Page 97 of Taming the Highland Misfits

Alex smiled at his brother and gave him a playful cuff around the back of the head. “All right,” he conceded. “But be warned. I take no prisoners!” The three brothers walked out with their arms around each other, and Laird MacNeill smiled. He had never regretted his decision to “adopt” them, and he never would.

* * *

Alex had managed to keep his problems at the back of his mind while he was playing chess and generally horsing around with his brothers. He was a very good chess player, but Duncan was better, and no one had been more surprised than Alex when he had actually managed to win against his brother in their previous match. Duncan claimed that he had had one too many whiskies that night, though.

However, now that Duncan was back on top form, Alex was very soundly beaten, twice, and Duncan won back his money twofold.

“Checkmate!” Duncan said triumphantly, “I do not take prisoners either.”

Alex laughed. It was good to be back with his family again.

“So tell me, Alex,” Callum said as he placed the pieces back on the board, “how does it feel to be madly in love?”

“I hope you find out one day, Cal,” he answered. “It is without a doubt the best, most wonderful feeling I have ever had. I am a lucky man.”

* * *

While he had been amusing himself with his brothers, Alex’s worries had retreated to the back of his mind, but as soon as he retired for the night they fell on his shoulders like a dead weight. He thought of everything that could possibly happen to Freya and her father while he was away. The Laird could be murdered, and Freya could be harmed or abused in some way. He had to go home as fast as possible. He tried to close his eyes and sleep, but every time he did, he had visions of something dreadful happening to her. Someone could be pushing her downstairs or keeping her in the dark in a locked room, which was her worst nightmare. Freya hated being in a small space and was terrified of the dark.

He tossed and turned all night and finally managed a couple of hours of fitful sleep towards dawn. When he opened his eyes and saw the first sign of light in the sky, he leaped out of bed, splashed some water on his face, then threw some clothes on. He made his way to the kitchen, where a startled Mary Malone was baking the first bread of the day. She looked up, startled as she saw him.

“Give me whatever food you have, Mary,” he demanded hastily. “I have a long ride ahead of me.”

Mary hurriedly packed some fruit, bread, cheese and a flask of ale for him. She looked worried. “Godspeed, Master Alex,” she said gently.

“Thank you, Mary,” he replied. “Please tell everyone else I said goodbye. Take care.”

Then he dashed out to the stables, where the grooms and stable lads were still slumbering on their pallets, and after throwing his saddle on his horse, he rode towards Kilkenrigg as if the hounds of hell were after him.

15

Freya jerked awake with a squeal of fright and looked around her frantically. It was still dark, although a sliver of moonlight had managed to pierce the gap between the curtains. She was gasping for air as though she had been running a long distance and was covered in a sheen of cold sweat.

Suddenly she realised that she had merely been having the worst nightmare of her life, and a wave of relief swept over her; her father had not just died. He had not fallen off his horse and cracked his head open on a sharp rock, and he was still just down the corridor sleeping in his chamber with the portrait of her mother on the wall.

Freya fell back on the pillow and covered her face with her hands. Her heart was still beating like a drum in a marching band, but at least she had returned to reality and banished the horrible image of her father’s corpse.

How would I live without him?she thought desperately.I will soon have a husband and a lover, but I would be an orphan if I had no father.

As well as that, Aidan would be in charge of the estate, and that was something she was dreading. How could an aloof, arrogant man like him possibly mix with the farmers and the workers? He was so distant from them that he might have come from the moon, and he could never treat them with the dignity they deserved.

Freya rose from bed and looked outside over the fields and the loch, which was shimmering under the light of a half moon. The rain had just stopped, but clouds still hung in the sky, promising more.

She smiled as she thought of Alex, wondering if he had asked his uncle for permission to marry her yet. She was sure that the Laird would give his permission; after all, the families had been close for years and years, and if she and Alex married, they would be related. She had no worries on that score. However, she sighed as she realised that Alex had only been gone for a day, since she missed him already, and hoped that his errand would not keep him away from her for too long.

Nevertheless, she felt a need to see her father quite urgently, so after making herself ready for the day, she went down to breakfast.

“Good morning,” Bearnard said and he smiled as she entered, then stood up and pulled a chair out for her, “you look a bit tired, Freya.”

Freya yawned. “I did not sleep well, Bearnard,” she confessed.

“Bad dreams?” her father asked, looking at her keenly.

“Yes, but I cannot remember them,” she lied. “I was terrified, that is all, and it took me a while to fall asleep again.”

Bearnard, who was sitting beside her, patted her hand. “We all get them,” he said reassuringly. “I have a recurring one, but I will not put you off your breakfast by telling you about it! Rest assured, you will survive.”

Freya grinned at her young brother. “I am certain of it,” she told him. Bearnard was such a good person, and she knew she could always rely on him to cheer her up when she was miserable, or help her out when she needed it.