by Terry Spear
Rob and Alroy, named for his red hair, moved outside and Marcus said, “They are going to guard in case anyone shows up unexpectedly.”
“Will anyone, do you think?”
Marcus pulled her into his embrace and kissed her mouth soundly, his arms tight around her back, holding her body against his. She felt his staff, hard and eager pressing against her.
“Oh, Marcus,” she said on a half moan, half sigh. On the one hand, she loved this intimacy between them and wished they could do more, on the other, she couldn’t quit fretting about what they would learn, concerning the children’s mother.
“Lass, dinna fash yourself so. All will be well.”
She loved him for saying so, though she was not a child and knew better. She let out her breath. “I wish we could be doing something. Not just…sit here.”
The bairns began to stir.
She smiled and rubbed Marcus’s back, loving the feel of them close like she’d always dreamed it would be, no longer worried about propriety. Not when they had agreed to be husband and wife. “I spoke too soon.”
He chuckled.
“I will get them something to eat,” she said.
Fiona quickly rose from her pallet. “I beg pardon, my laird, my lady. I shouldna have slept so long.”
“Nay, ‘Tis fine. We will eat now.”
Fiona looked around and seeing only Marcus and Isobel said, “Have the others gone to the village?”
“Two have. To see to your mother.” Marcus gave Isobel one last hug, then kissed the top of her head. “I will be outside speaking to the men.”
He left the shieling then, and Isobel dished out the porridge for the children as each of them rubbed the sleep from their eyes and began to dress for the day. The boys excused themselves and left the shieling.
When they returned, Fiona left.
“Where are the men?” Druce asked.
“Guarding.”
“I dinna see them when I went outside to wash up.”
“Aye, they did not wish you to. That is how they guard.”
He glanced out the only window and frowned. “I want to join them.”
“Mayhap after you eat. But Marcus has to permit you to do so.”
“I can be a good guard,” Druce said.
“Aye, no doubt. But he is the laird, and you still have to do as he says. Like with all of the men, they have different assignments. Mayhap he would wish you to do something else.”
The boy’s eyes widened and he quickly nodded. He was a good lad. The little ones were quiet while Fiona helped to pour mead for them. Isobel thought Ulicia was blessed to have them and worried again as to what had become of her.
“Did his lairdship intend to steal you away from a kirk when you were marrying another?” Fiona asked, in between bites of her own porridge.
“Nay.”
“What will we do if Marcus’s cousins canna find our mother?” Fiona asked, tears springing into her eyes.
Isobel realized the girl had been very brave to take care of her brothers all on her own, most likely not giving up the hope that their mother would return.
“We shall not worry about what will be.” Even though Isobel couldn’t help feeling alarmed about their situation, she knew that repeating Marcus’s words of wisdom were the only way to deal with this as far as the children were concerned. Then she wondered if the children had other relations in the area. “Was your father from here?”
“Aye,” Fiona said. “But his mother and da have died and two of his brothers have gone somewhere else.”
“Two? Has he any others?”
“One, and he is married, but he has four bairns of his own,” Fiona warned, as if she feared Isobel wished to leave them with their uncle.
Orphaned children were often taken in by family members as a necessity and family was everything. Even her cousins, when their parents died, were taken in by another relation who had eight children. Two more mouths to feed were of no consequence. And they helped to farm the land.
She thought it would be safer than if the children followed them to where they were going with the problems they may face. They could even send for them later, if things were not acceptable here.
They had washed up and the lads had gone out to see if Marcus would allow them to guard, and as good-natured as he was, he kept them outside with him.
“Are you in a lot of trouble?” Fiona asked.
“I pray that everything will work out as it should.”
The sound of horses clopping closer sent a shiver down Isobel’s spine. She and Fiona strode to the window and looked out, hoping that it was Finbar and Leith with news about the bairns’ mother. She saw men she had never seen before.
She quickly drew out her sgian dubh.
Chapter 12
“What are you doing here?” Not believing his eyes, Marcus hurried out of the woods to greet Angus MacNeill, Angus’s cousin Niall, and Gunnolf, their Viking friend who had been raised by the MacNeills since he was two and ten. Angus was dark-haired and dark-eyed, more muscular than Niall, whose hair was curly, but he had the same coloration. Gunnolf was blond-haired and blue-eyed, muscular and tall. All three men were a welcome sight.
Angus hurried to dismount. “As soon as we had word that Lord Pembroke was dead, we knew you would be going to Lady Isobel’s aid. We intended to locate you, assuming you might go this route. We met Finbar and Leith in the village. They found the bairns’ mother. She has been too ill to return to her shieling, so delirious with fever that she didna ask about her bairns. The woman who was caring for her thought she had made other arrangements for them. Leith said they are fine. They will bring her home in a bit, but they bid us come see you and let you know we are here to help.”
Marcus couldn’t believe their good fortune. “Did he tell you the trouble we could have?”
Angus smiled a little. “Aye. I thought only we got into such predicaments.”
Marcus shook his head.
The men dismounted and stalked toward the byre to take care of their mounts.
“What are you planning to do?” Niall asked, “with regard to the lass?”
“She is my wife.”
The men all smiled and offered him heartfelt congratulations.
“The problem is that MacLauchlan should have received word by now that we are traveling with the lady,” Marcus said, the men all well aware of the lass’s parentage.
“You have our sword arms at your disposal,” Angus said.
Gunnolf was watching something at a nearby stream, and Marcus turned to see what it was he was observing.
The lads.
“I have had word that you have wed Edana of the Clan Chattan and so that makes you my cousin by marriage, Angus.” Marcus glanced at Niall. “You have gone and wed a French countess. What of you, Gunnolf?”
He folded his arms and smiled. “‘Tis a warrior’s life I lead. You will see that Angus and Niall are fretting about leaving their wives behind. Me? I have naught to worry about except for getting them home safely. If I dinna, I would be in the most grievous trouble with the lasses.”
Angus and Niall laughed. Angus said, “He wishes he had someone to go home to. Dinna listen to his tales.”
Marcus smiled. “A Viking lass? A Highland lass? Which do you prefer, Gunnolf?”
Gunnolf chuckled. “I tell you, this is the life for me.” Then he frowned. “But if I had someone that I had cared for all my life as you have cared for Isobel, then things would be different. Will you have trouble from her family in England?”
“I hope no’. I wish no fighting between us. MacLauchlan, now that is a different story. ‘Tis inevitable if he is of a mind to claim Isobel as his daughter and his to do with as he wishes.”
Marcus led them inside where Isobel smiled broadly at them. “Greetings. I am glad you are here to aid us.”
“We would do no less, my lady.” Angus took her hand and gallantly kissed it.
Niall punched him in the shoulder. “Marcus loo
ks to be ready to take you to task if you dinna let go of the lass’s hand.”
She smiled at them. “I will fix you some of the porridge if you would like.”
They heard horses again and Finbar shouted, “‘Tis only us.”
They went outside to see Ulicia as Leith handed her down to Rob, who carried her into the shieling.
“She is better, but canna take care of her bairns until she has fully recovered,” Leith said, joining them.
“We will take care of her,” Fiona said fiercely.
Her brothers hurried inside with a few fish they had caught in the river and Druce said, “Aye. We will care for her.”
“If Ulicia is well enough and her children can aid her, we need to leave. But if you wish to rejoin our clan, we will send men to move you there,” Marcus said to his distant cousin.
“I am happy here.” Ulicia tucked a brown curl behind her ear as she sat on one of the chairs at her table, and Fiona hurried to get her mother some porridge to eat. “I just need to get my strength back. And my bairns will be help enough.”
“Are you certain?” Marcus asked. “I would leave a man to help out until you are better.”
“What if MacLauchlan recognizes him and believes you have been this way?” Ulicia looked worried for his safety and most likely for her own as well as her bairns.
“He doesna know I am kin to you. And he doesna know all of my men.” Marcus motioned to one of them. “Leith has only recently joined our clan.”
Leith nodded his assent.
“He will stay. I would have more peace of mind if I thought he could help and then follow us later.”
“Aye, if you feel he must,” she said reluctantly, but Marcus saw the relief in her light brown eyes and was glad he was leaving one of his men behind.
Leith was already helping the older lad and Fiona prepare the fish for a meal.
Marcus patted Ulicia’s shoulder. “We must be on our way then. Have your mounts rested some?” he asked Angus and the others in his party.
“Aye. We arrived in the village last night and we were trying to learn where your distant cousin lived when we had the good fortune of seeing Leith fetching water from the well and knew then we were in the right place,” Angus said.
“Good, when you are finished eating then, we will leave.”
Marcus was surprised when each of the bairns hugged him.
Druce said, “When my mother no longer needs me, I will fight for you.”
Marcus very seriously nodded. “Aye, I would have you on my side. Any man who can take on Rob and survive the encounter, is a formidable opponent indeed.”
Rob grinned as all gazes swung to him. He shrugged. “Aye, what can I say? The lad has a mighty swing.”
The men quickly finished the porridge Isobel had served them.
Druce beamed and then the bairns hugged Isobel and she looked sad to be leaving them behind. That made Marcus think of her with their own bairns someday and that gave him a good feeling.
“You know we are closer to the Chattan’s castle now,” Angus said. “Mayhap we should go there. Edana wished to see you.”
“Aye, we shall do that then. My hunting lodge is closest, but affords very little protection and MacLauchlan may no’ guess we are headed for the Chattans’ and not to my own keep.”
“Aye. I am curious about this ward you were caring for that you wished the Chattan brothers to meet and hoped one would wed her. The brothers returned home, wouldna speak of the matter, and none had a bride in hand,” Angus said, as they left the shieling and mounted their horses.
Isobel rode beside Marcus and turned to look at him, curiosity in her expression.
“‘Tis a long story,” Marcus said. “The Chattan brothers were delayed so long, by the time they reached my keep, the circumstances had changed.”
“How so?” Angus asked.
“My ward is no longer my ward, but I am still trying to rectify that.” Marcus hadn’t told anyone the details because he thought that best left up to the man who wished to wed the lass, the daughter of a friend who had died and left her in the hands of an unscrupulous uncle. Although Marcus had planned to tell Isobel when they reached his keep so that she would know why this was so important to him. He wished she could meet her and be her friend.
“How goes married life between you and my cousin?” Marcus asked Angus. Edana had a strange gift of knowing things she should not and he had been afraid she’d never find a man who could love her like she deserved. He was glad she married Angus, the two of them appealing to each other from the time they were young, very much like Marcus and Isobel.
Angus smiled. “She is a delight. I should have wed Edana long ago.”
“Aye, I agree. And you, Niall? No trouble with the French aristocracy over wedding the countess?”
“Nay. They were happy that I married the lass.”
Gunnolf snorted.
Everyone looked in his direction. Gunnolf shrugged. “In the end.”
Marcus wasn’t surprised. If he hadn’t been away at the time, he would have offered to go with Niall and Gunnolf and aid them in locating the countess. Especially after he had learned of all the difficulties they had gone through.
“And you and Isobel?” Angus asked.
Isobel flushed a pretty pink.
Marcus smiled at her. “She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. But we have no’ had the pleasure to get to know each other like we will.”
The men chuckled.
She looked beautifully embarrassed. But he knew she did not mind the attention. She was used to his cousins teasing the two of them, and she was always good-natured about it.
***
With the land cloaked in fog every morning until nooning, and low hanging clouds covering the sky, they had not had to suffer any further drenching rains, just light mists, which Marcus was glad for. It took them two days to reach the lands of the Clan Chattan. They had not even gone far when Edana’s brothers rode out to meet them and everyone halted to speak for a moment before they continued the rest of the way to the castle.
The brothers were a lively lot and when Marcus had been but a lad, he’d spent many a day hunting, sparring, and even swimming with his cousins in the loch.
Gildas, the second eldest of the brothers, his blue eyes sparkling like the waters of the loch were narrowed a little when he said, “We have had travelers since Angus left to find you.” Gildas’s tone of voice warned it was not welcome news.
Marcus growled, “Laren MacLauchlan—”
“Nay, no’ him.”
“Pembroke’s men?” Marcus was surprised they would be there and not storming his own castle.
“His nephew.”
Isobel’s eyes were wide with shock. “John is here?”
“Aye. He suspected Marcus had found you after one of Marcus’s men took the knight home and left him there to tend to. Marcus’s kinsman came to Rondover Castle and John and his escort followed him there, thinking that you would be there already.”
Marcus didn’t like the worry in Gilda’s expression. “And?”
“He wants Lady Isobel returned home at once. That he means to return her, I should say.”
“Nay,” Isobel said. “He can have my…my father’s title now. His lands. I have agreed to be Marcus’s wife.”
“It seems that isna enough,” Drummond, the youngest of the Chattan brothers, said. “We would ride with you to your keep, Marcus, if you wish it so that you can keep the lass from the likes of her cousin.”
“Nay,” Isobel said. “I will speak with him. He must believe I have been taken against my will or some such thing. He does not know the fondness Marcus and I have always had for each other. My cousin has rarely visited.”
She rode toward the castle and Marcus caught up to her, not liking this business one wee bit, but he would set her cousin straight at once. He and the lass belonged together and nothing would tear them apart now.
“He willna have you returned, lass,
” Marcus said adamantly.
“What if John has King Henry’s backing?”
“We will mention about your heritage if you agree,” he said to her.
She looked ill at ease over the matter.
“‘Tis up to you.”
“Aye, we will do that. If you think it will make any difference.”
“Surely your cousin will see that this is what you want and will agree without too much trouble.” Marcus would go to any lengths to fight anyone who wished to take her away from him now. When he was attempting a diplomatic solution with her da, that was one thing. He respected him for the way he normally dealt with the Scots at the border, attempting to keep the peace. She adored her da and he her, so Marcus had not wanted to fight him and upset Isobel, nor had he wanted to have to deal with King Henry, should he have taken the side of the earl.
John was a different matter. The cousin was an unknown quantity to him. It was always important to know one’s friends and foes. “What kind of man is he?” Marcus asked Isobel as they drew closer to the gates.
“He has always been standoffish, but I think ‘tis because he never lived with us. He would visit every once in a while. Maybe ten times in the last ten years? We were never close. He was rather sullen as a lad, and he never spoke to me, but I attributed that to my being a lass and he was more interested in speaking to the men of my…father’s court. He has a younger brother by a year, but I saw him even less.”
Marcus wished he hadn’t had to tell her who her da really was. Every time she hesitated to refer to him as her da, he felt a twinge of guilt. Though he still felt it important for her to know the truth because her real father seemed to want her for his own pawn in securing clan ties, and he wanted her to know that King Henry might not pursue the matter if he learned she was not really Pembroke’s daughter.