Medieval Ever After (133 page)

HIGHLANDER’S RECKONING

EPILOGUE

Robert the Bruce
ran his palm along one of the curtain wall’s large stones.

“You know that my father and I built this wall, and the tower keep, by hand?” he said quietly to Daniel.

Daniel glanced over his shoulder at the tower, then returned his eyes to the wall in front of him. He and the King stood on the battlements looking westward toward the village.

“Aye, sire.”

“Please, call me Robert when we are alone,” the Bruce said with a little smile.

Daniel nodded but said nothing. He didn’t think he would get used to calling the King of Scotland by his given name. It was still hard to believe that he stood next to the man now.

The Bruce gave the stone beneath his hand a pat and returned his eyes to the loch. In the days since the attack by Warren’s forces, the village had slowly returned to normal, and even now several boats moved between the castle and the village.

“We made hundreds—nay, thousands—of trips between the shore and the island to transport these stones. Once, as we were lifting a stone out of the barge, my hands slipped and I dropped my end. The damned thing fell right to the bottom of the loch!”

The Bruce shook his head ruefully at the memory.

“I was sure my father would give me a severe tongue-lashing, if not a proper flogging! But instead he took me by the shoulders and gave me a serious look. He said, ‘Son, this is our home. She will shelter us, protect us, and be our family legacy. We must show her respect, care for her, and always protect her in return.’”

Daniel glanced over when the Bruce fell silent and noticed that his brown eyes were distant with memory.

“That was…sixteen years ago!” the Bruce said after a few moments. “How much has changed in those years. I was just a lad then, though I thought I was a man. And now I’m the King of Scotland.”

While many men would turn that comment into a boast, the Bruce’s voice was actually heavy and somber.

“There is still so much to be done…” he said quietly, and Daniel wasn’t sure he was meant to hear him.

But then the Bruce shook his head a little and turned his attention on Daniel.

“My father was a wise man,” he said, his voice intentionally lighter. “And I think if he were alive, he’d share a skin of his finest whisky with you for what you’ve done for Loch Doon, and for Scotland.”

“It is an honor to serve you…Robert,” Daniel replied.

“And there’s a bit of pleasure in it, too, I think,” the Bruce said, a mischievous twinkle entering his eyes. “Is it safe to say that you have joined the rest of your family in matrimonial bliss?”

“Aye, sire—Robert,” Daniel said, raising an eyebrow at his King. “I will be forever in your debt for your match.”

The Bruce sobered slightly. “Nay, Daniel, it is I who am in your debt.”

The Bruce turned away from the loch and gazed at the castle, which was lit by the cheery morning sun. Daniel glanced up too. The sky was the same bright blue as Rona’s eyes. Spring was finally blossoming after a hard winter.

“Will you be able to stay on here at Loch Doon for a while?” Daniel asked after a moment of silence.

“Unfortunately, I cannot.” The Bruce’s face fell slightly. “My men and I will travel southeast to secure Dunbraes, and then we’ll move on through the Borderlands.”

Daniel nodded. He had already been apprised of the Bruce’s plan to raze Dunbraes to the ground so that the castle could never be retaken and used against the Scottish again.

“You’ll join Sir Douglas, then?”

James “the Black” Douglas was already at work razing castles and holdings all through the Lowlands and Borderlands at the Bruce’s order. It was arduous, gut-wrenching work, but if they could ever hope to end these wars for Scottish independence, they needed to destroy before they could rebuild.

“Aye, at least for a time. We must secure the border against the English, yet some of our fellow Scotsmen continue to challenge me as well. I will eventually need to travel north to end this in-fighting once and for all,” the Bruce sighed. “I’m not sure when I’ll ever be able to truly come home. I’d like you to stay on as keeper of Loch Doon.”

“Of course, Robert. Let your mind be at ease that Loch Doon will be safe and well cared for,” Daniel said.

The Bruce turned to him. “With a Sinclair behind these walls, I’ll sleep well at night. I truly am in your debt.”

Daniel began to protest again, but stopped in mid-sentence. Just then something occurred to him.

“I serve you freely and loyally, Robert. But…may I ask a favor?”

The Bruce’s eyes narrowed, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“What did you have in mind?”

Rona placed her hand on the door to the study.

“Go on. The King is waiting,” Daniel said quietly behind her.

He had pulled her away from the others only a moment before, saying that Robert the Bruce wanted to see her, but he refused to tell her why.

She cautiously pushed the door open and stepped into the study, Daniel following her. She blinked in surprise as she took in the room. The desk had been moved, and the Bruce sat calmly in a chair facing her.

Then she saw Ian and Mairi. They knelt before the King, their faces tight with confusion and worry.

Fear sliced through her. She took a step forward. “What is—”

“Please, join us, Rona,” the King said levelly. He gestured toward the floor on Mairi’s right.

Rona swallowed hard and glanced at Daniel, but his face was impassive. She stepped next to Mairi and knelt on the floor, her head bowed.

“I’m sure you’d all like to know why you’re here,” the Bruce began in a serious voice.

Rona’s heart hammered in her chest. She had a terrible, sickening feeling she already knew why they’d been brought before the King.

“I understand that Ian and Mairi Ferguson fly a falcon,” the Bruce said bluntly.

All of Rona’s worst fears were confirmed. She raised her head and started to protest, but the Bruce held up a hand to silence her.

“And not just any falcon, a snowy white gyrfalcon.”

Rona lowered her head again but shot a sideways glance at Ian and Mairi. Mairi’s lips were pressed together in a white line, and Ian bore a grim, resigned look.

“Moreover, they have trained Rona Kennedy—Sinclair, rather—in the art of falconry, and she flies a peregrine falcon of her own. So, the three of you have captured, trained, and flown falcons above your station.”

Rona swallowed again, her knees trembling against the study floor.

“That would be quite dangerous if you didn’t have the King’s express permission to do so,” the Bruce said calmly.

As his words sank in, Rona raised her head in confusion.

“Luckily, you three have a royal dispensation to practice falconry unhampered,” the Bruce went on.

Ian’s head snapped up and Mairi’s eyes went wide.

“What?” Rona blurted out, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

The Bruce only chuckled at her.

“At Daniel’s request, I have written up dispensations for you all with my royal seal attached. That should solve this matter. You should have nothing to fear any longer.”

Rona’s eyes flew to Daniel, who stood back with a smile on his face. She leapt to her feet and strode to him so that they were chest to chest.

“You,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him, jabbing a finger into his chest. “You tricked me! You led me to believe...”

Daniel lowered his brows at her and opened his mouth to make a retort, but before he could form the words, she launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted her mouth on his. He tensed in surprise, but then chuckled against her lips before returning her kiss.

“Rise,” Rona heard the Bruce say to Ian and Mairi behind her. She broke off her kiss with Daniel and flung her arms around first Mairi and then Ian.

“Thank you, sire,” she said, turning to the Bruce and dropping into a deep curtsy.

“Thank
you
, Rona, for looking after Loch Doon and slaying one of Scotland’s greatest enemies,” the Bruce replied, taking her hand and pulling her out of her curtsy.

She looked between Daniel and the Bruce, confused.

“I told the King how Raef Warren met his end,” Daniel said by way of explanation. “We all agree that you have earned the title of fierce warrior and defender of Scotland for your bravery.”

She lowered her eyes in embarrassment, but her heart swelled, and it felt like it might burst with joy.

“And now I must be off if we are to reach Dunbraes before dark,” the Bruce said a little sadly, dropping her hand.

“The others are ready to leave as well,” Rona said to Daniel. “I was starting to say my goodbyes when you called me up here.”

“We’d best see them off, then,” Daniel said. They all filed out of the study, led by the Bruce, and descended through the great hall and out to the yard.

Everyone was gathered in the yard. Rona let her eyes drift around the group. Ansel and Meredith had their heads together and were talking quietly. Finn, Angus, Colin, Garrick, and Jossalyn stood nearby with a few of the Bruce’s other men. Burke stood on Robert’s right side, while Alwin, with Jane in her arms, stood on the left.

“Is everything ready?” the Bruce said to Garrick.

“Aye. The men on the shore have been notified that we’ll march out this afternoon.”

“You are going to Dunbraes also?” Rona said to Jossalyn.

She nodded her blonde head and smiled, though there was a sadness in her green eyes.

“Yes, we’ll travel with the rest of the army and help as we can.” She looked up at Garrick, who looped an arm protectively around her waist.

“Forgive me,” Rona said quietly as she stepped closer to Jossalyn, “but I thought you’d be happy to return to your former home and sad to see it brought down.”

The sorrow deepened in Jossalyn’s eyes.

“Dunbraes was where I lived for many years, but it wasn’t my home. My brother made sure of that. I will be glad to see it dismantled—as long as its innocent inhabitants and the villagers are kept safe.”

Jossalyn directed those last words to the Bruce, who had approached while they spoke.

“I will hold true to my word, my lady,” the Bruce said solemnly. Then he looked up at the position of the sun.

“It’s time.”

Rona curtsied to the Bruce again and bid a warm farewell to Finn, Angus, Colin, and Ansel. Then she gave Jossalyn a hard hug as Garrick said his goodbyes to Daniel, Robert, and Burke.

“Farewell, sister,” Jossalyn whispered. As she pulled back from the hug, there were tears shimmering in her eyes.

Rona had to hold back her own tears as she continued with her goodbyes to Burke, Robert, Meredith, Alwin, and baby Jane.

“Must you all leave at once?” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

“We are needed as Roslin Castle,” Robert replied, though Rona thought she saw a hint of sadness through the man’s stony exterior.

“And at Brora Tower,” Burke added.

“But you’ll all come visit when the babe arrives, won’t you?” Meredith said, unchecked tears on her cheeks.

“Of course we will,” Daniel said, coming to Rona’s side.

Rona and Daniel saw the large group to the gates, and then they climbed to the battlements overlooking the docks as the others filed onto the waiting boats. The Bruce and his men, plus Jossalyn and Garrick, took one large barge, while Robert, Alwin, Meredith, Burke, and the Highland warriors who’d accompanied them took another. Ian and Mairi said a quick farewell and boarded a small rowboat headed for the village.

Rona leaned against Daniel’s chest atop the battlements. They watched as the boats pushed off from the castle and set out across the loch. Rona waved furiously until the boats were mere specks, tears burning her eyes. She never expected when she’d been told to marry a Highlander named Daniel Sinclair that she would also gain such a warm, loving family. Their departure cast a somber shroud over her that clashed with the mild, sunny afternoon.