In the distance, out in the ocean, he thought he could see the selkies watching them, waiting for them.
“Baldric?”
“Yes, Da?”
“Is it true that you want to be with the selkies? With… your family?”
“I want to be with both of you,” Baldric said, his own eyes filled with unshed tears. “I don’t know what to do.”
“It’s all right if you don’t know yet, son. Why don’t we go out to talk to them? It looks like they want to see you, doesn’t it?”
Baldric stared out the window. “Yes, it does.”
“Here, hop down and take my hand. We’ll go meet them.”
Tara was waiting outside the room and looked at him questioningly as he led Baldric out. “Come along, too, Tara,” he told her. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to stand upright if he did this alone. He needed his wife’s support.
The sea was calm, and it looked as though the tide had receded a bit, unusually so. There were sea shells scattered on the sand and fish flopping about. The selkies had moved closer to the shore, but still kept a wary distance. Colin wondered briefly what they had done to his brother. Had they imprisoned him, or worse? Were humans able to breathe in a selkie realm?
Either way, he was dead to Colin.
He took a deep breath. “Thank you for helping us,” he told them. “We are in your debt for saving Baldric’s life.”
The selkies glanced at each other, then bowed to him. The selkie in the middle, a male by the looks of it, began to come forward. Colin tensed.
“It’s all right, Colin,” Tara said under her breath. Nonetheless, he could only remember how effortlessly they had dragged his brother’s body into the water.
When the selkie reached the shore, Colin was surprised to find that the fairy had the legs of a man. He was shrouded in kelp around his torso and shoulder, in a similar style that the ancient Romans used to wear. He stopped in front of Baldric and said a few words to him in his language. The selkie stood a head taller than Colin and stared at him with liquid blue eyes. A smile was on his lips.
Tara reached out and clasped Colin’s hand. He squeezed it back. “What did he say, Baldric?” Colin asked the boy.
“He said he is my mama’s brother,” Baldric replied, his eyes wide. “My mother is dead, isn’t she?”
“Yes, Baldric. She is in heaven now.” If, indeed, fairies go to heaven, Colin thought.
He was stunned as Baldric said something in the fairy language to the selkie. He must’ve been translating what he had just said, for the selkie looked shocked. The smile on his face faded, and his eyes darkened.
The selkie turned to face him and surprised him by speaking in English. “Aye,” the selkie said in a strange accent. “I am Elmyra’s brother, which makes Baldric my nephew. I suppose we have that in common? You are his uncle, as well?”
“Yes, I am.”
The selkie bowed. “Thank you for taking care of him.”
Colin nodded. He found his voice catching in his throat as he spoke. “He is like a son to me. However, if he wants to join you in your realm…”
The selkie nodded. “Aye, I know. It is up to the boy to decide what he wants to do.”
Colin looked at Baldric. “What is it that you want, son? Do you want to live with the selkies, or live here on land with me and Tara?”
Baldric stared at the two of them. “Can I perhaps spend time in one place, and then spend time in the other?”
It hurt Colin that he wouldn’t see Baldric all the time, but that was better than not seeing him at all. “Would that work for you, sir?” he asked, not sure of the formal title for a leader of the selkies. Perhaps Baldric would be able to tell him all about him. “Would you be willing to take turns raising the lad?”
The selkie looked squarely in his eye, considering his words. “Aye, we could do that. He can go between the human and selkie realm as he pleases. I believe that it would only be fair for a lad that has both human and fairy blood.”
Colin sighed and crouched down next to the boy. “Did you want to go to the selkies now, Baldric?”
The boy nodded eagerly. “The last time I was there, they had a castle made of coral!” he said excitedly.
The selkie smiled. “I can assure you it is still there, young Baldric,” he told him.
Baldric’s face brightened with a smile, the first smile Colin had seen in days. That alone let him know that letting Baldric go was the right decision.
“Well, promise me you’ll tell me all about your adventures when you return,” Colin said.
“I will, Da!” Baldric said.
“Come, Baldric,” the selkie said. “There are many more family members that are eager to meet you.”
Baldric started walking toward the ocean with the selkie, but then turned around and ran into Colin’s arms. Colin held him tightly.
“This isn’t forever,” he said—to the boy or to himself, he knew not.
“I love you, Da,”
“I love you, too, son.”
The boy finally pulled away,walked over to the selkie man, and took his hand. The selkie led him into the water, and in a flash of light, they disappeared into the water’s depths.
Colin stood there, staring into the ocean for a long while.
“Colin.”
Tara. His wife. He turned around and looked at her, standing there behind him. The sun was hovering above the horizon, casting a beautiful orange glow across her skin and hair, lighting up her saffron dress like she was the sun itself.
“Will you be all right?” she asked softly.
“Aye.” Colin stared down at his feet. Was he going to be all right? Aye, he supposed so, if Tara was with him. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “He’ll come back when he’s ready and stay with us. It’s for the best,” he explained, as though convincing himself.
“Aye, it is.” She held out her hand for him to take it, and she led him back to Murdag Castle. His home.
Chapter 28
A little while later, they headed to the great hall for supper. It felt strange to not have Baldric by his side; he had been a constant presence for four years. When they entered the great hall, Colin was surprised to see a large, burly man of middle years crouching over a tray of food, shoveling the contents of the tray into his mouth.
“Bearnard?” Tara asked, surprised as well.
Bearnard? Tara’s uncle? She had mentioned that her uncle was sort of an eccentric pirate. But he was still taken aback by the man’s long, unruly hair and the silver rings that hung from his ears.
“Aye, there you are, Tara. I decided to take a break from my voyage and relax a bit.”
“I didn’t see your ship come in,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed with confusion.
“That’s because I didn’t come here with my ship. I came by way of Inverness, on horseback.”
Tara shook her head. “Well, it’s lovely to see you, uncle,” Tara said, kissing the man on his cheek.
Bearnard finally noticed Colin. “Who’s this gentleman? I hear you are married now?”
“Aye, I am. This is my husband, Colin Morrison.”
The man stood up from his seat and gave him a bow; mocking or not, Colin could not tell. But when he got up, he revealed a redheaded woman seated beside him. She looked at them sheepishly.
“Sofie?” Tara asked confused.
“You have met already?” Bearnard asked, incredulous. He sat back down and took a swig from his tankard.
“Aye, we met her at Aengus Castle, not too long ago. But why are you here?” Tara asked the woman.
It took a moment for Colin to recognize the French maid from his mother’s castle, the woman who had served Tara and Baldric. With all that happened afterward, his visit at his mother’s castle seemed like a lifetime ago.
But what was she doing here at Murdag? Were the two… married? The man seemed more than twice her age, but he supposed it wasn’t impossible. Men and women had married with a wider age gap than that plenty
of times.
Before Sofie could reply, Bearnard started talking. “Ach, where are my manners?” he exclaimed. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, stood up from his chair, and gestured to the girl with his large hand. “Everyone, this is my daughter, Sofie.”
“Daughter?” Tara gasped.
“Aye,” Bearnard said, grinning proudly. “She was born out of wedlock, but she is my daughter through and through. I had a romantic liaison with some buxom French kitchen maid down in Edinburgh. Didn’t mean to get her pregnant, but...”
“All right, that’s enough,” Sofie said, putting her hands over her ears and looking downright horrified. “I don’t wanna hear all about the littlest details!”
“Well,” Tara exclaimed, also sounding rightly horrified and wanting to change the subject. “We have another Maxwell in the family! I’ll have to let Adam know right away.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Sofie exclaimed. She pointed out the window toward the ocean.
“What is it?” Tara asked.
“There was splashing in the water. Like a pod of dolphins.”
Dolphins? Colin thought. Or… someone else?
They got up from their seats and gazed out the window. There was a group of selkies playing around in the water. One selkie stuck his head out of the water, wet, golden curls glistening. He was looking toward the window, smiling. He raised his small hand and waved cheerily.
Baldric.
“Who is that?” Sofie asked, wonder in her voice.
“That is my son,” Colin replied, smiling.
She looked at him in confusion until Tara rested a hand on her shoulder. “Come, Sofie, and sit with me,” she told her. “I will tell you all about our family history, as there is much to know.”
Baldric disappeared down into the depths of the water, which shimmered orange and red under the setting sun.
Also by Verlin Underwood
Scottish Medieval Romance novels
Highland Warrior Series
Book 1: Lady Nellie
Story of Story of Nellie, Adam and the return of the vengeful fairy
Link: Book 1 - Lady Nellie
Book 2: Charming the Highlander Laird
Story of Tara, Colin and the boy of the water
Link: Book 2 - Charming the Highlander Laird
Charming the Highlander Laird Page 19