by Cathy MacRae
A gust of wind rocked the ship. Captain MacLean cast a weather eye to the sky. “Aye. We’ll be runnin’ before this wee storm most of the night. We may find ourselves closer to Ardnamurchan than we planned, come morn.”
He stepped away, issuing orders to his chief mate to ready the ship for the storm.
The deck swayed beneath Uilleam’s feet. He caught Brenna’s arm as she stumbled. Kari slid a few feet down the planks on her bottom, then returned as the ship righted herself. Uilleam managed to suppress his chuckle at her look of surprise. Poppy whined.
“We must get inside,” Brenna said. She helped her sister rise. “Poppy will follow. I believe she’s suitably chastened—for a time, anyway.”
With a frown, Uilleam noted the Mar had only one cabin.
Caz chuckled. “Care to berth with the rest of us?”
“Not what I’d planned,” Uilleam growled as he watched his wife totter across the shifting deck, her sister tucked beneath her arm.
“I daresay not.” He clapped Uilleam’s shoulder. “Consider this training for when ye have bairns.”
“I’d hoped to have a few months of privacy,” Uilleam groused. “I may as well be of use on deck.”
Caz nodded. “Ye’ll be too tired to worry about missing a round or two of tupping.”
“Ye may as well get some rest,” Uilleam noted.
“Why?” Caz sent him a puzzled look.
Uilleam grinned with evil glee. There was no reason he should be the only miserable person on the ship. “Because I’m sending ye and Alan to let Lord le Naper know his wee daughter and her pup are safe and sound.”
Caz blanched. “Ye wouldnae. Does our friendship mean naught?”
“Of course it does. ’Tis why I trust ye.” He nodded to the hatch that led to the crew’s quarters. “Find Alan. Tell him ye’re bound for Corbie’s Burn.”
~The End~
Thanks for reading Brenna’s and Uilleam’s story! I truly hope you’ve been entertained. You can find out more about Uilleam in The Prince’s Highland Bride which is his sister Maggie’s and her husband Phillipe’s story, and book #6 in the Hardy Heroines series by Cathy and DD MacRae.
Alan and Caz will return to Corbie’s Burn. Will one of them find their happy ever after? Watch for the next book, scheduled to release Fall of 2021!
About the Brooch
Holy relics were viewed, not as an item of worship, but of veneration—much like cherishing your great-great-grandmother’s ring—though many relics had a history of being involved with miracles such as healing. Following various Scripture passages in which such articles were involved with miracles (the hem of Jesus’ robe healing a woman of a bleeding issue Matthew 9:20-22, or a dead man’s body coming to life after touching Elisha’s bones 2Kings 13:21), relics were seen as both holy and necessary, and it was a requirement from the time of Charlemagne (800 CE) to as recent as 1959 that all Roman Catholic Church altars contain a relic.
A relic could be as intimate as a piece of bone or hair, or perhaps something that once came into contact with a saint such as an article of clothing. Most relics were objects touched during the lifetime of an apostle or a local saint revered for working miracles. All relics bestowed honor on whomever possessed them, and the holiest were items associated with Christ and his mother.
Uilleam’s relic is a sliver of the True Cross, and was introduced in Mhàiri’s Yuletide Wish. Considering the gold and gems in the brooch, it would have originally been an expensive gift to a bishop or maybe the Pope, or purchased by a very wealthy nobleman. There would have been few people who could afford the reliquary, much less the relic inside.
In The Prince’s Highland Bride, we learn at least part of the answer to the question, ‘where did the brooch come from?’. As part of a buried treasure, it’s true origins are still somewhat obscure, though Phillipe has a few thoughts in that tale if you care to read them. Click here for more: The Prince’s Highland Bride.
Will the brooch show up in the next Yuletide book? Find out soon!
A Few More Notes From the Author
I hope you’ve enjoyed Brenna’s and Uilleam’s story. When first asked to write this story, I couldn’t resist the theme of Twelve Days of Christmas in the Arms of a Highlander, and was just as tickled to get tapped to write a story based on the fourth verse: On the Fourth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Four Colley (black) . . . or as we now sing . . . Four Calling Birds.
It was also a lot of fun to create names and puns using the words Corbie, Raven, and so forth. Even naming the le Naper home ‘Big Bird Manor’—in Gaelic, of course—made me giggle. I hope it at least got a chuckle from you as well.
The le Naper family eventually became clan Napier.
The innkeeper’s wife’s dentures are based on those described in an article by Ancient Origins. You can read it here: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/archaeologists-find-medieval-dentures-made-teeth-dead-people-007042
I probably spent too much time researching the history of dentures, but it was pretty interesting.
Finding just the right stone and crafting for the brooch Uilleam originally purchased for Brenna led to some interesting tidbits. Of course, I’m always looking for the ancient origins of things, as the 13th century was, well, ancient. Finding a source on the world’s oldest known gemstone region was really cool. For years, Saint John’s Island (then known as Topazios) in the Red Sea was kept safe from pirates and other nefarious people by spreading the tale it was an isle of serpents. The myth apparently worked for many years.
The River Clyde was an important portal into Scotland, but in 1228, it was pretty shallow from Dumbarton to Glasgow. Until the late 17th century, that portion of the river could only accommodate small fishing boats. Merchant ships docked farther down the river (at ports such as at Dumbarton) and hefted their cargos inland via carts or small boats.
The river was also crowded with islands, or ‘inches’ in Old Scots, which were all lost when the river was deepened to take advantage of the economic potential of what would become the largest ship-building industry in the world.
~Cathy
Acknowledgements
It is with great sadness that I acknowledge the loss of one of my beloved critique partners. Dawn Marie Hamilton lost her fight with cancer earlier this year and never saw this manuscript. Her favorite color was peridot, hence my addition of this beautiful gemstone to the story. Rest in peace, my friend. You are deeply missed.
My thanks to Cate Parke, Lane McFarland, and Derek Dodson for your help with Brenna’s Yuletide Wish. Your chuckles and encouragement were immensely helpful, and I couldn’t have written it without you.
A huge shout-out to Dar Albert who gave me just what I asked for in the cover art.
Happiest Yule!
More Books by Cathy MacRae
The Highlander’s Bride series
The Highlander’s Accidental Bride (book 1)
The Highlander’s Reluctant Bride (book 2)
The Highlander’s Tempestuous Bride (book 3)
The Highlander’s Outlaw Bride (book 4)
The Highlander’s French Bride (book 5)
Christmas novellas
Mhàiri’s Yuletide Wish
Brenna’s Yuletide Song
From Wolfebane Publishing
De Wolfe Pack Connected World
The Saint:
The Penitent
The Cursed
The Ghosts of Culloden Moor series
(with LL Muir, Diane Darcy, Jo Jones, and Melissa Mayhue)
Adam
Malcolm
MacLeod
Patrick
The Hardy Heroine series
(with DD MacRae)
Highland Escape (book 1)
The Highlander’s Viking Bride (book 2)
The Highlander’s Crusader Bride (book 3)
The Highlander’s Norse Bride, a Novella (book 4)
The Highlander’s Welsh Bride (book 5)
; The Prince’s Highland Bride (book 6)
The Highlander’s Pirate Bride (book 7)
About the Author
Cathy MacRae is the award-winning, best-selling author of Scottish historical romance novels. Her books are regular RONE award nominees and winners and are known for their strong heroines and deeply researched story lines.
Writing with long-time partner DD MacRae, their Hardy Heroines series has fascinated readers and earned glowing critical reviews. A series linked by their strong women set against pivotal times in Scotland’s history, it features self-sufficient heroines, rich historical detail, and exciting plot twists.
Cathy and her husband currently live in beautiful Wisconsin where they read, write, and tend the garden—with the help of their dogs, of course. You can find her at art fairs, Scottish festivals, playing with the grandkids, and shoveling snow.
Join Cathy on her website for up-to-date news about her books and blog at https://www.cathymacraeauthor.com. There’s a link to sign up for her newsletter there, as well.
Other ways to connect with Cathy:
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Twitter: @CMacRaeAuthor
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