Page 20 of Laird of Sighs (His Highland Heart #5)

CHAPTER 20

B y the time Anders and Stellan reached the central Sutherland camp, the joyful, though quiet, reunion was already well underway. The Sutherland and the lairds of their allies welcomed the men, but voices stayed low to keep from alerting the Sinclair keep that something was going on in the siege camp. Firelight revealed the worry still in their father’s eyes. It lasted until he spotted his twins coming out of the darkness between the trees. In that moment, Anders would have sworn tears filled his eyes.

Stellan and he went straight to their father.

“Ye are here!” He exclaimed as he grabbed them together in a bear hug and pounded their backs.

Anders hissed and clenched his teeth against the pain of his father’s grateful embrace. “Easy, Da,” he said. “Ye may recall I had a wee run-in with some guards earlier today.”

Sutherland let go of Stellan and held Anders at arm’s length. “I saw ye on the wall, but didna see all of this. What did they do to ye? God’s teeth, I’ll tear them apart.”

“The Sinclair has likely already done so,” Anders assured him. “After his son took it upon himself to threaten ye—and me —he was no’ pleased. Nor with the four guards it took to subdue me and get me up there, where ye saw me.”

“Aye, and now, when ye didna lead the others into camp, I feared ye had been caught. Or worse.”

“Nay, Da,” Stellan reassured him. “Anders delayed to have a few words with Ailsa, the Sinclair’s daughter, before we could get away. We are here, safe and whole.”

“Ye are?” Sutherland peered intently at Anders.

He had to know about the memory loss by now. “Aye, and whole. Mostly. The other men must have told ye?”

“Aye, they did that, but there’s been nay time for aught else.”

“My memory is recovered, Da. I ken who ye are, and all these others. This walking mirror-image beside me does surprise me now and again, though.”

“What?” Stellan’s visage paled for a moment in the firelight, then reddened. “That was a jest, I think,” Stellan told their father. “Anders, now is nay the time for them.”

“Aye, I ken it. Sorry, Da.”

“I’ll forgive ye much, Son, save for yer inability to stay aboard a perfectly good Sutherland birlinn .”

Despite his injuries, Anders had to laugh at that, but it took effort. Stellan had said much the same. The events of that night and the days that followed were too fresh, and still stung.

“While ye get something to eat and drink, I will send for Seamus MacKay and the Rose leader to meet with us, and ye can tell us how ye managed to escape.”

“We can talk while we eat and drink, Da,” Anders said. “The sooner ye ken, the sooner we can plan what to do about the Sinclair response to our escape.”

Sutherland nodded. “Very well. Get what ye want and bring it to my tent. I’ll round up Seamus and Drake Rose.”

Once everyone was settled, Seamus gave them some good news. “Did ye ken several of the crates from yer birlinn have washed up on nearby beaches since the storm? Among them, we found one with the herbs ye meant to deliver to MacKay. Still dry and useable. Our healer will be pleased.”

“’Tis the best news I’ve heard so far,” Anders said. “Our ill-fated trip wasna wasted.”

“Tell us what happened,” his father demanded.

Anders launched into the story of what had happened to him, and how he had been treated while he recovered. And after, when the birlinn ’s crew had been found. How their efforts to protect him and his to protect himself and them, kept them from meeting until after Stellan and his men arrived. “Ailsa and I became close. With her mother’s help, she tried to talk her da into a betrothal between us, but he wouldna hear of it. Her brother the heir was all for a fight, and her da began to be swayed to his way of thinking, even to the point of contemplating killing us off, one by one, until ye lot left Sinclair land.”

“’Tis barbaric,” Seamus muttered.

“Among her friends, Ailsa counts a guard named Tasgall. When she became convinced her da was seriously considering his heir’s plan, she knew the only way to save our lives and prevent a clan war was for us to escape. They led everyone from the dungeon?—”

“Dungeon!” Seamus shook his head in disgust.

Stellan spoke up. “We were well cared for, again, thanks to Ailsa, with food and drink and blankets. Only in the last week when Sinclair began to think harsher methods were required did they take away most of the blankets. With the season turning, the dungeon was cold, but we managed with the help of some sympathetic guards and Ailsa.”

“There was no other way for us to leave,” Anders added. “There were too many of us. Tasgall silenced the dungeon guard. We left by a postern gate on the outside of their orchard. It lies closer to the woods than anywhere else around the keep. From there, we crossed a narrow bit of glen and disappeared into the trees.”

“What of Tasgall and Ailsa?” Seamus asked. “They could be in danger.”

“I saw Tasgall hit the postern guard from behind,” Anders said. “They werena seen by either the dungeon or the postern guard, so likely our absence willna be noted until one of those two wakes up and raises the alarm. They’ll think we managed to break out ourselves, though they’ll be puzzled as to how we did it.”

“I still have the key to the cells,” Stellan said, holding it up. “They may assume one of us lifted it from one of the guards, but they will be unable to discover who.”

“Well done!” Sutherland exclaimed.

“Lads, I’m overjoyed ye are well, and sorry that yer errand of mercy on my clan’s behalf went so wrong,” Seamus said. “I’m proud to stand with Sutherland to get ye back.”

“Rose, as well,” Drake said.

“We are grateful our allied clans supported us,” Stellan said. “Yer numbers kept Sinclair from acting foolishly.”

Seamus snorted “I shouldha kenned ye wouldna need our help, but would manage yerselves to find a way to escape.”

“And left another broken heart behind,” Stellan teased Anders. The others laughed until they noticed that Anders was not laughing.

Anders took a breath. “I wanted Ailsa to leave with us, but she was insistent her da would come out fighting to find her. She asked that the Sutherland send in a betrothal agreement. She and her mother would convince her da to accept, and she would walk out to join me.”

“I am nay keen on the idea of a betrothal, either, after all this, Son,” Sutherland said. “What Sinclair did?—”

“Was to allow his people to take care of us,” Anders said with the clarity that came from being outside Sinclair’s walls. “He couldna see a way out of this stalemate, either, since he held a betrothal agreement from the Norse king.”

“That is still a problem,” Stellan interjected, “but ’twas Boden causing the most trouble, nay Sinclair.”

“Ailsa is to me what Mariota is to Stellan,” Anders declared. “I must do everything I can to have her with me. If ye willna approve a betrothal, if I must, I will go back to Sinclair.” He knew his father would never allow that, but he had to say it.

Sutherland ignored the challenge. “Even if I send one in, he may reject it.”

“Ailsa will have to decide whether to obey her da or listen to her heart and leave the same way we did,” Stellan said. “Write the agreement. Have MacKay and Rose witness it. Brodie, too, if one of theirs is here on land and no’ all out at sea, blocking Sinclair Bay. Send it to Sinclair.”

“Then I must wait,” Anders added.

“So shall we all, Anders,” his father agreed.

“So shall we all,” Stellan and the others echoed.

Ailsa sat in the great hall the next morning, waiting for her father to find out how the Sutherlands got out of Sinclair and punish her. The voice they heard in the garden last night calling out who’s there had been the guard assigned to the postern returning to his post. Why had he left it? A call of nature? Or had Tasgall somehow diverted him before collecting the Sutherlands? Thank the saints Tasgall had been able to hit him from behind and knock him out. Now that the Sutherlands’ absence had been noticed, if the guard had seen her or worse, Tasgall, word would have gotten back to her father in no time.

She could hear everything going on in his solar. Her mother was in there with him, trying to calm him, but Sinclair was furious.

“How did they get out? How did they overpower the dungeon guard? Where was the postern guard? Damn it, giving that Anders Sutherland access to the keep was foolish. He showed them the way out,” he ranted. “This is Ailsa’s fault. And why are they still camped out there? They’ve gotten what they want. They should be leaving.”

Ailsa listened with bees buzzing in her bloodstream. She expected to be called into the solar at any moment to suffer her father’s wrath. Even if he couldn’t prove she’d had a part in the escape, he blamed her. And she would hear about it.

A messenger came into the great hall and headed for the solar, a rolled up vellum in his hand. Her heart skipped a beat, then resumed, beating even faster. Please, let that be the betrothal agreement from Sutherland, she thought. And let Da sign it!

She heard her father break the seal and swear as the messenger quit the solar and passed through the great hall on his way out.

“Do no’ dare to destroy that!” Her mother’s voice sliced the air, as sharp as the blade stabbing Ailsa’s heart at the realization that her father was about to tear up the betrothal agreement. She’d been foolish to hope he would ever sign it.

“Ailsa wants this, and ye need the alliance to heal the wounds ye have caused,” her mother continued in a more reasonable tone. “Do the right thing and sign the betrothal. Make yer daughter happy.”

“Her happiness is no’ a factor, Wife, as ye ken fine. ’Tis the matter of the betrothal agreement with the Norse king. ’Twould be dishonorable to break that agreement.”

“And where is that Norse king now? Do ye see his ships on our bay, or his men driving away the siege force around us? What value is his strength to us?”

Ailsa wished she could see her father’s face. He must be red with fury. Her mother’s attempt to force him to see reason could make him even more resistant.

“And do ye remember the prince’s reaction to the negotiation?” Her mother’s tone softened. “I was there, and I do. I watched him when his father broke the news. He was no’ in favor. Likely he has his eye on another lass his father kens naught about. He will be as happy as yer daughter to see ye annul the betrothal.”

“Ye dinna ken that.”

He didn’t shout, as Ailsa expected. But he didn’t sound ready to agree, either.

“As well as ye do, Love. The prince was surprised, then angry. Ye’d recall it if ye thought about it for a moment or two. I imagine he and his father had words after we left the chamber. Perhaps by now, the prince has made his father so miserable, he’ll be relieved to hear yer daughter willna accept his son. He willna be dismayed at a quick response. ’Tis done all the time.”

“No’ by Sinclair.”

The solar got very quiet. Ailsa held her breath. What other arguments could her mother marshal?

“Ye say yer daughter’s happiness is no’ a factor. Perhaps that is true, though as her father, ye must feel something for the lass ye have raised from a wee bairn. Ye loved carrying her about, hearing her laugh, teaching her to ride, to swim. I believe deep down ye still care, even though that wee lass is grown. Ye have always said she is bonnie and bright. She deserves the respect required to make her own choices. And in this case, her choice will benefit Sinclair and bring to us a host of alliances within Scotland that we sorely need.”

His sigh was so heavy, Ailsa heard it.

“Ye speak wisely, Wife, as ye always have. I should never have begun to listen to Boden when I have ye by my side.”

Ailsa wondered where her brother was. Locked in one of the cells in the dungeon, she hoped.

“For all our lives, Husband. I swore that to ye on the day we wed. Hear me now. Make yer daughter happy, and make me happy. Ye ken how much ye like the ways I reward ye when ye do.”

Ailsa had to summon a smile. Her mother’s tone had softened even further, cajoling and promising things best left unspoken.

“Damn it, Wife.”

Ailsa heard the capitulation in his tone and wanted to jump up, run to her mother and hug her. But not until she was certain his signature was firmly affixed to that document.

“Here,” he said. “I’ve signed it. Both copies. She can marry that Sutherland. Anders. If she had aught to do with their escape, ’tis better she leave Sinclair, anyway, and soon, before someone betrays her and I am forced to punish her.”

Ailsa’s breath left her in a long sigh of relief. In the next moment, she wanted to run out of the gate to Anders and tell him the news. But she dared not anger her father any further.

“Write yer letter to the king,” her mother said, her tone still softly cajoling. “I’ll find Ailsa and give her the good news.”

Ailsa stood, fairly vibrating with excitement as her mother came out and found her. In her hand she held the rolled up betrothal agreement. “Ye heard all that?”

“I did. Thank ye, Mother.” Ailsa reached for her and hugged her tightly.

“Yer da doesna need to see ye. Best if ye stay out of his sight for the rest of the day. We have a wedding to plan. Send Tasgall to the Sutherland with this,” she said and proffered the rolled up betrothal agreement.

“I want to take it.”

“Nay, Daughter. Ye may no’. Now is the time to demand the respect from Anders’ clan due to his betrothed. They sent two copies, so yer da has one for Sinclair’s records. Once they receive this signed copy, they can begin to take part in the preparations. I will arrange them with the Sutherland’s man, whomever he sends. They can hunt and fish to stock our larder for a wedding feast. And call in their allies from our bay. While I do that, ye and Anders can have some quiet time together. No’ before then.”

“I canna wait, Mother.”

“Ye can, and ye will. Ye have waited yer whole life for the right man to find ye, or for ye to find him. A few more hours willna matter. Go to yer friends and give them the good news, or I’ll send ye to the kitchen to help Cook. That will keep ye occupied.”

Ailsa laughed. “I hear ye. I’ll find Siobhan. She’ll need to start on a suitable dress for the wedding.”

“Good thinking. Go on with ye.” She leaned in and kissed Ailsa on the cheek. “I love ye, my bonnie daughter. I pray ye will be very happy in yer new life.”

Ailsa fought tears, knowing her mother was already looking ahead to the day when she would leave Sinclair. “Thank ye, Mother. I will visit as often as I can.”

“And bring my grandbairns, too.”

That brought a chuckle out of Ailsa, making a tear leak from her eye. “I love ye, too, Mother. Thank ye for making Da see sense.”

“I’ve lots of practice at that. Now, off ye go to Siobhan. Ye’ll need that new dress.”

Anders surveyed the revelry in the great hall, a gathering so large it spilled out into the bailey. “Ye and yer mother ken fine how to celebrate a wedding,” he told Ailsa, who sat next to him at the head table dressed in silk the color of heather that bloomed on the hills in the summer. It made her luminous skin glow, putting him in mind of tales he’d read in her book of fairies and sprites, fae of the kinder and happier variety. She was so beautiful, it almost hurt to look upon her, but he couldn’t take his gaze from her.

“’Tis a miracle it came together at all. I feared Da would still object, but Mother has always had a way with him.”

“I realized once I was outside the gate that yer da allowed all of this to happen. He could have done much more to prevent it, to harm us, to discover who helped us, but he’s done naught. If that is due to yer mother, I’m grateful for her support. And the way she has with him,” he added and grinned at his bride. “Do ye think to have such a way with me?”

“Aye, of course,” Ailsa told him with an answering grin. Then she sobered. “I hope she and Da can unite in bringing Boden around. Else when it comes time for him to become laird, Sinclair could be at war with everyone.”

“I havena seen him since …”

“Da confined him to his chamber.” She frowned, then an evil grin lit her face. “I wouldha locked him in the dungeon. ’Tis the best place for him.”

“Would yer da punish him that way?”

“He should. Boden should be embarrassed about what he tried to do to ye. And fear what yer da might do to him.”

“Perhaps he’ll grow out of it, aye? He’s short-tempered and impetuous, but age and experience have been known to mitigate both of those traits.” Anders knew he was giving Boden much more grace than he deserved, especially after he’d threatened to toss Anders over the wall, but he’d said it more for Ailsa’s sake than her brother’s.

“I pray ye are right. Anyway, I dinna want to talk about my family. I want to talk about yers. And yer allies. They supplied most of the food for this feast. ’Twas enough to restock the Sinclair kitchen with fresh meat and fresh-caught fish. They deserve our thanks, despite the fact that the Sinclair stores were so low because of the siege.” She quirked her mouth to the side, a gesture Anders found endearing. “But they have redeemed themselves this day.”

“I’m certain they had that in mind, Love.”

Suddenly, Ailsa straightened. “Ach, they’re starting the lasses’ dance.”

“Go, have fun.” He gave her a quick kiss and a smile, then stood and helped her from her chair. Anders enjoyed watching her join her friends and take part in their celebration of her marriage.

Soon enough, Stellan slid into her seat. “How are ye, Brother?”

“Well enough for both of us, I think,” Anders told him, and lifted a mug of ale, still full. At Stellan’s knowing grin, he boasted, “I ken better than to drink too much.”

“As do I. I wish Mariota could be here for this. She deserves some of the credit, and should have some of the fun, too.”

“She willna fash . Enjoy this a wee longer.”

“I will. But I owe ye and Ailsa the same courtesy ye gave Mariota and me. I will be long gone before ye take yer bride to bed.”

Anders knew what he intended. Stellan would give Anders the same privacy to make Ailsa his wife that he’d granted Stellan and Mariota by his absence—and distance—from Sutherland on their wedding night.

“Thank ye, Brother.”

“Nay thanks needed. Our bond is a blessing and a curse. At times like these, ’tis good to share the happiness, but nay more than that. Once we are home, since it has strengthened while we were here, we will work on building a barrier we both can use when we need it.” Stellan turned his head to watch Ailsa and the other lasses dancing hand-in-hand, their circle moving briskly, smiles and laughter on all their faces. “I am happy for ye, Brother. Ye have found a love that will last yer lifetime.” He turned back to Anders. “Enjoy it, safeguard it, and teach yer bairns to find the same thing when their time comes.”

“The same to ye,” Anders said and took a sip from his mug, letting his gaze return to his bride, Stellan’s words making him dream of the life ahead of them.

Stellan did the same, lifted his mug in salute, and stood. True to his word, he returned to his five escorts and ate well, but drank little. Before long, Anders walked them outside where they got on their horses. “Give my love to Mariota. Ye’ll be with her tomorrow eve,” Anders told his twin.

“I will,” Stellan vowed, signaled to his men, and taking advantage of what daylight remained, left Sinclair.

With a full heart, Anders watched Stellan ride away until he disappeared into the trees. Their twin connection would weaken with every mile he put between them. Anders turned for the keep and his new bride with an eager smile.