Morag's Tears (Celtic Storm Series Book 5)

by Ria Cantrell

  Oh, she followed in her da’s footsteps by refusin’ to settle down. She and her cousin Jenna Brandham, Bronwyn’s little girl, gave us all a run for our money. For a time, it appeared that Brigid Caitlyn would be the one to evade marriage at all costs. She had a wild streak and she used it to influence her slightly older cousin. When the two girls were together, all sorts of mischief would be afoot and a dangerous situation had even evolved a time or two. I dare say that both girls put more grey into not only my hair, but into their fathers’ as well. If one was in trouble, no doubt the cousin was somehow involved in it. I think because neither girl had sisters, but only brothers, they relied on each other and they fed each other’s willful daring to wreak havoc and to get themselves into situations that made this old woman’s heart near to stoppin’.

  On one such occasion, Stephen’s son happened to be at MacCollum for some festivities, thank all the powers that be. The bonny Brigid Caitlyn had gotten herself into quite a predicament with her coy battin’ of her eyes and she found herself cornered by a drunken lord who was rather persistent to gain her attentions. Thank goodness Devin MacDougal was nearby for when he saw the unwanted suitor, and I use that word lightly, pin our Briggie to a wall behind one of the supply stores, I was certain there would be the devil himself to contend with. He could see Brigid Caitlyn was tryin’ to fast-talk her way out of the arms of the drunkard. Well, all hell broke loose! Devin pounded the sot to dust and instead of being furious at Briggie for gettin’ herself into that trouble in the first place, he realized how much he loved her. I think it took that incident to open Briggie’s eyes, too, and she soon set them on Devin.

  Ah, I love how the Wheel of Ages has turned at times. It does an old woman’s heart good to know that the children’s children of her charges were settled and matched well with beautiful families of their own. So there ye’ have the story of how once rival clans united amid adversity. Sometimes there could be friendships and peace between the clans. Not all clans fostered hatred and feuds.

  Stephen MacDougal eventually remarried after many years enjoying the life as a bachelor since the passing of his first wife. It would seem that Cupid’s arrow hit its mark with even the toughest prospects when it was wont to do. Well, then Stephen had two sons from his first marriage and then he was blessed with three daughters in his second one. Conner MacCollum, Ruiri’s oldest son courted and fell in love with one of these MacDougal lasses.

  I must say that this old lady reveled in all the stories of romance that filled the home of the lads that were so much like my own sons. Though, it is at times, a lot to remember all of it, I do it because these stories have surrounded my life with love. It did my heart good to witness all the love and loyalty; passion and happiness. Aye, they were nay without their own set of trials.

  That’s just the way life is; but for someone like me, who had lost so much at so young an age; from the loss of my beautiful mother to my beloved little boy and husband, I enjoyed the joy that surrounded those I held most dear. T’is these tales I tell which truly warm my heart and they have given my long life purpose. My soul sings because of those who have passed in and out of my life. I have been graced by their presence. I have been touched with the very essences of their existence. Their stories remind me what it was like to be courted and loved. Why I remember….

  ~~~~~

  ~ “Morag, why do ye’ look so sad?”

  “Oh nay, Gavin, I am nay sad. I was just thinkin’ how I wish these days would last forever.”

  Gavin Campbell gave Morag a wink and he said, “Shall we remain as children the rest of our lives then?”

  As he gazed on the girl who was so much like one of his sisters, he saw she had somehow grown into a beautiful young woman. Aye, she was still young, only six and ten years, but she no longer resembled the lass from the days of his youth.

  “Nay. And we are not children so much anymore. I suppose t’is why I was feelin’ pensive today.”

  Gavin sat on the large boulder beside his friend and he said, “Have ye’ seen a vision of the future?”

  Morag cast him a sidelong glance and said, “Nay, only I sense a stirrin’ in my heart. I…oh ne’er mind, Gavin.” Morag blushed and Gavin tucked a finger under her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “What is it, lass?”

  “Well, it’s Ian.”

  “What has the brute done now? I vow I will give him a beatin’ of his life if he so much as….”

  “Gavin, Ian has nay done anything. That’s just it. I mean…well, ye’ are like a brother to him. Has he ever said--never mind. T’is of no matter.”

  Gavin laughed, understanding what was troubling the lass. She had grown into quite the beauty and it was not hard to see that she and his best friend were suited for each other, but Ian had been acting like a complete horse’s arse of late and Gavin had actually wanted to give him a pounding for his behavior. Hell, anyone could see that he loved the lass, but he acted like he did not. Gavin cleared his throat and he said, “Lass, he is in love with ye’.”

  Morag raised hopeful eyes to Gavin at her friend’s words. Ian had been carousing with some other lasses lately and what had been a threesome of friends their entire lives seemed to be changing rapidly. Morag had known she loved Ian from when they were just babes. Aye, she loved Gavin, too, but not like she loved Ian. From the day he yanked on her hair that first Beltane, and each moment in between, Morag knew that Ian was the man for her. It was just that lately, it seemed he wanted to spend less and less time with her and for that matter with Gavin as well.

  “He has a funny way of showin’ it, then, Gavin. In truth, I dunna’ think he even likes me anymore.”

  Gavin wrapped his arms across his chest. Morag looked at her oldest friend and noticed that somewhere between their childhood days and now, he had become a man. When had that happened, she wondered.

  “Oh, he likes ye’, lassie. He more than likes ye’. T’is why he is actin’ like horses’ dung. He does nay wish to admit it to himself. But trust me on this, Morag. He likes ye’. Shall I thump him into realizin’ it?”

  Morag laughed, then. She had no doubt that Gavin would beat the snot out of Ian if she gave him the go ahead. It’s what a big brother would do and no one was more like a brother to Morag than Gavin was. She hugged him and said, “If only I could allow it. His foolery is makin’ my heart ache.”

  There, she admitted it. Somehow, saying it to Gavin was easy. Why was it so hard to say it to Ian?

  With a tender brush of his hand over her hair, Gavin sighed. “I know, lass. I know it feels like he is breakin’ yer’ heart, but I have a feelin’ he will come to his senses soon. The thing that is between the two of ye’ canna’ be denied. Everyone sees it. And if he does nay come to his senses, I will be happy to help him.”

  Morag laughed again. That was the third time Gavin mentioned wanting to fight with his best friend. She had a feeling that Ian’s flirting with the lass Gavin had his eye on was boosting his want to bloody Ian’s nose. Hugging Gavin, she said, “Nay, I’ll not have the two of you scrappin’ for so silly a reason. Besides, the celebration is tonight. T’would nay do to dishonor the Goddess with bruised and battered lads.”

  Gavin grinned thinking of the celebration set for the Beltane eve and he hoped he would have a chance to steal a kiss or two from a willing lassie, particularly that pretty little blond named Meghan. Aye, he would be happy to fight his best friend for her because she seemed to make sheep’s eyes at Ian and Gavin could scarcely get the time of day from her. Besides, Ian needed to know that Morag was pinin’ for him. He knew he should nay tell him, as Morag trusted him with her heart’s secret, but sometimes, a man has to do what a man has to do. Ian was acting like a fool, when his heart longed for Morag.

  Flopping on to his back on the flat raised boulder, that he supposed could have served as an altar, Gavin quipped, “Well, Beltane is a magical night. I think if the stars are right, Ian may yet come to his senses. Besides, ye’ know, it is not uncomely for a lass to gr
ab a kiss from a lad, on such a night.”

  Morag’s face flushed. “Oh, I dunna’ think I can kiss him, Gavin. I mean…what would I say?”

  “I think the point is, lass, that you dunna’ need to SAY anything.”

  Well, that settled it. Gavin was going to have a little talk with his old pal, Ian; with or without the influence of his fist. He could not stand for Morag to be sad and he could not stand for Ian to continue being a fool, when his heart yearned for Morag to be more than just his childhood friend. Aye, the times had changed. Maybe Morag was right. Sometimes it was easier to wish things could remain the same forever. Perhaps it would have been less painful to remain as children.~

  Chapter Eighteen – The Brothers Campbell

  Well, I know I said I would nay give merit to one like Roderick Campbell because he was responsible for so much pain to people that were very dear to me, but I suppose with the good, ye’ must remember the bad as well, else the good would have less merit. I dunna’ wish to paint Roderick Campbell in any light other than the monster that he was. His brother Derek was another story, but for Roderick, as I might have said afore, there was nothing to redeem his black heart and soul. His penchant for the sadistic only paled in comparison to his love of the drink and the two poisons dueled for dominance in the creature Roderick Campbell became.

  Some would say that he was the product of his upbringing and in this I would agree to an extent. Nay, his grandfather, my friend Gavin; High Laird of the Campbell clan was not to blame for the utter destruction that Roderick aspired to. His father was a weak sot who also imbibed too much in the spirits rather than devoted his time to the raising of his sons. Aye, his grandsons needed a strong hand to guide them on the right paths, and Gavin, bless his soul, tried, but the business ultimately fell to the responsibility of his son and that was the business his son wanted no part of.

  The brothers lost their mother at a verra’ young age, but their father ne’er stepped in to rein those boys in or for that matter, to give them the love and attention that all children need. Instead he remarried quite quickly after the death of his wife, and I suppose he believed Arianne would help to raise those boys that were quickly becoming more than wayward. In truth, there would be nothing that Arianne Campbell could do, for the young heirs of the Campbell clan would have nothing to do with her. She tried to be a mother to them, but they were dead set on never accepting her; or for that matter the child who would become their sister. They rallied in tormenting Arianne as well as their young sister, Gabrielle and they embraced mischief that soon took on a much more sinister form.

  Arianne Campbell tried to protect herself and her young daughter as best she could. I daresay she may have even sought the help of an alchemist’s charm or two, but nothing really could safeguard her from those bent on destruction not only of her but of themselves.

  For years, Arianne hoped that things would get better with her husband, who was more time in his cups than he was a husband at all. Her only respite was the protection that was ever granted from none other than Gavin himself. Only, Gavin was busy trying to lead his clan and to thwart the destruction being caused by his son and his grandsons. Ah, my heart is heavy in the tellin’ of this tale. Gavin was already an old man and it was too much for him.

  His son should have been ready to take on the responsibilities of Laird, but Gavin knew that was never to be. He saw his son deteriorating with the pull of the drink and he knew that Robbie Campbell was too weak in spirit to be of much use to the clan or to his own family. Gavin tried to shield Arianne and Brielle from much of the ugliness of the three bent on the destruction of that which he had worked so hard to prosper.

  I think that Arianne started out as a goodly soul. I really do, but the thing is that as time wore on her and the abuse at the hands of her stepsons increased, she sought whatever comfort she could in the practices of arts that may have even bordered on the dark side. I did nay know Arianne myself, but I learned of her from my talks with Brielle. The poor woman really did nay have a chance and her untimely death sealed the fate of Roderick to forever be twisted with malice and evil.

  What Brielle eventually learned about the last day her mother lived, was only after she and Ruiri were reunited. Brielle had nay knowledge that she was only the half- sister of those two spawns of the son of darkness. She was really only a very little girl when her precious mother met an untimely end. I suppose that there are things that Brielle and I had in common and this was one of them.

  Arianne was known to be a superb horsewoman. When news of her death came that Arianne had been thrown from her mount and that she may have broken her neck, many were shocked. There should have never been a reason that she could nay handle the riding of that beastie. News of it even reached MacCollum and though I did nay know her, I felt sorry to learn such sad tidings. Ye’ see, I kept my ears open when it came to news from Gavin’s home. I think it was because Gavin represented the part of my own past that I could nay let go. Still, in hearin’ the news of the passing of Arianne Campbell, there was talk that pondered the mishap. People doubted the event of that day and I came to learn they were right in their assumptions.

  Arianne had been riding out in the midmorning as she was prone to do many days when the weather permitted. Only, upon her return to the stables, she encountered the two Campbell spawn. Roderick did something, and I know not what, but he ran toward his approaching stepmother and startled the horse she had been riding. I know he did it deliberately, for his brother finally confessed the deed so many years later. Aye, she was thrown, but nay because of her own lack of horsemanship.

  She could nay hold on as the horse reared in fright. She did nay break her neck as some had claimed, but dashed her head instead on a boulder beneath the horse’s hooves. The poor lass’ knew she was dyin’ and Roderick did nothing to aid her. Her only concern was for her little girl, Gabrielle, for Arianne knew that she would now be at the mercy of the brothers that so loathed her. And I do think that Roderick loathed that little girl born out of his father’s second marriage. It was a hatred that grew every day that Brielle lived.

  It was nay Brielle’s fault and she never even realized that she was not fully part of them until much later. She had wondered, of course, why she was nay accepted in their family as her mother had not been. She was only a child and she did what she could to gain the love of her brothers. Instead, they mistreated the lonely little girl who had just lost her mother and whose father was happier cuddling a bottle than his own child.

  Brielle only learned she was a half-sister to these rogues as an adult, after she had married Ruiri. Until then, I suppose, she wondered why those brothers of hers treated her so badly and she yearned for them to include her in their world. I am glad they did nay for Brielle was ne’er meant to be part of the depraved viper’s nest that those Campbell sons had created. I would have rather her remain lonely than to become like those half-brothers with blackened hearts and souls.

  After Arianne’s terrible accident, the events of that day seemed to send Roderick Campbell spiraling into further misdeeds. He descended into a darker world of depravity. I believe in my heart that his brother Derek followed his lead mostly out of fear. He knew that Roderick would nay lie about his threats of beatings, torture or even worse and so for that reason, I dunna’ hold Derek as responsible as I do Roderick for the events that unfolded all those years that followed the death of Arianne.

  By this time, really, Gavin was close to the end of his life. He was quite on in years and he did his best to protect his precious granddaughter. He even went so far as to disown the two who were next in line for the leadership of the clan. His son succumbed to the malaise brought on about with too much drink not long after Arianne’s passing and so Roderick and Derek were the men who would be considered to take on the laird’s position. Only it was not to be; not if Gavin could have his say in the matter. It all turned against the unlikeable duo when Roderick nearly killed his own sister. Aye, he would argue she was barely his sis
ter as she was not brought forth from his own mother’s loins, but she was his sister, just the same.

  The cowardly bastard took every chance to torment Gabrielle, from tellin’ her she was ugly and unmarriageable to beating her repeatedly. One night, after a drunken binge, Roderick made his way into Gabrielle’s room and what unholy deed was on his black heart I know not, but he ended up holding a knife under his sister’s chin. The next thing that happened almost ended Gabrielle’s life but because Roderick was like his father in the over indulging of the drink, his hand slipped.

  I dunna’ know if Roderick had planned to hurt Brielle or to frighten her, but the dirk cut a jagged line from her beautiful face. She bears the scar to this day and if she assumed she was ugly before, she was convinced she bore the most hideous disfigurement. Gabrielle was far from ugly. She is a beautiful angel and the scar she bears makes no mar on her loveliness. Anyway, after that, Gavin had had enough and he threw those miscreant brothers out. I suppose the hatred that had simmered in Roderick’s heart, especially, grew and blossomed after Gavin would have no more part of his kin.

  Who is to say why hatred grows in the heart of man? Och, any number of reasons feed the deadly poison, to be sure. In Roderick’s and Derek’s case, that hatred rested on one thing more so than any other. That thing, as it were, was the Clan MacCollum. I canna’ say why these two hated the MacCollums as much as they did, but I suspect it was fostered through jealousy.

  The MacCollums thrived while what was left of this branch of the Campbell Clan withered away. As a friend of the great Laird Gavin, it troubled my heart to see what was once a powerful force in Scotland leveled and decimated by the selfish and immoral practices by Gavin’s grandsons. They were not welcomed back at the keep and so they took to thievin’ and raidin’ and if they could thwart MacCollum, they would.