by Ruth Langan
When the horse came to the banks of a river, he lowered his head and drank. The sound startled Meredith. She was instantly awake.
For long minutes she merely stared at the narrow ribbon of water glistening in the moonlight. Then she let out a cry of pure delight. Wonder of wonders. They were standing on the banks of the river Tweed. It meandered through gently rolling countryside. Looming in the distance were the Cheviot Hills. Beyond that, England. And there, on the opposite shore of the river, its many turrets shimmering in the silvery moonlight, stood MacAlpin Castle.
Home. There were so many times when she had thought she would never see it again. Now that she was so near, the tears would not stop flowing.
She slid from the saddle and knelt on the bank of the river, drinking her fill. Removing her cloak, she folded it carefully. Then, pulling herself once more into the saddle, she urged her mount into the shallows. Soon the water was deep, and the horse began to swim, while Meredith gamely held on. By the time they had crossed to the far shore, both horse and rider were shivering from the frigid waters. She bundled herself into the cloak and, bending low over the horse’s neck, urged him into a trot. The night air danced through her hair as her horse’s hooves ate up the final miles.
How Meredith longed to cross the courtyard at breakneck speed and toss the reins to a stable boy as she had done hundreds of times in her young life. How she yearned to hear old Bancroft, the aging doorkeeper, announce her to those assembled. How desperately she desired to throw herself into the outstretched arms of her sisters and hug them to her. But all that must wait.
First she must ascertain that Gareth MacKenzie and his men had not already taken over MacAlpin Castle, hoping to ensnare her in a trap.
Leaving her horse in a stand of trees, she crept toward the rear tower of the castle. Shivering as she crouched behind a row of shrubbery, she studied the darkened windows of the upper floor.
Meredith and her sisters had often horrified their mother by climbing to the upper balconies. They knew every stone, every indentation, along the wall. Now such childhood games would stand her in good stead. Tossing aside her cloak she reached up until she located the jagged edge of a stone with her fingertips. Pulling herself up, she probed with the toe of her boot until she found a foothold. Stretching, she found another rough stone and pulled herself up farther. Again and again she repeated the process until she had reached the upper balcony of her old room. With her last ounce of strength she pulled herself over the edge of the balcony and slumped to the floor, taking in great gulps of air.
As her breathing grew more steady she paused to listen. There was no sound of movement within her old rooms. Crossing the balcony she stepped into the sitting chamber. The room was cold. No fire had been set in the fireplace.
She crossed the room quickly and listened at the door before throwing it open and striding quickly down the hall. She passed several doors before pausing to listen once again.
She pushed open a door and stepped inside. In the sitting chamber a fire crackled invitingly. From the sleeping chamber beyond she could see the movement of shadows. Someone was preparing for sleep.
She crept silently across the room and peered through the open doorway. When she was certain that the persons inside were friendly, she stepped into the light.
Meredith drank in the sight of the slender young woman with coal-black hair that fell in waves to below her waist. Her blue-violet eyes widened for a moment. Then Brenna was racing to her, arms outstretched.
“Meredith. Oh, Meredith.”
The two young women fell into each other’s arms, laughing and crying.
“They told us you were dead.”
“You can see for yourself that I am not.”
“Oh. Let me look at you.” Brenna held her older sister at arm’s length, then drew her close again, trying to swallow the lump that seemed stuck in her throat. “You are so cold. And wet.”
“Aye to both. My horse and I swam the river.”
“Here.” Brenna began removing Meredith’s wet clothes, then wrapped her in an ermine-lined cape.
Across the room an old woman stared at Meredith as if seeing a ghost. When at last she was able to gather her wits about her she hurried across the room and began fussing with the cape.
“Ye’ll catch the death. Out of those wet boots now.”
“Morna.” Meredith caught the old woman’s hands and held them when she tried to pull away. “There’s no need to fuss.”
“But I…” Her old nurse found that she could not go on. With tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks she drew the girl into her arms and clung to her.
“Oh, lass. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“There now, Morna. You see, I’m fine. Just fine.” Meredith patted her shoulder, then held her a little away.
Brenna, watching the reunion between Meredith and their old nurse, whispered, “I must tell Megan.”
Meredith caught her arm and held her when she tried to turn away. In low tones she said, “Only Megan. You must tell no one else that I am here.”
Brenna studied her sister for a moment, then nodded. “I will tell no one.”
Within minutes Brenna had returned with their youngest sister. At ten and four Megan was already as tall as Meredith and still growing. Her hair the color of ripe wheat and gold-flecked eyes in a small oval face promised a rare beauty when she grew to womanhood.
She pulled her arm free of Brenna’s grasp and stamped her foot. “What is it you cannot tell me?”
“This.” Brenna stood aside and allowed the youngest to peer into her sleeping chamber.
Megan’s eyes grew round before filling with tears. In quick strides she was across the room, locked in her sister’s embrace.
“Oh, Meredith. We thought you dead.”
“Aye. I have heard the rumors of my death. Though I must confess there were many times when I thought they would be true.”
“Why must you keep your presence here a secret?”
“I am here to unmask Gareth MacKenzie as a liar.”
Megan turned to stare at sixteen-year-old Brenna, who looked stricken.
Seeing her shock and pain Meredith placed an arm about her sister’s shoulders. “What is it, Brenna? What have I said to cause such pain?”
“Gareth has been—courting me.” Brenna thought of the uneasy hours she had been forced to spend in the company of Gareth MacKenzie. “Thankfully I have never been alone with him. Old Morna saw to that,” Brenna said with a smile. Her smile suddenly faded. “Gareth has already sought the approval of the clan to wed me when he returns from Edinburgh.”
“He is not here then?”
“Nay.”
At her words, Meredith felt a wave of relief. At least for now she was safe.
“He left only yesterday with a large party of MacKenzie men to seek an audience with the queen. He intends to ask Her Majesty to declare you dead.”
“And to declare you the next of kin.” Meredith stroked her sister’s hair before asking, “Do you love Gareth MacKenzie?”
“Love him?” Brenna trembled and Meredith drew her close. Against her cheek the young woman murmured, “I do not love Gareth. I fear him. But Duncan and the others urged me to accept his offer of marriage in order to secure our borders.”
“They said Brenna could do no less than you, Meredith, if she were truly the MacAlpin.” Megan’s tawny eyes flashed. “We knew that you did not love Desmond. Yet you agreed to wed him for the sake of the clan.”
“Aye. Poor Duncan,” Meredith said softly. “He was so certain that Gareth would be as good as his word. He is like all the others. Fooled by Gareth’s charm, and unable to see what he really is.”
“Enough about Gareth MacKenzie. How did you manage to escape from the Highland Barbarian?” Megan asked.
Meredith suddenly realized how much had happened since her abduction at the altar. Her own sisters did not even know about the man who had stolen her heart.
“Come,” Mer
edith said, catching Megan’s hand. “Find me a night shift. We will all climb into Brenna’s big bed and whisper and giggle as we did when we were children. I will tell you everything.”
“I will go below stairs and fetch some biscuits. I’ve heard those Highlanders eat raw meat.” Morna studied the slender girl and added, “It’s a wonder you haven’t faded away in that barbaric place.”
Meredith laughed at her old nurse’s words. But as Morna started for the door, Meredith’s words stopped her. “Not a word that I am here.”
“Not even to Bancroft?”
“Nay. Not even to him. For a little while longer no one must know that I am still alive. Do you understand?”
“Aye.”
Morna put her hand on the door but Meredith again stopped her. With the beginnings of a smile she added, “Bring meat and cheese as well. And mayhaps a goblet of ale.”
“Ale?” Brenna turned to study her sister.
Meredith laughed. “Aye. Ale. I have learned to like the taste of it. Besides it will warm me.”
“I will fetch a night shift,” Megan called.
“Hurry back. There is much to tell.”
Already the horrors of the past months were slipping from her. How good it was to be home. What a joy to be able to share with her sisters all that had happened since last they were together.
“And he loves you, too?”
“Aye.”
“It is all so romantic.” Brenna sighed.
“But I do not understand,” Megan interrupted. “He is a Highlander. A barbarian. And you are the MacAlpin.”
“He is an educated, cultured gentleman,” Meredith said. “And a trusted friend of the queen.”
“If Brice Campbell loves you, why did he let you come alone to clear his good name?”
“Because now that everyone thinks him dead, he will no longer be hunted. If he shows himself, he will once again have to fear for his life.”
“But he is the Highland Barbarian,” Megan persisted. “He is the strongest, bravest man alive. All my life I have heard songs sung about him, legends whispered about him. If he is so fearless, why would he be afraid to be hunted?”
Meredith was growing weary of her sisters’ questions. Brenna had wanted to know everything, from the moment she had been abducted at the altar, to the moment she climbed the wall of the MacAlpin Castle. Megan, on the other hand, was only interested in the reasons why.
“Do you think he will come for you?” Brenna asked, stifling a yawn.
“Nay.” Meredith was annoyed to feel tears spring to her eyes. She tried to blink them away but they continued until they clouded her vision. “I begged him to stay where he would be safe.”
“But if he loved you he would care more about your safety than his own.”
Megan turned to study her oldest sister. “Are you crying?” In consternation she turned to the middle sister. “Brenna, I have never before seen Meredith cry.”
Brenna, the most tenderhearted of the three, shot her youngest sister a warning look. “Our Meredith is merely overwrought. It has been a long and difficult journey for her. She has a right to cry.”
“I am not crying.” Meredith wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and rolled to one side, pulling the linens over her head. With a sniff she said softly, “Well, perhaps I am. It is just that I am so weary. You are correct. It has been an arduous journey. But it is not yet over.”
“What do you mean? You are home now.” Brenna yanked the linens aside and peered at her sister.
Meredith sat up. “I mean that on the morrow I must ride to Edinburgh and gain an audience with the queen before Gareth has a chance to have me declared dead.”
“But that is not why you are crying,” Megan said matter-of-factly.
“Nay.” Meredith caught her youngest sister’s hands. “I am crying because I miss Brice. And I fear I will never see him again.”
Megan’s lips curved down into a frown, instantly hating the man who was the cause of Meredith’s tears. “If Brice Campbell truly loved you, he would want to know that you were safe.”
“But I begged him not to follow me.”
“Aye. But how can the man claim to love you and not know if you survived the journey from the Highlands to your home?”
Sixteen-year-old Brenna wrapped an arm about Meredith’s shoulder and glared at her younger sister. “Meredith has been through enough. We will not add to her burden.” To Meredith she whispered, “You must sleep now. On the morrow you will feel better about everything.”
“Aye. It is sleep that I need.”
Meredith kissed her sisters, then lay back against the cushions and closed her eyes. But sleep would not come. Megan’s questions echoed in her mind. It was true that she had begged Brice to remain where he was safe. And she truly thought that was what she wanted. But now the nagging thought slipped unbidden to her mind. Did Brice love her enough to risk his own life? Or had he already put her out of his mind, while he and his men filled their hours in the Highlands, rebuilding Kinloch House?
When at last she fell into a restless sleep, she was plagued with dark, sinister dreams, in which a stranger stalked her. At times the stranger had golden hair and tawny skin. She knew that he was truly evil. But at other times the stranger was someone more familiar to her. His hair was dark, burnished, his eyes compelling. There was about him an aura of danger as well, which she strove to ignore. But each time she ran to him he melted into the shadows and disappeared into the Highland mist.
Chapter Twenty-One
“You must not go to Edinburgh.”
Meredith faced her two sisters. Though it was not yet dawn, the first hint of light could be seen on the horizon.
Over their protests she had pulled on her breeches and tunic and Rowena’s heavy hooded cloak. While they begged and pleaded, she had insisted upon hurrying to the wooded place where she had left her horse.
Brenna was close to tears. Megan was indignant.
“Would you rather have me declared dead by the queen and have Brenna forced to wed Gareth MacKenzie?”
“Nay.” Megan tried another tactic. “But in Edinburgh you will have to face Gareth MacKenzie alone. If you stay here, we will call all the MacAlpins together and plot to kill him when he returns.”
“I must stop Gareth from meeting with the queen. If she declares me dead, how do I prove that I am not?”
Megan shook her head in disgust. In the darkness her blond tresses were a sliver of light.
“Then if you must go, we must ride with you.”
“Impossible.”
Brenna, who had wisely remained silent during most of this argument, jumped on Megan’s suggestion. “Aye. We must go together.”
“It is a long and difficult journey,” Meredith said as patiently as she could. “If something were to happen to me, it would give me comfort to know that my sisters are here to carry on.”
“But it will give us no comfort to wonder what has happened to you, or even whether or not you succeed. We must ride together.”
Meredith pulled up her hood and took up the reins. If necessary, she would remind them who was in charge here.
“I am the MacAlpin,” she said with quiet authority. “And I declare that I shall ride alone to Edinburgh to gain an audience with the queen. As my sisters, you shall remain here at MacAlpin Castle and carry on in my absence.”
“Carry on.” Megan sniffed. “We will wilt on the vine while you have all the excitement of Court.”
“There is danger and intrigue at Court,” Meredith said sternly. “And I will not have my younger sisters exposed to it. You will do as I command.”
Brenna and Megan stared at her in sullen silence. Never before had they seen Meredith use such overbearing tactics. It was beneath her.
Suddenly she opened her arms and both sisters flew to her. Against their cheeks she murmured, “Forgive me. I love you both too much to see you harmed. Besides, if I am to arrive in Edinburgh before Gareth MacKenzie and his men I must
ride quickly and I must ride alone.”
“If any harm comes to you,” Brenna worried aloud, “I will never forgive myself for staying behind.”
“If you are killed,” Megan said menacingly, “I will hate you forever.”
At her outburst, Brenna and Meredith stared at her in stunned silence. Then they fell into each other’s arms in a fit of laughter. For a moment Megan could only stare at them. Then, joining in the laughter, she hugged her older sisters when they regained their composure.
“Godspeed,” Brenna whispered.
“Hurry home,” Megan said.
Meredith pulled herself into the saddle and spurred her horse into a gallop to hide the tears that spilled from her eyes, staining her cheeks. At the crest of a hill she turned and waved. Below her, the two young women, tears blurring their vision, waved until she disappeared from view. And even then, though they could no longer see her, they stood shivering in the predawn chill, unable to tear themselves away.
“Summon a groomsman,” Megan said suddenly.
“What?” Brenna stared at her younger sister in surprise. “Why?”
“Because we must hurry if we are to stay close to Meredith on the trail to Edinburgh.”
For long minutes Brenna regarded the young girl whose amber eyes glittered with a strange light. Then she did something completely out of character. With a delighted little laugh she lifted her skirts and began running toward the stables. Over her shoulder she called, “We will need travelling clothes. Oh, and our finest gowns for our first meeting with the queen.”
Brice had never pushed himself so relentlessly. Though he was near exhaustion from the battle at Holden Mackay’s fortress, he gave himself no time to rest.
He and Angus moved among the men, dressing their wounds. Six of their company had suffered wounds severe enough to force them to return to their homes. Brice assigned the other five of his men to return with them, knowing that the wounded could still encounter small groups of Mackay’s men in the forest.
