Highland Secrets

by Elizabeth Rose

  “His wife is havin’ another baby any day. He sends his regrets but wants to stay and tend to the other children to help her,” said her mother.

  “Ye are goin’ to live in a castle?” said Conall, his red hair shining in the sun almost as bright as hers.

  “Why dinna we have a castle, Da?” asked Dugal, the dark-haired twin.

  “Boys, ye ken that we live simply in our clan because that is the way yer faither wants it,” their mother reminded them.

  “Maggie, it’s time the boys ken the truth,” said Reed. “I didna pledge my loyalty to the late King Edward like yer uncles did, or I would have had a castle as well.”

  “Why didna ye?” asked Dugal with a frown.

  Morag answered for him. “Because then ye would all be livin’ in England with Sassenachs the way Fia and I have been doin.”

  “Speakin’ of that,” said Fia, looking around. “Where are Willow and Maira? I need to speak with them about somethin’ important.”

  “They’re no’ comin’,” said Morag. “The earl wouldna let them leave his care.”

  “What? No’ even for my weddin’?” asked Fia. “Why no’?”

  Reed cleared his throat and looked the other way. “They’ll be along later after yer uncles talk to Lord Beaufort.”

  “Da almost strangled the earl with his bare hands for lettin’ ye be kidnapped when he was supposed to be watchin’ over ye,” tattled Morag. “Now the earl willna let Willow or Maira leave until he has written permission from Uncle Rook and Uncle Rowen.”

  “Da, how could ye?” spat Fia. “I am to be married this mornin’, and I wanted them here.”

  “Ye’ll just have to wait and talk to them when they arrive in a day or two,” said Reed, leading the way inside the castle.

  “A day or two? That is too long. I need to talk to them now.” Fia followed her family inside the castle courtyard feeling as if she would never have anyone to confide in with her problem.

  “Fia, ye have me to talk to,” said Morag, leading her horse, walking at Fia’s side.

  “This is nothin’ ye can help me with, Morag. It has to do with the Followers of the Secret Heart.”

  “I’m a member now, too, dinna forget.” Morag tapped the heart brooch on her bodice. “Imanie made me a member so ye can talk to me about things as well.”

  “Imanie was also cursed by doin’ that and died for it, unless ye forgot,” Fia whispered. Before Morag could respond, Earc approached.

  “Lady Fia, Laird Alastair would like to talk to ye anon up on the battlements.”

  “Now?” Fia’s heart pounded in her ears. “But my family has just arrived.”

  “Fia,” Alastair called down from the battlements. “Come up here, please.”

  Reed looked up and nodded a greeting to Alastair who nodded back.

  “Yer family is welcome to refresh themselves in the great hall. I will be right with them,” he told her.

  “Aye, my laird,” she said, climbing the steps to the battlements, feeling as if she were heading to the gallows instead.

  “Fia, come here.” Alastair turned and headed down the walk way. She noticed he limped and then saw why. “Ye are only wearin’ one boot?”

  “Dinna ask.”

  “I’ll bet it was Cerberus who took the other. He is such a playful dog.” She tried to talk about anything other than what she knew he wanted to speak to her about.

  “Forget the dog. I want to ken why my faither called ye into his chamber.”

  “I was glad he did since I wanted to say guidbye.”

  “Ye didna even ken him nor did he like ye. Dinna lie to me, Fia. Now, tell me what it was that was so important that he found the need to tell ye with his dyin’ breath.”

  Fia looked over the edge of the battlements, wishing she were anywhere but here right now. If only she had been able to talk to Lorraine or her cousins for guidance, she would be feeling much better at the moment. Now, this was all up to her. Duncan MacPherson could go straight to hell for all she cared, putting her in this position. Mayhap he did it purposely, trying to tear Alastair and her apart.

  “He called me into his chamber to tell me that he always believed ye when ye told him a mysterious woman saved yer life on the battlefield.”

  “What? Why wouldna he say that to me instead? That makes no sense.”

  Fia could no longer hold back. If they were to be married, she had to be honest with him, or he would never trust her again. “He told me because he saw the heart brooch I wore, just like the one that the mysterious woman gave ye.”

  “And?” He tapped his fingers on the wall of the battlements and waited for her to continue.

  “Alastair, he told me he thought the woman who saved ye on the battlefield was yer mathair.”

  “Nay. How could that be?”

  “I dinna ken, but the woman gave ye the heart brooch. Yer mathair had one just like it.”

  “She did?” He stopped and pondered the thought, his eyes going up and to the side as he tried to recall. “Aye,” he said with a nod as if suddenly remembering. “I was verra young at the time, but now I vaguely remember her wearin’ a brooch just like that. What does it mean?”

  Fia released a breath, closed her eyes and finally told him. “I belong to a secret group devised by the late Queen of England. Yer mathair belonged to it as well.”

  “Stop it, Fia. Ye’re speakin’ nonsense. My mathair never met Queen Philippa.”

  “Yer faither didna like the idea. He was the one to send her away,” she continued, wanting to tell him everything before she changed her mind. “He beat her to get her to tell him about it.”

  “Nay.” Alastair held on to the wall, gripping it so hard she saw his knuckles turn white. “If I had kent this, I would have fought my faither to protect my mathair.”

  “And that is why he could never tell ye. He took a mistress and told yer mathair if she ever returned or tried to contact ye or yer brathair he would . . . kill her.”

  Alastair’s head snapped up, and his eyes bore fire. “Tell me ye are makin’ this up.”

  “I would never make up such a horrid story. I am sorry, Alastair.” She reached out and covered his hand with hers.

  “What is this secret group?” he asked, staring out over the wall as he spoke. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he tried to hold back his emotions.

  “It is called the Followers of the Secret Heart. It is a group of women chosen by the queen, trained to be strong and to help their country and their people in secret.”

  “Ye’re sayin’ my mathair did this?”

  “I dinna ken.”

  “And ye and yer cousins? How could ye be trained or even chosen by the queen when she has been dead for years?”

  “Imanie trained us. The queen chose us as children to be trained when we were of age. When my grandfaither was on his deathbed, he gave us the queen’s crowns and these heart brooches because it was her wish.”

  “Fia, this is all so hard to believe.”

  “I’m sorry, Alastair, but it is all true.”

  “What about the crown? What did ye do with it? I ken ye had a hand in its disappearance.”

  This part wasn’t going to be easy. Still, she couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. “I gave it to Lorraine to give to a friend.”

  “Lorraine had a heart-shaped brooch, too. I want to talk with her.” He stood upright as if he meant to go.

  “Ye canna talk with her because Finn just told me she is dead.”

  “Dead?” A shadow covered his face. He looked down at her in a scolding manner. “What else are ye no’ tellin’ me, lass? Are ye in some kind of danger?”

  “Lorraine was found dead on the road, and with nothin’ at all but the clothes on her back. It is thought that bandits stole from her and then killed her. It is all my fault.” Fia tried hard to hold back the tears, ready to break down at any moment.

  Alastair must have noticed because his demeanor suddenly softened. “It is no’ yer fault, Fia.”
r />   “But it is. I gave her the crown because . . . because . . .”

  “I ken why ye did it.”

  “Ye do?” she asked in surprise.

  “Aye. Ye were my prisoner, and ye did no’ want me to have the crown. I canna blame ye. After all, Brohain had his eye on it for a long time. I had half a mind to hide it myself so he couldna find it.”

  “Alastair, that is no’ exactly why I did it.”

  “It doesna matter. It is over now.” He pulled her into his arms and ran a soothing hand up and down her back to try to calm her.

  “Are ye angry with me?”

  “I’m no’ angry at ye, Fia, but I wish ye would have told me and no’ kept it a secret.”

  “So – it doesna matter to ye that I wear this brooch and all that it stands for?” She looked down to the pin and rubbed her fingers over it, trying to find strength.

  “Imanie is dead and so is Lorraine. Fia, I dinna want ye involved in things that are dangerous.” He took her hands in his and looked her in the eye. “Promise me that as my wife ye will stop doin’ anythin’ in secret that has to do with this group.”

  Part of Fia wanted to rebel and tell him that she would never agree to this. But she hurt so bad from hearing that her actions caused Lorraine’s death that she never wanted to feel this way again. In trying to keep harm from those she loved, her clansmen and both her countries, she lost a friend who was willing to risk her life for the good of so many others.

  “I see now that things are no’ as I thought they would be with bein’ a member of this group. I mourn the passing of Imanie and feel as if Lorraine’s death was my fault. I promise ye, Alastair, that as yer wife, I will give up livin’ a secret life. I will no longer go behind yer back and do things that might endanger my life or the lives of others.”

  “Guid,” he said, kissing her on the head. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

  “However.”

  He pulled back and looked at her from the sides of his eyes. “Aye?”

  “Neither will I promise to be a subservient wife to be treated no better than a dog.”

  She held her breath, waiting for him to explode at hearing this. She had spoken out of line and no man she knew would ever put up with a woman talking this way to him. It was a risk to say this, but she didn’t want to marry him if he was going to beat her the way his father did to his mother.

  He was quiet for a few seconds, and then a grin spread across his face, and he started laughing! Taking her by her shoulders, he pulled her to his chest in a protective hug. “Dinna worry, Fia, I will never treat ye less than honorably. After all, ye are the granddaughter of a king. Besides, ye should ken by now that the dog of this castle gets treated better than even me around here. Now, let’s go greet our guests that are startin’ to arrive for the weddin’.”

  “Alastair? Do ye think ye will ever see yer mathair again?”

  “I’m no’ sure. And I am no’ convinced the woman on the battlefield really was my mathair.”

  “But are ye sure ye didna see the lassie’s face who saved ye? Certainly, ye wouldna have forgotten the face of yer own mathair.”

  “Nay, I didna see it. Her face was in shadow, and she wore a long, hooded cloak.”

  “Then perhaps yer mathair is still alive. Now that yer faither is gone, mayhap she will have the courage to return.”

  “I’d like to think that, Fia, honestly I would. But in my heart, I feel as if she is watchin’ over my deceased brathair instead. They are together wherever people go when they leave this life. Now, please, let’s no’ talk about death anymore. We are to be married and will start a new life together. What is in the past is gone and I willna be reminded of things that upset me on the most important day of my life.”

  Chapter 22

  Two hours later, Alastair paced back and forth in his chamber, not able to find the small box with the ring in it that he had bought for Fia. He tore up the room looking everywhere, but could not find it.

  He picked up the box with the heart brooch in it, opening the lid and gingerly plucking up the pin to inspect it. Could this have been his mother’s? And was she the one who helped save his life when he was wounded on the battlefield and left to die? It was a hard story to believe, not to mention the one his father supposedly told Fia. It wasn’t that he thought Fia was lying, but he had trouble understanding there was a secret group of strong women that was chosen by the late English queen. The whole thing sounded like something made up by a drunken bard.

  “My laird,” said Niven, rushing in the door, out of breath. “Everyone is waitin’ for ye in the courtyard. Fia’s faither said if ye dinna come down there anon, he is goin’ to come up here and get ye himself.”

  “Have ye found the ring?” He slammed shut the box and replaced it on the shelf.

  “Nay. I looked everywhere for it. Where did ye leave it?”

  “If I kent that, I wouldna be late for my own weddin’. I swear I put it up here on the shelf.” He ran his hand over the shelf once more but found no ring.

  “It looks like Cerberus has been in here again and just after I cleaned up from the last time he demolished the room,” stated Niven, looking at the mess.

  “Nay, most of this mess was done by me lookin’ for the ring.”

  “Oh.” Niven raised his brows in surprise.

  “Well, I will just have to explain it to Fia and get her another ring later. I hope she can forgive me for bein’ so careless.”

  They made their way down to the courtyard decorated with archways of flowers leading to a raised dais where the priest stood waiting with his book in his hand. Alastair stopped in his tracks when he saw Fia waiting for him to join her. She was even more beautiful than he’d ever seen her before.

  “Alastair,” she said with a smile as he approached, keeping her head down and looking up shyly, making her big, green eyes seem twice as large. Damn, she was alluring. Morag stood at her side, straightening the train of her long gown. It was made of dark green velvet with eyelets of white lace on the tippets and down the bodice.

  “Ye look stunnin’, my bonnie cailin.”

  She smiled and held out the sides of her gown. “My mathair brought this gown for me to wear.”

  “She made it years ago, hopin’ someday Fia would marry,” Morag blurted out.

  Fia’s long, red locks were loose and cascaded down her shoulders. It was a striking contrast to her forest green gown. The only thing that could have made her look more like a princess was if she were wearing her crown. In her hands, she held a bouquet of colorful wildflowers.

  “Shall we start?” asked the priest, seeming anxious to have the wedding over. The sky started to darken, looking like rain.

  “Wait! Wait for us,” called out a female voice from the drawbridge. Alastair turned around to see Fia’s cousins and their fathers – the other two Legendary Bastards of the Crown, riding in through the front gate.

  “Maira! Willow!” Fia shouted excitedly, waving the flowers in the air. “Over here.”

  The girls dismounted and ran over to hug Fia.

  “I didna think ye were comin’.” Fia’s heart soared to see her cousins. Willow and Maira had arrived with their fathers in time for the wedding after all.

  “We rode all night to get the girls here in time,” said the blond-haired triplet, Rowen.

  “Alastair, ye already ken my cousins, but I would like ye to meet my Uncles Rook and Rowen,” said Fia.

  “About time ye got here,” Reed called out. “It took ye long enough.” Reed went over to greet his brothers with a quick clasp of their hands.

  “Are we ready now?” asked the priest, glancing up at the sky. A few raindrops fell around them. “I recommend I do the short version since it is about to storm.”

  “Make it quick,” said Alastair, taking Fia’s hand in his. “I canna wait a minute longer to make her my wife.”

  After repeating their vows, the priest nodded to Alastair. “Ye can put the ring on her finger now.” He ner
vously glanced upward at the sky once again.

  “Fia,” said Alastair. “About the ring.”

  “Aye?” she couldn’t imagine what he was trying to say.

  Cerberus pushed through the crowd and leaped up at Alastair, putting its paws on his shoulders just then.

  “Get down,” he grumbled, having no luck at pushing the dog away.

  “He has somethin’ in his mouth,” observed Fia.

  “It’s the ring,” called out Niven from next to Alastair.

  “God’s eyes, ye’re right.” Alastair took the small box from the hound’s mouth and opened it, pulling out a ring and holding it up in the air. “I couldna have trained the dog to do that,” he said with a chuckle.

  “And just in time,” added Niven.

  Alastair slipped the ring onto Fia’s finger just as the sky opened up in a downpour.

  “I pronounce ye man and wife, ye may kiss the bride,” the priest said all at once, slamming shut his book and running for cover.

  “Everyone to the great hall,” called out Reed, leading the crowd out of the rain.

  Fia didn’t notice the rain drenching them because she was busy kissing Alastair and thinking of how excited she was to be his wife.

  “Tonight is the night,” he told her, picking her up in his arms to carry her to the great hall. Fia knew what he meant because she was anticipating their consummation just as much as he was. “Niven,” Alastair called out as he placed her on her feet inside the keep.

  “Aye, my laird?” asked Niven, rushing over with the dog at his heels.

  Alastair stared into Fia’s eyes as he spoke. “Tell the cooks to hold off the meal for an hour and have the minstrels and jongleurs entertain everyone until we get to the great hall.”

  “My laird?” asked Niven, pushing the dog away as it barked and continued to pull at his sleeve. “Ye are already here.”

  “Nay, we’re no’,” he said, picking up Fia and carrying her in the opposite direction. “And keep the damned dog out of the bedchamber because I am no’ goin’ to be in the mood for sharin’ my bed with anyone but my new wife for the next hour.”