The Highlander's Secret

by Jennifer Siddoway

  Eamon growled. “Oh, that lass will be the death of me!”

  “What are we going to do?”

  The chieftain glanced back and forth between Alan and the guards before saying, “Dinnae just stand there! Sound the horn and summon our warriors to bring her back. Gather every able-bodied man in the village and we will ride out to meet them at their camp. I want them to ken if they harm a hair on my daughter’s head, we will make them pay.”

  “Laird Gordon, do ye really mean to fight them?”

  “Of course I do,” Eamon stated. “She’s my daughter. I’ll do whatever is needed to bring her home. Now go and summon the others.”

  “Thank ye, my laird.”

  “Have ye any idea when she left?” Eamon inquired with a raise of his eyebrow. “It might give us some idea of how far she’s gotten?”

  Alan’s expression fell, shaking his head. “Nae, my laird, the bed was cold. Augh! I’m such a fool, I should have suspected that she would do this.”

  Eamon frowned. “Lad, I’ve taken care of Jain fer ten years and even I cannae predict the way she will behave. Dinnae blame yerself fer her decision – the fault is hers and hers alone.”

  Alan huffed in exasperation and said, “Mayhap I should ride out ahead of the others and see if I can find her. The warriors would be right behind, and we won’t waste any more time.”

  “Ye’ll do nae such thing. I plan on bringing Jain home alive – that’s going to require more than just one man. I will not be risking yer life as well, Jain would never forgive me.”

  Not long after that, Alan and the warriors were gathered in the village green, hoping their numbers would tip the battle in their favor. They’d gathered every axe, sword and shield available to them from the armory and the smithy. Men from all across the region who’d come to fight the Viking horde offered their services as well. It was an impressive group of warriors by the time they finished gathering, enough to call themselves an army. The moon shone brightly overhead, illuminating them all on horseback.

  All that was left was for Jain’s da to come out and join them – it wouldn’t be complete without him. When Eamon come out of the keep, he was dressed and ready for action.

  Alan had never seen Eamon in his element before.

  In all the time Alan knew him, he’d always seen Jain’s da as the humble cottar; kind, even-tempered and deliberate. It was easy to forget he was once a warrior, and a talented one at that. He was raised to be chieftain right along with his brother Keenan ever since they were little. Now Eamon stood before them in full battle regalia and mounted a horse himself. This was the man who raised his beloved Jain, and he couldn’t have been prouder to call Eamon family.

  “Men of Moray,” he addressed them properly. “I thank ye fer coming with us this night. Our need is urgent, so I’ll not waste our time with words. We ride fer the coast where the Viking ships have landed and bring home my beloved Jain. Now ride!”

  There was a flurry of action when the horses started and thundering hoofbeats pounded the earth beneath them. Alan rode right there with them, his eyes focused on their chieftain as they travelled out the north gate.

  His mind was frantic with worry about what could have happened to his Jain by now. Too much time had already been lost while they assembled men to assist him. Wind whipped by him, only serving to fuel his rage and determination. The only consolation was knowing he was not alone, he had a band of brothers with him.

  They would see justice. They would see his Jain return home safe.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Jain sighed, finishing the rest of the drink Ragnar’s men had offered. How was she going to get out of this? How could she convince them to let her leave?

  As she contemplated the options left to her, a Viking shield maiden came storming in from outside. “Earl Ragnar, the girl must have been followed. There’s an army gathered on the hill outside.”

  Jain turned at the news and her jaw fell open in shock. Ragnar grinned and wiped his hands off on his legging while he stood. “I was afraid that would happen. Well, little sister, it looks like I’m going to have my battle after all.”

  “No! Ragnar, please. Let me talk to them.”

  Her brother scoffed and walked out determinedly into the center of the camp. Around them, men paced restlessly; others sharpened their weapons with concentrated intensity. The tensions on the ground were high. In the distance, Jain could see an army at the top of the hill holding torches while they surveyed the camp. Fear rose up inside her and she looked back at her brother in horror.

  “Who is that?” Ragnar asked her in a growl.

  “That would be my father…and my husband,” she told him simply. “But there are a lot more with them than I expected. The warriors must have come with him from the surrounding clans.”

  “We can take them.”

  Jain eyes widened with fear. “No, Ragnar, you can’t. There’s too many of them. You’re outnumbered three to one. Everyone here will die.”

  “What would ye have me do?” Ragnar responded. “You know as well as I do that if our men are attacked they’ll respond in kind. They may not give me much of a choice.”

  “Let me go talk to them,” she offered. “I’m sure they will listen to reason.”

  One of the men behind him that Jain didn’t not recognize grew frustrated with all the talking and stepped up, saying, “We didn’t come here for easy chatter. Let’s just take the girl and leave.”

  “If ye remember, Hakkon, the reason we came here was to find my sister. We’ve done that,” Ragnar argued, looking back at Jain.

  “I won’t stand by and listen to this witch spewing tales of love and friendship when her people have killed hundreds of our men,” the warrior he was speaking to responded.

  As their tempers stoked to a fury, Ragnar gave up any pretense of civility. He roared, loosening his axe from his belt. Haakon snarled and removed his knife from the sheath in his boot. After a beat, Haakon charged the smaller man but was thrown back by a well-placed punch to the center of his chest.

  Beating his naked chest, Ragnar cried, “Anyone else want to question me?”

  No one spoke.

  Ragnar turned back towards his sister and asked, “What are ye proposing, Jain? That we just sail away empty-handed? I am Earl now. I have to think about my people.”

  “We first came here for a better life,” she reminded him. “Our parents were humble farmers. What if we tried again, and this time…”

  Ragnar flinched while Jain was talking, and she gently patted him on the arm. “This time we have an alliance.”

  “Jain, even if I wanted to, your people would never agree to that. There’s too much bad blood between us.”

  “You cannae be sure about that. It might be rough for a while, but I’m sure over time we could live in peace. We’ll never know unless we try. I don’t want to see any of the people I care about die this eve. Let me ride out to them. I am sure I can negotiate something.”

  “It’s an appealing offer,” Ragnar allowed. “Farming land is more valuable than gold or silver. What is to keep us from just taking that land ourselves?”

  “Because if you did that, no one in your settlement would ever find peace. I can give you that – farming land and the opportunity to thrive.”

  His light blue eyes were cold and calculating as he spoke, “Your father would agree to that? He would let us settle here and start a community?”

  “I’ll go ask him.”

  She was already climbing onto her horse before Ragnar could respond. A few of his fighters tried to block her path, but he waved them off, saying, “Let her go.”

  Jain smiled at him one last time before riding off towards Alan and her father. Both of them rode off to meet her and met halfway in between. “Jain!”

  “Alan!”

  Alan and Jain met each other’s gaze and smiled as everyone else melted away. He walked through the throngs as if in a daze. He only saw her. When they approached, Jain’s lip
s curved into a smile. She laughed and threw herself into his open arms. He kissed the top of her head and rested his fingers on her hair.

  Her husband shook his head. “What could ye have possibly been thinking? Do ye have any idea how scared we’ve been?”

  “It was worth it,” she informed them flatly. “My brother Ragnar is the Earl, which means he’s in charge. I convinced him to make peace talks with ye.”

  “It could be a trap,” Alan cautioned.

  Jain frowned. “Such little faith in me, husband? I’m telling ye their offer is real. Nae one person has to fight.”

  Eamon sighed. “I’m afraid it’s a chance we’ll have to take. Lead on.”

  Jain turned her horse and walked him slowly towards the camp. As they approached the spike fence around the edge, most of the warriors were already on their feet. None of them spoke, but their eyes were full of curiosity and fear.

  Jain walked the horses back to Ragnar’s tent and dismounted without saying another word. Ragnar stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and watched them approach with measured caution.

  She spoke to him in his language and said, “Ragnar, this is Eamon. He is chieftain of Clan Gordon, and he’s been a father to me fer many years. I brought him here to speak with you.”

  “Who is the other one?” Ragnar asked.

  Jain smiled. “That is my husband, Alan.”

  Ragnar nodded in acknowledgment to both of them and strode back into his tent. He sat down on a wooden chair covered in a bear skin and looked over Eamon carefully.

  This time, when the Viking spoke it was an attempt to communicate in their native language. His broken dialect was nothing like the Gaelic language. Even the way he spoke the words came out hard and grating. “Yew knoo Jain?”

  Jain knew the words came out clear enough for her da to understand. “Aye, Jain is part of our family. We love her.”

  Ragnar’s expression softened. “Aye…love er thoo. Yew tayke karr of er, dat veens we ahr fhamelee. Jain tuld mee Aye beeuld sattlemint.”

  Jain grinned at his broken dialect and knew that he was trying. She spoke to him in their native tongue and offered to translate, which he agreed to readily with a nod.

  “Da, I told Ragnar that if he wanted peace, if he wanted to have a better life fer his people, that they could build another settlement here on the coast. The ground is better and it’s easier to farm than where they live up north. He’s agreed not to fight us and to have a quiet life, but…”

  Eamon raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Jain?”

  “He’s concerned about what happened here last time. If they start a settlement, he needs assurance that Clan Gordon will be their ally. That we’ll protect them and spread word that these people are not our enemy.”

  “Jain, ye ken I cannae speak fer the other clans. One of his men killed our chieftain, our men will never forgive that.”

  Ragnar questioned her in their native language and she explained to him what was happening. “He says yer men killed our chieftain and peace may not be achievable.”

  “Who was the chieftain?” Ragnar asked her.

  She described him to the best of her ability and watched as Ragnar shook his head. “None of my men killed your leader,” he insisted firmly. “It was one of your own men who turned on him in the midst of battle. He was tall and had blackish hair—”

  Jain gasped. “Conrad.”

  Eamon sat up higher in his seat and raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Jain?”

  She cleared her throat and said, “Ragnar says it wasn’t them. He said it was one of ours. The man who killed Keenan was from Elign and he had blackish hair.”

  Eamon buried his face in his hands and sighed. “I might have known. The lad saw an opportunity and he took it.”

  “That git!” Alan spat with fury.

  “That means they had nothing to do with Keenan’s death,” she told him. “It’s unrelated. Mayhap we can use that to our advantage.”

  “If we explain that to them fully, it could work…”

  “But ye can try,” she insisted. “Ye could still promise them yer favor and protection.”

  Eamon removed his gloves and set them on the table before taking a seat as well. “Will ye translate fer me as well?”

  “Of course.”

  “Ragnar, our clan has nae quarrel with ye. But before I let ye settle here, I need to understand what happened. Ye claim that none of yer men are responsible for my brother’s death, but did ye actually see it happen?”

  Jain relayed that information to Ragnar and he nodded adamantly.

  “Aye, he saw it with his own two eyes. He was as surprised as we are.”

  “Can he give any other description of the man who killed him?”

  After a brief exchange, Jain turned back to her father and said, “There isn’t a word for it in our language. The best I can use is… ‘pretty’. The man had an attractive face.”

  “That would be Conrad,” Eamon confirmed. “Would he be willing to attest to that in public if it comes to that?”

  Ragnar nodded.

  “Yasss.”

  “Very well. If ye can promise to stop raiding and live with us in peace, we would be happy to let ye build a settlement. We could trade goods and services.”

  The Viking shook his head and spoke to Jain in their language. She smiled weakly and nodded. “He accepts yer terms, but suggests it may not be enough to ensure lasting peace.”

  “What more can I offer him?”

  “He wants a group of our people to live in the settlement among them, to ensure ye have a vested interest in their survival. In exchange he will send two families with ye to put roots down in Elign. Only then will our cultures understand each other.”

  “But who would stay with them?”

  Alan interjected in the conversation and said, “Ask them if they have a blacksmith.”

  Eamon glanced up at him in shock after she relayed the information. “Alan, are ye sure about this?”

  He sighed. “Of course not, but I’m willing to try. This is Jain’s kinsmen and they mean a lot to her. Ye said yerself that my skill is wasted in Elign. Bruce has taught me everything he knows. It would be an honor and a privilege to serve them.”

  Jain pursed her lips and smiled. “He said there is nae person like that among their ranks. I’m sure a blacksmith would be very useful, especially while they’re getting started.”

  “Then it’s agreed. Jain and I will relocate to this settlement on the coast and Ragnar will send some others to take our place.”

  Ragnar and Eamon both nodded and shook one another’s hand.

  “We’ll finish the rest of the details in the morning. I’m very tired. If we can just spend the night in peace it would be to the benefit of everyone.”

  Three Months later…

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Alan wrapped the fur-lined cloak around his shoulders to keep warm against the falling snow as he walked the road of the Viking settlement. His blond hair was now sheered along the sides and the rest of it was twisted into a braid in the Viking style.

  As the days grew shorter in the winter months, the weather on the Scottish coast had become brutal. White flurries had begun to dust the rocky shore and an icy wind crept in along the paths of the newly established settlement.

  They’d spent every minute reinforcing the cottages and making sure there was enough food to last the winter. Eamon had sent them a modest supply of food, for which Ragnar and his people were extremely grateful. It would be a long winter before they could till the ground and plant seed themselves, but spirits were high, and the people thrived. He glanced across the buildings now and a sense of pride rose up inside him. The settlement had come so far, and in such a remarkably short period of time. Bjorn and Helga nodded when he passed and gave a conciliatory nod. There were some people who still did not trust him, but that was to be expected. Alan was determined to make this work and that required time and patience – just like silver. He smiled
back at them and ducked beneath the door frame into the main hall to warm himself.

  When Alan came inside, Jain and Ragnar greeted him with a smile.

  “Brother, I’m glad to see you have returned,” Ragnar greeted him with a clap on the back. “How are things on the west bank?”

  The red-haired Earl looked exactly like his sister, Jain. They had the same green eyes and pale complexion that was common in Scandinavia.

  “We finished securing two more horses, they should be sufficient to last the winter,” he responded in the Viking tongue.

  Jain grinned up at him appreciatively and that made his smile widen. Her long red hair fell down across her shoulders and was adorned with colorful beads. She looked completely serene and in her element, being surrounded by her kinsmen. Ever since they moved to live in the settlement with her brother, they had been practicing how to speak. It was different than his native Gaelic and became frustrating at times, but the more he practiced the more the words began to flow. She taught him the language of her ancestors and about their history, making his lexicon grow larger every day.

  His wife’s eyes twinkled when he came near to her and she teased him, saying, “Good morrow, Alan. I dinnae see ye when ye left this morning.”

  He grinned and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. “I’m sorry, Jain. I dinnae want to bother ye in the wee hours. I ken how difficult the mornings are in yer condition.”

  She scoffed, reaching up to scratch the stubble of his beard. “I’m only pregnant, not an invalid. Ye could have said goodbye to me at least.”

  Ragnar chuckled, listening to them quarrel. “Don’t be so hard on him, Jain. I asked Alan to get there early so we could get finished with the building before the storm, he was only trying to help.”

  Jain laughed while standing up and using the table to support her weight. “Then it’s ye I should be angry at!”