The Highlander's Secret

by Jennifer Siddoway

  After the noon meal was finished she set off toward the village to seek him out. On the way she thought over what she would say to him when they met. She held up her skirts while wandering down the dirt path that lead into the village. A cool mist had settled across the hills like an autumn blanket and covered everything in a milky fog. All around her the trees had changed their color into various hues of orange, brown and yellow.

  She continued on the path and her eyes caught sight of a figure on the road ahead. When she approached the winding hill, Jain suddenly realized it was Alan headed in her direction. She bit into her smile as he stopped in front of her and they stood there face to face.

  “Good morrow, Jain.”

  “Good morrow. I was just on my way to see ye,” she responded. “I wanted to thank ye fer the other day, handling Conrad like that. I never expected him to come by yer shop…I’m so sorry.”

  Alan chuckled, looking back at her with a crooked smile. “Fer ye, Jain, it was a pleasure. It’s just a shame Conrad showed up when we were having such a lovely conversation.”

  Jain’s cheeks went red at the memory of their almost kiss and how Conrad had burst into the shop at the most inopportune time. Her eyes drifted over to Alan’s mouth, and the perfect shape they made when he was speaking. Alan took a step towards her and placed his hand against her cheek.

  When she felt the warmth of his palm on the side of her face, Jain closed her eyes and sighed. He was so close to her Jain could feel his breath against her skin. For a long time neither of them spoke, just savoring the touch for as long as possible until someone else discovered them.

  Jain opened her eyes when she felt his thumb brush across her lips and they parted slightly.

  “Should we talk about what happened?” he asked her quietly.

  She chuckled. “Which part? There was a lot that happened. Should we discuss how ye told him we’re engaged even though we aren’t?”

  She felt her stomach drop, remembering her confession about the brooch. Alan knew the truth – there were no more secrets between them. Jain cleared her throat uncomfortably and her eyes misted. “Alan, I’m so sorry. I should have told ye about my past, but I was scared ye wouldn’t understand.”

  Alan smiled, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead, saying, “My sweet Jain, nothing could ever change the way I feel fer ye.”

  Jain laughed through a gargled sob and wiped away some tears with the sleeve of her tunic. “What do we do now?”

  He chuckled and said, “Well, I’ve been thinking about that a lot actually. I spoke with yer da last night after the meeting.”

  “Aye, he told me.”

  “Did he also tell ye that I asked fer yer hand?”

  “He did.”

  “In fact, what he said was I had permission to ask, but that I’d have to win yer heart myself.”

  Jain laughed, growing ever closer. Alan reached out and placed his other hand on the curve of her waist. “Aye, that sounds like him.”

  “Ye should ken then, Jain, that I take it as a challenge. I will never be happy until I’m sure yer heart is mine and ye consent to be my wife.”

  Her breathing grew ragged as he came in closer and she could feel his heady scent envelope her completely. “Alan Gillies, my heart already belonged to ye before ye even asked.”

  A glorious smile broke out across his face. He looked her in the eyes and said, “Does that mean what I think?”

  “That depends. Are ye asking me?”

  His brown eyes were smoldering as he cradled her face in his hands. “Jain, ye’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. I never want to spend a single day without ye. It would be my greatest honor and privilege if ye would agree to marry me. Would ye have me as yer husband?”

  Jain’s heart was beating wildly. She nodded weakly, saying, “Aye, I would take ye fer my husband, Alan Gillies. Ye’re everything I ever wanted. I cannae imagine a better life than the one I would spend next to ye as yer wife.”

  Her breath caught as they came together slowly, easing into one another. His lips were on her suddenly, gently parted when they kissed. Jain closed her eyes and leaned into it, easing her hands up around his neck and knotting them in Alan’s hair.

  Alan groaned into her mouth and slid one of his hands down along the length of her body, pressing himself against her. Their kisses became more passionate and the two of them made their way over to a tree, hitching her skirts up on her thigh.

  “Oh, Jain…” he breathed out raggedly. “I love ye so much.”

  Jain couldn’t even respond even though she wanted to. Her head was reeling from the feel of his skin against her and the elated sighs that escaped her lips. Everything else was gone, it was only him.

  His lips trailed down her neck and across Jain’s collarbone, peppering her skin with kisses. She rolled her head back to give him better access and ran her fingers across his back. All Jain could think about was how she wanted more. Even with his hands and body pressed against her, it still didn’t feel like enough.

  “Alan,” she gasped. “Alan, I love ye.”

  The minute she said the words his lips came back to her, kissing her on the mouth. His hands wrapped around her body. She met his enthusiasm with equal vigor and it brought a smile to her face thinking that this man would be her husband.

  Distracted as they were, Jain would have surely gotten carried away with herself and been lost in the ecstasy had not a horn blared out noisily in the distance. Reluctantly, Alan pulled away from her and they both turned to where the sound had come from. Her lips still burned from the searing heat of his kisses when a rider came galloping up the path. They watched him continue on the road towards Elign, with his banner held high. Jain knew the rider would be headed for the keep, where her father and Uncle Keenan would be engaged with the village council.

  “I think it’s the MacLeod’s,” she murmured. “We have to get to the keep.”

  Alan took her by the hand and they ran on the path behind him. They both knew that if Clan MacLeod was requesting aid then something terrible must have happened. Her heart raced with fear, running away fast as her legs could carry her. She didn’t even have time to relish the bliss of their moment before the cruel reality set in.

  Their feet pounded against the earth, passing through the village gate. People who had already seen the rider were coming out of their cottages and flooding the streets ahead. Jain had to get to her father in the keep and find out what had happened. Alan seemed to understand the depths of her concern and pushed his way through the crowd to give Jain clearer passage.

  When they reached the stone steps at the top of the hill, the rider’s horse was still outside. Alan and Jain glanced at one another before they rushed inside. Down the hall she could hear the Laird talking with him and her panic rose. He glanced up when they came inside and stood with the other council members to come and greet them.

  “Uncle Keenan? What’s happened?”

  He sighed. “Jain, ye shouldn’t be in here.”

  “Please,” she begged him. “We saw the rider on the hills outside.”

  Laird Gordon glanced over at Eamon and huffed in exasperation. “The MacLeod’s have been attacked. Two villages in the last week and another this morning. We cannae wait any longer, I’m taking the warriors to defend our border and lend aid to the fallen villages.”

  Her eyes grew wide at the confirmation.

  “Let me go with ye,” Alan pleaded. “I can fight, ye ken I’d be useful with a sword.”

  Keenan nodded. “Aye, that ye would. I appreciate yer help. Duncan, go and collect the warriors at the gate. Bring horses and any weapons we can find.”

  “Aye, my laird.”

  Duncan bowed and disappeared back down the hall, leaving Jain and Alan in the council room. A new kind of fear raced through her, knowing Alan would be in danger. Men went off to battle all the time, but never the one she loved.

  “What about the village? If ye take all the warriors, we’ll be defenseless,” J
ain sputtered.

  Keenan sighed. “I’ll leave a handful of them behind. While I’m gone yer father will be in charge. He’s the next in line fer chieftain and I trust his judgement.”

  “Be careful,” she pleaded.

  Keenan nodded, his eyes trailing down to where Jain and Alan were holding hands. “Was there something else ye wanted to discuss?” he asked them with a smile.

  She wanted to respond, but the words didn’t come out naturally.

  “It can wait,” Alan told him. “The safety of our village comes first.”

  The chieftain nodded with approval. “When I can back, Jain, ye and I will have a talk. I’m sure we have many things to discuss.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Keenan frowned, walking down the hall after leaving the council chambers. His footsteps echoed down the stone corridor with his thoughts already prepared for battle tactic after the news came from a rider in the west. The poor MacLeod village was in desperate need of help. Men of the village were growing restless with the increasing attacks growing ever closer – he was running out of options.

  He thought back to Jain, his sweet niece, who had come running in with the blacksmith. Her eyes had been wide with fear and it was evident on her face that she was terrified. It was no wonder she was concerned after the things that happened to her parents in that settlement on the coast. She would be sure to have painful memories about it and fear reliving them once again.

  Keenan had always been fond of her after Eamon and Moira took her in, she was a ray of sunshine in their otherwise simple lives. Still, he’d always had suspicions about her lineage. There were too many things about the massacre that troubled him. For one, there had been no boats which was curious for a port town that would have needed them to fish. Another thing was that it had taken months for Jain to speak after they brought her to Elign. At first, he supposed it could be that fear had taken root and scared her voice away, but it was equally likely that she had not yet learned their language.

  Still, Keenan bit his tongue out of love for Eamon and chose to ignore those doubts.

  It turned out those suspicions were confirmed many years ago when meeting with the chieftain of the neighboring clans. One of them boasted loudly over a pint of ale how they had dispatched of a Viking settlement on the coast. Keenan became instantly intrigued and pressed him further on the subject. The man continued, saying they had left no survivors and burned the cottages to the ground. It was around the same time that his brother had rescued Jain. He didn’t know if Eamon had figured out her secret for himself, but he chose not to broach the subject with him personally. If Eamon didn’t know, then telling him would break his brother’s heart. And if he did, Keenan trusted him to never bring it up. After how long he and Moira had longed to have a child of their own, Jain came like the answer to a prayer. What kind of brother would he be if he broke that illusion for them, if he pointed out she was a Norseman? By all appearances Eamon did not care, and that’s all Keenan needed to know.

  She was just a child, and clearly no threat to their way of life. Over the years he watched her closely to see if she bore any ill will toward them, but Jain was loving and sweet in every sense of the word.

  When the Viking raids started up again, he briefly worried it would be a problem. He wondered if it could be her kinsmen coming back for her at last, but he rejected the idea because it had been so long since she arrived. What reasons could they have for coming back now?

  They had to be unrelated.

  “Get the horses ready,” he commanded one of the guards. “When we receive a call fer help it is our duty to respond.”

  “My laird, is that really our best option?” a man replied.

  Keenan turned to him and scowled. “Of course it is. Where do ye think the Vikings will come next if that village falls?”

  The warrior’s face turned red as he bowed and ran off the other direction. As their chieftain, he tried to respect the communal voice of his people, but there were times when they simply did not understand the greater scope of what was happening.

  Eamon walked beside him, making their way towards the armory. “What preparations would ye like me to make while the men are gone?” he asked.

  Keenan huffed. “Make sure there is plenty of food and clean beds waiting. I dinnae want any wounded warriors to go without care.”

  “As ye wish, my laird.”

  The chieftain smiled and placed his hand on Eamon’s shoulder. “While I am gone, Eamon. I leave everything to ye. There is nae one better suited to lead our Clan.”

  “It’s a heavy burden ye place on me,” he muttered.

  “Aye, but I ken ye’re up to the task.”

  The edge of his mouth turned up into a grin. “Moira will not be pleased. She’s grown rather accustomed to the cottage.”

  “She’ll have to adjust.”

  “Aye, hopefully it will not be fer long. Come back victorious and I’ll make sure everything remains intact.”

  “I’m sure ye will. Tell me about Jain and the blacksmith, Alan. Has she taken a liking to him?”

  Eamon snorted. “That would be an understatement.”

  “Then I am glad to hear it. Go and summon yer family while I finish gathering my army.”

  His brother bowed and quickly turned around the corner when Keenan arrived at the armory. Conrad was there waiting for him, with a smug expression on his face. “My laird, I hear we ride. I’ve come to offer my services as a captain, there’s nae need for ye to put yer life in danger.”

  Keenan shook his head. “Dinnae lose yer head, lad. A good leader is never afraid to lead his warriors into battle. He fights alongside them, or he is not fit to rule. Do ye understand? That is how the chieftain before me did it, and the chieftain before that, that’s how it has always been.”

  Conrad frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I dinnae think it’s a good idea to leave Eamon in charge, he cannae be trusted.”

  “That’s my brother ye’re talking about, so I suggest ye watch yer tongue unless ye have good evidence to back it up.”

  “I have,” Conrad nodded.

  “Oh? And what is that exactly?”

  The warrior grinned and pulled a dragonhead brooch out of his bag. The metallic shine of its knotwork glinting in the dim light of the stone hallway. “I found his daughter carrying this brooch the other day. Take a look at it yerself, but I’ve never seen anything like that among our kinsmen.”

  Keenan took the piece of metal and examined it more closely. It was exceedingly beautiful, and the craftsmanship was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. However, knowing what he did about Jain’s past made him sure that it was something that should remain secret. Conrad was not a man he trusted with any kind of private information and he knew immediately that he had to stop him from delving any further.

  “Ye saying Jain was wearing this?” Keenan mused, turning the brooch over in his hand. “Tis but a pretty trinket.”

  “I think there’s more to it than that. How would she get something like this unless it came from a far-off land? It could not have come from any of the shops I’ve seen. What if they’re hiding something?”

  Keenan laughed to hide the fear that was steadily growing inside his belly. “Like what?”

  Conrad’s face went flush as he stammered. “Perhaps they’re bringing secrets to our enemy. What if the design proves that she is a Viking?”

  It was clear that Conrad was not going to drop the issue any time soon, so he decided the best idea was to keep him close. That way he could keep an eye on him in case he tried anything clever. “Lad, dinnae fash yerself. It’s probably something Nora picked up on one of her many travels,” Keenan suggested. “She’s been all across the country, to places ye and I have never even heard of. It could have come from anywhere.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll not hear another word about it!” Keenan snapped, while hastily shoving the brooch into his bag. “This will be returned to my niece when w
e get back. Ye’re to stay with me in the battle, is that understood? I dinnae want ye running off and causing any more trouble.”

  Conrad gritted his teeth into a forced smile and responded. “Of course, my laird. However, I would think my skill proves more valuable elsewhere.”

  “Not today. Ye’ll stay with me until the job is done.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Within the hour, Keenan and the other warriors had mounted their horses and were galloping out the village gate. Jain stood on the steps of the village keep and watched them leave with a heavy heart. With Alan amongst their numbers, it seemed almost cruel. They had barely pledged themselves to each other only to have him taken away from her. She prayed that he would make it back alive, after all they hadn’t even gotten the chance to start a life together.

  Moira came up beside her while Jain lamented and wrapped her arms around her shoulder. “Fear not, Jain. Yer Uncle Keenan is a skilled warrior, I’m sure he’ll make it back all right.”

  Jain reached up and patted Moira’s hand where she embraced her. “Thank ye, Mam, but he’s not the only one I’m concerned about.”

  Keenan’s footsteps echoed on the floor behind them. “Alan will make it back too, my dear. I promise ye that.”

  The skin between her eyebrows puckered when she turned to face him. “How do ye ken?”

  Eamon cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest to lean back against the stone archway. “I take it ye’ve never seen the lad with a sword, otherwise ye wouldn’t be asking.”

  Her spirits lightened slightly, and she offered a timid smile. “I hope ye’re right.”

  He nodded. “As soon as they get back, Keenan will give his blessing to the match and ye’ll be married by the New Year.”

  Moira gasped and stepped in front of Jain to face her. “Does that mean…? Has he asked ye fer yer hand?”