“Yeah. What were the odds of a hostage situation happening within a week of you turning up here? There’s something going on.”
“Magic,” Fiona put in brightly. The self-assured blonde was the Laird’s wife – an archeologist from their own time, and from what she and Marianne had told the group, a practicing witch like Marianne was. The knowledge that magic was real was no shock to her – after all, how else could she have gotten here? If she was willing to accept time travel, magic barely registered as being unusual. “It’s magic that brought us here. How else do you explain it?”
They’d spent the night deep in conversation… and she’d felt a pang of regret when Robert finally played his last song and came over to her table to steal her away. But the women promised there’d be plenty more time to talk and get to know one another – the Keep was her home now, as much as it was theirs, and she was welcome to stay as long as she liked. The rest of my life, she thought faintly, and somehow that idea didn’t fill her with the same kind of fear it usually did… it just made her feel peaceful. Happy to be there… happy to have Robert’s warm hand in hers as he led her from the hall and up the castle’s great stairs to his quarters.
They were much roomier than her little room at Weatherby’s, she noticed with a grin. There was a sitting area for meals and conversation, and a separate door that led through to the bedroom… where, to her delight, an enormous double-sized bed was ready and waiting for them both.
“Of course,” he said softly, glancing sideways at her, “I’m sure that Laird Donal could organize quarters for you if you’d prefer not to live with me. What with the agreement with the Stuarts, they’ll be leaving the castle soon enough, and there’ll be more space –”
“Hmm,” she said, pretending to think about it. “Well, I suppose we can make that decision when the Stuarts leave…” But she was already in his bed, and he laughed uproariously at the mischievous expression on her face. Then he dived in with her, and it wasn’t long before they were wrapped in each other’s arms, breathing each other in. It felt so good to finally be with him without the threat of something looming over their heads… they had all the time in the world to explore each other, to be together without worrying about negotiations or hostages or fussy English lords ensuring that they didn’t sit too close together. In the end, it was dawn before either of them got any sleep, and when Brianna went down for lunch the next day, her new friends fixed her with identical grins.
And so the weeks passed. She met Laird Donal, who expressed his gratitude to her for helping deal with the situation with Weatherby and the Stuarts. She met representatives from the Stuart family, too, all of whom had heard what she and Robert had done for their family – they were all deeply grateful too, which made her feel self-conscious, but grateful. It did a hell of a lot to ease her impostor syndrome – especially with Robert at her side, urging her to take every bit of credit for her achievements.
In the end, Malcolm was buried on the outskirts of the MacClaran cemetery. She didn’t attend the funeral, and neither did Robert – but Kellan and Perry did, to her surprise. The two men had come to stay at the castle not long after Brianna had, reasoning that Weatherby had given them enough of his hospitality to be getting on with. Besides, little Molly needed to be close to the experts in helping her recover from her illness. William, the alchemist, praised Brianna’s quick thinking with the apple sauce, noting that the vitamins were exactly what the girl had needed to start recovering. She was just grateful to see Molly, strong enough to stand and walk, a smile beginning to find its way back onto her thin face.
She’d expected Kellan to be itching to get back to his ancestral homelands – but it seemed that with the death of his brother, he was less interested in returning home. The loss had clearly struck him hard, but he didn’t speak much of it – just paced restlessly around the castle, working his grief out in endless walking until Laird Donal, frustrated as much as concerned, suggested that he get his energy out by helping in the smithy, where his cousin Perry had already found a position assisting the aging blacksmith with the harder work. The work seemed to help – Brianna visited Kellan a few times, watching him hammer furiously at metal, clearly venting his built-up rage and sadness on the metal… and when he looked up at her, the smile that he gave her was clear.
Everyone had their different ways of healing, she supposed. And for her own case… well, she hadn’t had a nightmare about the explosion since she’d been at the manor and told Robert about it. She kept waiting for the dreams to return – they’d never been away for long before – but as the weeks turned into months and she had more time to reflect on her mind, she realized to her delight that the worst seemed to be behind her. The trauma and grief would always be with her, of course – she still felt a shudder of horror when she thought of that man’s mocking voice, the sound of the fire engulfing his home… but it wasn’t haunting her the way it had.
When she talked about it with Robert, he wasn’t surprised. “You beat the demons,” he said simply, shrugging his broad shoulders. “You made up for losing that one by winning this one. And what a win,” he added, smiling broadly. The last of the Stuarts had headed home that very day, stocked up with food and supplies to get their lives restarted back home – the English lords had listened to whatever entreaty Weatherby had sent. It seemed the Lord had a little more influence than she’d expected. Was it possible that the fussy man was one of the more sensible Lords in this country? That was a worrying thought. Or perhaps it was Baldric’s influence. The man wrote them both letters every few weeks, keeping them up to date with how things were going at the Manor. Weatherby had returned to his old ways… but it seemed he was treating his servants a little better than he had, grateful for their loyalty in not siding with the kidnappers when they could have.
And now, it was summer – a beautiful day, with nothing to do but to enjoy it with the love of her life. Robert smiled across at her, clearly sensing that she was thinking sentimental things about him. He’d joked about marrying her a few times, which still made her feel an odd prickle of apprehension… but the more she thought about it, the more she was warming up to the idea. Later, though. Much later. There was time for all of that. Today, all she wanted to think about was how happy she was here.
“I can’t believe how much energy she has,” Robert said, shaking his head as he hurled the ball again and sent Molly scurrying after it. “Given how ill she was a few months ago…”
“She’s a trooper. And so clever! Audrina was telling me she’s already taken an interest in herbs and medicine. We might have a healer on our hands.”
“Oh, aye. I wouldn’t be surprised.” He smiled, glancing over at her. “Might be watching one of our own scurry around this courtyard one day, what do you think?”
She blinked, a little thrown by the question. A child? It had always been something she’d ruled out… but the idea of a little baby with Robert’s blue eyes and her bone structure… something about it warmed her heart. “I can see that,” she said thoughtfully. “Though I hope she takes after me.”
“He will take after both of us,” Robert said, stressing the pronoun slightly with a grin dancing across his handsome face. She leaned in to kiss him, feeling a dizzying burst of joy and gratitude for her life. The last few months had been an utter rollercoaster… but she wouldn’t have changed a thing about it for anything.
Sitting in the courtyard of a medieval Scottish castle, with a man at her side who she trusted with her life, and a small army of formidable women as her closest friends… Brianna couldn’t think of a single way her life could be improved.
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About Rebecca Preston
Rebecca lives in New York City with her dog. She loves sweet love stor
ies with great characters. She loves traveling the world and experiencing new cities and cultures. Jane Austen is her favorite author.
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Also by Rebecca Preston
Highlander Of Time Series
Highlander Found - Book 1
Highlander Warrior - Book 2
Highlander Protected - Book 3
Highlander Smitten - Book 4
Highlander Fallen - Book 5
Highlander Cursed - Book 6
Highlander Avenged - Book 7
Highlander Hunted - Book 8
Highlander Returned - Book 9
Highlander Forever Series
Rescued By The Highlander - Book 1
Stranded By The Highlander - Book 2
Swept By The Highlander - Book 3
Distracted By The Highlander - Book 4
Needed By The Highlander - Book 5
Troubled By The Highlander - Book 6
A Highlander Across Time Series:
Love A Highlander - Book 1
Kiss A Highlander - Book 2
Jane Austen Fan Fiction
Arranged To Darcy
A White Darcy Christmas
A Convenient Darcy Marriage
Married To Darcy
Elizabeth And Darcy
Saving Mr. Darcy
Mr. Darcy Forgotten
Mr. Darcy’s Pride
Highlander Returned: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander In Time Book 9) Page 22