The Age of Knights and Highlanders: A Series Starter Collection

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “Ye are no match for the earl.”

  “I willna wage open war on the man,” Alex said. “But my brother will be avenged.”

  “Ye’d make my daughter twice a widow?”

  “Does that mean ye accept our marriage?”

  “I canna say yet. I am not a cold-hearted bastard—Keely’s feelings do matter to me. More than anything, I want to know why she ran to the Sutherlands instead of coming home. I dinna have a heavy hand with her as a child. If anything, I spoiled the lass.”

  “Keely doesna need to be here to explain. The answer is simple. She tried to keep her word and married John out of obligation.”

  “What else is there? Our fathers took wives chosen for them. Romantic entanglements are for the young who doona have titles and lands to secure,” Laird Oliphant said. “I commanded her to marry yer brother for strategic reasons.”

  “Father,” Broc said. “If what the scholar told us is true, surely ye can appreciate Keely’s reason for not coming home. Would ye have let her stay? Though I will never understand why she chose the Sutherlands.”

  “Of course not,” the laird said emphatically. “She would have been sent back to her husband.”

  Alex knew there was no way to change the man’s mind yet. It would take time. So instead of deepening the resentment between them, he decided to invite him to stay. “Perhaps the best way to see that our marriage deserves yer blessing is to spend some time here.”

  “Ply me with food and drink? Is that what ye plan to do?”

  “I think it will help.”

  Laird Oliphant rewarded Alex with a toothy grin. “I like the way ye think, MacKay.”

  “Then it is settled?”

  “Temporarily. Who am I to refuse eating and drinking on someone else’s gold? My sons are gluttons, and so are my retainers.”

  “There is plenty of meat and bread on my table every night, Laird Oliphant—Father.”

  “Doona get too comfortable throwing that title about, lad.”

  Alex would wear the old man down little by little, until he had no choice but to accept him as a son-in-law. They left the solar together and returned to the great hall in search of Keely. When Alex dinna find her there, he sought out Mathe.

  “Where is my wife?”

  “At the loch.”

  “Is she all right?”

  Mathe cracked a rare smile. “When I informed her that she wasna free to traipse about unescorted, she threatened to punch me in the nose.”

  “Aye?”

  Mathe nodded. “I couldna risk it, Laird Alex—yer wee bride might pack a good wallop.”

  Alex gripped the captain’s shoulder. “Ye made the right choice.”

  Things were far from settled between Alex and his bride, but while her father was in his house, he must be more lenient with Keely. He couldna fight all of Clan Oliphant and hope to win. He walked outside and headed for the loch.

  He found her alone.

  “I dinna expect to see ye alive again.”

  “Have ye so little faith in yer husband?” he asked, standing next to her.

  “Tis not a lack of belief in yer abilities, Alex. I know my father—he’s a temperamental sort, believes any worthy cause should be settled with fists or swords.”

  “A family trait, I believe,” he said humorously.

  “What do ye mean?”

  “Ye threatened my captain with violence?”

  “Aye. I dinna need him following me about.”

  “Yer escort isna just to make sure ye doona run away, Keely. I wish to keep ye safe.”

  “From who?”

  “Sutherlands.”

  “And why would the Sutherlands wish me any harm?”

  “Because ye’re my wife.”

  Her blue gaze stayed on him as she absorbed his words. “I doona like to think that the earl or his sons would hurt me to get to ye, Alex. And I know ye hate them and have every right to.”

  “Desperate men strike without warning or purpose, Keely. Men of honor meet on the battlefield.”

  “Is that what ye think the earl is, desperate?”

  “He is now,” Alex said. “He must live with the uncertainty of when and how I will retaliate for John’s death, and the murders of my tenants.”

  “Doesn’t that make ye equally desperate?”

  A fair question. Did it? Alex rubbed his chin. “Perhaps I am.”

  “There must be a way to avoid more bloodshed.”

  “Nay. I canna overlook what has been done. If I did, word would spread throughout the Highlands of how weak the MacKays have become. An eye for an eye.”

  “And whose eye do ye wish to take?”

  “I willna settle for any less than one of his sons.”

  Keely nodded, but Alex dinna miss the worried look on her face. “Is my father ready to speak with me?’

  “Aye—he’s accepted my invitation to stay with us for a while. I wish ye to have some time with yer da, Keely, and yer brothers.”

  “And where will ye be?’

  “Fortifying the west villages and recruiting new soldiers.”

  “How long will ye be gone?”

  “Days at a time. But never too far away, lass.”

  She hopped off the boulder and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirts. “I doona wish to keep my father waiting. He deserves the truth.”

  Alex offered his arm. “I will take ye to him.”

  Surrounded by her brothers and seated across from her sire in front of the main hearth in the great hall, Keely couldna keep from smiling. Her brother Simon tugged on a strand of her hair.

  “Ye’re glowing,” Simon teased.

  “Tis warm in here,” she said.

  “Are ye happy, lass?” Broc asked.

  As a child, Keely had been immeasurably happy. Her sire had indulged her, perhaps too much, because he felt guilty for her mother’s death. Everything changed when she was sent to the MacKays for that first summer at the age of thirteen. Laird Oliphant thought it would benefit her immensely to spend time away from home, in preparation for when she would marry and be expected to run her own household.

  Whether her da had planned it or not, Keely did fall in love with one of the MacKay sons. And Alex’s father had always been affectionate with her, inviting her back every year. She looked about the familiar space and frowned when she saw the sheet again.

  “What troubles ye?” Gavin, her second eldest brother asked.

  “Tis nothing.” She dinna want to ruin the moment.

  “Keely…” His eyebrows arched.

  “The bridal bed sheet is an embarrassment.”

  “Why?” Her other brother, Justice, asked. “The proof of yer purity is an honor to yer husband and all of us.”

  “I doona want it there,” she complained.

  “Very well.” Broc yanked it down and balled it up. “If anyone complains, send them to me.”

  Keely jumped up from her chair and hugged her brother. “Thank ye, Broc. All of ye. Father.”

  “For what, lass?” the laird asked.

  “Coming here.”

  “Ye are an Oliphant. And we take care of our own,” her father said. “But doona think all the pleasantries mean we’ve forgotten yer sins. What ye did was wrong. And I require an explanation.”

  Her shoulders drooped as she slipped back into the chair and faced her sire. “I am sorry that I disappointed ye, Father.”

  He blinked. “I am accustomed to disappointment, lass. With seven bairns, a man gets used to it. Tis the deception that’s eating a hole in my gut.”

  “Deception?”

  “Running off in the middle of the night instead of facing yer problems like a woman.”

  Keely folded her hands on her lap. Aye—she’d acted irresponsibly. She’d given up her heart’s desire as her father had demanded. Her flight from the MacKays hadn’t been premeditated. “I dinna plan to run away.”

  “Did John harm ye? Force ye to do anything? Curse ye?”

  “Nay.”<
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  “Did ye feel unwelcome here?” he continued.

  “Father,” Keely started, eyeing her four brothers in search of support. “It had nothing to do with how I felt about Laird John or Clan MacKay.”

  “Ye’re being deliberately difficult, girl.”

  “Nay. I just want ye to understand why.”

  “I’ve asked ye a dozen questions and am more confused than I ever was.”

  Gavin and Simon snickered.

  “She’s a woman, Father,” Simon offered. “Doona try to make sense of it.”

  She leaned back in her chair, waiting while her brothers laughed at her expense. The years apart hadn’t diminished the true affection she had for her family, nor had her siblings matured.

  “I couldna face ye,” she admitted, deciding to keep the explanation simple. Truth was truth no matter how she expressed it. Her body belonged to her, and as far as she was concerned, that meant her choice in husband should belong to her, too.

  “Do ye have anything to be ashamed of, lass?”

  “Nay, Father. Unless there’s shame in loving a man.” She watched her da for a long moment. Would he accept her reasoning? More importantly, would he bless her marriage, allow her to stay with Alex?

  Laird Oliphant tugged on his beard. “Tis my fault, I shouldna have expected a mere girl to do a woman’s work.”

  Finally, something they could agree on!

  “I will have a full accounting of what transpired while ye were with the Sutherlands. And doona think the earl willna be held accountable. If I had taken his only daughter in without sending proper word, the man would have been banging on every gate in the Highlands until he found her.”

  “Aye, Father.”

  “Furthermore,” he boomed. “Ye will promise to never run away again.”

  Just as she was about to swear, she remembered her earlier conversation with Petro. In truth, taking a secret trip to Dunrobin Castle would be considered the same as running away, wouldn’t it?

  “Well, lass?” Broc said softly.

  “I promise.” She couldna refuse to say it—her sire had required it as a condition for forgiveness.

  “Tis settled then.” Her sire stood and opened his arms. “As for yer marriage, I will make that decision later. Give me a hug.”

  Keely was only too happy to embrace him again. She’d always felt safe in her father’s strong arms—the same way she was beginning to feel about Alex.

  “Now, where is my son-in-law?” Laird Oliphant asked much to Keely’s surprise.

  “In the bailey training with his captains,” Broc directed him.

  Once their father had left, Broc pulled Keely aside. “I am sorry for smacking ye, Keely.”

  She stared at the floor. Ten years older than she, Keely had always regarded Broc as the champion of their family. He was the future laird and very much like their father. She gazed up at him and the anger that had flared inside her when he hit her faded. “I forgive ye.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Six masons and fifteen laborers are already rebuilding the cottages and the wall in the west village, Laird Alex,” Jamie reported. “The extra hands will assure quick completion.”

  “Have ye taken an inventory for what we’ll need for the other four villages? The same should be done—providing defenses so the next time the Sutherlands come looking for a fight, they’ll get one.”

  “Aye. Accommodations for the guards are also being constructed.”

  Petro slid a ledger across the table to Alex. “I’ve finished the calculations, Alexander. There’s enough gold to hire the necessary hands to make the improvements on the keep, build the second tower, and pay two hundred retainers through next year. But we’ll need more money.”

  Alex scanned the parchment. Clan MacKay was luckily self-sufficient, yielding enough crops—oats, barley, turnips, and kale—to sustain the tenants. The storerooms were also well-stocked with preserved meats, butter, cheese, and ale. The cattle and sheep herds flourished. Fortunately, his sire and brother had exercised temperance when it came to spending money, sometimes to a fault. He dinna mind investing in his clan, using his own wealth to improve the lives of the people. But there remained one question: it would be necessary to send a representative back to Constantinople to settle his accounts and sell his property.

  He’d considered several candidates, including Petro. But Alex dinna want to part ways with him. He needed his secretary to help run the keep and maintain a friendship with Keely. Mathe was a soldier and dinna have the disposition to deal with foreigners. But Jamie had a good head on his shoulders. And like Alex, he was tall and fierce looking and would win the respect of the lords in the east.

  “There is something I wish to discuss with ye,” Alex said to his cousin.

  “Whatever ye need.”

  “Sit.” Alex gestured to one of the chairs by the table. “As ye know, I dinna prepare for a long stay in Scotland.”

  “Aye,” Jamie acknowledged, crossing his legs.

  “I own extensive properties in Constantinople, employ sixty servants, own twenty slaves, and my concubines…”

  Jamie coughed exaggeratedly.

  “Tis a delicate subject,” Alex said.

  “I never imagined ye as anything but a Highlander, Cousin.”

  “I am a Highlander first.” Alex thumped his chest. “But if a man leaves his homeland, ye canna fault him for building a life elsewhere.”

  “Nay,” Jamie said. “But I canna understand keeping slaves.”

  “Doona fash, Father Michael has provided the guidance I need to save my soul.”

  Jamie chuckled.

  “It seems a man can be absolved of any sin as long as he has enough coin,” Alex added.

  “I’ll remember it when I need forgiveness.”

  Alex rolled his eyes. There were stark differences between life in Scotland and Constantinople. Sometimes he still missed the heat and sand. But he’d willingly let go of that life and there was no going back now. “I want ye to sail to Constantinople.”

  Jamie leaned forward in the chair, resting his palms on the edge of the table. “Are ye daft? Leave home?”

  “Aye. Ye’ve been to England and France.”

  “To advance MacKay interests, to fight for my laird,” Jamie pointed out.

  “And now ye will serve my interests by dissolving any ties I have in the east. I will pay ye a king’s ransom, Jamie. Ye’ll have enough coin to attract the kind of bride ye deserve.”

  His cousin dinna look convinced.

  “What do I know of such a place? The people?”

  “I will send Kuresh with ye. He will act as interpreter, councilor, and guide.”

  “What about Mathe? Or Gordon? He has a head for business—can haggle with the sellers at the market like an old woman.”

  “Aye, Gordon would be a wise choice, too. But he doesna have yer quick wit and sword arm. And he isna my kinsman. This requires someone I trust implicitly.”

  Alex had always lived with a sense of purpose, first for the honor of his family, and when his brother and Keely betrayed him, that purpose shifted to himself. Well, now it had switched back to family. And the wealth that would come from selling off his assets would make Clan MacKay a worthy adversary to the Sutherlands. Titles and lands were purely symbolic in Alex’s mind. A man with enough gold to do whatever he wanted commanded his enemies’ respect and fear.

  “What about my seat on the council?”

  “Name yer temporary replacement or grant proxy to one of the members. Yer place will be saved for when ye return. And trust me, Cousin, ye will come home.” Alex could see the uncertainty on his face.

  “How long will I be gone?”

  “Two months.”

  “An Diabhal fhéein!”

  “Doona incite the devil. Ask for protection from the Almighty if ye must,” Alex suggested, attempting to hide his smile.

  “Ye’re not like other men, Alex. Nothing would make me want to leave the Highlands.”
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  “Spoken like a man who has never experienced the kind of betrayal I have.”

  There was a long silence.

  “Still about betrayal, is it?” Jamie asked sharply.

  Alex clamped his jaw tight. “A subject better avoided.”

  “All right,” Jamie said. “When do ye need my answer?”

  “Now.”

  “Now?”

  “Aye. The longer we wait, the better the chance of someone taking what is mine. I should have been on my ship weeks ago.”

  “Did ye no leave someone to act in yer absence?”

  “Of course, a trusted servant who is trained to run my household,” Alex said. “But there are powerful men who covet what I own.”

  “What if I refuse?”

  Alex stiffened. “I havena thought that far ahead.”

  Jamie’s eyebrows rose with surprise. “Ye say go, and I must.”

  “I am laird, and ye did swear fealty to me.”

  Jamie nodded. “It will cost ye, Cousin. I want my own lands. And a house.”

  “Ye wish to live apart from the clan?”

  “Have ye not heard a word I’ve said, Alex? Our clan means everything to me. I would never leave. But I’d gladly take back what my father ceded to yer da before he died. Tis the price for my sword arm that ye value so much.”

  His cousin’s demand wasna unreasonable. The voyage would take Jamie through pirate infested waters, so it would only be right to pay him. Alex still sought Petro’s approval. Giving up land wasna something taken lightly. But Alex also recognized the importance of keeping his heir happy. If anything happened to Alex, or if Keely couldna bear him a son, Jamie would be the next laird. Another reason he wanted his cousin to take the trip. Nothing opened a man’s eyes like Constantinople. He’d either find God or go to the devil.

  “Five hundred acres along the sea coast,” Petro said, referencing a map that Alex’s father had always kept available. It showed the extent of Clan MacKay holdings. “A fair exchange for what you ask him to do.”

  “All right.” Alex stood and walked around the table to where his cousin sat. “Ye’ll have the land, and upon yer return, my masons will build whatever home ye want.”

  Jamie hoisted himself up to his feet, still looking unsure of the situation. “Two months?”