Highland Courage (Highland Brides) (2 page)

She waved her hands in irritation. “Everyone knows something happened, Quinn. To quote Peadar, I was
colossally stupid
and wandered off with Flan.”

“Yes, everyone knows that. What I want to know is what happened when ye wandered off?”

“Ye know that already too. I lost Flan, then I found him, and that priest walked us back to camp.”

“Mairead, ye’re lying to me. I knew it then, and I know it now.”

Mairead couldn’t meet his gaze. “Go away, Quinn.”

“Ye changed seven years ago. Tell me what happened.” The urgent note in his voice was unmistakable as he crossed the room and crouched in front of her.

“I don’t know what ye are talking about. I didn’t change.” She slammed her fists against the arm of her chair in frustration.

“Ye did. I’m sure there are cloistered nuns who are more outgoing than ye are, Mairead.”

“And ye know a lot of cloistered nuns?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Nay, but it’s all nonsense anyway. I have always been…timid. MacKenzie’s Mouse, remember? I just like being at home.”

She hated the nickname “MacKenzie’s Mouse” and no one within the family used it. However, many people outside the family and clan did, although it was her appearance and not her temperament that initially gave rise to the name. Da’s children by his first wife were tall and blonde with crystal blue eyes. Although her mother was petite, all Mama’s children from her first marriage were also tall—frankly, Peadar and Rowan were huge—and they all had Mother’s dark hair and dark brown eyes. Remarkably attractive, all eight of her older siblings turned heads. Even at four and ten, Flan was a head taller than most lads his age and already showed signs of having the dark good looks of Mama’s family but with Da’s bright blue eyes. More like her mother, Mairead was smaller than her siblings, with light brown hair and pale grey eyes. She felt mousey in comparison. However, Quinn was right. She would never admit it to him, but something had changed seven years ago.

Quinn looked directly into her eyes. “Mairead, I know ye better than anyone. I know something bad happened to ye then, and ye have been hiding ever since. Da is getting ready to marry ye off, and I am worried for ye. For the love of God, lass, tell me what happened. No one can help ye if ye keep this locked away.”

“Go away, Quinn,” she whispered.

He sighed and shook his head in frustration. He rose and kissed the top of her head. “Ye can talk to me, Mairead. Ye can tell me when ye’re ready.” Then he turned and left her room.

She would never be ready. She couldn’t tell him. She couldn’t tell anyone. She wanted to keep it locked away.

Two

The Michaelmas Cattle Fair held every year during the last week of September near Inverness signaled the official end of the harvest. Warriors competed in games and tournaments to demonstrate their strength, speed, agility, and fighting skills. Merchants set up stalls selling everything from fine fabric to weapons.

Tadhg Matheson hadn’t attended the fair since his father died three years ago. His friends, Peadar and Quinn MacKenzie, and their little brother, Flan, now sat around the fire at his encampment talking. They laughed and discussed the day’s various tournaments. “Your brother Rowan held his own against Darcy Fraser today. Darcy is rather well known for his skill with a sword, not to mention the fact he has a few years on Rowan.”

Peadar grinned with pride and nodded. “Aye, but Rowan is a remarkable swordsman. He has a natural ability. It is almost as if he can predict his opponent’s movements. On top of which, he trained with Alastair MacIan. That old man was a brilliant swordsman.”

“Aye, he was at that. Ye remember how skilled his son Fingal was even as a lad, when he started training with Laird Chisholm?”

Quinn laughed. “Oh, I remember. He knocked me on my arse too many times to let me easily forget.” Peadar laughed heartily. “I’m not sure what ye are laughing at. Ye’re only three years older than me, but he got the best of ye often enough, too.”

Peadar laughed harder. “Aye, he did.”

“Well, I was older than both of ye and it took him a few years to best me, but he did several times. Rowan is every bit as skilled as Fingal. He certainly took Darcy down a few pegs today.” Tadhg glanced at his squire who sat nearby, staring broodingly into the fire. “What say ye, Flan? Do ye think ye have the same natural ability as your brother?”

Flan, clearly distracted, hadn’t been paying attention. On hearing his laird address him, he looked confused. “What natural ability is that, Laird?”

Peadar nudged him in the shoulder. “Flan, lad, what’s the matter? I thought ye would be excited to be here since ye’re a squire now. Especially after today.”

“It’s just the talk of the Frasers has me worried.”

“Oh.” Quinn nodded, seeming to understand what his brother meant.

Clearly, Quinn understood Flan’s cryptic comment, but Tadhg was at a loss. “Why do the Frasers worry ye, Flan?”

The lad shook his head, as if in defeat. “It’s Mairead.”

Peadar clearly read the utter confusion on Tadhg’s face and offered an explanation with a note of concern in his voice. “Our parents are discussing a betrothal for our sister, Mairead, while we are here. Da is interested in improving his ties with the Frasers. They are discussing it with Laird Fraser now.”

“Ye disapprove?”

“Not exactly. I understand Da’s reasons. It is time for Mairead to marry. It’s just she is less than thrilled by the prospect.”

“Marriage in general or just to Darcy Fraser?”

“Marriage,” Quinn answered. Peadar frowned and tried to clarify. “She is a bit shy and doesn’t want to leave home. I think Da is trying to arrange a betrothal with one of Lachlan’s nephews. He is hoping whoever she marries will be willing to live with our clan.”

Flan perked up suddenly, looking very excited. “Laird Matheson, ye could marry her. I’m sure ye would like her. She’s awfully small even to be as old as she is.”

Peadar laughed. “Flan, she is only one and twenty.”

“Well, one and twenty is a lot older than Annag, Rose, and Lily were when they married. She is also very pretty, Laird. Not exactly pretty like Rose and Lily, or even Annag, but she is pretty in a different way. And she is nice. Well, not always at first, as Peadar said. She is very shy, but once she knows someone, well, most everyone likes her.

“Flan, ye have just painted an atrocious picture of our sister,” scolded Peadar.

However, Tadhg just laughed. “I’m sure she’s lovely, but your Da is looking to improve his ties with the Frasers.”

Quinn clearly took the suggestion seriously. “She is lovely. What’s more, she has the skills it takes to run a keep. She would be a good wife for ye, Tadhg. Perhaps more importantly, I think ye would be a good husband for her. Ye would treat her well.”

“Quinn, I am the laird of my clan. I couldn’t live with the MacKenzies.”

Peadar approved, as well. “Nay, but your land borders ours. Ye are less than a day’s ride away and Flan trains with ye, so she wouldn’t be without any family. Ye do need to marry.”

“None of this changes the fact your Da wants to improve his ties with Fraser. Perhaps it would be best if she married one of the younger Frasers and stayed at home as she wishes.”

Quinn weighed his words. “Perhaps. We just have never been allied with the Frasers, so we don’t really know them well.”

“That is the point, isn’t it? It’s the reason your Da seeks the betrothal?”

“Aye, but marrying our timid sister to someone we know very little about has me worried, too.”

“Lachlan has daughters. There is always Rowan,” observed Peadar.

“Or Quinn,” Flan said.

“Or Flan,” Quinn countered.

Tadhg laughed at the interplay between brothers. He had always envied the MacKenzie’s close family bond. Tadhg had only had one brother who would have been twenty-two now, Quinn’s age. Seeing the brothers together when Quinn had started training reminded him painfully of his loss. However, befriending them allowed him to feel a little of the brotherly bond he missed. “I don’t think either of ye needs to worry about it. The discussion is already underway, and Fraser would be a fool not to settle one of his clansmen with your sister. It would certainly be in his best interests to have your father as an ally.”

Peadar nodded. “That is true.”

The conversation shifted to other topics until the hour grew late, forcing Peadar and Quinn to seek their own camp reluctantly.

~ * ~

Tadhg thought no more about betrothals until the next day when Flan sought him out again, tears streaming down his face. “What is the matter, lad?”

“It’s my sister. If ye would just marry her everything would be all right, but she can’t marry Darcy Fraser.”

“Flan, your father wasn’t seeking a betrothal with Darcy, it was to be with one of his cousins.”

“That’s not what happened,” Flan wailed. “If Mairead marries Darcy, she will have to leave home and she can’t. It will be awful for her if she does. It is too far away. If ye would just marry her, she would be close. She could be with me.”

“Flan, I know it is hard to think about your sister moving away, but ye will be all right. It is part of growing up, lad.”

“I’m not worried about myself. That isn’t why I want her close. Ye don’t understand. No one does.”

“Flan, calm down,” Laird Matheson ordered firmly. “Tell me why ye think Mairead shouldn’t go so far away if your parents think it is a good match.”

Flan looked desperate and seemed to be fighting some sort of inner battle. Finally, he sighed, appearing to have made a decision. “Ye remember Peadar told ye Mairead is little shy?”

“Aye.”

“Well, she is more than a little shy. She is pretty much afraid of everyone, and that is because of something I did. It will kill her to leave home and live with strangers, and it will be my fault.”

“Flan, I have no idea what ye are talking about. Ye had better start at the beginning and tell me now.”

Flan took a deep breath before launching into the story. “Seven years ago, we were here at the festival, and I goaded Mairead into sneaking away with me to look at the stalls. She didn’t want to. Da told us we couldn’t go alone. She was afraid I would get lost, but I kept teasing her. I called her a coward and a mouse.” Flan leaned in to tell him, “She hates being called a mouse,” and rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t imagine why. “Finally, she gave in and we sneaked away to the merchant stalls. Mairead loves music. I was looking at one of the stalls and she turned away from me to listen to a minstrel. Since she was afraid of losing me, I thought it would be funny to hide from her so when she turned back around, she couldn’t see me.”

Flan looked embarrassed but continued, “She looked for me frantically, but before I could pop out and surprise her, she was gone. I tried to find her—I looked everywhere around the stalls, but she wasn’t there. I thought that maybe she went back to our camp, so I did, too. I caught up with her on the road, and she was with a priest who had found her crying. At first, I thought she was just upset at losing me. But her clothes were dirty—she said she had fallen down running. She was never the same after that, and I think something bad happened to her.”

Silently, Tadhg agreed. Flan would have been a wee lad seven years ago. If he spent time searching at the fair for her and yet still caught up with her on the road, something must have delayed her. He shuddered to think what could have happened to an unprotected lass. “Do your parents know?”

“They know we went to the fair alone, we were separated, and a priest brought us back. That is all any of us know except for Mairead herself. Laird Matheson, I know it was wrong to goad her and then hide from her. I know this is my fault, and I will understand if ye don’t want me to train at Cnocreidh, only please help my sister.”

“Flan, ye were only seven years old and ye made a mistake. That has no bearing on ye being my squire. However, I don’t understand what ye think I can do.”

“Ye can marry her.” Flan’s tone of voice suggested he thought his laird was a bit dim. “She has been so quiet and shy since then. I think it would crush her to be so far from home. She would be all right with ye. I would be there.”

“If your Da has struck a deal with Laird Fraser it is too late to change it, lad.”

“But he hasn’t yet. He really doesn’t want Mairead to be so far away either. Last night he told Laird Fraser he would think about it, but I heard him talking to Mama this morning. They are meeting with Laird Fraser again this afternoon, and they are going to accept the betrothal.”

Tadhg considered his squire for a moment.
What a mess
. It sounded as if something terrible had happened to Mairead. While he might be able to discount a young lad’s concerns, both Peadar and Quinn were worried about her having to leave home, too. “Are your parents considering anyone else?”

“They mentioned Fingal MacIan, but both Gannon and Rowan trained with Laird Alastair MacIan, and so they have strong bonds there already. Da also considered one of the Munros, but he couldn’t reach an agreement with Laird Munro. That is why he is going to agree to Laird Fraser’s proposal.”

The Mathesons and the MacKenzies were both large, powerful clans, and they shared a border. It was a strategically sound union, which Tadhg had considered before. He had once told his friend Niall MacIan he intended on having a quiet life married to a sweet, biddable lass. Well, based on everything her brothers had told him, he would have it with Mairead MacKenzie.

“All right, Flan, I will offer for Mairead.” Flan looked as if someone had lifted the weight of the world from his shoulders. “Mind, if your parents don’t accept my offer, there is little more I can do.”

Tadhg called for his commander, Hamish, and together they set out for the MacKenzie camp. After exchanging pleasantries with Laird and Lady MacKenzie, Tadhg addressed the issue head on. “I understand ye are trying to arrange a betrothal for your youngest daughter, Mairead.”

Cathal glanced at his wife before responding, “Aye, Laird, we are. We have all but signed the papers with Laird Fraser, for his heir, Darcy.”