Marti Talbott's Highlander Series, Volume 4

by Marti Talbott

  Donnahail sat up a little straighter. “It might work. How will you know if she is a good lass?”

  “When there are no lads around, a lass always shows her true nature. I will know if she complains too much, or cries or spits. I hate it when a lass spits. How will you know?”

  “First, I must make certain he will not hurt you.”

  “How will you know that?”

  “I am not sure. Perhaps I might say unkind things to see the look in his eyes and how quickly he challenges me.”

  “Would that work, do you think?”

  “I hope so, although finding the right lad in a single afternoon might not be easy. By the way, I prefer a lass who will not commit adultery. How would you go about learning the truth on that subject?”

  Kadick leaned back on her hands and thoughtfully studied a cloud in the sky. “Perhaps I will know in the way she looks at lads. If she prefers most...or too many of them, then I will know.”

  “That sounds reasonable.”

  “Then we have an agreement?”

  Donnahail got to his feet and smiled down at her. “Aye, at the festival, I will seek a husband for you and you can find a wife for me.” He nodded and then walked away.

  WHEN DARKNESS FINALLY fell, Greer walked out of their hiding place to the farm gate, to wait for the dairy maids. She waited and waited and waited.

  When Greer did not come right back, Neil motioned for the men to tie up their horses and follow. He cautiously led them through the foliage toward the gate and then stopped. A campfire on the inside of the fence made it easy to see Greer was not waiting by the gate and neither were the dairy maids.

  He ran his fingers through his dark hair and studied the length of the fence from north to south. More campfires dotted the land and he could see men posted near them. However, the fires were not close together and there was ample darkness between. Bright candle light shone through the glass windows of the manor, and the warmth of the night air demanded the opening of all the windows and the doors. He listened, but could not hear any noises coming from inside.

  Neil motioned for his men to come closer, whispered his orders and waited for their nods. Then he watched while they made their way down the length of the fence, found a dark place to climb over and then disappeared.

  Several minutes later, he heard an Englishman shouting, “The cows are getting out!”

  The cows began to bellow and Neil smiled. He knew his men were herding them and just as he hoped, the English guards left their posts to chase the cows. Then a man, dressed much better than the others, rushed out of the manor, followed by two older boys. No doubt it was the lord and his sons.

  It was just the break he needed and as soon as they were out of sight, Neil opened the gate, hurried up the steps and went inside the large sitting room. At six foot five, he was so big the Lady and her servants could do little more than drop their mouths. “Where is Greer?”

  The lady stammered. “You...”

  “Where is she?”

  Clearly terrified, the lady pointed to the next room. Neil yanked the door to a dining room open and went in. Greer and the four dairy maids were tied to chairs with their mouths gagged. He quickly pulled out his dagger, cut Greer loose and then began to free the others.

  He noticed the terror in their eyes and tried to calm them with a soft voice. “We are MacGreagors. We do not force lasses to marry us nor do we bed them without benefit of marriage. You will choose your own husbands and you may take as long as you like to decide. You may also leave us at any time, and we will bring you back. I give you my pledge.”

  He had the last one cut free when he stopped to face them. “If you still wish MacGreagor husbands, follow me.” He intentionally left first and wondered how many would come, but he didn’t want them to be frightened and did not turn around. Instead, he peeked out the front door, darted across the courtyard and held open the gate. To his relief, Greer and all four women were behind him.

  Still taking the lead, he hurried up the road and then cut into the foliage toward the trees. One by one, his men fell in beside the women in case they needed help. As soon as they reached the horses, each helped a woman mount, got on his own horse and escorted them back toward the encampment.

  NO ONE WAS QUITE SURE what to do when Neil brought the women back. The men stood in the small clearing with their legs apart and their hands behind their backs, while the ones sent to get the women helped them dismount. Soon even they moved away and stood with the others facing the women. This time it was Neil’s turn to interpret.

  The women were shy, uncertain and obviously fearful. “They are very big,” one whispered.

  “Are we to choose now?” whispered another.

  As soon as Luag helped Greer off her horse, she walked to the women and gave them a comforting smile. “I am Greer. I escaped from an English manor a few months ago and will soon marry, if the lad of my choice is still speaking to me. He was not pleased when I left Scotland to come find wives for our lads.” Already the women looked as though they were calming down.

  “I am Dora,” said the woman with red hair and green eyes. Then she took the arm of the blond, woman standing next to her.” “This is Carol. Glorie has red hair like mine. She hates her name, but what can she do? The one with brown hair is Maggie.” The four of them curtsied at the same time.

  “You do not need to curtsy when you are with us,” Greer said. “We are like family. The lad who cut you free is Laird Neil MacGreagor. He is the only one who is married.” She smiled at the hint of disappointment in the women and then introduced all the men. “There is another lass among us. She was born with a mark on her face, but she is beloved to us and should any of you object to her, I will happily take you back where we found you.” Greer waited until she was certain they understood.

  Kadick did not understand the English words, but when they all looked at her, it wasn’t hard to know Greer was telling them about her mark. She learned something from Donnahail and wanted to see if it worked with others. She took down her hood, walked to Dora and took the stranger’s hand. The woman did not seem nervous or reluctant, which was a good thing. Gently, Kadick put Dora’s finger on the mark. Instead of being horrified, Dora seemed as fascinated as Donnahail had been.

  Kadick did the same with the other women and when she was finished, she deemed her experiment a success, turned and smiled at Donnahail.

  Although she touched Kadick’s mark like the others, it was not Glorie’s first concern. She was hungry and stared at the meat cooking over the fire. Then she looked around for the pottage that was normally set out for the field hands and the milkmaids. A large kettle of vegetables, with just a few chunks of meat constantly hung in hearths and more vegetables were added to it for the next meal, but the portions of meat were always small.

  Maon, the shortest of all the men with light hair and brown eyes couldn’t seem to stop looking at Glorie and nudged Neil. “They are hungry.”

  CHAPTER VII

  “IF THEY ARE HUNGRY, I suggest you feed them,” Neil said.

  He didn’t have to be told twice. Careful not to frighten her, Maon picked up a bowl and walked to the campfire. He tore off a piece of meat, put it in the bowl and took it to Glorie.

  She was amazed and wasn’t at all sure if she should accept it. Never in her life, had she been given a chunk of meat so big and she considered grabbing the bowl out of his hand, running into the woods and hiding until she could gulp it all down. Instead, she looked at Greer, saw her nod and accepted the bowl.

  Closing her eyes, Glorie passed the bowl under her nose and savored the delicious aroma. Yet when she opened her eyes, the Highlander had his hand out. Greatly disappointed, she started to hand the bowl back.

  “Nay,” said Greer. He only means to help you sit on the plaid he spread near the fire.

  Relieved, Glorie smiled at the man. “If I take his hand and sit on the blanket he spreads for me, am I betrothed to him?”

  Greer laughed, “I am c
ertain our lads wished it were that easy.” She ignored the snickers of the men after Neil interpreted. “You will have plenty of time to fall in love before you marry. ‘Tis the way of the MacGreagors.”

  Cautious no longer, Glorie took Maon’s hand and let him help her get settled. She waited until the other women had meat and were seated before she tasted hers. Then she tore off one small bite at a time and put it in her mouth. She hoped to make it last as long as possible. Another, even larger piece of meat appeared in her bowl and she looked up to see Maon’s smile. She quickly looked at Neil and when he nodded to reassure her, she grinned. Life with the MacGreagors was starting out very well. For now, she was not going to worry about what bad things were probably in store for them.

  As they ate, Greer told them of the MacGreagor edict that demanded any man who hurt a woman or a child be put to death. The women, she explained, had to be very careful not to bear false witness in this regard, as it could cost a man his life. She tried not to frighten them, but she had to explain about the shortage of women in Scotland and that some clans had turned to kidnapping to find wives.

  “Then we will be in danger?” asked Dora.

  “Aye, but our lads are good fighters and they will protect us. I only tell you, to explain that when Neil says to do something, he says it for your safety and you are to obey quickly and without question. Do you understand?” Each of them nodded and then began to ask all kinds of questions about the life they would have in Scotland.

  Sometimes the men laughed at their questions and sometimes the women laughed at the answers. It helped ease the tension and before long, half the men were sitting down to listen. And about one thing all the men were very interested—there were rumors of a war between Scotland and England and the women were not short of gossip on that subject. Over what, the women could not say for certain, just that there were rumors of a war.

  Neil closed his eyes for a moment. “Perhaps we moved north just in time.”

  WITH THAT MANY MEN, they were assigned guard duty for only two hours each so they would all get plenty of sleep. As they always did, their laird and the women slept inside the circle with the men outside to protect them. Neil spread his plaid on the ground, stretched out and covered himself. Then he turned on his side and rose up on one elbow to face Greer. “If we continue to go from farm to farm it will take forever.”

  Greer snuggled deeper into her bedding for warmth. “I agree. Besides, I expect the lord of the manor we just took these lasses from has already alerted others. We should go farther south and find a festival.”

  “A festival ‘tis then.” He tucked Greer’s plaid under her chin, smiled and rolled over to get some rest.

  ONLY SIX MACGREAGOR warriors, including Donnahail, had any desire to spend time in the company of the English. Some worried that six were not enough to protect their laird, but Neil decided too many might draw undue attention.

  Most of the men much preferred to stay with the dairy maids. At one of the farms, they snatched paint and those who went had fun paintings on their cheeks. The artist was proud of the job he did of hiding Kadick’s mark. For her, he painted a large butterfly. Neil allowed his face to be painted too, but not without some kidding from Greer who thought the picture of the apple looked more like the rear end of a horse.

  Even with Greer’s coaching, the Highlanders were not prepared for the likes of an English Festival. As soon as they arrived, they were met with music, sweet smells, colorful clothing and laughter. No one seemed to notice or even care about their painted faces since the traveling minstrels and troubadours wore paint on their faces as well.

  Other Highlanders were there, although none of the MacGreagors recognized the kilt colors or tried to get acquainted. They were there to find wives, not make new friends and Greer soon picked out a couple of young women to talk to.

  An abundance of tables were heavy laden with beef, pork, mutton, venison, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables, bread and pastries. The tables also held fruits, nuts, wine, ale, cider, and mead to the delight of all in attendance.

  Neil tasted mead and found the spiced honey drink pleasing. A couple of the men sampled two kinds of ocean fish—dolphin and porpoise. They did not find either to their liking. As the MacGreagors meandered through the crowd, other merchants offered silks, herbs and livestock including oxen, pig, goose, starling, chicken and vultures.

  Still more merchants called out trying to sell grapes, plums, wild cherries, currents, figs, dates, prunes, onions, garlic, peas, beans, apples and pears. Some of the apples and pears were roasted and laced with spices. Neil reminded himself to stop on the way back and trade a belt for apple seeds. The old apple tree by the loch was the one thing he missed most at his old home.

  Next, they visited the dancing animals and then went to watch some jugglers and see a mystery play. Kadick was delighted with the dancing animals and turned back before they reached the mystery play. She didn’t know the paint was not covering all of her mark, or that a stranger wearing a multicolored English coat and a jester hat was watching her. Neil noticed and so did Donnahail. As soon as the stranger began to approach, Neil stepped in front of her and Donnahail moved to her side so he could pull her out of the way if need be.

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  “A lad tried to approach you,” said Donnahail.

  “Well is that not why I am here? How am I to find a husband if the two of you constantly guard me?”

  She was right. Neil smiled and moved aside, but Donnahail was not so obliging. “Not that lad.”

  “How do you know? You have not even talked to him. I wish to see for myself.”

  Reluctantly Donnahail moved away too, but he stayed within reach fearing the man might try to snatch Kadick away.

  Grinning more profusely than he should, the stranger rocked forward and backward on the balls of his feet. “See here, lass, I see you have a mark. You best be staying with us where we can take good care of you.”

  She could not understand a thing he said and looked to Neil to interpret. When Neil finished, she was not sure what to think of the man’s remarks, but she smiled as though she understood.

  “I too have an oddity.” He held out his hands and showed two thumbs on each, although the extra appendages were wrinkled and deformed. “People pay handsomely to see my hands and they’ll do the same for you. ‘Tis a good living. You best stay with me, lass, so as I can care for you.”

  Neil interpreted, noticed the anger boiling up in Donnahail’s eyes and once more stepped in front of Kadick. “She stays with us.”

  “I mean no harm, but she is an oddity like me. She should be with like-minded people is all. Might as well make a profit too, whilst she is at it...is all. Might just as well.”

  It was all Neil could do to contain his own anger. No one called his Kadick an oddity, not while he was there. He realized his fists were clenched tight and forced himself to relax before one of his men noticed. Then he turned, took hold of Kadick’s arm and guided her away from the man. “We should not have brought you here.”

  She smiled and looked her laird in the eye. “I will not marry that one no matter how hard you beg. He has too many thumbs.”

  Neil laughed and marveled at her ability to relieve his tension. “Have you seen enough of this place?”

  Kadick pulled her arm away from Neil’s grasp and turned around. “I have not seen nearly enough. I wish to see a mystery play. I believe ‘tis about a Bible story Millin told me once. And then perhaps...”

  SMALL GROUPS OF MEN were gathered in various spots taking part in archery contests, hammer throwing and horseshoes, while others shot dice, cast lots, or wrestled. Women cheered them on, some dressed in English finery and some in the clothing of the commoners.

  In the opposite direction, brightly dressed Jesters played the part of buffoons in an English court while others performed acrobatics or contortions. Mummers wore costumes and danced while still more minstrels sang of glorious English legends. For once, Neil
was glad his men did not speak the language.

  Yet other songs were of love and when he looked at his men again, he realized they had lost their purpose. It was sport, not love on the mind of his warriors. On the other hand, Greer seemed to be doing quite well, and had already attracted several women who appeared to be excited. With luck, they would be leaving England with more than just four brides-to-be.

  Neil and Donnahail indulged Kadick’s every wish and when she grew tired, they stopped to barter for apples and then signaled to Greer. When she came to him, five women followed. The MacGreagor men were busy winning most of the games, and when he looked again, Neil noticed the English and other Scottish contenders were none too happy about it. All it took was one whistle and his men dropped their games and came running.

  Delighted to see the women, they escorted them away from the festival toward their hidden horses, but before they mounted, Neil turned to Greer. “Are they fully aware of what they are doing?”

  “Aye.” Greer turned to face Donnahail so he could lift her onto her horse. “I asked them three times if they wished to change their minds and as you can see, they eagerly followed me.”

  Already the women were considering the men who were helping them mount the horses. This time they neglected to bring extra horses and had to ride double. With one extra woman, Donnahail put two small women behind Greer on her horse. Then he took Kadick’s hand and led her to his horse. “You will ride with me, little sister.” He lifted her onto his horse and then swung up behind her.

  Neil took the lead and in a few moments, Greer got the women quieted so the men could make sure they were not being followed. When Neil glanced back, he noticed Donnahail was stopped and it concerned him until he realized why. The width of Donnahail’s horse was too great and Kadick’s legs were sticking straight out, so Donnahail was helping her turn sideways. Neil smiled. He could not have chosen a better husband for Kadick than Donnahail. Donnahail’s reaction at the festival was enough to convince Neil that the lad was fully and completely in love, even if he did not know it yet. Neil let out a long sigh of relief. His biggest worry—finding a husband for Kadick—was taking care of itself.