The real pairing in these two chapters is neither Ewen/Keith nor Ewen/Alison, but Ewen/Ardroy! And I really ship it. : )
Even having read both chapters multiple times before, they still put tears in my eyes. That bit where he is riding alongside Loch Oich, looking up at Beinn Tigh and the glen beyond it that he can't see, is one of my favorite bits in the whole book: No, never again; neither in this world nor the next. For Loch na h-Iolaire was not like Alison and him; it had not a soul free of time and space. Loch na h-Iolaire existed over there, only there, on that one spot of earth, and in all the fields of heaven there would be no lake so lovely, and in heaven the grey mists would never swoop down on one who ambushed the deer.
And it's also interesting in the context of Ewen's faith: he's sure that he will see the people he loves again, in the next life: but what about the places and earthly things that he loves? It's just heartbreaking.
On another level, Ewen's escape is also a good bit of adventure writing! Even weak as he is, he manages to outwit his guards--and avoid the ending which Broster is feinting towards. She does love a good will-he-die-or-won't-he.
I'm fond of the angels from Yorkshire, and can't help hearing them in regshoe's voice, since she recorded their dialogue for me in the right dialect, as preparation for my audiobook recording. Not that I actually could do the dialect myself (those pesky glottal stops replacing "the"!). I also like them for being ordinary people doing a stranger a good turn. Although it's a bit of a contradiction, that at the same time they have no problems with buying cattle which the government has taken from people, but then feel that they've gotten even with government for giving them a bad bargain...but then, people are contradictory. Do check out regshoe's little fic about Mr Fosdyke. And heh, I've never heard that Yorkshire song. : )
Ewen returning to Ardroy, and to Aunt Margaret, again puts tears in my eyes. That bit where he doesn't look because he knows (or thinks he knows) what he will see, and then does look and doubts his vision. And later he doubts his own reality instead... I also love that he thinks about the welfare of all the people at Ardroy: Aunt Margaret first and foremost, the servants, old Angus and his grandchildren, the womenfolk, the fugitives from Drumossie Moor.
And the officer who doesn't set fire to Ardroy is a lovely proof that Keith isn't the only one among the Hanoverians who has compassion and common decency.
Okay, I wrote this without first reading regshoe's comment; let's see how much overlap there is. *hits post*
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Even having read both chapters multiple times before, they still put tears in my eyes. That bit where he is riding alongside Loch Oich, looking up at Beinn Tigh and the glen beyond it that he can't see, is one of my favorite bits in the whole book: No, never again; neither in this world nor the next. For Loch na h-Iolaire was not like Alison and him; it had not a soul free of time and space. Loch na h-Iolaire existed over there, only there, on that one spot of earth, and in all the fields of heaven there would be no lake so lovely, and in heaven the grey mists would never swoop down on one who ambushed the deer.
And it's also interesting in the context of Ewen's faith: he's sure that he will see the people he loves again, in the next life: but what about the places and earthly things that he loves? It's just heartbreaking.
On another level, Ewen's escape is also a good bit of adventure writing! Even weak as he is, he manages to outwit his guards--and avoid the ending which Broster is feinting towards. She does love a good will-he-die-or-won't-he.
I'm fond of the angels from Yorkshire, and can't help hearing them in
Ewen returning to Ardroy, and to Aunt Margaret, again puts tears in my eyes. That bit where he doesn't look because he knows (or thinks he knows) what he will see, and then does look and doubts his vision. And later he doubts his own reality instead... I also love that he thinks about the welfare of all the people at Ardroy: Aunt Margaret first and foremost, the servants, old Angus and his grandchildren, the womenfolk, the fugitives from Drumossie Moor.
And the officer who doesn't set fire to Ardroy is a lovely proof that Keith isn't the only one among the Hanoverians who has compassion and common decency.
Okay, I wrote this without first reading