Morna's Legacy: Box Set #1

by Bethany Claire

  Chapter 38

  The next morning, Baodan left our bed early, and the carefree haze that covered the night before evaporated in an instant. Today, the men marched toward Cameron Castle.

  Now cold and anxious without him near me, I dressed and went in search of Bri. I knew she wouldn’t be able to confirm my suspicions, but I wanted to know if she’d exhibited similar symptoms while pregnant with Ellie.

  I found her in the kitchen, kneading dough with Rhona, Blaire, and the Conall’s beloved kitchen maid and boss of everyone, Mary.

  “Hey there. Aren’t you all glowing? Somebody didn’t get much sleep.”

  Bri winked at me, and I blushed before stepping into the kitchen.

  “’Tis just as it should be. No bride should sleep on her wedding night. Oh, how I wish I could go back to it, though I’m quite sure I doona remember how it all works.” Mary laughed and stepped away from her perfect kneading loaf, dipping her hands in a cool bucket of water to rinse them.

  “Bri, can I talk to you for a moment?”

  She smiled and stepped away to rinse as Mary had done. She grabbed my arm as she stood next to me, concern evident on her face. “Is everything alright?”

  I nodded but said nothing as I unconsciously glanced down at my stomach. Bri’s eyes widened in understanding, and she bent to whisper to me. “Of course. Let’s go.”

  As soon as I walked back into my bedchamber with Bri trailing me, I spun to face her. “I know it’s way too soon, but something just feels off. Different. How did you feel during the early stages of your pregnancy?”

  Bri smiled and nodded, “Much the same. You won’t know for certain for a few weeks, but I could sense a change within me days after I became pregnant. You’ll have to wait and see, but I very much bet that you’re right.”

  * * *

  All men sat at the ready, awaiting Baodan’s command that they begin their journey to Cameron Castle. Eoghanan knew not how Niall would try to evade him, but his brother would do his best to outsmart them all.

  If Niall chose poison as his weapon once again, at least Eoghanan would now have the antidote at the ready. He only needed to retrieve it from his bedchamber. He spotted where he left it and swiftly snatched the precious liquid up.

  He hurried back down the hallway, only stopping by chance outside Baodan’s bedchamber as the vial slipped from his hands. He bent to grab the antidote that rolled right against the bedchamber door at the exact same moment that Bri’s voice echoed inside the large room.

  Niall had to die, now more than ever, for his new sister could be with child.

  Chapter 39

  “I doona wish for ye to be frightened, lass. All will be fine. I, along with all me men, shall return safely in a few brief days.” Baodan squeezed my hands tightly as he bent to kiss me goodbye.

  “I know. I’m not scared.” He knew I lied, but thankfully he didn’t contradict me. If I allowed myself to voice my worry, I’d fall apart.

  “There will be guards all around the castle, but I doona want any of ye lassies to step outside the castle. Stay together when ye can. I expect no trouble here, but I need ye all to stay safe.”

  I nodded, hoping he would leave soon. The quicker they left, the sooner they could return. “We will. Now go.” I reached up to kiss him again. “There’s no point in delaying it. I love you.”

  “And I ye, lass.”

  He turned and mounted his horse. I looked for Eoghanan to bid him farewell but saw him missing from the group. “Where’s E-o?”

  “Right here, lass.”

  He approached me from behind, and I turned to throw my arms around him. “Stay safe, please.”

  He patted me gently on the back, and I stilled as he whispered in my ear. “Aye, I will. Ye do the same, lass. I know about the bairn.”

  I pulled away and stared at him with wide eyes. “What? How?”

  He kept his voice low. I was thankful that Baodan was too far away to hear him. “I dinna mean to, but I heard Bri as she spoke to ye.”

  “Please, don’t tell him. There’s no way to know yet. I may not be pregnant. He doesn’t need anything to distract him while he’s gone. He would only worry.”

  He smiled, and I knew he understood. There were few men as intuitive or thoughtful as Eoghanan.

  “I know, Mitsy. I only wished to ask ye to take care with yerself.”

  “Thank you. I will. Bring him back safely to me, okay?”

  He turned to leave but glanced back at me as he spoke. “Aye, I swear to ye I will. There is nothing I would no do to protect either of ye.”

  Chapter 40

  Heavy hearts filled the grand sitting room at McMillan Castle as soon as the men were gone. Each of us sat in silent prayer for the men we loved, each shallow breath a hope that all would return unharmed. The numbers were in our favor, as far as we knew, there were none at Cameron Castle who would deny them entry. Still, any time the threat of violence lingered, risk did as well.

  Desperate to lighten the mood, I moved across the room to snatch tiny Ellie out of Bri’s arms. “Come here to your Aunt Mitz. I want to squeeze those little cheeks of yours until you squeal with laughter.” Squeal she did, the moment I put her in my arms, but not from delight.

  “Alright, here you go. Just take a chill pill. I wasn’t really going to squeeze your cheeks.” Embarrassed and feeling foolish, I extended the screeching baby in her mother’s direction while the rest of the room chuckled quietly. At least I succeeded in breaking the eerie silence. “I’m going to be rotten at this.”

  “What?”

  The voice belonged to Adelle. She needed no further explanation to practically charge me from the other side of the room as she enveloped me into a hug tight enough to push the baby right out of me.

  “You’re having a baby?”

  She squealed in my ears, which did nothing to calm the already upset Ellie.

  “What?” Kenna’s voice, much like Adelle’s, echoed throughout the room.

  Before I could respond to either of them, I was squashed in between a grandmother sandwich. “No. Maybe. It’s way too early to tell. I’ve said nothing to Baodan. I didn’t mean to say anything now.”

  “What?” The same word, but said in a completely different tone as both women stepped away and glared at me disapprovingly. Kenna’s eyes were about to bug out of her head. “Ye told us before ye told him. He will no be glad to hear it, lass.”

  I wasn’t about to apologize for my decision to keep it quiet while he was away. I had no doubt they would have done the same. “I didn’t mean to tell you. I just already spoke to Bri about the possibility and when Ellie went to screaming it just slipped out. And of course I didn’t tell Baodan before he left. I don’t even know if I am, and it would only serve to distract him. That’s the last thing he needs.”

  “Aye, ye are right about that, dear.” Kenna’s eyes resumed their normal size as she ran her hand up and down my arm in a motherly fashion. “I havena been this happy in a verra long time.”

  “Don’t be.” I wanted to smack myself for speaking so loosely. “I don’t know anything. I’m probably not.”

  “Oh girly.” Adelle rushed me and threw one of her long arms around my shoulders, pressing her cheeks flat against mine. “If you really feel that you are, I expect it’s true. Your body has its ways of telling you.”

  “Exactly.” Bri winked at her mother as she teased her, bouncing Ellie up and down on her knee to soothe her.

  Adelle directed me to sit next to her near the fire. “I know that I’m not really your mother, but I consider all three of you girls,” she looked around at me, Bri, and Blaire. “part mine. I’m thrilled that I may have another grandbaby coming. And don’t you fret, Blaire. It will happen with time. When it’s meant to.”

  Blaire smiled politely, but I could see doubt in her eyes. “I hope that ye are right, Adelle. I’m verra afraid that all the years I spent saying that I dinna want children have come back to punish me now that I do.”


  Adelle waved a hand in dismissal. “Oh sweetie, that’s just not the way things work. Do you know how many people say they don’t want children and end up with a hoard? Sometimes, it just takes time.”

  Mary, the Conalls’ beloved cook and castle maid, spoke up. “Aye, and even if it doesna come, children will find ye that are no yer own but ye love them just as much as if they were. Kip and I werena able to have children, but Eoin and Arran are no less mine than if I pushed them out of meself.”

  “Have you tried to get in touch with Morna? I bet she’d be happy to help if she could.” Surely the thought crossed her mind, but I wanted to say something. I felt bad for speaking so foolishly.

  Blaire smiled genuinely and nodded, her eyes wide. “Aye, I’m sure she would help, and that is precisely why I doona wish to ask for it. I know the meddling lass too well. She would no only give me one but three at once if it pleased her. That wouldna please me at all.”

  All of us who knew Morna laughed and nodded in agreement, only stopping as Rhona entered carrying a tray of food. “’Tis no verra much, lassies, but I doona expect that any of ye have much of an appetite anyway. I dinna see the need to go to much of a fuss without the men here. Too much of the food would go to waste.”

  “Thank you. Where are all the other girls?” Despite the lifted morale that resulted in the talk of babies, a cool breeze of warning swept down the back of my neck, and I suddenly felt very uneasy.

  “They are all sleeping together in me own cottage on the castle grounds. They should be locked up safely for the evening. I wouldna allow them to go far from me while the lads are away.”

  “Good.” I waved her in so that she would move closer to us. “And you will stay here with us.”

  “If ’tis what ye wish, I shall.” She placed the tray of food in the center of the room. It didn’t take long before Adelle dug in, and shortly after the other women followed.

  Before Rhona entered, I thought myself hungry, but appetite eluded me as the sense of unease seemed to grow within me. I sat back. As I cast my attention to the darkest corners of the room, my attention drew to Nairne for the very first time that evening.

  She said nothing as the rest of us spoke, given no sign of congratulations during talk of the maybe-baby. I knew she was grief-stricken over the loss of her son, but still, it seemed to me that she stayed too quiet. Her chair set slightly away from the rest of the group, the back of it covered in darkness. The fire barely cast a light on her, but I could make little of her out from where I sat.

  I stood. Something deep within me screamed for me not to take a step near her, but I knew that I must. No one else noticed my slow approach toward her. I had to drag my feet to continue. I stopped as soon as I stood close enough to see her.

  The blood drained from my face as I looked into her eyes.

  They were open, but cold. And she could not see me.

  Chapter 41

  At The Edge of McMillan Territory

  His heart beat painfully in his chest. There was no choice but to go forward, to find his brother and end him before he could harm another person he loved, but a deep wrongness hung in the air. Each hoof step that brought him and all the men with him further away from McMillan Castle made Baodan more certain.

  “Halt!” He screamed the word, yanking hard on his horse’s reins.

  “Baodan, what are ye doing? We doona need to be away any longer than we must. Let us ride and end all of this.”

  Her heart thumped loudly in his hears. Nothing else around him, not his brother’s voice, nor the sound of horses whining at their sudden stop could overwhelm the sound of it. He yearned for Mitsy’s presence whenever away from her, but only in his dreams did he sense her presence so completely, until now. She was frightened and in danger. He could sense it.

  “Something is no right. I should have left ye with them. It wasna right of us to leave them alone.”

  Eoghanan put a hand up to hush the men behind him. “We dinna leave them alone. There are many guards in place outside the castle.”

  “Aye, but Niall knows the castle too well. He could get inside if he wished it.” If only the beating in his ears would cease; each thump drove him further into panic.

  “Do ye think it possible? Do ye have reason to believe that he is no longer at Cameron Castle?”

  “I doona know, but there is trouble at home. I canna tell ye how I know, but I do. As surely as I know me own name, I know it.”

  “What do ye want me to do? Just tell me. I’ll do it.”

  A scream in the distance in front of them prevented Baodan from answering his brother’s question. A rider approached quickly, a woman. Griogair’s widow.

  “Baodan!” She screamed his name through the trees. The panic in her voice only heightened his fear.

  “Go! Ride back home. For God’s sake keep her safe. I canna lose her, Eoghanan. I’ll follow ye shortly.”

  Eoghanan turned and nudged his horse until he galloped into the distance. By the time Baodan could no longer see him, Wynda was by his side.

  “Did ye ride here alone? Ye shouldna have done so.”

  “Aye, I verra well should have. Doona move any further toward Cameron Castle. Niall isna there. None would join him to stand against ye, and he fled four days ago.”

  “Four days?” Baodan’s ears rang with shock. He gripped tight on the reins to hold himself upright. It took only three days to reach Cameron Castle.

  “Aye, and he headed here. I left as soon as I could, but he is a faster rider than I.”

  Baodan turned to his cousins who stood ready for his orders behind him. “Eoin, Arran, we must return to McMillan Castle at once. I shall ride ahead. See to Wynda’s safety.”

  His entire world lay inside the walls of his castle. To think that Niall stood within reach of Mitsy filled him with enough rage to blind him. He wished to kill his monster of a brother. And kill him he would.

  * * *

  McMillan Castle

  “Nairne. Nairne.” I tried to say her name, but it came out as a breathless scratch; the very embodiment of nightmares, when the dreamer tries to scream and cannot. “Nairne!” Finally her name found its way past my trembling lips. When not a muscle within her twitched, I knew that she sat dead.

  Everyone behind me still chatted busily, nibbling away at the meek meal. Slowly I moved to grip her arm. Warm to the touch, she’d not been dead long. At first glance, I thought perhaps her heart failed or a stroke killed her, but across her brown dress a patch of red spread, seeping its way through the thick fabric as it crawled across her torso.

  Shaking, I took a step backward and tumbled, scrambling to get away from her in horror as I noticed the point of a blade protruding through her stomach.

  A deep laugh started from behind the chair as I fell and, as everyone in the room hushed, Niall emerged from behind Nairne’s lifeless body.

  Chapter 42

  No one screamed as Niall stepped from behind the chair, all of us too frozen with fear to move. His normally smooth and cocky appearance was gone. He looked utterly mad with his curly dark hair sticking up in every direction, his sick smile spread wide.

  Every tooth in his head showed as he cackled uncontrollably. Slowly, I reined in my terror. Fear would hinder me. I’d stopped him once before. I would do so again.

  We outnumbered him easily, and it was a room filled with intelligent, spitfire women. He was fool to approach us while we were grouped together.

  “Ach, ye are one ugly bastard. Ye have no place here, and if ye so much as touch one red hair on Mitsy’s head, I shall charge ye and sit on yer head until it bursts.”

  I glanced back at Mary in utter shock. Brunette or not, that old broad was a red-head at heart. She gave me a run for my money in the sass department.

  “Hush, Mary.” Bri reached to latch on to the old woman’s hand, warning in her voice.

  Niall laughed even more loudly before thrusting the sword out into the air in Mary’s direction. “Ye best shut yer mouth, or I
shall run this through it. I mean none of ye any harm. Me business is with this one.”

  He jerked his head toward me, and I stood for the first time since tripping.

  “No harm? Son, ye killed her. Yer own aunt, and ye laugh at the sight of it. Have ye no caused enough pain? ’Tis over, ye have to know that.” Kenna sobbed, her entire body shaking at the shock of her murderous child.

  “Ach, Mother. Ye are verra right, there has been much pain caused by me, but doona worry, I’m nearly done. I know that I am no long for this world. Me brothers will end me, but before they do, I shall tear one more lass from Baodan’s grasp. If ye doona wish to join her in death, then ye willna speak to me again.”

  She said nothing for the moment, and I took the opportunity to step into his line of sight. “Niall, she’s not going to say anything else. It’s just me and you, okay? I guess you’re pretty angry, huh? For what I did to you?”

  Nothing in me accepted that he would hurt me. I simply wouldn’t allow it. One sword other than the one Niall held in his hands lay against the fireplace. If I could get him talking, I hoped to signal to Adelle who sat closest to sword. It needed to be in one of our hands.

  “Aye, lass, I am verra angry indeed and, ’tis reason enough for me to kill ye, but ’tis no why I will take great pleasure from doing so.”

  “No? Then why?” Too riled up, Niall didn’t notice the footsteps that approached the doorway, and I swallowed a sigh of relief at Eoghanan’s shadow in the doorway.

  His finger moved across his lips, signaling for me not to give away his presence.

  “Why? Because Baodan has taken a fancy to ye, and it wouldna please me to allow him happiness.”

  “Has Baodan wronged you in some way? I thought it was you who did the wrong.”