His Highland Heart

by Willa Blair

  “Are ye taking the dresses?” Ella asked without preamble.

  “Nay. I’m taking naught but what I must wear to be decent and warm.”

  “Then I must leave behind the yellow dress?” Ella’s face fell.

  “’Tis up to ye. I dinna think anyone will begrudge ye the enjoyment of it.”

  Ella stepped into the room and took in what Muireall had laid out. “But ye think they’ll begrudge ye these?” she asked, waving a hand at the dresses draped across Muireall’s bed.

  “Nay. Some other lass might need them, be she a Brodie or a visitor like me. I have dresses at Munro.”

  “As do I. But nought like the…”

  “Take it,” Annie said, entering the room. She looked about and frowned. “And ye, Muireall, ye ken ye are welcome to these.”

  “I do and I thank ye for the use of them, for yer hospitality. Ye took me…us…in and have no’ begrudged us a thing. Even more, ye taught us to ride, taught me archery. I canna thank ye enough for making us welcome.”

  “Aye, I feel the same,” Ella added.

  “’Twas little enough. Ye helped Euan and Calum return to us. Brodie canna repay ye for that.”

  “And Munro will be equally in Brodie’s debt for returning us home,” Muireall said. “So we’re even.”

  “And ye are welcome at Brodie any time, for as long as ye wish. Ye ken that, right?”

  Muireall nodded. “I do.” She glanced at Ella. “We do.”

  “I’ll let ye finish, then. Godspeed to both of ye. I hope to see ye again someday soon. Perhaps ye and…” She paused and glanced aside, then continued, “Well, I’ll miss ye.”

  “We’ll miss ye, too, more than ye ken.” Annie hugged Ella, then turned to her.

  “I willna make a demand, but ye ken Euan feels strongly about ye. Listen to the man, please?”

  Muireall nodded, unable to reply, and Annie left them. She closed the door, turned back to Ella, and found her voice. “Are we making the right decision? Am I?”

  “Ye ask me? I’m confused enough for both of us. At least ye dinna have a betrothed at home and a husband at a rival clan.”

  Muireall tried to laugh, but couldn’t manage it around the lump in her throat. “Nay, praise the saints in Heaven. But we’ll sort out what to do about ye, never fear.” She crossed to the window and pretended to look out. All she could see was Euan’s face as he declared his love for her. “’Tis about Euan I canna decide. He and I…well, never mind.” She forced a smile and turned back to Ella. “We’ll be across the firth and home before we ken it. In a few days, all this uncertainty will be behind us.”

  “But what if we fall into Ross hands again? They could take us on the firth, or once we land near Munro.”

  Ella’s stricken expression brought Muireall up short. She’d thought Ella would jump all over what she’d started to say about her and Euan and demand she finish the sentence. She stopped because suddenly, she didn’t want to share with anyone, not even Ella, what she and Euan had done and said at the ancient stone.

  Instead, Ella hadn’t even noticed Muireall’s hesitation. Ella had to be feeling worse than she did, now that everyone knew what had happened to her at Ross. Her prospects for finding a well-placed husband at Munro were far worse than Muireall’s. Muireall took a breath and forced a smile. “Well, then, we both must do what we can to get on with our lives, aye?”

  Ella nodded. “If only I knew where to start.”

  “Ye did that when ye took yerself down to that beach, lass, and trusted the Brodies on that boat. Ye decided to change yer fate, and ye did everything ye could about it. Ye are stronger than ye ken.”

  That seemed to cheer Ella up a bit. She straightened and a hint of a smile played around the corners of her mouth. “I did, aye. I did. I am.”

  “Of course ye are. I wouldna say it if it were no’ true.”

  Then she wrapped her arms around her middle. “But what if Thomas comes back for me?”

  “He canna ken where ye are. Ye simply disappeared. Ye couldha drowned in the firth. And if he thought ye sought to escape overland back to Munro, he’d never think a lass could survive the journey, especially no’ on foot. Nay, he may have looked for ye near the Ross village, but in a few days’ time, he’d have assumed ye are dead.”

  “Good,” Ella said, nodding. “That’s good.” Then her face fell. “But I’m no’ truly divorced from him. And if he decides to raid Munro for another wife, he’ll see me. Mayhap I should stay here.”

  Muireall took her hands. “Euan willna let that happen. We’ll be safe, and soon we’ll be home, and then Da willna let it happen. They’re keeping watch against Ross raiders. And we can count on help from Brodie. And perhaps clan Rose. Erik Ross is smarter than Donas was. He will not want to involve them.”

  Ella brightened and tightened her grip on Muireall’s hand. “If we’re allied with Brodie, ye will see Euan again. Ye could ask yer da to arrange a match. Perhaps Euan would consider marriage if the idea came from yer da…and his laird.”

  Or if her father had arranged a match for her with Grant, her dream of a future with Euan would fall apart…the weight of that possibility was more than she could bear at the moment.

  Ella frowned. “If ye are truly in his heart, and I think ye must be, he will.”

  “I dinna ken if he will after he finds out who I really am…he is no’ fond of the idea.”

  “What if ye asked Annie for her help? Perhaps she can suggest just such a match—with ye.”

  “Nay. That would make me pathetic. I must wait. If Euan wants me, perhaps he’ll want me enough for his heart to return him to me once he kens. If no’…” she shrugged. “Nay, I willna force him. He must offer for me.”

  Even though she’d been told by the Brodies who’d already been here that her people were still alive and no Ross raid had troubled them—other than the one that took her, Ella and Tira—Muireall still nearly swooned with relief when she, Ella, Euan and Calum arrived at Munro. Her father, Hugh, met them at the door of the keep.

  “I hardly dared believe it,” he said, wrapping her in his massive arms. “Ye are alive!” He held her away from him and studied her. “Are ye well?”

  Moisture filmed his eyes, surprising her. She couldn’t recall ever seeing her father cry. Those as-yet-unshed tears made her regret even more the time she’d been forced to spend away from home. His emotion warmed her, even though she knew the subtext of his question. She was thankful she could give an honest answer. “Aye.” She nodded. “I am well…and whole,” she added in a softer voice. “I wasna harmed.” Not in the way he meant.

  “That’s good, then.” He dropped a fatherly kiss on her forehead, then set her away from him and looked up.

  Muireall took his cue. “I am honored to present Euan Brodie. And Calum Brodie.”

  “I hear I owe ye thanks for saving my daughter,” her father said, before she could finish the introduction.

  “And Euan, this is my father,” she finished, speaking on the heels of her father’s announcement. She hesitated, knowing she should have told Euan sooner, in private. Here, he would have no time to absorb or accept what she was about to reveal. She should have told him in private, but she was a coward, afraid the truth would turn Euan’s heart away from her. She’d delayed until she had no choice. She looked at the ground as she said the words, “Laird Munro and Baron of Foulis,” then forced her gaze back up to Euan’s face.

  Euan’s expression remained neutral, betraying nothing. He inclined his head to her father. “I was pleased to be of service, milord. I’m honored to meet ye.”

  Muireall started, surprised when he didn’t react. In the cave, he’d been quite clear about his disdain for laird’s daughters, which is why she’d never dared tell him. Now that the truth was out, he had no reaction? What had worried her so?

  “Muireall never told me her father was Laird Munro,” he continued calmly.

  Muireall quailed inside but kept her chin up. He was angry. She was su
re of it.

  Her father glanced at her and frowned.

  She was certain from the heat climbing up her neck that she was quickly turning red.

  “Aye, well, anonymity is sometimes the best protection,” he said.

  Euan gave her a long look. “How is it neither of the other lasses gave ye away at Ross? ’Twould seem it would have improved their lot with that clan to betray ye.”

  Muireall shook her head. “The only one I feared was Tira. Ella would never betray me. But it seems even Tira treated me with honor.”

  And Euan would not have touched her or told her he loved her had he known who her father was.

  “Good thing,” Euan remarked, then cleared his throat. “I beg yer pardon, Laird Munro.”

  Her father laughed. “Ye have nay need to beg mine. Or my daughter’s, I’ll wager. Come inside. Let’s talk further over some ale.”

  After Calum excused himself, likely to find Ella, Muireall preceded them, wishing she could see Euan’s expression, but he followed her father. Was he angry she’d never told him who she really was? He’d once said he would never marry the daughter of a laird. Yet he’d spent weeks caring for her and at the Pecht stone, had sworn his undying love. Did his oath truly bind him when she had lied to him? By omission, aye, but lied nonetheless. If the reverse were true and he’d failed to tell her he was the son of a laird, she’d be angry, too.

  As soon as they entered the hall, Muireall heard Georgie calling her, making her forget her worries over Euan. “Muireall! Muireall, ye’re back!” He ran to her so fast she feared he would not be able to stop and would knock her over, but she managed to stay upright as he barreled into her. “It has been so long. Where were ye?”

  “Georgie, wheesht. Let me introduce ye to someone. This is Euan Brodie. He’s a…friend of mine.”

  Euan cut an unreadable glance her way, then smiled at Georgie.

  She didn’t miss her father’s eyebrows lift. He must have read something in her tone, something she was not yet ready to admit, or to discuss with him. Euan’s reticence upset her.

  Euan knelt to be on eye level with the freckled lad and offered his broad hand. The large bandages that replaced the wrappings she’d torn from her shift had themselves been replaced by a few small strips on the deepest wounds that were still healing.

  Georgie looked at her, uncertain.

  She nodded, so Georgie put his much smaller hand in Euan’s. “Good day, sir,” he offered.

  Euan widened his smile. “Good day to ye, too, my man. Muireall has told me many things about Munro, but mostly she spoke about ye. Ye have nay idea how much she’s missed ye. I’m pleased to meet the man she cares so much about.”

  Muireall loved the way Georgie’s chest swelled and he stood taller at the Brodie warrior’s complements. “Thank ye, sir. But I dinna ken anything about ye.”

  “Well, then, let us allow Muireall some time with her father. Ye and I will go over there by the hearth and get acquainted, aye?”

  Georgie looked to her for permission, his expression beseeching. Euan had already won him over.

  He’d won her over, too, despite her concern about what he was feeling toward her right now. No matter what, Euan’s attention seemed to lend her brother confidence, and she could see the envious glances of some other lads in the hall. Euan’s attention would lend Georgie some popularity, as well.

  “Well, go on with ye,” she chided. “Euan is full of stories ye have never heard. I’m sure he can tell ye a few while Da and I talk.”

  Georgie flashed a grin and led Euan to a seat by the hearth.

  Muireall watched them go, heart filling with love for the wee lad and admiration for the man beside him.

  “So that’s how it is, aye?” Her father’s voice startled her and she glanced aside at him then to the floor.

  “How what is?”

  “Dinna try to fool me, lass. I’ve kenned ye since yer first breath. I see the way ye look at Euan Brodie. Does he return yer regard?”

  “Aye, he does.” At least he did. And now? She turned away and walked with her father toward his private solar. “But his life is at Brodie. Mine is here.” She would not diminish him in her father’s eyes by relating the disdain he’d expressed in the cave for laird’s daughters. She couldn’t tell yet whether, now he knew about her, that disdain crowded out the feelings they’d shared at the Pecht stone.

  Her father didn’t answer until they were in private—the door closed between them and the ears in the hall. He sat by the hearth and gestured her to the opposite chair.

  “What do ye want, lass? Though I wouldna like to lose ye to Brodie so soon after I got ye back, ye ken I’ve had my eye on an alliance with Grant. Ye’ll no’ be here forever. Aye, Georgie will miss ye, but the lad must grow up. The last month has been hard, but…well, I want ye to be happy. Ye must have been through so much. Ye deserve something of peace and happiness. If Euan Brodie is the man who gives ye that, then perhaps we can come to an agreement.”

  “Nay, da. Georgie must come first. I’m the only mother he’s ever kenned. He’s too young for me to just walk away from him.”

  “Ye coddle him.”

  Her father’s suddenly gruff tone hurt and angered her, yet she suspected he was trying to make it easier for her to decide. “I dinna. Ye havena seen how the other lads treat him.”

  He shrugged. “All boys fight—it toughens them.”

  “No’ the way Georgie has had to. They dinna treat him in front of ye the way they do when ye are no’ present. He’s small for his age, so he’s an easy target, despite being yer son. He may only be the spare, but if anything were to happen to Archie, he’d be laird and Baron some day. He canna grow up fearing the very lads who’ll become his clansmen, his warriors, his advisors…”

  Her father held up a hand. “I dinna see what ye describe, but it may be as ye say.” He pursed his lips and looked aside. “Verra well. We’ll give it some time. Ye will come to me if ye change yer mind.”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  He stood and opened his arms.

  She went into his embrace and hugged him back.

  “’Tis good to have ye home, lass. I canna tell ye how heartsick I was when ye disappeared. Ella and Tira, too. We searched and searched. The whole clan…” His voice broke and he hugged her harder, then let her go. “What happened to ye at Ross?”

  She stepped back. “Tira is still with Ross, married to a man called Teague—happily, it seems. Ella…” She paused, reluctant to relate what had happened to Ella, but knowing her father must be told. “Ella was forced to marry a man called Thomas. She said he treated her well enough, but after Euan rescued me, she no longer wanted to stay at Ross.” She resumed her seat and gestured for her father to do the same, then told him the whole story, from Euan saving her from drowning, killing Donas to protect her and let them get away, then sailing young James’s body home to Brodie. She left out what Donas had done to her, and her humiliation after she left Euan in the cave. He’d find out about the stripes on her back soon enough from the maids. She just wasn’t ready to admit to them, fearing he’d gather the clan and ride on Ross the next minute. Let him get past the emotion of her homecoming. She’d tell him once things had settled down, once he knew the man who’d taken a whip to her back was already dead.

  In the meantime, he wanted to know about Euan. “He’s a good man, Da. Responsible. Honorable. Stubborn.” She laughed. “I could go on, but ye get the idea. I do love him, but I have obligations here, and he has the same at Brodie. ’Tis no’ our time. Perhaps someday, when Georgie is older. Bigger and stronger, too.”

  Her father nodded distractedly as he stared into the fire.

  She could see he needed time to think about what she’d just told him. “Speaking of Georgie…I’d best go rescue Euan.”

  Her father’s gaze returned to her and he smiled. “Aye, ye had. I expect Georgie will have talked him dry by now.”

  She stood and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad to
be home, Da. Ye canna ken how much I missed ye, and everyone here.”

  When she returned to the great hall, Euan and Georgie were where she’d last seen them. At the moment, Georgie was talking, more animatedly than she’d ever seen before. She smiled and watched for a moment, until Euan saw her and beckoned her with a wave of one big hand.

  “This lad will make a great bard someday,” he told her, standing and putting a comradely hand on Georgie’s shoulder.

  Thank God he hadn’t ruffled his hair. But nay, Euan was too sensitive to the lad’s precarious confidence to treat him as a wee child.

  “He’ll be that, or anything else he wishes to be, when the time comes,” she agreed. “Now, if ye two men have done, I’d like to borrow Euan. Do ye mind, Georgie?”

  Her half-brother gave her a manly nod. “Ye may.”

  She thanked him as seriously as he’d given her permission, though they both knew none was required. Then she walked Euan out into the bailey.

  “Thank ye for what ye just did for Georgie. I canna remember a time when he looked or sounded so confident. And the other lads watching will treat him with more respect, having seen the respect ye gave him.”

  “He is yer brother, aye?”

  “Half. And his mother died in childbirth. I’ve raised him…”

  “Ach, now I understand. And he’s the heir?”

  “Nay. Archie is. He’s due back from fostering soon. Then he’ll join Da’s warriors. Georgie hopes never to be laird, of course. If he’s very lucky, he never will be.”

  Chapter 19

  In only a few days, it seemed to Muireall that Euan got over the unwelcome surprise of her parentage and warmed to her again. Georgie monopolized as much of his time as he could, but Euan still managed to seek her out. She hoped Euan’s magic with Georgie would continue to work. Other lads had been friendlier and more inclusive, a major change from the way they’d treated him before he’d spent that time with Euan in the great hall.

  She felt sorry for Calum, who spent as much time with Ella as she would allow, but she gave him precious little. With her reputation in tatters, she could not welcome male company. Muireall spent as much time with Ella as she could, but Georgie clung to her and when free of him, she wanted to be with Euan.