Cauldstane Read Online Free Page A

swords?’
    He looked surprised. ‘ Sign them? Like paintings, you mean? No, I don’t. But there’s a mark on them that identifies me as their maker.’
    ‘Exactly. Well, t here’s a sort of mark – a literary one – in all the books I write. It identifies me as their author.’
    ‘ Clever. What is it?’
    I paused for a moment before saying, ‘I could tell you… but then I’d have to kill you.’
    He laughed and suddenly I saw his father, the Sholto MacNab of the early expeditions, grinning as he was hauled out of an Antarctic crevasse. Timor omnis abesto . “Let fear be far from all.”
    I know I was n’t feeling faint and I certainly didn’t stumble – in fact my feet felt oddly rooted to the spot – but I experienced a vertiginous sensation, as if the floor was giving way or some invisible force was trying to sweep me off my feet. The past had somehow telescoped, as if Alec, Sholto and the anonymous stone swordsman in the courtyard had become one person. Ridiculous, of course. My imagination was running away with me as it always did – though I have to say, I’m not usually that susceptible to men laughing at my jokes.
    Alec looked concerned and leaned towards me. ‘Are you all right?’
    ‘Yes, I’m fine !’
    ‘ You look a wee bit pale. Did Wilma bring you coffee?’
    ‘ Oh, yes, I got the works. Coffee and three varieties of home baking. Really, I’m fine. I had a horrible virus recently and I think I’m still not a hundred per cent.’ To change the subject, I pointed down the stairs to the portrait on the half-landing. ‘Who’s the woman in that portrait?’
    Alec didn’t turn to look but said, ‘Sholto’s second wife.’
    ‘Your stepmother?’
    ‘Aye. Meredith MacNab.’
    ‘ I had no idea she was that beautiful.’
    ‘She wasn’t. A certain amount of artistic licence was employed by the artist.’
    ‘Did Sholto commission it?’
    ‘Och, no! My father has no interest whatever in paintings. We’ve attics full of them. Meredith sat for the portrait, then gave it to Sholto as a Christmas present. She also gave him the bill. That was her idea of generosity.’
    I looked down at the portrait and studied it in a new light, as an expensive exercise in personal vanity. ‘It’s very striking. There’s something about the eyes. They seem to follow you, don’t they?’
    ‘Aye , they do. The picture used to hang in the dining room, but after she died Sholto said it put him off his food, the way the eyes seem to watch you.’
    ‘I believe she died in an accident? A car crash, wasn’t it?’
    ‘On my wedding day. Meredith always had a wonderful sense of timing.’ I must have looked shocked at the callous remark because Alec apologised immediately. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t sound so bitter. But Meredith died because she chose to drive when she was dead drunk. She hit a tree on a notorious bend. It was a horrific crash and my poor father had to identify her body.’
    ‘H ow dreadful… Did she kill anyone else?’
    Al ec stared at me for a moment, then studied the floor, as if choosing his words carefully. ‘Meredith was the only one in the car, thank God. But I’m not sure my wife ever got over the tragedy. It was a hell of a way to start a marriage. With your mother-in-law’s wake.’ The sound of a gong reverberated up the stairs. ‘That’s Wilma summoning us for lunch. I need to get cleaned up. D’you know your way down to the dining room?’
    ‘I’m sure I’ll find it, thanks.’
    ‘Turn left at the foot of the stair and cross the hall. Tell Zelda I’ll not be long.’
    ‘Zelda?’
    ‘Have you not met her yet? My aunt Griselda. She hates it when we’re late.’
    ‘ I’d better get going then.’
    ‘You’ re sure you’re up to it now? Wilma could bring you lunch on a tray.’
    ‘ No, I’m fine. I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the family.’
    Alec was looking beyond me now, scanning the corridor as if distracted, then he regarded me again, his