Page 11 of Proven By The Highlander (Highlander Forever #15)
CHAPTER 11
L eanne couldn’t help but feel a little unnerved by the question. The idea of having been brought here for the purposes of meeting and eventually marrying a member of this family… it was a very weird thought. Not that Clan Grant had been anything other than kind to her, of course. But even still. “I haven’t really met anyone,” she said with a shrug. “Aside from the guards on the wall when I arrived, and the watchman whose fire I shared that first night…”
Nancy’s eyes gleamed, and Leanne found herself blushing despite herself. “What?”
“Who was he, the guy who brought you here? You said he was a Grant, right?”
She nodded, remembering the tartan Caelan had worn. “He said his name was Caelan. I was going to see if I could find him, actually. I wanted to thank him for basically saving my life that night.”
But Nancy looked a little confused. “Are you sure it was Caelan?”
“That’s what he said.” She wouldn’t have forgotten a name like that… it wasn’t one she’d encountered many times before, after all. “Do you know him?”
“Never heard of him.” Nancy frowned. “I really thought I knew everyone on the Watch, too. You’re sure he said Grant?”
“Definitely. He was wearing a brooch and everything. Told me about how the Clan are sworn to protect the locals from the Unseelie Fae?—”
“Yeah, that’s a Grant, alright. Weird. I’ll ask Malcolm. It might be that he goes by some dumb nickname usually and I don’t know him by his actual name.” Nancy shrugged. “The more important question is… was he cute?”
Leanne felt herself blushing, but before she could answer, she felt a coughing fit take over. Nancy clicked her tongue and helped her back into bed once the coughing had subsided, and she accepted the cup of water she handed her with a grateful smile.
“You get back to resting,” Nancy told her firmly from the doorway. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk about men and monsters once you’re better.”
Men and monsters… she grinned to herself, thinking of the Loch Ness Monster as she drifted off into a pleasant afternoon nap. She and Nancy had spent quite a bit of time comparing notes on the creature — it seemed Nancy, too, was very taken with the beast, and had had several encounters with it since her arrival. Leanne was very much looking forward to going down to the docks with her, once she was well enough, to see if the creature might approach again. From what Nancy had told her, the monster was nocturnal, most active in the early evenings — but definitely shy about approaching people, especially after a few of them had misinterpreted her curiosity as ill will and attacked her.
Was that why Caelan had seemed so uneasy when she’d mentioned the creature? Leanne wondered. He certainly hadn’t seemed thrilled when she’d told him about how she’d gotten ashore… their conversation had been on her mind quite a bit over the last few days as she came to grips with the strange new world she’d found herself a part of. His careful introduction to the world had gone a considerable way to easing her adjustment here, and she was hopeful of seeing him again once she was well enough, wanting to thank him properly for making all of this easier.
By the end of the week, she was grateful to be well again. She’d also gotten the hang of dressing herself, which was something of a relief… as much as they reassured her that they didn’t mind, she always felt strange about calling for servants to help her. It was strange, though, that nobody seemed to know Caelan. She’d talked to a few of the other women, including Elena, who was married to the Captain of the Guard and knew all of the men at least in passing. She even described his appearance on the chance that he went by a different name among the guards, for some reason… but dark blond hair and gray eyes, it seemed, wasn’t a description that narrowed things down much.
Well, add it to the list of mysteries she was going to investigate.
She had just finished dressing when the knock on her door came that morning. It had been nearly a week since her arrival, and she was very much looking forward to actually exploring the Keep properly now that the chest infection had been banished. She called for her visitor to come in, expecting Nancy or Ivy — but to her surprise, there was an unfamiliar man standing in the doorway in the livery of the Laird. He cleared his throat stiffly and informed her that the Laird wanted to meet her.
“Me?” she said blankly, feeling suddenly like a kid being called to the principal’s office. Of course, she realized. This was Laird Donal’s Keep, his family home… he’d be interested to meet the complete stranger who’d turned up on his doorstep a week ago before promptly getting sick as a dog. No doubt gossip had spread about her… the fifteenth of a seemingly constant stream of deliveries of women from the future, all of whom had brought varying amounts of chaos in their wake. That seemed to be the common factor in every story. What kind of chaos was she about to bring? she wondered.
She followed the man through the winding hallways of the Keep, glad that her strength seemed to have returned in full. He showed her through a door that led into a space considerably larger than her little room, dominated by a large table. At the table were seated several men, all wearing the tartan she now recognized as belonging uniquely to Clan Grant, all looking at her with evident curiosity. The family resemblance was clear between them, and she wondered if any of them were men whose wives she’d befriended over the last few days.
The man who’d come to collect her announced her by name, and she flushed a little, surprised that he knew who she was. A tall, blond man in his late twenties rose to his feet to greet her, a warm smile on his handsome face, and she offered him an awkward little bow, surmising that this must be the Laird.
“Laird Donal? It’s a pleasure to meet you. Apologies I couldn’t thank you for your hospitality any sooner,” she added with a rueful smile.
The Laird chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. “I’m only glad that you’ve recovered quickly. The journey through the Burgh is taxing at the best of times, even without the extra burden of a freezing cold night. Are you feeling better now? Please,” he added, gesturing to the table. “No need to stand on ceremony. Join us.”
Feeling now like she was at a job interview, Leanne took a seat at the table, offering the curious-looking men there a hesitant little smile. Laird Donal introduced them, and sure enough, several of their names were familiar — Malcolm Grant, Donal’s tanist and husband to her new friend Nancy, Brendan Grant, Captain of the Guard, and husband to Elena. Graeme and Hamish were there too, their names familiar, though she blushed in apology when she mixed up the names of their wives.
“Leanne, there were several purposes to our meeting with you,” Laird Donal said now, a slightly apologetic look on his face. “The most important, of course, was welcoming you formally to Castle Urquhart and assuring you that you’re an honored guest of Clan Grant for as long as you choose to stay with us. The other…” He glanced sidelong at the burly, bear-like Brendan, who cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“We were wondering if you might tell us the story of your arrival here, that first night,” he said softly. “We’ve heard a little of it from Nancy and the others you’ve met already, but we wanted to hear from you.”
She blinked, a little surprised by the request. Why did she suddenly feel like she was in trouble?