He answered by taking her face in his hands, and after telling her, ‘I’m always proud of ye, bonnie lass,’ he kissed her. She tasted the sweet warmth of whisky on his breath and realised he had drunk enough spirits to feel lively. ‘As far as I’m concerned, I’m every bit as proud of ye wearing naught but yer skin, oops—’ Putting a finger to his lip, he whispered, ‘Dinnae tell Aileen I said that. And ye ken fine I like aught ye wear.’
Her face burned. Though they had taken it for granted, taken Aileen’s word that she was a Selkie, her father had always impressed on her that lying by omission only make it convenient, not acceptable.
The truth was that through little bits of conversation she had overheard betwixt Niall’s daughters, she had discovered that they thought Aileen had hidden the Selkie skin about the place and, like any secret, they were always wondering where. All Celestina could think was Aileen had hidden what remained of her silk shift, the only garment Celestina had worn when she leapt from the San Miguel.
‘Ach dinnae blush. Jack thought ye were bonnie as well, but I made sure he is well aware ye are mine. He jested with me that he thought ye were Spanish,’ he chortled, ‘but I didnae tell him the truth. He wouldn’t have believed me. The folk from down Inverness way believe they have a monster in their loch, but they have nae faith in the likes of Selkies.’
The lies were pulling her down deeper, and she had a sudden flash of conscience that murmured, Mayhap ye should have drowned. All I could find voice to ask was, ‘What is Spanish?’
‘The Spanish are the army I’ve been fighting for the French.’ Again she gave him a vague look of bewilderment, and he laughed again, circling her shoulders with his arm and said, ‘It’s a conundrum lass, but it willnae always be that way, ye can depend on me.’
Niall
Sellie blanched a little and he wondered if he had frightened her with talk of monsters, as if anyone but a Grant would believe in such a thing as a Loch Ness monster.
He pulled Sellie close into his side. ‘Aileen will be putting dinner on the table. We had better get down there before she gets wild with us. Oh, and by the by, we’re eating in the Hall tonight since we have company, so bring yer best manners.’
Silent, she lifted her big blue eyes to his and he saw everything he loved about her reflected in them. The way he felt might merely be the effect of the whisky, yet he was certain that in all their years together, Flora had never moved him the way his Selkie bride did. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t jest that way with ye, since with being a Selkie, ye probably dinnae understand the dry Scot’s sense of humour. I didnae mean ye have nae manners.’
Her face lit up. Next moment she stood on her tiptoes and landed a kiss on his chin. It bemused him how much she had learned in such a short time.
Selkie magic.
He wasnae complaining. She brought it with her wherever she went.
Especially when they were together in bed. Now that was what he called magic.
Downstairs, Jack was on his best behaviour, though Niall would have sworn his friend had put away more whisky than he had. Niall had always been aware the Grants were a proud clan. Jack’s father being brother to the Chieftain hadnae done Jack any favours. If aught, there was always a suspicion that the brother’s family were bound to be envious, that Jack or his brother might be responsible for the slightest accident that befell one of the Chieftain’s family—a problem that had troubled the country for centuries. From Kings down to subjects, Scots were a fierce lot.
The bow Jack made to Sellie was as grand as anyone would see at court, not that court was much of one anymore since Mary Queen of Scots fell under the harsh gaze of the Protestants. They were fortunate in the North; at least those whose politics drew them to the court in Edinburgh and Stirling didnae think much about yon wild ignorant Highlanders.
What did surprise him was the low curtsy that Sellie made in return. Ach aye, his lass had learned a lot from his daughters in the weeks since he pulled her from the sea; and though it puzzled him at times, he was pleased about how smartly she picked little things up. The more she learned, the better it would be for them both when it came to meeting his father. The McDonall had a guid sense of his own importance. That’s why he had picked Flora for him.
It would be grand to be able to inform his father that he wasnae always right.
Not that Niall would dare tell him the truth.
That was his secret and, aye, mayhap Sellie’s, but his lass would never betray his confidences of that he could be certain. This time his marriage would be based on trust.
Chapter 14
Celestina
Since Niall had been adamant that Celestina stay away from the beach, his daughters, sympathising with her had said, ‘Pa is cruel, but we willnae leave ye here alone. We can all be banned. So, Sellie, what can we do to amuse ourselves?’
Aileen had a solution. ‘Listening to yer Pa, it’s likely the Keep is about be inundated with visitors. I cannae remember the last time that happened. Flora wasnae one for entertaining guests—mind ye. Niall was away a lot, him and Jack Grant, in the pay of the French King. Fighting the Spaniards he was. Spain must be a huge country to have enough soldiers to fight not only the French and the Dutch in the Netherlands, but to go chasing after the English in ships, as Jack Grant was telling us. I cannae imagine a place that big.’
Celestina could, yet she hadn’t been much farther than Coruña and the estates around the city. If her father could only see her now!
She had devised a game with Niall’s lasses, who had taken her on a tour of all the chambers in the Keep. Together they had decided what should be done to bring all the guest chambers up to a standard that Niall could not find fault with, or rather his father and his entourage. According to Niall, his father never travelled alone. Even in this time of enlightenment, the Highlands still were a place where outlaws lived by robbing unwary travellers. If they had been on an equal footing with no pretence, she might have told him that Spain was no different and mayhap jested with him that in Spain, they were called French mercenaries. Their task done, they reported to Aileen, and she despatched the maids to carry out the housework.
Niall himself gave out orders about the arrangements of the late steward’s quarters for the priest, separate from the Keep, placing a plain narrow bed with a crucifix on the wall above it. She felt that Niall wanted to give the priest he had sent for no cause for complaint—or any reason to question Niall about her antecedents or family. Strange that Niall could not imagine a Selkie having a family. Surely every living being came from someone—a thought that slipped easily into another more worrisome notion that had recently began to linger in her mind: when was the last time she had experienced her menses?
Had Niall even considered that Selkies might bleed every month, or did the fact that she had not come under Niall’s favourite explanation: Selkie magic?
The inspecting game that had kept her as well as the lasses busy from morning until evening during the past two days was finished at last. Should Niall’s father deign to arrive as Niall anticipated, his apartments would be fit for a king. Naught but the best for the McDonall Chieftain. As for Niall, he and Jack had ridden out each morning, and she could only suppose he was inspecting Inverbrevie’s demesne, with much the same purpose in mind as the women of his household with regard to the Keep.
When she had a moment free, Celestina’s thoughts would wander to her father. Would he have been happy with her choices? Somehow she doubted that. Hand-fasting might be considered acceptable amongst the lairds and ladies of the Highlands but would have horrified Xavier del Vargas, a strict Catholic. What would the priest think of a lass who slept with a man before marriage? Should she attend confession, or would that be too dangerous?
At last she and the lasses reached the top of the Keep. The views were unbelievable, and suddenly the crenulations appeared far too low. ‘Keep back from the edge, lasses, it’s a long way to the ground.’ Her warning simply made the lasses jig around with one thing on each of thei
r tiny minds.
‘We want see how high we are, Sellie.’ The way they were cavorting sent a shiver down her spine.
‘Very well. One at time, and I will hold yer hand and each of ye can look at one side and tell me what ye can see.’ Celestina looked round the eager little faces. ‘Nod if ye agree.’ They all did.
Ygraen looked out to the bay. ‘Look at the waves. I love the sea, but then I expect ye care for it more than I do. Pa acted funny when we went to the beach, but he will go away again, and we will take ye, Sellie.’
Celestina did not know what shocked her more, Ygraen’s certainty that her father would leave them again, or that Ygraen cared enough for her to disobey him. As if to confirm her thoughts, Ygraen said, ‘Pa’s worried about the seals, but ye willnae go back to them and leave us, will ye? We love ye, Sellie’—a confession that made Celestina put her arms around Ygraen to give her a hug.
‘Come now, it’s Beth’s turn,’ Celestina murmured, taking Ygraen to stand with her sisters. ‘Give me yer hand Beth; we’ll look to the north and see what ye can tell us.’
‘I can see the mountains. The heather is dying off and looks almost red instead of purple.’ A second later she began to jig up and down. Celestina swiftly wrapped her arms about the lass’s shoulders with a warning Beth ignored. ‘Look, it’s Pa and Jack. I recognise their horses.’
Celestina recognised the horses as well. They were riding hard, and three other riders came up over the brae behind them. ‘They’ll be home soon. Come.’
Fiona wouldn’t be gainsaid. ‘Me first, Sellie. It’s my turn,’ she moaned, her little bottom lip sticking out, betraying her emotions.
‘As if I would forget ye, Fiona. The other two can go down together and we will follow.’ First she watched the two eldest lasses duck through the door at the top of the stairs, then took hold of Fiona’s hand. ‘Time for ye to look to the east, lass. Remember I’m a stranger and describe it to me.’
At first she stood behind Fiona betwixt two of the crenulations, as the lass was the shortest of the three. It did not make much difference. ‘I will lift ye up, but we willnae stand too close,’ she assured her and hoisted her, arms circling the youngster’s waist so that Fiona’s head restricted Celestina’s view as it bobbed in front of her. ‘So tell me what ye see.’
‘I can see Jean outside the wall with the lad who’s courting her. Then there is the loch and the track around it and, oh, a lot of riders on it.’
‘That will be yer father and Jack Grant.’
Fiona began wriggling and kicking her legs, whining, ‘Nae, nae. Let me down. It’s Grandpa. I recognise his big black horse.’
She put Fiona down and knelt beside her, smoothing her skirts down to make sure she would not look untidy in front of her grandfather. ‘There ye go, Fiona. Yer father said he thought the McDonall might accompany the priest he sent for. We were waiting to tell ye there will be a wedding, but ye must keep it secret for now.’ Patting her on the back, she gave her another wee hug, then stood up and took her hand in hers, preparing to keep a hold of her as they went down the narrow winding steps from the rooftop.
‘If I can keep secrets, ye ken. I never told anyone that Gordon pushed Mam down the stairs, because he said it must be our secret. But please, I dinnae want to go near Grandpa’s horse. Will ye protect me from it? The horse rolls his eyes all white and red and snaps its teeth. I’m scared it might eat me.’
Shocked, not about the horse but the secret, Celestina hauled Fiona into her arms, her mind spinning. ‘I’m going to be yer Ma, Fiona, and I promise, I will never let any man or any horse hurt ye.’
Hand in hand, they slowly took the steps downward until they reached the nursery floor. ‘Go wait with yer sisters in the nursery and tell them yer Grandpa is here, then meet me there; I must take off my apron and brush my hair. It won’t take long, then we can all go down to meet yer grandpa together.’
She kept her expression calm, her face smooth as milk, though she wanted to sob or scream. How would she let Niall know of the secret Fiona had kept since her mother died—nae, was killed. She still did not really know whether Niall had loved his wife or how he would feel. Angry? Sad? What a terrible secret to place on the head of a young child that might, too, have been pushed down the stairs to her death.
She was sure of only one truth: Niall could not hang the scoundrel twice.
Niall
He had seen his father’s party from a distance, and now he and Jack were racing home so Niall could be there to greet the McDonall. Trust him to arrive without warning.
Sellie and the others in the Keep had been working hard to make sure all the chambers were clean and tidy for the McDonall’s expected visit. What he hadnae expected was the number of people he had brought with him.
‘We must warn the stable hands and grooms that the stables are going to be full. Some of the mounts might have to be stabled outside; mayhap the ponies belonging to the lasses can be shifted and put out to grass.’
Jack snorted. ‘It’s always the bairns who get put upon. I remember being at the end of the line. Though my father was nae more than a year younger than his brother, our family counted for next to naught.’ He sounded bitter, and having heard his story a time or two, Niall couldnae say he blamed him.
In the Bailey they quickly dismounted and Niall set his friend to work. ‘Jack, warn the stables to expect an invasion while I tell Aileen. I’m not worried that she isnae prepared, but that’s a horde…’
Niall couldn’t understand what the McDonall was up to. What he did ken was that a crowd that large would quite literally eat into their stores at a time of year when they couldn’t readily be replaced. During his tours of the property, checking out the Keep’s resources and lack thereof, he had suggested to Jack they do a bit of hunting to refill the larder. He had been surprised to find so few carcasses hanging in the cold room. Mayhap Gordon had expected to feed little more than the bairns. Niall was well aware that Gordon’s kind didnae care much for anyone but their own selves; maids and the like didnae count.
He burst in through the kitchen door. ‘Aileen the McDonall’s here, and he has brought a troop of hangers-on. I hope we have food enough to give them supper.’
‘Supper? The McDonall will hang around for longer than that if he discovers ye mean to marry Sellie.’
Aileen was right. Although he thought his father was bound to show up, he hadnae worked out how to explain Sellie. The McDonall would never accept that his son and heir had found a Selkie on the beach. Niall’s father didnae believe in much except himself. Supreme head of the McDonall clan since before Niall was born, his word was law.
Striding out of the kitchen, he marched to the entrance hall and threw the doors open wide just in time for the McDonall’s party to ride under the gatehouse arch and into the Bailey. His father hadnae visited since Niall came back from France. Truth be known, he hadnae seen his father for almost two years, and he had been happy for him to stay away.
Who wouldn’t be when on each visit his father had gone out of his way to remind him he had still to father a son? That didnae stop the McDonall from spoiling the lasses when he had the chance, particularly when it was something contrary to Niall’s wishes that could get them into trouble. As long as Niall could remember, the McDonall had been the sort to poke a beehive, stir everything up, then walk away without being stung.
Niall made his stance atop the steps down into the Bailey, feet apart and arms akimbo, and watched his father ride up without any attempt to dismount. It was a habit of the McDonall’s, but Niall wasnae that happy to see him and, frowning, said, ‘I only wanted the priest. Ye didnae need to bring him yerself.’ As if to show he believed his father capable of such an unselfish act, he finished, by saying, ‘But happen yer just passing through and intent on visiting somewhere other than Inverbrevie, since ye have brought a guid crowd with ye?’
‘As Laird of Inverbrevie, I expect ye to be able to cope with aught,’ the McDonall told him. By now, he sho
uld be used to his father taking credit for Niall being the laird. He hadnae given the Keep to Niall, but he had arranged his marriage to Flora, and the Keep had been part of her dowry. Then the Inverbrevie lands and demesne became a branch of the McDonall clan. Aye the clan had a new Sept, and it hadnae cost the McDonall a penny, then or now.
‘Yer right as usual, Father, and yer all welcome. Though it was the priest we were hoping to welcome, it will be nice to have some new company. The bairns will love it.’ Let his father make what he liked of that.
For an instant his eyes swept over the riders behind his father, expecting to see the priest. The result made him hesitate, then, with a sweep of an arm, he invited his father inside. ‘Come away inside, and bring yer friends. Yer men can sleep in the stables and take care of yer mounts.’ With that, he turned on his heel, walked through the large door and left his father and his party to trail in behind him.
Niall didnae draw breath until he entered the Great Hall as Flora had been wont to call it, nae matter that it was but half the size of his father’s. His glance over the group the McDonall had brought had shown two women at the rear, one of them with flowing red hair.
He felt his stomach twist as if gripped in a bear trap.
Not again.
The sound of the kitchen door swinging open snatched his attention as one of his daughters called, ‘Pa!’
It was Fiona and with her were Sellie, his two other daughters and Aileen. He looked at his family—aye he included Aileen and Sellie in its number—saw they were clean and tidy and asked, ‘Ye heard then?’
‘The lasses were on the roof and saw them ride up. Sellie made sure they were ready for company,’ Aileen said. He flashed Sellie a quick smile of thanks, while his mind turned over all the twists and turns his father’s visit might send him on.
Before he could say more, the McDonall’s voice boomed into the Hall, ‘What kind of welcome is this for your guests?’ His large presence followed his voice into the Great Hall.
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