by Alice Wilde
I hear a thundering crack of wood and head toward it. It’s Ero. He’s practicing with axes. Not a bad idea. I watch for a while and then decide to join.
Grabbing a pike from the weaponry rack, I time my move just right. I can tell he still hasn’t noticed me from the way he’s moving, his rage overpowering his other senses, and I move in rhythm with him, catching his blades at just the right moment.
As soon as Ero and I make eye contact, I know we’re in for a good fight.
We spend the next hour weaving in and out, dodging, striking, and otherwise attacking each other. We each get a few good hits in, but nothing to seriously injure one another. It’s been a long time since I felt so closely matched in skill, although his techniques are much rougher around the edges.
“Enough,” Ero finally says and we stop to rest, sweat dripping down our backs and our shirts sticking to us. “Damn, I really needed that.”
“Same.”
“Please tell me you understand what’s going on,” Ero says.
I hesitate for a moment. “I do, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“That makes two of us.”
“I hate to say this, but I think we’re going to have to keep to the shadows and watch how this plan goes.”
Ero looks away, irritated but silent.
“We’ll be there to keep things from going awry.”
“Really?” Ero scoffs. “Roan’s playing with fire, and he just makes up some excuse that they were married by Fae? Do you honestly believe that?”
“I don’t want to, but I trust Annalise. If she thinks this is what she has to do, then we need to there to support her…and possibly rescue her.”
Ero frowns but nods his head. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let him off easy after all of this is said and done.”
“I don’t expect you to...I don’t expect either of us to.”
Twenty-One
Annalise
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it isn’t this. When Roan and I returned to the castle, we were greeted by several guards.
“The lady of the house would like to see you, miss,” one of them says. “Please follow me.”
Roan starts to walk with me, but another of the guards stops him.
“Not you.”
I give Roan an apologetic look before continuing on without him. Here goes nothing.
The guard brings me to a wing of the castle I haven’t visited yet. He stops before a door and gestures toward it.
“She’s waiting for you inside.”
I walk up to the door and knock.
“Come in,” Fiona calls from within.
I push open the door to reveal a large sitting room, warm and comfortable. Fiona is sitting in a large chair by the fire and she motions for me join her in the chair opposite her.
“Welcome, Annalise. I hope you’ll excuse the informality, but I thought if we were to get to know each other better, a setting like this would be more appropriate.”
“Of course.”
“There are some things we need to discuss. As you’ve probably discovered by now, my brother is heir and laird to Clan Artair. I don’t know where you’re from, but here, this is of great consequence. It’s crucial that he makes the right choices for the survival of the clan, and for his own acceptance as heir and laird.”
I nod, unsure of where she’s going with this.
“The people are happy to accept him as laird now, after what he did to help with the harvests, but who knows if that will be the case five years from now,” Fiona says, raising her eyes slowly to look at me. “I am guessing most of these vows he speaks of have to do with you, am I right?”
“Yes, but—”
“And if what he says is true, you’re the first woman he’s been human around in a very long time.”
“I suppose that’s true, but—”
“Interesting. I would have thought he’d have grown out of his reckless, womanizing ways by now.”
“He’s not a womanizer,” I say fiercely.
“You must not know about Isla.”
“He’s told me.”
“How could he tell you? He doesn’t even know himself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isla was found to be pregnant not long after Roan ran away. She gave birth nine months later to a little girl.”
My heart sinks in my chest. He had become a father all those years ago and he didn’t even know.
“What happened to her?”
“Isla lives in a cottage not far from here. She was never married thanks to my brother.”
“And his child?”
“She works here, in the castle. I couldn’t very well turn out the only child of my brother, but being illegitimate there was not much more I could do.”
I choke back tears. How is this possible? I thought I’d been prepared to accept anything, but this is much harder to bear than I thought.
“An Artair laird needs to be with his people. I’m sure you can understand that. And I personally believe he should right his wrongs. Isla may not be the young maiden she once was, but she still lives. Her life has not been an easy one, but he could make her remaining days comfortable.”
I stare at her for a long moment. “Wouldn’t she be in her fifties by now?”
“Forties. She was still quite young when they bed each other. She may yet have a few years to bear him a son.”
My stomach twists at the thought. It’s becoming clear to me that Fiona and Neil had no intention of letting us marry, but they couldn’t very well say so in front of their people.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to release him from his vows. Let him stay here with his family and his people, where he belongs. Give him the chance to redeem himself in the eyes of God, Isla, and his only child.”
“How do you even know it’s his child?”
Fiona doesn’t say anything, but gives me a sad look as though I’m a small child searching for candy where there is none to be had.
“Do the right thing, lass. Give him up.”
My heart is in my throat and I can’t help the hot tears rolling down my cheeks.
“I’m weary. Think on what I’ve said.”
And with those words she dismisses me.
I’ve been pacing the floor of my room for well over an hour, trying to process all that I’ve heard when there’s a knock at my door.
“Yes?”
“It’s Roan.”
“Come in.”
Roan opens the door and enters, carefully shutting it behind him. “What happened?”
I glare at him as if he should already know.
“Lass?”
“How could you not know?”
“Know what?”
“Isla bore a child, nine months after your disappearance.”
“What?” Roan leans heavily against a chair, running a hand through his hair. “Are you sure?”
“Fiona was quite precise in her wording. Supposedly your child is here, working in the castle.”
“I’m not sure what to say, lass.”
“There’s nothing to say. You’ve fathered a child, and the woman who bore her still lives.”
“What are you implying?”
“You have a duty to your daughter, to Isla, to this land. How can I ever compete with that?”
“There’s no competition.”
I laugh, the sound sharp. “No competition? You’re just going to throw away all of it to go on some insane journey to help a woman you barely know take back her kingdom from a madman?”
“Yes. If that’s what it takes.”
I stare hard at Roan, my heart crying out for him while my mind whispers hateful things to me. I bite my tongue to keep the bitter words from rising. I want so badly to hate him in this moment, but I can’t.
Roan closes the distance between us with just a few strides and takes me in his arms.
I burst into tears, the warmth and comfort of his ar
ms wrapped around me finally bringing my emotions to a head.
“Lass,” Roan says. “I made a mistake a long time ago, and I will do my best to right my wrongs, but that doesn’t change anything between us.”
“But they won’t let us marry, not after this.”
“We’re already married, lass. No one can change that, not even my sister. We just have to make them accept it.”
“What about Isla and your daughter?”
Roan sighs deeply. “I told you it just happened. There were no feelings involved with that. I’m sorry if she had a hard life because of it, and I’ll make sure she is taken care of for the rest of her days, but I won’t be coerced into marrying her.”
“Wouldn’t you like to visit her first?”
“Not particularly.”
I knit my brow. I’m happy he doesn’t seem to have any feelings left for Isla, but it concerns me how quickly he can dismiss her.
“Unless you want me to see her?” Roan says, trying to search my face for an inkling of a response.
“I think you should.”
“Then we will.” He grabs my hand and turns, steering me out of my room.
I was glad he didn’t know where she lived. We had to stop and ask directions so many times I was sure we would get lost.
The small house was tucked away between a small clump of trees on a little hill, candlelight twinkling through the windows.
“There it is,” Roan says. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
We walk the rest of the way up the small hill in silence, pausing for a moment at the door, and then Roan knocks.
Nothing happens for a moment, then the door swings in to reveal a woman in her mid to late forties.
“Roan?”
“Yes, I apologize for calling at this late hour.”
“Try forty years late,” Isla says and then laughs. “Come in.”
Roan ducks through the low doorway and I follow. I half expect Isla to ask me to leave, but she just smiles at me.
“Who is this?”
“This is Annalise.”
“My, you haven’t aged a day, have you?” Isla says studying Roan’s face. “So, what brings you to my door after so many years since the last time I saw you?”
Roan shifts nervously. “I’ve come to apologize, and meet my daughter.”
“Your daughter?” Isla asks, frowning. “Why would your daughter be here?”
“Does she not live with you?”
“Perhaps the years have aged your brain if not your face,” Isla says. “Why would your daughter be living with me?”
I watch as the two of them stare at each other in complete and utter confusion before it dawns on me.
“Roan, I must apologize,” I say. “I forgot there was something important I must do tonight. Would you please escort me back to the castle?”
Roan looks at me in bewilderment. “Of course.”
“It was so nice to meet you, Isla,” I say.
“Of course, miss. It was nice to see you again, Roan,” Isla says with a smile as we leave.
“For me as well,” Roan says, although I can tell from his voice he could have done without the reunion.
Roan and I walk silently for a few minutes before he pulls me to a stop.
“What was that all about?”
“Don’t you see, Roan? She doesn’t have a daughter.”
“How do you know?”
“If you really had run off on her while she was pregnant with your child, do you honestly believe she would have been so easy on you?”
“I doubt it. But then, what was all this for?”
“You never had a daughter. Somehow, Fiona must have found out about your escapade with Isla and made up the story about your daughter to try to scare me off.”
Roan’s face turns icy. “Come, lass. It appears we have some things to sort out with my family.”
Twenty-Two
Roan
I send Annalise to her room with one of the guards as soon as we return to the castle and then make my way to Fiona’s rooms. She is still awake when I pound at her doors.
“Fiona, let me in. We need to talk.”
The door opens and Fiona steps back to let me in, her eyes rimmed with worry. “What is it, Roan?”
“Why the hell did you tell Annalise I had a daughter? And now that I think of it, why wouldn’t you tell me that first?”
“She told you?”
“Of course she told me. She’s my wife.”
“Oh no, she is not,” Fiona snaps, slamming the door shut.
“Why are you so set against her?”
“She’s not Scottish, Roan! You’ve been lost to us for so many years, and here you are, finally returned home. The land is reaping a harvest once again and we finally have some semblance of peace. But you want to marry this woman none of us has ever seen or heard of and run away again?”
“I am married to her. She is my wife. You will learn to accept that.”
“Roan, you don’t understand.”
“What is there to understand?”
“It’s politics.”
I shake my head but don’t say anything, waiting for her to expound on her meaning.
“Brother,” Fiona says cautiously. “Scotland is not the same as it once was. We’ve been having a great deal of trouble with Vikings. Their invasions are becoming harder to fend off, and I’m afraid that without you here, we’ll be lost.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” I say. “You’ll make up any excuse to keep me from being with Annalise, won’t you?”
“No, I swear it on our parents’ graves,” Fiona says. “I just thought if I could get Annalise to give you up, you’d have an easier time staying. Or perhaps you’d even be able to use that anger to help defeat the Viking invaders.”
I shake my head at her.
“Please, Roan, I swear this is the truth. You can ask my husband. Saints alive, you can ask anyone you meet. Scotland is in trouble and we could use a good leader, especially one with training right now.”
“I’m marrying Annalise. You can’t dissuade me.”
“I was wrong to lie about a child, Roan. I’m sorry about that. But I can’t let you leave, and I had hoped it would persuade her to leave without telling you. I’m sorry I lied, but I’m not sorry for doing whatever it takes to get you to stay—not when we need you here.”
“I don’t think you understand, Fiona,” I say, my words icy. “I’m leaving with Annalise whether or not you want me to, and whether or not you accept her as my wife.”
Fiona looks at me, fiery anger burning in her eyes. “I can’t think of a single circumstance in which we’ll ever be able to accept her as the lady of this house. You need to marry a Scottish girl! Your roots are here, not out chasing some foreign girl and her dreams of ruling some far-off kingdom.”
I snort, turn, and storm out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
I should probably tell the others to prepare to leave, and soon.
I knock at Annalise’s door and she lets me in almost immediately.
“We need to get ready to leave.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve refused my sister’s attempts to trap me here. Hurry, pack what you can.”
“Did she tell you why she was trying so hard to separate us?”
“Some idiotic story about Vikings.”
Annalise slowly turns from where she’s putting together a small bundle. “Roan, don’t be upset, but I remember hearing about these attacks.”
I look at her curiously.
“There are a number of countries seeking help to keep the Vikings at bay, but Scotland is having a hard time dealing with the invasions. It’s quite possible your sister isn’t lying about this.”
I hang my head. This is the last thing I want to hear. “Even if she is telling the truth, why should I care after what she tried to do?”
“I hate it as much as you d
o, perhaps even more, but she is your family and this is your land. We should try to come to some kind of agreement instead of running off on them. You may be all that stands between what remains of your family and a Viking invasion.”
She’s right, but I wish she weren’t.
“Perhaps we should sleep on the idea of running away,” Annalise says. “We may have a better solution in the morning. At the very least, we can try to leave on good terms.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “A couple of hours ago you’d have jumped at the chance of running away from this place. Now, here you are, convincing me to stay and work things out with my family.”
“I know, but family is important.”
“You’re absolutely right, little wife.”
Twenty-Three
Annalise
I’m woken by a soft kiss to the cheek and open my eyes to find Roan leaning over me.
“Good morning, lass. Ready to go to battle?”
I yawn and sit up, stretching. “Battle?”
“Yes, battle, in a manner of sorts. A battle for ourselves as well as our kingdoms. I think I’ve come up with an idea that may sort out a number of our problems. Now, hurry,” Roan says, excitement written all over his face.
“I will, but you need to turn around so I can get dressed.”
Roan turns around and I get out of bed and pull on my dress only to realize I need help.
“You can look now, but only if you promise to help with the laces.”
Roan turns and walks over to me. He kisses my shoulder, pushing the fabric aside.
“That’s not helping.”
“It’s helping me.”
“Stop. I thought we had things to do.”
Roan groans in pretend annoyance. “You’re right. Now, how do I lace this thing up?”
“Get the lady’s maid.”
