“Slink!” she called out, happy to see the pine marten.
“It’s MacKeefe’s doitit pet,” he growled. “I’ll put an end to the blamed thing as well.”
“Ye willna touch my lass or my pet,” came a deep voice from the dark. Then a man stepped out of the shadows and she saw it was Caleb.
“Caleb!” she cried out, so happy to see him.
“Put down the blade, Valan, and come back to the castle with me.”
“Are ye out of yer mind?” snapped the man.
“Ye can come back with me to get the sentence ye deserve, or I can kill ye now. Yer choice.”
“All right, I’ll come back with ye,” said the man.
“Lay down yer sword.”
Valan bent down to put the sword on the ground, but when he did, Bridget saw him sneak a dagger out of his boot.
“Caleb, he’s got a dagger,” she shouted, as Valan attacked, trying to stab Caleb.
It only took one thrust of his sword through the man’s heart to stop Valan. His body fell dead at Caleb’s feet.
“Bridget, are ye all right, lass?” Caleb rushed into the cave and untied her hands. She threw her arms around him, and hugged him, never wanting to let him go.
“Caleb, I was so frightened. We need to get back to the cave by the castle because he’s got my faither and Sim tied up there.”
“Och, lass, I’m sorry,” said Caleb, holding her tightly. Bridget felt a pain shoot through her heart because she knew what that meant.
“Is my faither dead?”
“Aye, lass, he is.”
“I’ll miss him, Caleb,” she said, crying on his shoulder. He picked her up in his arms and headed to his horse.
“Come on, Slink,” Caleb called out. “We’re goin’ home.”
Chapter 26
Bridget awoke the next morning in Caleb’s arms lying in the bed in the chamber that she and her father used to share. Caleb had stayed with her all night long, not wanting to leave her. She was glad because she needed him now more than ever. Slink was atop the covers, staring at them both.
“Guid mornin’, Slink,” she said, running a hand over the pine marten’s head.
“I’ve never seen such a bonnie sight,” said Caleb in a sleepy voice, his arm still around her. He lay on his back smiling up at her.
“Me, or Slink?” she asked him playfully.
“What do ye think?” he said with a seductive grin.
“Well, I ken how fond ye are of yer pine marten, so I’m no’ sure.”
“I might be fond of Slink, but I dinna want to marry him like I do ye.”
“Really, Caleb?” she asked, sitting up, staring down at him. “Are ye askin’ me to marry ye?”
“Ye ken I’ve been in love with ye from the moment I met ye, Bridget. I was tryin’ to win that contest money and land before I officially asked ye. I wanted to make sure I could give ye a guid home and a proper life, since it is what ye deserve.”
“I dinna need ye to give me anythin’ but a home with ye and the MacKeefes. However, I’m sorry ye didna win, Caleb, because ye deserved to. I heard talk last night that ye distracted the guards and dogs so Clement could make it to the finish line. Is this true?”
“It is true, lass.” He pulled her back down, hugging her, and Slink shot off the bed.
“Why would ye do somethin’ like that?”
“I will tell ye because I dinna want to ever have secrets between us. However, I want ye to promise me that ye willna tell anyone else.”
“I promise,” she said.
“Clement is a proud man and didna want anyone to ken, but his clan is in desperate need of that prize money. He just got caught up in makin’ a bad decision and never should have thought he could work with, or trust Valan.”
“What do you mean?”
Caleb explained to her exactly what happened, and Bridget could see now why Caleb chose to let Clement win the competition. “Ye did the right thing, Caleb. And I will keep Clement’s secret. I believe he has a guid heart and doesna deserve to be punished or die because of the things that Valan did.”
“But yer faither is dead, lass.”
“That wasna Clement’s fault. My da was auld and no’ in guid health. He couldna endure Valan’s beatin’. I will miss him, Caleb. He is the only family I had left.”
“I ken, lass. I will miss him, too.”
“There is somethin’ I need to tell ye, too,” she said, explaining to him Sorley and Sim’s secret, and also how much Sorley wanted to be the king’s chronicler. “Please dinna tell their secret.”
“I willna,” said Caleb. “I am glad that Sorley didna die. I think this will be a perfect opportunity for him to take over the position now that yer faither is no’ here to do it.”
“In a way, I think I’ll miss writin’ in the chronicles,” she told him. “It made me feel special, even if I couldna tell anyone what I did.”
“Ye are special, lass. And I will always think so, no matter what ye do. Now, stop playin’ games with me and tell me, will ye be my wife or no’?”
“Och, Caleb,” she said with a giggle. “I didna think I had to tell ye because I thought ye already kent. Aye, I want to be yer wife because ye are the man I love.”
She kissed him, sealing their promise of a new life together.
“Caleb, get yer arse out of bed. The king wants to see ye,” came Logan’s voice as he pounded on the door.
“The king?” Caleb shot up in bed. “I’ll be right there,” he told Logan, hurriedly starting to dress. “I wonder what he wants. I almost forgot that he was still here.”
“Calm down, Caleb. I’m sure it’s nothin’ bad,” said Bridget, dressing as well.
“How can ye say that?” he asked. “I let the king down. I was his champion and I didna win the Leader of the Lairds.”
“Caleb,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “No matter what happens, I am here for ye. Now, take a deep breath and release it and just relax. We’ll go see the king together.”
Five minutes later, Caleb and Bridget walked hand in hand out to the courtyard where the king was waiting atop his horse with his guards and entourage of men all around him.
“I’m sorry to keep ye waitin’, Yer Majesty,” said Caleb with a bow as he approached his horse. Bridget curtsied.
“Bridget, I wanted to see ye as well,” said the king. “I am sorry about yer faither.”
“Thank ye, Sire,” she replied softly. “I have the Highland Chronicles that ye requested.” She took the book out of a bag she carried. “I’m sorry that my faither wasna able to finish recordin’ the results of the Leader of the Lairds competition.”
The king nodded to one of his men to take the book from her. “I will cherish the Highland Chronicles and I will always think of Brigham, my loyal chronicler and friend, when I read it. I think he deserves a mention in this book as well.”
“I’m sorry that there is no one to write it,” said Bridget.
“Oh, but there is,” he said with a chuckle.
“There is?” Bridget’s head snapped up and, for a moment, she thought the king was going to say her. “As soon as Sorley recovers, he will be my new chronicler. I am goin’ to ask him to add yer faither to the book as well.”
“Thank ye, Sire,” she said with a nod. “I am ever so grateful. It would have made my faither very happy.”
“Now, Caleb,” said the king. “I need to talk to ye about what ye did in the competition. Storm MacKeefe and Clement MacLean, please come forward as well.”
Caleb felt as if he were about to be chastised by everyone, since he let down his clan as well as his king. He saw his friends Logan, Hawke, and Ethan watching from nearby, and a crowd gathered around him.
“I never did announce this year’s winner of the Leader of the Lairds Competition,” said the king.
“But . . . I was disqualified, and Clement is the winner.” Caleb looked up to him in question.
“Aye, and nay,” said the king.
; “I’m sorry, Yer Majesty, but I dinna understand,” said Caleb.
“Clement MacLean told me that ye sacrificed yer chance at winnin’ the contest, distractin’ the guards and the dogs because ye believed ye werena worthy of winnin’ since ye are no’ a laird.”
“Well . . . I . . .” He glanced over to Clement. The man nodded at him. “I guess so,” he said.
“That was noble of ye,” said the king. “I have no doubt in my head that with yer abilities, ye could have won that contest easily. Yet, ye didna want to take the prize away from one who is a true laird.”
“I think the prize should go to one who is a laird since it is a competition for lairds only,” Caleb answered.
“But ye were playin’ in my stead,” Storm reminded him, still sounding sore.
“Aye. And I am sorry I let ye and the clan down, Storm,” apologized Caleb. “And Yer Majesty, I am sorry to have let ye down as well.”
The king laughed. “Ye didna let me down. I am proud of what ye did, Caleb.”
“Ye are?” Caleb looked up in surprise.
“That is why I am goin’ to split the prize between ye and Clement MacLean, and I am goin’ to let ye determine what part of the prize ye want.”
“Me? Nay, I couldna,” said Caleb. “I’m no’ sure that would be fair to Clement.”
“He was the one who suggested the idea to me,” said King Robert. “So what part of the prize do ye want for yerself?”
“Well, let me think.” Caleb’s pine marten had followed him out into the courtyard. He picked Slink up and petted it as he looked first at Storm and then over to Clement. It was an odd position to be in, but Caleb knew how to answer.
“I’d like the prize money to go to Clement and his clan,” said Caleb, getting a smile from Clement but a frown from Storm. “And I’d like the land to go to the MacKeefes and the crown and brooch, as well as the title of bein’ winner of the Leader of the Lairds to go to our reignin’ champion, Storm MacKeefe.” Everyone was smiling now, and the crowd started to cheer and call out his name. That made Caleb feel proud and happy.
“That’s a selfless act, Caleb,” said the king. “But ye didna choose anythin’ for yerself.”
“I dinna need anythin’, Yer Majesty, because I have everythin’ I will ever want. Ye see, Bridget has agreed to become my wife.”
The crowd cheered again.
“We’re so happy for you two,” Wren called out.
“Then let me at least throw ye a weddin’ that ye will never forget at my castle,” said the king.
“I dinna think that is necessary, but thank ye,” said Caleb. “That is, unless Bridget wants a grand weddin’. But I would be happy to be married in the Highlands where I feel most at home. I am but a simple man, Sire.”
“A simpleton is more like it,” he heard Logan mumble, sending a chuckle up from the crowd.
“I agree with Caleb,” Bridget spoke up. “I like it in the Highlands and a simple weddin’ with the MacKeefe Clan is all I need.”
“Then so be it,” said the king. “But because I respect ye, I am goin’ to send the money I would have spent on yer weddin’ to the MacKeefe Clan to pay for the expenses that incurred because of the bad weather and havin’ to feed all those extra people.”
“Thank ye, Sire,” Storm spoke up, looking very happy now.
“My King, if I may be so bold, I would ask ye for one small request on Caleb’s behalf,” Bridget said next.
“What is yer request, my dear?” said the king.
“I ask that Caleb gets mentioned in the Highland Chronicles, for his noble choices and also for savin’ my life.”
“Sorley, did ye hear that?” asked the king.
“Aye, Yer Majesty,” called out Sorley from the back of a wagon. Sim stuck his head up as well, traveling with Sorley. “I will make certain that Caleb MacKeefe is honored in the book of the Highland Chronicles that Bridget’s faither started about the MacKeefe Clan.”
“I’ll be leavin’ then,” said the king. “And my best wishes for yer weddin’, Caleb and Bridget.”
As Caleb watched the king’s entourage ride away, he didn’t regret a single decision, because he felt richer than the king himself. After all, Bridget Ogilvy was about to become his wife.
Epilogue
One year later
“Caleb, dinna let Slink lick the bairn’s face,” Bridget called out from the bed, having just birthed their first baby. It was a boy with dark, curly hair, just like Caleb’s.
“But Slink wants to see Baby Brigham,” Caleb told her. They’d named their boy after Bridget’s late father. Caleb held the baby in one arm and the pine marten in the other.
“Give me the bairn and go and open the door and let everyone in,” Bridget told him, pulling the covers higher and taking the baby from him.
“Naw, let’s just keep this all to ourselves for now,” suggested Caleb.
“Caleb?” she said with a raised brow. “Ye ken everyone is excited to see the new bairn.”
“Aye,” agreed Caleb’s sister, Trea, who had helped Wren to deliver Bridget’s baby. Wren cleaned her hands on a towel and smiled from ear to ear. “If ye dinna open the door, I’m afraid yer friends are goin’ to climb in through the window.”
Caleb looked over his shoulder to see Hawke, Logan, and Ethan, pushing each other out of the way, trying to peer in the window at the baby.
“Let them in, Caleb,” Bridget told him once again.
“All right.” With Slink in one arm, he pulled open the door, and almost got trampled by the stampede of MacKeefes pushing into the room all eager to see the new arrival.
“I told ye it would be a lad,” said Hawke.
“Nay, ye said it would be a lass,” Ethan told him. “And ye owe me some money on that bet.”
“Let me through,” said Logan, walking into the room with his new daughter in his arms. His wife, Rhoswen, birthed little Kina just last week. His wolf followed him into the room and hurried over to lay down in the corner.
“Phoebe, come see the bairn,” Hawke called out.
“Aye, hurry Alana,” Ethan called to his wife, plopping down on the edge of the bed to see the new baby.
“We’ve got our hands full and canna move as fast as ye two.” Alana walked in carrying her and Ethan’s baby girl, Lorna. Right behind her was Logan’s wife, Rhoswen, and also Hawke’s wife, Phoebe, who held their son, Falcon, in her arms.
“He’s a bonnie baby,” said Alana.
“He looks just like Caleb,” commented Rhoswen.
“Dinna insult the lad,” Logan told his wife.
Caleb’s parents, Ian and Kyla, rushed into the hut with Caleb’s sister, Finnea, and his brothers, Finn, Quinn, and Grant, next. The small house was becoming very crowded.
“Can I hold our grandson?” asked Kyla, walking to Bridget with her arms outstretched.
“Of course,” said Bridget, handing the baby to Caleb’s mother.
“Make room for Storm,” said Finn, moving over, smashing his brothers against the wall. Storm limped in without his staff. His foot was healed, but ever since the caber had broken his toe, he’d not been able to move as quickly as before.
“The lad is a true MacKeefe,” said Storm with pride “The MacKeefe Clan certainly is growin’.”
With that, Trapper rushed into the room next. The big dog barked and put its paws on Ethan’s shoulders, knocking him off the bed. Then the hound started licking Ethan in the face. Apollo, Hawke’s red tail hawk, landed on a post just outside the door.
“Bridget, I’m sorry that you don’t have any family to see what a bonnie, healthy bairn you have birthed,” said Wren.
“I do miss my family, but I am so happy that I’m no’ barren, that nothin’ could make me sad today,” admitted Bridget, taking the baby back from Kyla, hugging the infant to her chest. Caleb sat down and put his arm around her shoulders, staring down at his new son. He still held Slink in his other hand.
“I love ye, Bridget,” said Caleb, ki
ssing her on the mouth. “And I love ye, Baby Brigham,” he added, kissing the baby, too.
“Och, he’s probably goin’ to kiss that weasel next,” said Logan with a roll of the eyes.
“Slink is no’ a weasel,” said Caleb, kissing his pet on the head.
His friends all moaned and laughed.
“Caleb, now that ye have a son, ye may no’ want to keep treatin’ Slink like a child,” said Ethan from the floor.
“I’ll never ignore Slink, no matter how many bairns I have,” Caleb told them.
“It’s just a weasel,” said Hawke, purposely calling Slink that because his friends always teased him in that manner. Caleb didn’t let himself get upset by it anymore.
“That’s no’ the way I see it.” Caleb held up the pine marten and stared it in the eyes. “After all, I was on a mission for the king as a spy and Slink helped me out more than ye’ll ever ken. If it wasna for him, I might no’ have gotten to Bridget in time to save her.”
“Mayhap ye should just give the damned thing a title,” jested Storm.
“King Weasel?” asked Logan, with a chuckle.
“Sir Weasel,” Ethan corrected him, trying to get out from under his dog.
“Stop it,” Caleb told his friends in a low voice. “If Slink is goin’ to have a title, there is only one thing it could possibly be – Highland Spy.”
From the Author
The Highland Chronicles Series has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed Caleb and Bridget’s story because I had a fun time writing it. Especially when it came to Caleb’s cute little pet weasel . . . I mean pine marten. (Don’t tell Caleb I said that.) Caleb ended up being my favorite of the four friends.
If you have a spare moment and you enjoyed Highland Spy, I would love if you left a review for me. If you missed Caleb’s friends’ stories, I’ve listed the entire series here:
Highland Storm – Book 1 (Hawke)
Highland Spirit – Book 2 (Ethan)
Highland Steel – Book 3 (Logan)
Highland Spy – Book 4 (Caleb)
Highland Spy: Highland Chronicles Series - Book 4 Page 21