Highland Angels

by Ceci Giltenan

  Anna smiled. “Mairi, I’m wearing the clothes I arrived in, and I have no other belongings.”

  “Ye have the clothes we made ye.”

  Anna didn’t want to take anything with her from Curacridhe but she didn’t want to hurt Mairi either. “Well, I was thinking maybe ye’d like to have them—as a way to remember me.”

  “But they’re yers.”

  “Don’t ye like them?” asked Anna, confident of the answer.

  “Aye, they’re lovely, but…”

  “Then keep them.

  Mairi smiled. “Thank ye Anna.”

  Andrew appeared at the door. “Anna, it’s time to go.”

  Her heart leapt but she tried not to look too happy for fear of upsetting Mairi again.

  Andrew took her hand, leading her downstairs with Mairi and Davy trailing in her wake. Cora joined them when they reached the great hall, walking with them to the bailey.

  Anna expected to see Laird MacLeod and Graham prepared to go with them, but was a little shocked to see Father Ninian, as well as at least forty MacLeod warriors also mounted and ready to ride. A groom stood to one side holding the reins of Andrew’s horse.

  She frowned. “Where’s my mount?”

  “Ye’ll ride with me.”

  “I am perfectly capable of riding alone.”

  “But ye’ll ride with me anyway.”

  Anna didn’t like this. She knew it would upset her brother if he saw her riding on Andrew MacLeod’s lap. “I would really prefer to ride alone.”

  Andrew arched a brow at her. “Maybe ye’d prefer to stay here?”

  “Andrew, I…please let me ride alone”

  His voice grew stern. “I am not going to argue with ye about this. If ye intend on going to the strait, ye’ll ride with me.”

  Just a few more hours, Anna, and ye will not have to submit to the will of the MacLeods. “Fine.” She gave both Mairi and Davy a hug, said goodbye and let Andrew lift her onto his horse.

  As she rode through the gates of Curacridhe Castle, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  Anna remained silent and Andrew didn’t push her to speak. The entire contingent of men was oddly quiet as they rode south.

  After a little more than an hour, the meeting point came into view, and there were an equally large number of mounted MacKay warriors, including all three of her brothers, gathered on the east side of the strait. Even from a distance she could tell Eoin was angry by his tense posture. She stiffened in response. More than ever she wished the MacLeods had let her ride alone. She was sure seeing her sitting in front of Andrew MacLeod with his arm around her did nothing to improve her brother’s temperament.

  When the MacLeod party neared the western bank of the strait, the bulk of them stayed well back, surrounding Andrew and Anna. Dougal, Graham and Donald rode closer to the shore. As the weather was warming, the ice on the straight had melted.

  “I have nothing to say to ye, Dougal. I want to talk to Anna.” Eoin called.

  “Well, lad, that may be what ye want, but ye and I are going to chat first.”

  “What do we have to chat about, old man? Ye hold my sister prisoner and yet have made no demands. Until ye do, there is nothing to say.”

  “Nay, I haven’t made any demands because ye have nothing I want.”

  “Then why are we here?”

  “I thought I was doing ye a kindness, lad. I am allowing ye to see that yer sister is well and unharmed.”

  “I can see that one of yer sons has his filthy hands on her, so pardon me if I am not convinced she’s unharmed. Let me speak with her,” he demanded.

  “Well as we are the ones who hold her, filthy hands or not, ye’d do well to mind yer tongue,” Dougal snapped. “I’ll let ye speak with her when I’m ready to.”

  This was the side of Laird MacLeod that Anna had first witnessed when Graham had dragged her half-frozen into the hall.

  Eoin appeared to have a fragile hold on his temper. “What do ye want?”

  “I want to keep yer sister.”

  Anna gasped and tried to twist out of Andrew’s grip. “Ye lied to me.”

  Andrew held her firmly. “Wheesht angel,” he whispered. “I never lied.”

  “Damn ye to hell, MacLeod. What’s this about?” yelled Eoin.

  “Calm yerself, lad,” said Dougal, obviously pleased to see the effect he was having. “I understand that Anna is not betrothed to anyone.”

  “Not yet,” he managed to grind out.

  “Not yet, ye say. And do ye think arranging a betrothal now that she has lived with the ‘thieving MacLeods’ for a spell will be easy?”

  “I’ll manage,” Eoin said, but the pain written on his face clearly revealed how his heart ached for her.

  “Ye’ll manage, will ye? Not if I don’t give her back.”

  “Do ye want an all-out war, MacLeod? I’ll give ye one if ye do.”

  “Nay lad, I don’t want a war. In fact, I want this hostility to end for good. I want a betrothal between my eldest son Andrew and yer Anna.”

  Anna gasped again and spun around to look at Andrew, who only arched a brow at her and remained silent.

  ~ * ~

  Eoin registered Anna’s shocked expression. Tasgall and Aidan looked equally horrified.

  The feud between the MacKays and the MacLeods was ancient; Eoin had learned to mistrust and hate them from the cradle. He would never have considered marrying his sister to one of them. “Not that Dougal. We can discuss a truce. I’ll relinquish all claims to the disputed land, but I want my sister back.”

  “Eoin, ye can relinquish yer claim today and battle again tomorrow when I have no hold over ye.” Dougal said more gently, “Ye know we need something stronger, more binding.”

  A fierce warrior, Eoin briefly considered signaling an attack to take her back by force. He would have battled any MacLeod warrior with relish to protect his family and clan, but he could not fight his way out of this. Andrew MacLeod firmly held Anna on horseback and clearly visible strapped to his right leg was a dagger. If Eoin signaled an attack, Andrew could pull the dagger and slit her throat almost before the first sword was drawn. Dougal had cornered him.

  “Let me pay a ransom then.” Eoin knew he sounded desperate.

  “I would never demand a copper from ye. Yer sister saved my grandson’s life. She risked her own safety to pull him out of the loch after he fell through the ice and she became desperately ill as a result. I owe her more than I could ever pay. The only worthy gift I have to give is peace with ye, and the only way to bind that peace is with a marriage.”

  If this was true, surely Dougal wouldn’t kill her. Again Eoin briefly considered attacking, however he didn’t trust the MacLeods and wasn’t willing to risk Anna’s life. Finally he said, “Then give yer daughter to one of my brothers in marriage.”

  “Mairi’s only fourteen. I will agree to a betrothal with one of yer brothers, but she’s too young to leave home now. Furthermore, we both know that arranging a marriage for Anna after this will not be easy and that’s my fault. I promise ye she will be cherished.”

  “Then let me speak with her.”

  “Nay, lad. It looks as if ye have at least half of yer garrison with ye. The temptation to take her and start a skirmish is too great. Ye will agree to the betrothals and sign the papers before ye speak to her, or we ride away—with Anna.”

  “My father asked me to consider her wishes in marriage. I must speak to her before I agree.”

  “I understand yer father’s request. I would like to give Mairi the same gift, but I cannot. The good of my clan as well as yer own depends on this. I am not going to lie to ye, Anna wants to come home and I did not discuss this with her. I have no doubt she’s as angry as ye are right now. However, she is smart and compassionate and I suspect, if given enough time, she will see the wisdom in this.”

  Eoin didn’t say anything. He ran one hand through his hair and stared at his sister. She did look furious. He hated being backed into a corner and
yet, he knew it was the best solution. Sighing and shaking his head he said, “Fine. But I want a betrothal between Mairi and Tasgall and a solution to the border dispute.”

  “Agreed. Cross the straight and we’ll sign the papers. Yer brothers and six other warriors can cross with ye.” Dougal, Graham and Donald dismounted.

  Shaking his head, Eoin motioned to his brothers and six of his guards and they urged their mounts into the straight, at its deepest the water reached well up to the horse’s chests. They dismounted on the other side and Dougal approached, offering his hand. After a moment Eoin took it. “I don’t like being cornered, MacLeod.”

  “No one does, lad.

  “I swear to ye, if I learn that Anna is ever mistreated, nothing will keep me from killing ye.”

  “And I swear to ye I won’t ever allow her to be mistreated. The MacLeods will die protecting her.”

  There were some minor changes that Eoin wanted made to the documents. Dougal agreed, calling Father Ninian forward to take care of them. Eoin asked, “Why did ye insist that I bring both of my brothers? I was fully expecting an ambush because of that.”

  “I know she doesn’t believe it lad, but I am very fond of yer sister. I have no doubt she expected to go home today and as ye know, I can’t allow that, but I wanted her to have the opportunity to see her family.”

  “I should thank ye for that at least,” said Eoin grudgingly.

  “We hold Anna in the highest regard. Although I know it’s painful for her now, I’m doing this for her children and their children.”

  “I understand.” Eoin frowned at him. “I’m not happy about the way it came about, but ye’re right, these marriages will serve the best interests of both clans.”

  After they signed the betrothal agreements, Andrew dismounted and lifted Anna off the horse. She ran to her brother. “I’m sorry, Eoin.”

  “Anna,” he said putting his arms around her, “I should be furious with ye.”

  “Ye aren’t?”

  “Nay, not really. If ye hadn’t done what ye did, the child would have died. I wouldn’t have wanted that. But ye know I can’t fix this now, pet. Ye have to marry Andrew MacLeod.”

  “I know,” she said sadly.

  “Will it be that bad?” he asked, tipping her chin up to look into her eyes.

  “Nay. He’s better than Fearchar Morrison. At least I am close to home.”

  Eoin chuckled, “Sweetling, that’s not saying much. It takes very little to be better than Fearchar. But I never would have sent ye to live on Lewis, even if it did mean ye’d be married to the laird’s son. I was just angry with ye.”

  Aidan and Tasgall joined them, each hugging Anna.

  “Are ye all right, pet?” asked Aidan.

  “I’m sick of MacLeods telling me what to do, but I’m fine.”

  Aidan grinned. “Now, in fairness, Anna, ye wandered into this mess because ye were sick of Eoin telling ye what to do.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  Tasgall said, “Please tell me I won’t regret this betrothal.”

  She smiled for the first time since they arrived. “Nay Tasgall, ye won’t regret it. Mairi is lovely and sweet. She’ll be a good wife when she’s a little older, although like me, she manages to annoy her oldest brother no end.”

  “Then I like her already,” Tasgall said and shot a glare at Andrew, who stood well away from them.

  “Anna, the wedding will be in a little over five weeks at Curacridhe, on the Feast of St. Mark,” Eoin said. “We’ll see ye then, pet. I never actually imagined attending anything there except a siege, but so be it.”

  “Can’t I go home with ye until then?” asked Anna. “The papers are signed, please Eoin, I want to go home.”

  “Nay, pet. I agreed that ye would stay at Curacridhe until the wedding, or I should say Dougal demanded it. I had very little choice.”

  Tears filled her eyes, “Eoin please…”

  He hated seeing his sister like this and looked at Dougal who stood nearby. “Laird MacLeod, I give ye my word we will bring her back. She has been away from home for so long.”

  But the old laird shook his head. “Nay, lad. This is too important to take the risk. It has to be this way.”

  Anna turned on Laird MacLeod angrily. “Why are ye doing this to me? Ye have what ye want. After all of this, w-why can’t ye l-let me go h-home?” Her voice caught. Clearly she was fighting desperately not to cry. She turned back to Eoin. “Please Eoin. Please, I want to come home, p-please,” she sobbed, losing her battle against tears.

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Wheesht, Anna. That’s enough.” Eoin had never felt so helpless in his life. He tried one last time with Laird MacLeod. “Let her come home. One of my brothers will go with ye in her stead. I swear I will honor the contract.”

  “Ye will honor the contract as it stands. She’ll come back with us.”

  “Then let Tasgall go with her, so she’s not alone.”

  “The absolute last thing I need is two MacKay’s trying to escape. One of them could get hurt and we’d be right back where we started. Nay, she’ll come alone and she’ll come now.”

  She gripped Eoin tighter but there was nothing he could do. “Ye need to go now, sweetling.”

  “But Eoin—”

  “Nay, Anna, go back with the MacLeods. We’ll see ye in a few weeks and we’ll discuss a visit to Naomh-dùn after ye’re married.” He brushed her tears away and kissed her head. Andrew stepped forward and took her elbow to lead her away. She yanked her arm away from him and strode angrily toward his horse. He shook his head and followed.

  “I almost feel sorry for him,” said Eoin quietly to his brothers. At their affronted expressions added, “Nay, ye’re right, I don’t.”

  Chapter 8

  Andrew lifted the very angry little MacKay onto his horse, mounted behind her, and the contingent of MacLeods headed back to Curacridhe. She sat forward, stiffly holding herself away from him, riding in sullen silence.

  Finally she spoke. “Ye knew this was coming.” It was an accusation, not a question.

  “Aye, I did.”

  “And ye didn’t have the decency to tell me.”

  “There’s no need for ye to play the affronted maid with me. Ye think I don’t know ye’ve plotted escape since the moment ye could lift yer head off the pillow? It only got worse after we found out who ye were.”

  “I couldn’t escape. I could barely take a breath without a MacLeod knowing it.”

  “And why do ye think that was?”

  She glared over her shoulder but said nothing.

  “If ye’d had an inkling of what Da planned, angel, I have no doubt ye would have sprouted the wings Davy thought ye had and flown away.”

  “If the situation were reversed, wouldn’t ye have expected Mairi to do the same thing?”

  “Mairi would never have wandered off pouting in the first place, although I’m thankful ye did.”

  “Well it might be worth going back just to see if that’s true when ye tell her she has to marry my brother.”

  “Is that such a terrible fate, Anna?”

  In a milder tone she said, “Nay, Tasgall is a good man. She’s lucky to have him.”

  “She might say the same about me.”

  “I doubt it.”

  He chuckled. “Ye’re right, she probably wouldn’t. But I am a good man and I will care for ye in spite of what my wee sister thinks about me.”

  Still upset Anna faced front again and remained silent for a time before asking crossly, “Why did he have to do this?”

  “My father?”

  “Aye, if ye were all so grateful to me for saving Davy, why couldn’t he just let me go home?”

  “Did ye listen to what he told Eoin?”

  “About Eoin not being able to arrange a betrothal for me, thanks to the MacLeods? Aye I did. But I don’t care.”

  “Not just that, angel. About seeking a lasting peace between our clans.”

  “After years o
f feuding, why does it matter now?”

  “When Da first discussed this with me, he said peace between our clans was the greatest gift he could give Davy’s angel. What would happen if we allowed the feud to continue?”

  “Nothing. We would go on as we always have and I’d be on my way home.”

  “That’s right. Nothing would change and maybe when ye have a grown son he would face Davy in battle and be killed.” He heard her breath catch. “Da didn’t think that was the best way to repay ye.”

  “Then just end the feud. Why must we marry to do that?”

  “I asked him the same thing and, if ye remember, so did Eoin. This feud was too old and too ingrained to end it with a handshake. Only a powerful bond between our clans would ensure a lasting peace. That’s why Da offered Mairi’s hand too.”

  She frowned, but didn’t say anything.

  “Do ye hate me so much then? Is marrying me such a terrible fate?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Ye know, I had no choice in this either.”

  She cast a disbelieving look over her shoulder.

  “Truly, Anna. I had absolutely no intention of ever marrying again. I loved Davy’s mother. The idea of spending the rest of my life with a wife who hates me isn’t exactly appealing.”

  “I don’t hate ye.” She paused for a moment. “Nay that’s a lie, I do hate ye, but I don’t expect I’ll hate ye forever.”

  Andrew smiled to himself. “Well that’s something.”

  They rode in silence for a while before he said, “There’s at least one person who will be positively thrilled by this news.”

  “Who?”

  “Anna, when ye marry me, ye’ll be Davy’s mother. I can think of nothing that would make him happier. He loves ye.”

  “I love him too.”

  “So, even if ye hate me at the moment, we come as a pair. Ye are getting him in the bargain.”

  ~ * ~

  Anna’s anger hadn’t subsided by the time they returned to the keep. She understood why Laird MacLeod forced the betrothals. But she didn’t like it, and was sorely disappointed. As soon as she stepped into the great hall, David yelled, “Anna, you’ve come back!” and hurtled himself into her arms.