Marti Talbott's Highlander Series, Volume 4

by Marti Talbott

  “Aye, but this is our home now and ‘tis especially not safe here. Besides, think what you are doing to Ben.” She looped her arm through her sister’s and started back.

  “I have not hurt him, if that is what you mean.” Alison quickly glanced back and noticed his smile, but avoided his eyes.

  “That is not what I mean. The MacGreagors are strange people and they have odd ways. When a MacGreagor lad gets in trouble, he must stand before Neil and explain himself. If Neil is not satisfied with his explanation, he might yell at his warrior in front of other lads. That would be very unpleasant.”

  “Yet what does Ben have to explain, he has done nothing wrong.”

  “Aye, but you have been alone with him in the night and ‘tis forbidden. Fortunately, I am the only one who knows and I can keep the secret. I also know if he touched you, he would be dead by now. Yet you must be more cautious for his sake or for the sake of any other lad. Do you understand?”

  “Perhaps, but I do not like it. How am I to attend the births if I am not allowed to come out at night? I feel like a prisoner here and I want to go home!” With that, Alison wiggled free of her sister, folded her arms and spoke no more.

  Ben followed them and kept silent as well. It was his job to protect the women and he was vigilant in that regard, but his mind was on what Alison might do. Twice she mentioned going home and he wondered if she might actually attempt to do it.

  “NOW THERE ARE THREE of them,” Comine MacDuff whispered. His golden opportunity to grab the woman had passed for sure. He was greatly disappointed, but at least he knew what brought the lovely one out in the dark and he could do a little watching of his own. She would come back for the next birth, he was sure of it, and he would not miss the next chance to take her.

  INSTEAD OF THE LOWERING of a bridge, roosters woke the clan in the morning. For Neil, the nights were short with a hungry baby waking them every four hours or so. Yet he loved every moment of it and by the time morning shed its light, he was ready to get up and start the day.

  What he did not expect when he descended the last stair step into the great hall was to find Ben sitting in a chair at the table waiting for him. “I cannot remember a time when you came to see me. Something must be terribly wrong.”

  The Keep had changed a lot since the days of Laird Knox. Large, colorful pillows lined the walls, a fire was kept burning in the hearths on either end of the room and an array of weapons adorned one wall. A new tapestry of a red deer buck hung on one wall while another denoting a brave Highlander hunter decorated another. On the second floor, Walrick’s adopted children were growing up and making lives of their own. By the time he was grown, the eldest was not interested in starting a clan anymore or in making the youngest one his wife.

  Ben smiled. He was tired, about to fall asleep and hoped he would be able to make sense when he finally spoke. “I have not come to see you before because you always have everything well in hand.”

  “Flattery before the morning meal? This is more serious than I thought. You might as well tell me what you have done.” He sat down at the head of the table and poured them both a goblet of water.

  “‘Tis Alison. I fear she might run away.”

  “She is unhappy?”

  “She came to the pasture alone in the night.”

  Neil’s face jutted forward. “Without a guard?”

  CHAPTER V

  BEN RAN HIS FINGERS through his hair. “Alison does not seem to understand or care that she is in danger. She came to welcome a new colt into the world. ‘Tis her passion to take care of the animals, but here the lads do that work.”

  “I see.”

  “We are expecting several new arrivals and she wants to attend. If we do not allow it, she might ...”

  “Go home where she can be free to do it.”

  “Aye.” Ben drank his water and let Neil refill his goblet. “She knows her father might sell her again, but suppose she thinks of a way to avoid that consequence?”

  “The only answer is to have a guard take her back and forth and stay for her protection. Let me know when you think the next arrival will come?”

  “I will. Thank you.” Ben got up and started to walk out the door. He stopped and turned around. “Do you mind if I tell her?”

  “I see no reason to deny you.” Neil watched him leave and grinned. Matchmaking was the laird and his wife’s passion. They wondered who would get Alison’s attention and neither of them guessed it would be Ben. As soon as Glenna was awake, he was going to love telling her.

  BEN SOFTLY KNOCKED on her cottage door and was not surprised when, of the four sisters staying there, Alison answered. “Neil wants you to tell the guard next time and he will take you to see the animals at night.”

  “You told Neil?”

  “Aye.”

  “Did he yell at you?”

  “Not this time.”

  “Thank you for arranging it.” She smiled, finally looked into his eyes for just a second, and then closed the door.

  “BUILD A WALL? YOU HAVE lost your mind!” Cobb would have yelled, but all the men were afraid they would wake the baby, who would wake Glenna and Neil would be upset.

  Neil brought both hands up to rub his temples hoping to rid himself of his sudden headache. Surrounded by his twelve advisers and ten elders talking all at once, it seemed they had this discussion each and every day and already he lost track of who was saying what.

  “I saw that red fox this morning. ‘Tis after the chickens again,” said one.

  “Your chickens are why we need a wall. The rooster wakes everyone every morning and the hens are mean. They peck at the children’s feet and make their mess everywhere,” another said.

  Soon they were all talking at once.

  “We should build a fence around the children, is what.”

  “Around the children, are you daft?”

  “Well, it would keep the fox from getting them. I heard of a fox making off with a baby just last year. ‘Tis possible, you know.”

  “Fine, we will build fences around everything.”

  “Aye, but how high?”

  “How high can a red fox jump?”

  “Pretty damn high, I imagine.”

  “What’s wrong with a wall?”

  To Neil, it seemed the men on one side of the table were leaning toward the men on the other side of the table, who were leaning back. Their language was getting worse, their voices were rising, and soon they would pounce on each other if he didn’t do something. Fortunately, the door opened, all of them stopped talking and turned to look. “Flora, do come in. What is the matter?”

  A MacClurg, Flora still hadn’t lost the habit of curtsying before she came closer. “I did not mean to interrupt, but there is a plaid missing.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “There were four new ones on my chair last night and now there are only three.”

  “Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Flora. Please tell the other women to keep a good watch on their plaids.” He smiled when she curtsied again and watched her go. Then he turned to his men. “When I was but a laddie, my Aunt Rachel stole three plaids from the Fergusons. Can anyone guess why?”

  Neil glanced around at all the new faces and suddenly realized how much his world had changed from the time he was a little boy—in that far off land where his father knew exactly how to handle every situation. What he would give to have that time back. He sighed.

  Seated next to him, Walrick nudged Neil. “Why did Rachel steal the plaids?”

  “So she could wear them when she went to spy on our neighbors.”

  The room erupted with upset voices all asking essentially the same thing, “We have a spy?”

  “We must assume we do and he was bold enough to enter Flora’s cottage. Walrick, double the guards and see that they scout the woods more often. Gelson spread the word. I want everyone to report it immediately if they spot a stranger among us. Send a messenger to Laird Graham to see if any of our n
eighbors are unhappy. We do not need to cause a panic, but we all need to be far more alert.” He watched the room quickly empty, and then headed up the stairs to see if, by some miracle, Glenna managed to sleep through all the noise.

  COMINE HAD NO INTENTION of actually going into the village when he stole the plaid. He was thinking more along the lines of not being spotted in the forest while he waited to get the pretty woman alone. And she was pretty too. The more he thought about her, the more difficult it was to wait.

  Then it started to rain and waiting for her in the rain was useless since he doubted she would come out, even if there were a new animal birth. So he went home where he stayed for two more days - one for rain and another to let the ground dry so he would not slide around in the mud or leave easy to follow tracks.

  On the third night, he donned his white shirt, the MacGreagor kilt, his leather shoes that laced up to his knees and tied his hair back with twine. He wanted to look his best when he finally took a bride. His mother thought he looked very well, very well indeed, and she approved of everything he was doing just as she always did.

  When he arrived at the edge of the MacGreagor pasture, he noticed two new lambs and thought she might have come out in the rain after all. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about that. Right away, he noticed there were more guards than usual, but he didn’t guess it had anything to do with him. Nevertheless, he supposed he might pay a little more attention to keeping himself well hidden. The night was young, so he sat down under a tree near the pasture and waited.

  One of the mares was acting as if she was about to give birth and unless he was mistaken, the pretty woman would be coming out to watch. The MacGreagor was already there, but Comine was not concerned. He intended to be well away from the man when he grabbed the woman.

  Yet then his heart sank. She did come, but there was another man with her. Was it a husband? He had never seen this man with her before, but...a husband would ruin everything.

  THIS TIME BEN WAS WATCHING for her and was not surprised when Dominic brought Alison to the pasture. As it turned out, they were early and just when they thought the birth might begin, the mare got up and walked away. Ben smiled. “This could take a while.”

  Dominic shrugged. “I do not mind and I am pleased that Alison wants to welcome the little ones. She will make a good mother someday.”

  Alison was appalled, but she hid it by turning away before she rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”

  It was all Ben could do to keep from laughing. If Dominic meant to compliment Alison, he could not have picked a worse way.

  Already annoyed, she turned to Dominic with a direct question, “Have you ever killed a lad?”

  Ben quickly interfered. “Alison, the MacGreagor lads do not talk of such things.”

  “Why not? Hannish was happy enough to say he killed a laird and two Englishmen.”

  “That is different,” Ben said.

  “How so?”

  “Let me explain it,” said Dominic. He intentionally turned to look into Alison’s eyes. “Hannish did not tell it to brag, he told it as ... well as history, so to speak.”

  “So to speak.” Alison was not impressed and her frown let both men know it. “I see, then if I tell you my sisters and I have killed five lads between us, ‘Tis just history, so to speak.”

  Dominic glanced at Ben for help, but Ben did not offer, so he tried to give his best answer. “Well no, that would be bragging, I guess.”

  “You mean if a lad tells it, ‘Tis not bragging but if a lass does, it is.”

  “I did not say that.” Again, he looked to Ben for help. “Did I?”

  Alison ignored his question. “I say both could be thought of as history. Does it frighten you that we have killed five lads?” The expectant horse was wandering away, so Alison clasped her hands behind her back and began to follow.

  “Who exactly did the killing?”

  Alison smiled and stopped to watch the expression on Dominic’s face. “You are frightened.”

  “Of course not, I was just curious.”

  The horse again lay down and Alison stopped. “Why do you think horses have different colors? I mean, what makes one horse brown and another one golden?” She got no answer and didn’t really expect one. It was the kind of question no one knew the answer to, and she only asked it to change the subject. She supposed Dominic would be quiet and let her talk to Ben, but she was wrong.

  Dominic folded his arms and raised his chin. “You should not ask such questions, Alison.”

  “Another odd MacGreagor edict?” she asked.

  “Nay, ‘tis that God decides the colors and we should not question him.”

  “I see.” She didn’t really see, but her knowledge of God was limited to what Edana could remember her mother teaching. Therefore, Alison would have to take Dominic’s word on that. “I was not aware God had a commandment like that.”

  On the other side of her, Ben leaned a little closer, “Neither was I.”

  She was starting to like Ben a lot and just now, his eyes didn’t look so piercing. Of course, it was dark except for the light of the waning moon. She was sorry she had to bring Dominic with her, but if she wanted to be there for the birth, it was necessary. The mare was calm and appeared to be settling down to business, so Alison knelt down and began to stroke the horse’s neck. “That’s a good lassie. It will be over soon, I promise.”

  CHAPTER VI

  ALISON HAD BEEN THINKING about it all day and decided to ask Ben about something that bothered her a great deal. She would rather ask him when they were alone, but that didn’t seem likely any time soon. Perhaps she could just pretend Dominic was not there. “Ben, May I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.” He was pleased she managed to handle Dominic so well and was even more pleased she felt comfortable asking him questions.

  “‘Tis true my sisters have killed five lads, but I have not killed any and I am afraid I do not have the courage. How do you...I mean where do you get courage?”

  Ben wanted to give that some thought before he answered and tipped his head to one side.

  Dominic had no such reason to be cautious before he answered. “I would not let it bother you. You will have plenty of courage when the time comes.”

  Alison slowly stood up and turned to glare at Dominic. “Do you mean if I am as angry as I am right now, I would have no trouble killing a lad?”

  He raised both his eyebrows and took a step back. “I have upset you. I did not mean to, please forgive me.”

  Just as slowly, she turned back around and sat down. However, she did not forgive him nor did she ever intend to. She took a deep, cleansing breath and slowly let it out so she could calm down.

  Ben gave her a few more minutes to cool off before he answered her. “Walrick would be the one to talk to about courage. MacGreagor lads are taught bravery from birth, but the lasses are not taught until later and Walrick is doing the teaching these days.”

  “He teaches lasses how to fight, I have seen him.”

  “Aye. I believe once you are more confident in your skill as a fighter, you will find you have courage as well.” Ben watched her face. She seemed to be pleased with his answer, although she still did not look at him. Perhaps she was just shy. She did not seem to be shy where Dominic was concerned, so perhaps he would ask her why she wouldn’t look at him—if he ever got her alone.

  The new colt came into the world without incident. Alison delighted in its wobbly legs and glorious baby face, waited until the foal began to feed and then asked to be taken home. She was exhausted. Dominic was afraid he would offend her again and kept quiet all the way back, which pleased her greatly.

  COMINE MACDUFF WAS furious—another night wasted. With his own cow to tend, he begrudgingly headed home.

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Alison was back. She liked it much better when she could talk to the mare and adore the new colt without any of the men around, especially Dominic. She didn’t see Ben in the corral tending to the
stallions, or with the sheep or even the cows, and she hadn’t really meant to look for him. However, it did make her think of what he said about gaining courage. So she looked at the warrior field to see if Walrick was there training the women. The field was empty. She forgot to go see Walrick before she left and made a mental note to do that later.

  The air was warm, she’d gotten a good night’s rest, and the wild flowers in the meadow smelled wonderful. The mare seemed to like them too and nibbled the tops off while the colt enjoyed yet another meal. Occasionally the mare swung her neck around to look at her colt, walked forward and then chomped at more grass and flowers. Quickly enough, the colt caught up and resumed eating.

  Alison knelt down, picked a hand full of flowers and then got back up to see if she could find the other new colt among the mares. He was a good week older and she wanted to see how much he had grown. With her hand, she blocked the sun and began to slowly sweep the glen with her eyes,

  “Have you thought of...” When he walked up behind her, Ben hadn’t realized he would startle her. He was surprised by the look of sheer horror in her eyes when she dropped the flowers and spun around. “I am so sorry.”

  Then she began to gasp for enough air to fill her lungs. Afraid she would collapse, he grabbed both her shoulders. “Alison, breathe.” At last, she drew in enough air and then let it out. A tear rolled down her cheek and she let out a soft cry. Instinctively, he drew her to him. “Just breathe. I thought you knew I was there. Please forgive me.”

  Except for Neil, Ben was the only man who had ever held her and she both liked and hated the feel of him. Even so, right now, she was so frightened, his arms felt comforting and she did not want him to let go. Eventually, she did manage to nod her forgiveness.

  “Why did that frighten you so much? Surely your sisters have...”