Highlander’s Twist 0f Fate (Scottish Medieval Historical Romance)

by Adamina Young

  “You were there?” Ellen gasped.

  “I was indeed,” Alan said somberly. “I had been intending to come by here for a visit, but I did send word to Robin. He came by on his way to the battle and told me about it. He said the villagers had put together all the coin they had in the hope of finding an army who could drive the Highlanders away for good, and that they could use a man like me. Well, I have to be honest and say that I had my fill of fighting the Highlanders over the last few years, but I wasn’t about to refuse a favor to my old friend. I mounted Blaze and we rode out to battle, like the old days.” A wistful smile appeared on his face, which quickly disappeared as his thoughts turned to the battle itself.

  “There were more Highlanders than we realized, and the men fighting alongside us weren’t trained as well as we were. Most of them were scared and the Highlanders broke through the lines. They were fighting to kill, as though they had some score to settle. Robin and I got separated in the conflict. I saw him near the end, called out to him, but I…I couldn’t reach him in time. I’m sorry.” His head dipped and his hand rose to his heart. “After he died I was so filled with rage that I cut five of them down in a single breath, and the rest of our men took this as a rallying cry and beat back the Highlanders until they retreated. I was the fortunate one this time, but we could not have won without Robin’s valiant efforts.”

  Myra nodded and dabbed at her cheeks, but Ellen’s face was flushed with fury.

  “Did you see who killed him? Which one of them was it? Did you get him?”

  Alan blinked and paused for a moment, taken aback by the force of her question.

  “I’m sorry Ellen, in all the confusion I didn’t see. I may well have got the man who killed him by chance, but I cannot say for certain,” Alan said in faltering words. Ellen nodded somberly, but her hands clenched into tight balls by her side.

  “I did manage to get something else though,” he said, and rummaged around in his pocket. He produced a sapphire ring that had been Robin’s. Many times Ellen had felt the caress of the jewel as Robin had stroked her cheek. Myra’s eyes lit up as she took the ring and kissed the jewel. It was as though a part of her husband had been returned to her.

  “I’m sorry I could not do more,” Alan said.

  “No, Alan, you have been wonderful,” Myra said, reaching out to clasp his chest with one hand. “It’s so reassuring to me that you were on the same battlefield with Robin. At least he wasn’t alone when he died, not truly, because he would have known that you were close by. I only wish that he could have returned from battle as well so we could have had a proper reunion. It would have been good for us all to be together again.”

  “Actually,” Alan said after a long pause, “there is something else that I would like to talk to you about. Both of you.” He pointedly glanced at Ellen. “Before the battle Robin and I had some time to talk about our lives and what had happened since the last time we saw each other. He particularly mentioned how you”—he turned to Ellen—“are of the age to be married, but how he has struggled to find a suitable match for you. He said that it was difficult to find someone who could understand your sensibilities and the more we spoke the more it seemed that there was a solution that could satisfy both our mutual needs. You see, I have been adventuring for a long time now and I feel as though I need a break from roaming the wilderness. To make it plain, I now have a home and it’s something I am proud of, but a home needs more than one man. I require a wife, and I think it makes sense for that wife to be you,” he said.

  Ellen was stunned. Myra clapped her hands and smiled with delight, interrupting her grief. Ellen forced a smile because it was expected of her, but her mind was racing.

  “What about this home? What about Mother?”

  “We can talk about the details at a later date, but needless to say your mother will be taken care of. Ellen, your father told me how you feel. Surely you must accept that it’s better to marry someone you know than a stranger?”

  The question hung in the air and Ellen wasn’t sure how to answer, but Alan quickly clapped his hands and smiled. “It is not as though you need to decide just yet. I thought that I might stay for a short while and we can arrange the finer details of the proposal before we move forward.”

  Ellen nodded and mumbled something incoherent. Myra seemed to think it was the most wonderful idea ever and insisted that Alan should join her for some supper. Ellen slowly receded from the room, backing away into the shadows of the house. Alan and Myra reminisced about Robin, but Ellen was filled with doubt. She had always had a soft spot for Alan, but this all felt so sudden and it wasn’t like her father to make a decision like this without telling her first. It seemed he had been more desperate than she realized…and she thought it might not be so bad to marry Alan since he knew what she was like, and perhaps he might even indulge her adventurous spirit and give her the opportunities that no other man would give her.

  During the following two weeks, Alan was around the house a great deal. He ingratiated himself with Myra and tried to speak with Ellen as often as possible, although now that he had proposed marriage the dynamic between them had changed. Ellen had always felt as though she could be open with him, but now their conversations had a different edge. He looked at her differently than he used to, with lust in his eyes, and she knew that things weren’t going to be the same as they used to be.

  Over the course of these few weeks, Alan went back and forth between his home and theirs, stopping off at various towns and trading posts along the way, returning with gifts. He brought delicious food and new clothes for Myra, plus precious jewels and beautiful gowns for Ellen. It was an ostentatious showing of wealth and Ellen was quite disgusted by the sight of it all, because it was far from what she imagined. Of course, her mother insisted that she wear the clothes Alan had bought for her whenever he feasted with them so she forced herself into the dresses, feeling utterly uncomfortable at every moment, fidgeting as though the earth was quaking underneath her rump.

  “Do you like the gifts?” Alan said one night as he approached her in the courtyard. Ellen had been so disconcerted by this shift in their dynamic that she tried to spend as much time by herself as possible.

  “I…” she began. She knew her mother would want her to omit the truth for the sake of the proposal. It was important to play nice, but Ellen simply didn’t have it in her. “May I be honest with you?”

  “Of course,” Alan chuckled. “If I remember rightly, honesty was never a weak point.”

  “It’s just that…this all feels like so much. I am just a humble girl and all of this”—she pinched the hem of her buttercup-colored dress and spread it all around her—“is just too much.”

  “Nonsense!” Alan said with a broad smile. “Life is meant to be enjoyed, and you of all people should have the opportunity to enjoy the finer things in life. You have been through a great sorrow and there is nothing wrong with feeling good.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I know that you have been through a lot so I don’t want to overwhelm you, but people like us have spent too long on the fringes of society. I have faced death so many times, but I have finally been rewarded and now I can give you the life you deserve. It’s what your father wanted.”

  Ellen bit her lip. “That may be true, but have you considered what I want in all of this?” Her voice wavered for she knew she was taking a risk in questioning her potential husband.

  Alan furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “I’m not sure I understand. Do you not want to be married?”

  Ellen threw her hands up and paced the ground in front of him. “It’s not that I don’t want to get married. It’s that I don’t want this.” She gestured towards her dress again. “This just isn’t me, and you should know that. Don’t you remember what I was like? Surely it hasn’t been that long.”

  “Ellen,” Alan said with a soft chuckle, “that was almost ten years ago. You were but a girl, you didn’t know what you wanted. You likely changed over t
he years. You must understand what the world expects of you. You don’t need to be out there, believe me.” He gestured to the wild with a wave of a hand. “There’s nothing out there but blood and sorrow. Stay with me and we can build a life together. We can have a home, and have children. We can honor your father’s last wish and we can provide a safe place for your mother to stay. I have paid my dues and I have earned a comfortable life with a beautiful wife who will bear me many children.” He stepped closer to her and his glower took on a menacing, threatening tone.

  “You wouldn’t want to go against the wishes of your father, would you? I’m sure he taught you how to be a good girl and be an obedient wife. I’m not even asking you to do anything difficult. All you have to do is relax and enjoy everything that life has to offer.”

  As he said this he ran his hand along her arm, his fingers trailing down her forearm before resting against her palm. Ellen took a sharp intake of breath and pulled her hand back. She swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, tearing herself away because she had no idea what to say to him after that. When she was younger he had treated her with more respect that he did now; now he only saw her as a wife, as a thing to be held, a prize to be won. Not as a person with her own desires and ambitions.

  Perhaps that was just the way the world saw her, and she might as well accept it. Myra wanted her to have this life, as did Robin, and if it was indeed his last wish, well, she would be a horrible daughter if she let that happen. But with all the gifts it seemed as though Alan was trying to turn her into something he wanted her to be rather than accepting her as she was. Part of her wondered if he even truly cared about her, or if he just wanted her as his wife because he knew her and she was available. It wasn’t at all how she wanted a marriage proposal to go and she certainly didn’t feel the tingling sensation or the heady emotions that her father had described to her.

  Myra and Alan were acting as though it was a foregone conclusion and Ellen wondered if she had any say in the matter at all. All they seemed to want from her was for her to shut up and go along with whatever they said. So she wore the dresses that were bought for her and tried to relax and enjoy them, and in her mind she tried to picture a life where she was sitting in a home beside Alan, nursing a child, but all the time, even in her imaginings, her gaze drifted to the window and looked out at the wider world. Her curiosity was always gnawing at her, and this deep need to see the world could not be quashed.

  One day, Alan marched downstairs after he slept and declared that they were going to leave to visit his home.

  “It’s about time you see your future home,” he said to Ellen, “and I have neglected it for too long. As much as I enjoy staying here, we must look to the future.” He promptly made arrangements for them to follow him in a wagon while he rode ahead, eager to return to his home and show Ellen and Myra the future that awaited them. He had been boasting during his stay of his successes in the Highlands and how he had been generously rewarded by nearby dukes for performing tasks for them. Some of these were dangerous, but the stories only filled Ellen’s head with an urge to achieve something like this for herself rather than just listen as part of a rapt audience.

  Alan certainly seemed to have made a good life for himself though, and that could not be denied. Robin had always chastised Alan for being rash and never thinking too many steps ahead, but it seemed as though he had fixed that character flaw and prospered.

  “It’s all well and good speaking of my future home,” Ellen asked, “but what about this home?”

  Alan dipped his head. “There is much that we need to discuss with regards to our future plans, but the plain fact of the matter is that we do not need two homes. Now, I have been considering keeping this property, but I feel it will be better in the long run if I sell it. I’m confident there will be many willing bidders and it should fetch a good price. It’s for the best, Ellen. Think of your mother. This place will only bring back sorrow for her, and for you as well. After Robin’s death it’s better that we all make a fresh start and move towards new beginnings.”

  Ellen’s heart sank when she heard this. It was the only home she had ever known and Alan’s proposition provided her with an unsettling feeling. It just seemed plain wrong and cruel of Alan to expect them to leave everything they knew behind. But, without a good reason to deny Alan his request, Ellen found herself sitting in the wagon with her mother, trundling along the lane towards Alan’s house.

  4

  Alan had assured them that the journey wouldn’t take long, but Ellen wasn’t unhappy at the prospect of it taking a little longer than expected. She huffed and sighed as she gazed out of the window, looking at the pretty flowers and tall trees go by. Sunlight slanted through the leaves and the flora rustled as small animals scurried about their business. Since they were traveling, Ellen had managed to convince her mother that it was acceptable for her to wear some simple clothes, which she felt far more comfortable in.

  “Make sure you change as soon as we arrive though,” Myra said. “Alan will want you to look nice when he shows you our new home.”

  Ellen was still unsure about Alan’s intentions, but there was little she could do about it. As they traveled, she thought about flinging the wagon door open and rushing out, running away into the forest to find her fate elsewhere. A smile played upon her lips as she thought about this. She could forage for food and find people to help, earning bread and coin by doing good deeds and punishing evildoers that escaped the boundaries of the law. It was not a glamorous life at all, and indeed it was a life that few would want, but to Ellen there was nothing sweeter.

  “I’m glad that you have finally accepted the world as it is,” Myra said. “I know it has been difficult for you, but it is a weight off my mind to know that you will be taken care of by a good man. God has blessed us by bringing Alan back into our lives in this moment. We know him, and your father trusted him with your life. It is just a shame that Robin isn’t alive to see the union take place. It would have brought him so much happiness.”

  “Mother, are you sure that Alan is the right man for me? That this is the right life?”

  “Of course darling! Who could be better? Don’t try to wriggle yourself out of this one,” Myra said with an admonishing glare. “You have always complained that the suitors we have tried to arrange marriages with are too dull or don’t understand you. Well, there’s nothing dull about Alan, and he has known you since you were a child! He knows you more than most and I’m sure that if you give it a chance love will blossom between the two of you. Life doesn’t always have to be the way your father described it,” she said gently. “It took me a while to truly fall in love with him, but that doesn’t mean my love is any less impressive or intense as his for me was.

  “Now, I suppose that in the past Alan was always a bit of a wayward soul, but being out in the world has really changed him. He seems to understand better now what is important, and he’s become a man. When he left us he was just a boy. I’m sure he could teach you a lot about life Ellen.”

  “Perhaps,” she said.

  “I’m just glad that his adventuring days are behind him. He’s fortunate that he did the right jobs and received quite the windfall, and that he’s smart enough to know when to stop. That was something your father always struggled with.”

  “That’s because Father wanted to keep fighting while there was still evil in the world. He knew that he couldn’t rest when there were bad people around. If he did nothing then he wasn’t doing his duty.”

  “And what about his duty to us?” Myra spat. She collected herself quickly and smoothed down her dress. “I don’t mind to speak ill of the dead, especially not your father, but there were times when he put the needs of others ahead of his own family. If he had turned his attention to other matters he might have been able to enjoy the twilight of his years instead of leaving us in this situation.”

  Ellen bit her tongue, amazed that Myra would say anything against Robin. Ellen continued looking out the wi
ndow, wishing that she had someone else’s life.

  “Did Alan talk to you about his plans for home?” Ellen asked.

  “He did mention something or other, yes, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I don’t like to concern myself with all those business matters,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

  “He wants to sell it,” Ellen revealed. “At least that’s what I think his intent is. It’s our home Mother, and he wants to sell it. He made some excuse that it would only remind us of what we’ve lost.”

  “And he may well be right. I have to admit that it’s difficult to sleep in an empty bed, and there are times when I’m certain that I can hear your father speaking to me. Why, there are even times when I’ve woken up and been convinced that he’s been standing next to the bed watching over me, but as soon as I rub my eyes and stir, he disappears. It’s almost too much for me to bear and I could use some relief. It’s so nice of Alan to think about me like this, and it would be a relief to have some spare coin to help you and he begin a new life together. I’m sure that with all the wisdom he’s acquired on his travels he’ll be able to make some good business deals and you won’t ever have to worry about a thing. Imagine it Ellen—a life without struggle. Oh, what a lucky girl you will be!”

  Ellen pouted at Myra’s reaction. It had been her last refuge for resistance against the marriage, but Myra was acting as though she needed this more than Ellen did. It seemed inevitable that this was happening and Ellen was just going to have to cope with the fact that she was not going to be able to deviate from this path. This was her life, for better or worse, so she might as well get used to it.