The Highlander's Maiden

by Carole Archer

  Colleen smiled and nodded. “I just want you to be happy,” she said, “and if he’s the one who makes you happy then who am I to object?” she sighed.

  Colleen gripped Duncan’s hand and smiled at him, tipping her head back as he lowered his head to kiss her. “Thank you,” she whispered, “I really appreciate what you did for us.”

  As Harvey moved around the small gathering and filled everyone’s glasses, he took Colleen by the arm and led her aside. Duncan followed, wondering what was wrong.

  “Why haven’t you spoken to Alroy?” Harvey asked her. “He’s really upset. He’s missed you so much and he said you won’t even look at him.”

  Duncan gripped her hand. “Colleen, you must go and speak to him. You told me how good he was to you after your father died, and he’s looked after Kaitlyn all these months.”

  Colleen looked up into her husband’s eyes. “I’m ashamed,” she admitted, glancing down at the floor. “He tried so hard to keep us together and it was my fault that everything went wrong.”

  Duncan noticed Alroy step outside and he prised Colleen’s fingers away from him and led her across the room and out of the front door. She trailed reluctantly behind him, dragging her feet.

  As soon as she stepped outside and the door closed behind them, Colleen looked up at Alroy, who looked confused by her behaviour.

  “Colleen, I always did my best for you. I’m sorry things worked out the way they did…”

  “I’m sorry I made you so angry last time I saw you,” she blurted out, throwing her arms around him and almost knocking him off balance. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes as he held her in his arms. Alroy hugged her tightly and smiled as Duncan slipped back inside, giving them a little privacy.

  “I’m pleased things have worked out well for you here. Your husband is a good man. I can see he makes you happy,” he stated.

  “I’m so sorry,” Colleen said sincerely. “I made things so hard for you in Ireland when I should have been helping you to hold our family together,” she told him, loosening her grip on him and looking up at him. “I missed you so much. When I first arrived in Scotland, each day I longed to be able to turn the clock back and behave better. That way we would all still be together in Ireland. We would never have been separated.”

  Alroy smiled, putting his arm around her and guiding her back into the house. “Yes, and you wouldn’t have found yourself a good husband and neither would Kaitlyn. So everything worked out for the best, in the end,” he told her.

  Alroy smiled and stroked her hair. “At least you’ve grown up and you’re a good girl now.”

  Duncan raised his eyebrows and looked at her as she giggled.

  “Hmm, sometimes she can be a good girl,” he said sternly, before smiling as he lifted her up into his arms and kissed her.

  As the party continued, Blayne had a quiet word with Duncan before he took Kaitlyn’s hand and slipped out of the house with her, leading her to the outskirts of the village. “I’d love for you to come and meet my father,” he said, looking at her hopefully.

  Kaitlyn nodded enthusiastically and he led her by the hand. “I live in the next village. It’s a couple of miles away,” he told her, “but I’d really love for my father to see the girl I’m to marry as soon as possible,” he told her excitedly. Kaitlyn smiled brightly.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, stopping in his tracks. “You’re exhausted. We can go another day.”

  Kaitlyn shook her head. “No, let’s go now. If I get tired, you can always carry me.”

  Blayne grinned as he leaned forward and lifted Kaitlyn into the air, throwing her across his shoulder. Kaitlyn giggled as he carried her through the woods, patting her bottom affectionately as he walked.

  They had only been walking for a couple of minutes when Blayne stopped and lowered Kaitlyn to the floor.

  “Am I too heavy?” Kaitlyn giggled, as Blayne stood her on her feet.

  “Kaitlyn,” he smiled, staring past her, “meet my father,” he said, causing her to turn and come face to face with Finlay MacLennon, who was followed closely by the two men who had accompanied Blayne to Ireland.

  Kaitlyn smiled brightly and flung her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek. “I’m pleased to meet you,” she told him, smiling brightly as he hugged her warmly before holding her at arm’s length and looking at her.

  “You’ve got yourself a pretty wee lassie here,” Finlay told his son, causing Kaitlyn to blush. “I’m pleased to meet you,” he said, putting his arm around her as he turned to face his son.

  “Well done, Blayne,” he congratulated him. “I hear the rescue mission went well.”

  Blayne nodded and shook his father’s outstretched hand. “There’s a celebration at Duncan’s home. Why don’t you come and join us?” Blayne offered.

  Kaitlyn nodded enthusiastically and they headed into the MacGregor village.

  Blayne led them into Duncan’s home, apologising for the intrusion and explaining that they met Finlay just outside of the village. “He was coming to congratulate us on a successful mission,” Blayne explained.

  Duncan shook Finlay’s hand. “You’d be proud of Blayne,” he told him. “He almost single-handedly rescued Kaitlyn,” he said, slapping him on the back and offering Blayne, Finlay, and their men some mead.

  Blayne sat in the corner with Kaitlyn, sitting her on his lap and holding her hand as they watched the other men quickly getting drunk. As Kaitlyn started to fall asleep in his arms, he lifted her up and Duncan showed him to her room, where he lay her down on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and watched her for a while before kissing her cheek and reluctantly leaving her.

  As Blayne rejoined the party, he was horrified to discover that his father had now gone out into the village square where he was rousing all the villagers and inviting them to the party at Duncan’s home, also inviting them to Blayne and Kaitlyn’s wedding and telling everyone that he wanted peace between the two clans.

  Duncan laughed. “It seems to be working,” he said. “If this doesn’t bring an end to our feud, I don’t know what will.”

  Blayne nodded, before cringing as his father offered to arm wrestle with Richard. As the two locked hands, the makeshift table they were leaning on collapsed and both men rolled on the floor, laughing loudly. Blayne shook his head and turned away.

  He went back into the house with Duncan where they shared a drink and toasted the reunion of the two sisters, and when they went outside a little while later, they shook their heads as they discovered Finlay, his two men, Richard and Robert and several of Duncan’s men sleeping soundly on the ground. Duncan fetched some blankets from the house and covered the men, before inviting Blayne into his home.

  “You can sleep in my bed tonight,” he told him. “When you put Kaitlyn to bed earlier, I took Colleen to my aunt’s home. I’ll go and join her and you can stay here.”

  Blayne gratefully accepted his offer and was asleep within minutes, while Duncan slept on the living room floor, not wanting to go and disturb Colleen.

  * * *

  The next morning, Duncan rose early and went to collect Colleen from Aunt Annie’s. When they arrived back home, Blayne and Kaitlyn were sitting in the living room, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes.

  Blayne jumped to his feet as Duncan and Colleen entered the house, thanking them for their hospitality and telling them he was taking Kaitlyn to his village to introduce her to his clan.

  “Has my father gone home yet?” he asked hopefully.

  Duncan grinned. “He’s just waking up,” he told him.

  Blayne sighed and took Kaitlyn’s hand, leading her outside where he helped his father up. Shaking his head, he told Finlay he wanted to introduce Kaitlyn to the villagers. Finlay nodded and sheepishly accompanied his son back to his village, feeling slightly worse for wear.

  Finlay proudly led Blayne and Kaitlyn around the village, introducing her to everyone and letting them all know they would be
married soon. Everyone was happy for them and Kaitlyn was thrilled that she was seemingly to be accepted so easily into the community. Blayne smiled and kissed her. “Don’t look so worried,” he told her, “everyone loves you.”

  Kaitlyn smiled and her worries quickly disappeared as Blayne kissed her once more.

  Finlay smiled and nodded. “I knew you had a caring side to you, son,” he said quietly, as he watched his son proudly showing off his soon-to-be wife. “I knew you would eventually find yourself a suitable wife who will teach you how to love. Hopefully she’ll help you to lose that aggressive nature that so often scares women away,” he said hopefully.

  As they left the village, Blayne scooped Kaitlyn up into his arms and she curled up against his chest. When they finally reached the MacGregor village, she was sleeping soundly in his arms once more. He carried her into Duncan’s home and into the room where Kaitlyn would stay until her wedding day.

  Blayne lay Kaitlyn down, throwing a blanket over her. Kissing her softly on the cheek, he reluctantly left her before he returned home, eager to make arrangements for his upcoming wedding.

  As Richard and Robert made their way into the house, found another bottle of mead which they shared before they promptly passed out drunk on the floor, Harvey and Alroy returned to the house, sheepishly telling Duncan and Colleen they had woken up in one of Duncan’s neighbour’s homes.

  “I think I’ve got a friend for life there,” Harvey joked, telling how the man had consumed vast quantities of his mead and he had left him with a couple of bottles to thank him for putting them up for the night.

  Duncan smiled, offering to take Alroy to meet his Aunt Annie. His house was getting way too over-crowded and he needed a breath of fresh air, as he had also consumed a little too much of Harvey’s mead.

  Alroy and Aunt Annie hit it off immediately and Aunt Annie was thrilled to have someone sharing her home once more.

  “It’s been so quiet since Colleen left,” she told him. “It will be nice to have some company again.”

  Alroy smiled. “I know what you mean. I’ve lived alone for many years, but being with Kaitlyn for all these months has made me reluctant to be on my own again.”

  Aunt Annie grinned at him, a twinkle in her eye. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve shared my home with a man,” she smiled.

  “Aunt Annie!” scolded Duncan, shocked that his aunt would behave in such a flirtatious manner.

  Alroy smiled. “Your aunt’s quite safe with me,” he promised, taking the old lady’s hand in his.

  “Oh, that’s a shame,” she grinned mischievously.

  Duncan’s cheeks flushed as he scurried towards the door. “I’ll get back to Colleen,” he said, rushing out quickly. As he stepped into his home, he started to laugh at his aunt’s flirtatious manner, as he carefully stepped over Richard and Robert, leaving Harvey sitting in the living room with them. He headed into the bedroom where his wife had gone for some peace and quiet. He lay beside her and kissed her softly.

  “I love you,” he whispered, as Colleen gazed lovingly at him. “I love you too,” she smiled, wrapping her arms around him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A few days after Kaitlyn had arrived in Scotland, Harvey turned up at Colleen and Duncan’s home. He collected Kaitlyn and Colleen and loaded them onto the back of his cart. “You look beautiful,” he told them both, admiring the dresses one of the villagers had kindly made for them. They had braided each other’s hair and added ribbons to the ends of their braids. Colleen wore the ribbons that Duncan had presented to her on her wedding day. She had cherished them ever since that day, but was afraid to wear them for fear of losing them. She was thrilled when Duncan had managed to get similar ribbons in the blue tartan of Blayne’s clan for Kaitlyn to wear on her own wedding day.

  As Harvey and Duncan climbed onto the front of the cart and Richard and Robert climbed up onto the flat back with the mead, Harvey gave them a friendly warning not to drink it all before they arrived in the MacLennon village. Richard and Robert laughed heartily, unsuccessfully trying to conceal the bottle they had already opened. Harvey laughed and shook his head.

  “Is Alroy coming with us or is he staying with Aunt Annie?” asked Duncan.

  Harvey shrugged his shoulders. “He didn’t say. We’d better check.”

  “Oh, I hope he’s coming to my wedding,” said Kaitlyn sadly. “It won’t be the same if Alroy isn’t there.”

  Colleen squeezed her sister’s hand affectionately. “I’m sure he’ll be coming,” she told her. “Aunt Annie never leaves the house but she won’t be left alone. Someone will go and sit with her while Alroy’s at your wedding with us.”

  Harvey rode the very short distance to Aunt Annie’s home and jumped down from the cart. He knocked on the door and Alroy opened it immediately. Duncan smiled as he saw Alroy was wearing the tartan of the MacGregor clan. “Is there room up there for two more?” Alroy asked, smiling.

  Duncan jumped down from the cart, his eyes wide. “Two? You haven’t managed to persuade Aunt Annie to come out, have you?” he asked in shock.

  Alroy nodded, went back into the house and leaned down towards Aunt Annie, kissing her on the cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted her in his arms and carried her through the door. Everyone watched wide-eyed as he carried her to the cart and Duncan rushed to help him lift her up onto the seat, where Alroy climbed onto the platform of the cart, chivalrously removed his cloak and wrapped it around Aunt Annie’s shoulders.

  “Well done,” Duncan said, shaking Alroy’s hand. “You’ve got her out of the house, which is more than anyone’s done in more years than I care to remember.”

  Aunt Annie grinned, showing her toothless smile, and Duncan laughed as Harvey climbed up onto the front of the cart beside her, ready to move off. Duncan helped Alroy climb onto the flat back before joining him.

  As they arrived in the MacLennon village, Kaitlyn smiled brightly. She could hardly believe she was getting married. As she went to stand beside Blayne, he smiled at her and whispered “you look beautiful”, stroking her cheek gently.

  The ceremony was very romantic and Kaitlyn constantly gazed into Blayne’s eyes, smiling up at him. “I’m going to be the perfect wife,” she promised him, as they had a huge party in the village, with Harvey’s mead in plentiful supply. At Finlay’s invite, the whole of the MacGregor clan was also present to share in the festivities.

  Everyone was thrilled, no-one more so than Blayne, when Finlay congratulated them and told his son that the time had come for him to take over as head of the MacLennon clan, as Finlay was ready to relax and have a quiet life. Kaitlyn eagerly congratulated her husband and rewarded him with a lingering kiss.

  They all had a wonderful day and at the end of it Colleen was reluctant to leave her sister, recalling her own wedding night and the fear it held for her. On the contrary, Kaitlyn was nowhere near as nervous as her older sister had been and was actually looking forward to the moment when her husband would take her to his bed.

  “Kaitlyn will be fine,” Duncan reassured her. “Blayne will treat her well.”

  Colleen screwed up her face. “He’d better otherwise he’ll have me to answer to.”

  Duncan smiled and gave his wife a hug. “Come on, let’s get you home,” he said, smiling as they watched Alroy help Aunt Annie up onto the cart once more and sit beside her on the back, holding her hand and wrapping his arm around her protectively to keep her warm. Harvey climbed up front and took the reins.

  “It’s nice to see Alroy and Aunt Annie so happy,” Colleen whispered, gripping Duncan’s hand.

  He smiled at her and kissed her softly. “Yes it is,” he admitted.

  Colleen giggled. “You won’t change her,” she whispered, reading her husband’s mind. “She’s too old to conform to rules.”

  Duncan raised his eyebrows. “And what’s your excuse for failing to conform to rules, young lady?”

  Colleen giggled at her husband and kissed
him again. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too,” he smiled, waving to Alroy, Aunt Annie and Harvey as they pulled away.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a lift back?” Harvey asked, as he stopped alongside them.

  “No,” Colleen said, shaking her head. “I’m going to walk with my husband,” she giggled, stumbling as she realised she’d probably enjoyed a little too much of Harvey’s mead.

  “Are you sure?” asked Harvey, shaking his head as he watched Duncan try to keep her on her feet.

  Duncan laughed and nodded. “We’ll be fine, but where’s Richard and Robert?” he asked, looking around.

  “Finlay got some of his men to carry them into his home and put them to bed. They were unusually drunk,” he laughed.

  Colleen giggled once more as she took her husband’s hand and walked through the woodland with him. Halfway home he stopped and turned her to face him, kissing her passionately. “Lower your drawers and bend over there,” he said urgently, pointing to a fallen log.

  “Duncan,” she squealed, “anyone could walk past and see us.”

  Duncan grinned. “Well hurry up before they do,” he told her, throwing his cloak over the log to make it a little more comfortable for her.

  As Colleen turned her back to him and bent over the log, Duncan pulled up her dress and roughly yanked her drawers down, causing them tear.

  “Duncan,” she shrieked, gasping as he roughly entered her from behind.

  “Oh Colleen,” he gasped. “Seeing your sister get married today made me think of our wedding day, and seeing you in that beautiful dress made me remember how much I wanted you that day,” he whispered, as he thrust into her.

  As Duncan penetrated her almost brutally, Colleen’s eyes widened with delight. Her husband had never taken her so aggressively before and she quite liked it.