“They’re all here,” Elene whispered.
“I know,leannan.Don’t worry. All will be right soon enough. You’re safe now.”
Dermot removed the rail and placed the ramp down. Liam urged Johan and Katryne to go ahead of them. He helped Elene until they were on solid ground, his fingers entwined with hers.
“Liam!” Mairghread Mackay opened her arms to her firstborn. Without releasing Elene’s hand, he engulfed his petite mother in an embrace that lifted her off her feet. She peppered him with kisses before she leaned back and looked at Elene.
“Liam,” a deep bass followed Mairghread’s greeting. Tristan Mackay pulled his son into his arms, nearly squashing Mairghread in the middle. She thumped on her husband’s and son’s chests, giggling as she did so.
“Dinna be rude,” Mairghread said in Gaelic as she squeezed out from between the men. She looked at Elene once more and switched to Norn. “Welcome to Dunbeath.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Elene attempted a wobbly curtsy, not yet feeling steady on ground that didn’t rock beneath her feet.
“Mama, Da,” Liam turned to his parents but waited as his extended family approached, his uncles and grandfather carrying torches. He opened his mouth, but snapped it shut as Liam Sinclair, his grandfather, stepped forward.
“Elene Isbister?” Liam the Older asked.
“Yes.” Elene attempted another curtsy, this one steadier. She looked at the older man, something niggling at her memory. She glanced up at Liam the Younger, who wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Do you know my betrothed, Grandda?” Liam waited for the inevitable hum of questions, but none came. He looked at his grandfather, then his parents, and finally his four uncles and four aunts.
“I do, Wee Liam,” Liam Sinclair answered, reverting to the moniker given to his grandson upon his birth to keep everyone from confusing the two. “I knew her father from when he was a lad. I haven’t seen him in decades. How is he?”
“My father died several years ago, my laird.” Elene prayed she addressed him properly.
“My grandson says you’re his betrothed. If that’s so, then it’s Liam, lass. Mayhap one day even Grandda.” With that, Elene realized he’d officially welcomed her into the family.
Mairghread stepped forward. “I remember your father, too. He was the same age as Alex.” Mairghread turned and pointed to a man behind her. “You look so much like him. I knew who you were before Da said your name. He was a dear friend to all of us, and now his daughter is to be my daughter-by-marriage.” Mairghread tentatively opened her arms to Elene, who hesitantly leaned forward. When the older woman closed her arms around Elene, the younger woman had a sudden sense that she’d finally found the mother she’d craved since childhood. She couldn’t explain why she felt such comfort among the Sinclairs and Mackays, but it was instinctual to trust them.
“Thank you, my lady,” Elene whispered.
“It’s Mairghread,nighean.” Mairghread leaned back and smiled. “It means daughter.”
Elene’s eyes welled with tears as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She could only nod. She looked toward Liam, and he could tell everything overwhelmed her. He eased her against his side as he nodded to his parents. They understood and made space for the couple to pass. The Sinclair men had already made their way to the village and their families. Dermot followed behind the men, leaving only the lairds’ families on the beach.
Liam encouraged Katryne and Johan to go ahead of them, starting the trek up the cliff. He watched his aunts smile at Elene while his uncles grinned at him and elbowed one another. However, their mirth was short-lived when their wives swatted at them and pushed them toward the path. It surprised Elene to find a spare horse waiting for them. She was further shocked when a man lifted Johan onto a horse, handing the boy the reins. He set Katryne on another horse before helping a strawberry-blonde woman on behind Katryne. The man swung into the saddle behind Johan.
“That’s my Uncle Callum and Aunt Siùsan. He’s my grandda’s heir and tánaiste.” Liam pointed to each family member as he named them. Mairghread came to ride at his right, while Tristan rode on his left. He knew his parents had plenty of questions, but it made him breathe easier to know they wouldn’t bombard him. When they entered the bailey, Liam helped Elene down from where she’d ridden in front of him. Mairghread ushered her toward the keep, but Elene hung back when she realized Liam wasn’t beside her.
“Let him talk to his father,” Mairghread whispered. “There will be much excitement when he enters the Great Hall, so there will be no chance for them to talk. Tristan and I can see Liam’s well, but my husband will want to hear it from him.” Mairghread chuckled. “And I shall want to hear it from my husband. We’ll wait for them at the top of the stairs.”
“I—I don’t speak Gaelic, my lady.” Elene’s cheeks flushed in the dim light.
“My brothers and I all speak Norn. My sisters-by-marriage understand and speak enough to get by.” Mairghread shifted to stand in front of Elene and took her hands. “I know Liam wanted to go on this mission to prove he can lead his father’s men. We all already knew he could. But I can already tell he’s a more mature and more confident man than when he left. I don’t think it had aught to do with delivering whisky and seeds. When you’re both ready to tell your story, we will listen. But I trust my son’s judgment. Elene, he looks at you the same way my husband has looked at me since the day we met. You look at him just the way I’ve been told I look at Tristan. You love each other. That’s all I need to know for now. But I want you to know you’re welcome here no matter what brought you two together.”
“Thank you—Mairghread.”
“That’s better.” Mairghread pulled her into another embrace. Elene rested against her, bending to place her head on the shorter woman’s shoulder. “I told you I knew your father. I knew your mother, too. I know—what your family was—like. I’ll never try to replace her, but I also know what it is to be a young woman without a mother. Mine died many years ago. I truly welcome you as my daughter, and I hope you know I am here if you need me.”
Elene straightened and looked at Mairghread, confused by the woman’s statements. She felt bombarded with longing to divulge her entire life’s story to Mairghread while still feeling frightened by a stranger’s kindness. She didn’t know what to make of it, so she practically clutched at Liam’s arm when he and Tristan joined them.
Liam watched his mother and Elene while he talked to Tristan. When he turned his gaze back to his father, realizing he didn’t know what his father said, Tristan chuckled.
“She’s a bonnie lass,” Tristan mused.
“She is. She’s a lot like Mama in many ways. She’s intelligent, resourceful, too brave for her own good, and kind.”
“That sounds like yer mama. Would ye marry a woman who makes ye think of yer mother?”
