Gavin (Immortal Highlander Book 5): A Scottish Time Travel Romance

by Hazel Hunter

  The laird slowly nodded. “Aye. ’Twill not be spoken of.” He looked at each of the highlanders and their ladies, all of whom nodded. Gavin and Catriona both met his gaze and agreed as well.

  “So then,” Bhaltair said. “With Cailean moving to the Gordon household, we’re in need of an official liaison between the conclave and the clan.”

  Lachlan smiled at Gavin. “I wish to offer the post to you, McShane.”

  That startled a laugh out of Gavin. “My lord, I’m no’ even a druid yet.”

  “You’re druid kind, which counts,” Kinley told him. “You’ll get lots of on the job training, and we’ll need you here to help build the new settlement. We were just discussing it.”

  Gavin looked at his lady. “I’ve missed a great bit of this talk, I think.”

  “The Moon Wake tribe have the souls of men and women,” Catriona said, “but they cannae live so until they’re grown. They’ve also still the nature of the young in many ways. They’ll need older folk to look after them, and act in the place of parents when need be for the mortal world.”

  “No one will believe that Cat and I had this many children,” Gavin pointed out.

  “That’s why we want to help,” Kinley said. “The clan can’t reproduce or adopt mortal orphans. But a tribe of druid kids who know what we are, and would be happy to stay on Skye…perfect match.”

  “Teren has spent much time together with my lady and me since he came,” Lachlan put in. “We’d be glad to help.”

  “Your mother would not ask her own daughter to raise her,” Rachel said. “But the captain and I have been taking her to pick flowers by the loch. She’s a good match to our own quiet.”

  “I…” Catriona began as emotion choked her voice. “I dinnae ken what to say.”

  “If I may,” Gavin said. “I’ll ask a moment to speak with my lady.”

  Gavin offered her his hand, and led her to the arbor.

  “We’ve come full circle, Cat,” he said as he stopped beside the fragrant lavender. “That’s what you said the morning the rainbow came. You and I began among the flowers like this. Mayhap it was always meant to be.”

  She nodded, and slipped into his arms.

  He held her as he looked out at the loch sparkling in the moonlight. Between them the glow of their unborn child began to expand, as if he wanted to warm them both. Gavin drew back to look all over his lady’s lovely face.

  “I’ve always wanted a hundred kids,” he said gravely.

  “I grew up alone,” Catriona said softly. “I wanted three hundred.”

  “We talked about starting our own tribe,” he reminded her. “We’ll no’ have to do that. And you’ll have a chance to boss around your mother for a few years, something I think every daughter secretly desires.”

  “Then we’ll accept. Only ken that I have you, Gavin McShane.” Standing on her toes, she kissed him. “’Tis all I’ll ever want.”

  “Aye, my sweet Cat. You are my world. Now come and let us make use of this arbor.”

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  Glossary

  Here are some brief definitions to help you navigate the medieval world of the Immortal Highlanders.

  Abyssinia - ancient Ethiopia

  acolyte - novice druid in training

  addled - confused

  advenae - Roman citizen born of freed slave parents

  Ægishjálmr - the Helm of Awe, a magical sigil

  afterlife - what happens after death

  ALS - acronym for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease

  animus attentus - Latin for "listen closely"

  apotheoses - highest points in the development of something

  Anubis - the ancient Egyptian god of embalming and the dead

  Aquilifer - standard bearer in a Roman legion

  arse - ass

  auld - old

  Ave - Latin for "Hail"

  aye - yes

  bairn - child

  Baltic – Scottish slang for very cold

  banger - explosion

  banshee in a bannock - making a mountain out of a molehill

  barrow - wheelbarrow

  bastart - bastard

  bat - wooden paddle used to beat fabrics while laundering

  battering ram - siege device used to force open barricaded entries and other fortifications

  battle madness - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

  bawbag - scrotum

  Belgia - Belgium

  birlinn - medieval wooden boat propelled by sails and oars

  blaeberry - European fruit that resembles the American blueberry

  blind - cover device

  blood kin - genetic relatives

  bonny - beautiful

  boon - gift or favor

  brambles - blackberry bushes

  bran'y - brandy

  Brank's bridle mask - iron muzzle in an iron framework that enclosed the head

  Britannia - Latin for “Britain”

  brownie - Scottish mythical benevolent spirit that aids in household tasks but does not wish to be seen

  buckler - shield

  Caledonia - ancient Scotland

  caligae - type of hobnailed boots worn by the Roman legion

  cannae - can't

  cannel - cinnamon

  canny - shrewd, sharp

  catch-fire - secret and highly combustible Pritani compound that can only be extinguished by sand

  Centurio - Latin for “Centurions”

  century - Roman legion unit of 100 men

  chatelaine - woman in charge of a large house

  Chieftain - second highest-ranking position within the clan; the head of a specific Pritani tribe

  choil - unsharpened section of a knife just in front of the guard

  Choosing Day - Pritani manhood ritual during which adolescent boys are tattooed and offer themselves to empowering spirits

  chow - food

  cistern - underground reservoir for storing rain water

  claymore - two-edged broadsword

  clout - strike

  cohort - Roman legion tactical military unit of approximately 500 men

  cold pantry - underground cache or room for the storage of foods to be kept cool

  comely - attractive

  conclave - druid ruling body

  conclavist - member of the druid ruling body

  conkers – horse chestnuts

  contubernium - squad of eight men; the smallest Roman legion formation

  COP - Command Observation Post

  cosh - to bash or strike

  couldnae - couldn't

  counter - in the game of draughts, a checker

  courses - menstrual cycle

  cow - derogatory term for woman

  Coz - cousin

  craw - throat

  croft - small rented farm

  crucks - curved timber arches that support the thatched roof of a medieval cottage

  cudgel - wooden club

  cypher - a secret or disguised way to encode words

  da - dad

  daft - crazy

  dappled - animal with darker spot
s on its coat

  defendi altus - Latin for “defend high"

  detail - military group assignment

  dinnae - don’t

  dirk – a long-bladed dagger

  disincarnate - commit suicide

  diviner - someone who uses magic or extra sensory perception to locate things

  doesnae - doesn’t

  dories - small boats used for ship to shore transport

  dotterel - a small black and brown streaked wading bird

  draughts - board game known as checkers in America

  drawers - underpants

  drivel - nonsense

  drover - a person who moves herd animals over long distances

  druidry - the practices of the druid faith

  dung - feces

  EDC - Every Day Carry, a type of knife

  excavators - tunnel-diggers

  fack - fuck

  facking - fucking

  falling vine - ivy

  fankle – knot

  faodail - lucky find

  fash - feel upset or worried

  fathom - understand

  fere spectare - Latin for “about face"

  ferret out - learn

  festers - becomes infected

  fetters - restraints

  fibula - Roman brooch or pin for fastening clothes

  filching - stealing

  firesteel - a piece of metal used with flint to create sparks for fire-making

  fisher - boat

  fishmonger - person who sells fish for food

  floor-duster - Pritani slang for druid

  flummoxed - perplexed, bewildered

  foam-mouth - rabies

  fougou – a stone-walled vault built underground for storage and other purposes

  Francia - France

  Francian - French

  free traders - smugglers

  frenzy - mindless, savagely aggressive, mass-attack behavior caused by starving undead smelling fresh blood

  fripperies - showy or unnecessary ornament

  gannet - a sea-diving bird

  Germania - Germany

  god-ridden - possessed

  goldies - chanterelle mushrooms

  Great Design - secret druid master plan

  greyling - species of freshwater fish in the salmon family

  gut rot - cancer of the bowel

  hasnae - hasn’t

  heid doon arse up - battle command: head down, ass up

  Hetlandensis - oldest version of the modern name Shetland

  Hispania - Roman name for the Iberian peninsula (modern day Portugal and Spain)

  hold - below decks, the interior of a ship

  holk - type of medieval ship used on rivers and close to coastlines as a barge

  hoor - whore

  huddy - stupid, idiotic

  impetus - Latin for “attack"

  incarnation - one of the many lifetimes of a druid

  isnae - isn’t

  itching pox - chicken pox

  Janus - Roman god of duality

  jeeked - extremely tired

  Joe - GI Joe shortened, slang for American soldier

  jotunn - Norse mythic giantess

  justness - justice

  kelpie - water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse, reputed to delight in the drowning of travelers

  ken - know

  kennings – compound expressions in Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meanings

  kirtle - one piece garment worn over a smock

  kona – Old Norse for woman

  kuks - testicles

  kyn-ligr – Old Norse for strange, wondrous

  lad - boy

  laird - lord

  lapstrake - method of boat building where the hull planks

  leveret - baby hare

  overlap

  larder - pantry

  lass - girl

  league - distance measure of approximately three miles

  Legio nota Hispania - Latin name for The Ninth Legion

  loggia - open-side room or house extension that is partially exposed to the outdoors

  Losh – Scottish expletive meaning “Lord”

  magic folk - druids

  mam - mom

  mannish - having characteristics of a man

  mantle - loose, cape-like cloak worn over garments

  mayhap - maybe

  Meus caparum Romanus, impetus - Latin for “My Roman troops, attack”

  milady - my lady

  milord - my lord

  missive - message

  Moggy - Scottish slang for cat

  mormaer - regional or provincial ruler, second only to the Scottish king

  motte - steep-sided man-made mound of soil on which a castle was built

  mustnae - must not

  nattering - talking a great deal

  naught - nothing

  no’ - not

  Norrvegr - ancient Norway

  Noto - Latin for "Attention"

  oak-bast - woven oak fibers

  Optia - rank created for female Roman Legion recruit Fenella Ivar

  Optio - second in command of a Roman legion century

  orachs - slang term for chanterelle mushrooms

  orcharders - slang for orchard farmers

  ovate - Celtic priest or natural philosopher

  palfrey - docile horse

  paludamentum - cloak or cape worn fastened at one shoulder by Romans military commanders

  parati - Latin for “ready"

  parched - thirsty, dry

  parlay - bargain

  people of the black land - medieval term for ancient Egyptians

  penchants - strong habits or preferences

  perry - fermented pear juice

  Pict - member of an ancient people inhabiting northern

  pure done in – exhausted

  Scotland in Roman times

  pillion - seated behind a rider

  pipes - bagpipes

  pisspot - chamber pot, toilet

  plumbed - explored the depth of

  poppet - doll

  poppy juice - opium

  pottage - a thick, stew-like soup of meat and vegetables

  pox-ridden - infected with syphilis

  praefectus - Latin for “prefect”

  prattling - talking too much and foolishly

  Prefect - senior magistrate or governor in the ancient Roman world

  Priapus - Roman god of fertility

  Pritani - Britons (one of the people of southern Britain before or during Roman times)

  privy - toilet

  quim - woman's genitals

  quinie – young woman

  quoits - medieval game like modern ring toss

  repulsus - Latin for “drive back"

  remetch en Kermet - ancient Egyptians’ name for themselves

  rescue bird - search and rescue helicopter

  retting - a process of soaking fibers in water to soften and separate them

  roan - animal with mixed white and pigmented hairs

  roo - to pluck loose wool from a sheep

  rumble - fight

  salr - Old Norse for a house consisting of one room

  sandies - mussels

  Sassenachs - Scottish term for English people

  Saturnalia - Roman festival held in December to honor the god Saturn

  scunner - source of irritation or strong dislike

  sea stack - column of eroded cliff or shore rock standing in the sea

  Seid - Norse magic ritual

  selkie - mythical creature that resembles a seal in the water but assumes human form on land

  Sekhmet - an ancient Egyptian warrior goddess who is an arbiter of justice

  semat - undershirt

  seneschal - steward or major-domo of a medieval great house

  shield-maiden – a Norsewoman who choses to fight as a warrior

  shouldnae - shouldn't

  shroud - cloth used to wrap a corpse before burial
>
  silver darlings - herring

  skald – storyteller

  skelp - strike, slap, or smack

  skin work - tattoos

  skuddie – naked

  smalls - men's underwear

  SoCal - slang for southern California

  solar - rooms in a medieval castle that served as the family's private living and sleeping quarters

  spellfire - magically-created flame

  spellmark - visible trace left behind by the use of magic

  spew - vomit

  spindle - wooden rod used in spinning

  squared - made right

  stad - Scots Gaelic for “halt"

  staunch weed - yarrow

  stele - a tall, narrow slab of stone or wood

  stupit - stupid

  sun blight - a toxic form of algae

  Svitiod - ancient Sweden

  swain - young lover or suitor

  swived - have sexual intercourse with

  taobh - Scots Gaelic for "Flank"

  tempest - storm

  tester - canopy over a bed

  the pox - smallpox

  thickhead - dense person

  thimblerig - shell game

  thrawn - stubborn

  tincture - a compound made of ingredients dissolved in alcohol

  ’tis - it is

  ’tisnt - it isn’t

  toadies - lackeys

  tonsure - shaved crown of the head

  torque – a metal neck ring

  TP - toilet paper

  traills - slaves

  trencher - wooden platter for food

  trews - trousers

  trials - troubles

  Tribune - Roman legionary officer

  tuffet - low seat or footstool

  turncoat - traitor

  ’twas - it was

  ’twere - it was

  ’twill - it will

  ’twould - it would

  tyre – tire

  Underground – Scottish subway system

  Vesta - Roman goddess of the hearth

  vind-áss - Orkney term for windlass, an apparatus used for moving heavy weights

  vole - small rodent related to the mouse

  wand-waver - Pritani slang for druid

  warband - group of warriors sent together on a specific mission

  wasnae - wasn’t

  water elf sickness – a medieval-era disease now believed to be chicken pox, endocarditis, or measles

  wee - small

  wench - girl or young woman

  wenching - womanizing or chasing women for the purposes of seduction

  white plague - tuberculosis