeping her legs straight, not changing the placement of her feet, as she and Alex fastened the rope around his body. They made a crude sort of sling, the rope going between his legs and around his back.
“Are you ready?” she shouted.