Elene’s brow furrowed until she realized Mairghread referred to her sisters-by-marriage with no qualifier. She nodded, appreciating the invitation and marveling at the family who surrounded her. She’d felt like she was drowning in a sea of people when she first arrived, but she was gradually growing accustomed to how the Sinclairs and Mackays treated one another. It was the stuff of fairytales in her mind. She’d never met a family like the one she’d married into. She prayed she never woke up if it was a dream.
“I’d like that,” Elene beamed.
“When we return, we can work on your gowns some more,” Siùsan suggested.
“I have a shawl you can borrow. It can be a wee blustery,” Deirdre explained.
Elene rose, accepting a chaste kiss from Liam, before she followed the other women. Liam hung back, nodding his encouragement, when she paused at the door. He looked around the room at the men he’d admired all his life. He still felt like an imposter, but he felt closer to fitting in than he ever had before this mission and before marrying.
“Ye’ve found a strong woman to love.” Tavish switched the conversation to Gaelic and smiled before tousling Liam’s hair. Perhaps he didn’t quite fit in as an equal quite yet. “She’ll take none of yer guff, but she’ll be the best partner ye could ask for. She reminds me of ma Ceity.”
“I hope nae.” Magnus rolled his eyes. “We dinna need to listen to them bickering as much as we do ye two. She seems intelligent and quiet like ma Deirdre.”
“She prefers her books to ye because ye’re boring,” Alex teased.
“But ma wife never ran away from me,” Magnus tossed back.
“That was nearly a score and a half years ago, mon!” Alex scowled. The most brooding of all the brothers, his face was a thundercloud. “At least I wasna the first one to lose track of his wife.”
“Dinna bring me into this,” Callum warned. “But if Elene is like anyone, it would be ma Siùsan. Brave, intelligent, sharp-witted. The lot of ye were just jealous of ma luck and found women as fine as ma wife.”
“I was married years before ye,” Magnus reminded them. It had been long enough that the gut-wrenching pain Deirdre and he experienced during their forced separation had dulled enough for the family to talk about that time.
“Ye all found women as fine as yer mother.” Laird Liam ended the playful debate when his sons nodded.
“I dinna think I should tell her too often, but Elene reminds me of Mama in many ways. It’s how I kenned I’d found ma match.” Liam shifted his weight before he looked at his father. “I ken ye and Mama have always told us we can choose our own mates, but I didna get yer permission to marry. She doesnae have a dowry, and she brings nay alliance.”
“Those arenae things we need, lad.” Tristan came to stand in front of his son. “The strongest alliance in Scotland was forged before ye were born. It started with yer grandparents marrying, bringing the Sutherlands and Sinclairs together. We strengthened it when I married yer mama. It’s only gotten stronger as yer uncles married and so did their cousins. We’re already connected to every clan we want to ally with. As for the dowry, I dinna care aboot that. We Mackays are prosperous in our own right. We dinna need to buy ye or yer brothers a wife, nor do we need dowries to keep us afloat. Yer aunts didna come with dowries, and nae a one of us ever looked down on them or their grooms for it. Much to yer mother’s annoyance, ye’ve been the spitting image of me since the day ye were born. I hope ye’re like me and ken a woman’s worth will never be measured in coin. Ye left here already a mon, but ye needed to prove it to yerself. None of us doubted it. I think ye’ve come back the mon ye set out to find. I’m proud of ye, just as I always have been and just as I always will be.”
Tristan pulled Liam in for a tight embrace, the two men pounding one another on the back. Liam looked over his father’s shoulder at his four uncles, who looked everywhere but at them, their eyes suspiciously glassy. It was only his grandfather, his namesake, who unabashedly allowed a tear to fall.
“I think it’s time we put some hair on that wee chest of yers,” Tavish chortled. The Sinclair and Mackay men passed around a jug of whisky, imbibing several drams as they teased one another about their various prowesses. Liam was mindful not to have too much, not wanting to make Elene uncomfortable or make her nervous that he would be a drinker now that he was practically home. When offered a fourth dram, he explained his reasoning. Without a word, the others put aside their mugs. Then the men headed to the lists while the women visited the market.
CHAPTER16
Elene followed Mairghread and the other women through the postern gate. She looked around as an army of guards encircled them. Her eyes widened as she recognized the Mackay and Sinclair plaids. She grew apprehensive as she wondered where the women were taking her if they needed so much guarding.
“Our husbands are protective.” Deirdre wrapped her arm around Elene’s waist. “Naught means more to any of us than family. We each have two guards. It’s the same for the weans until the lads enter the lists. Then they have one each. It was annoying for each of us when we first wed. None of us were accustomed to having so many people around and someone worrying so much about us. But the Sinclairs and the Mackays are powerful clans, and with that comes envy and spite. Few are foolish enough to attack, but never assume it can’t happen.”
“Deirdre is right. Our husbands are protective, but they’re also warriors who’ve seen enough battles to know what could happen if we’re not vigilant. Liam will be the same.” Ceit smiled. “Do you know how to wield a dirk? Throw one?”
Elene shook her head. “I can defend myself well enough. But I’m not skilled, and I’ve never tried throwing one.”
Siùsan laughed, drawing attention from the surrounding people. “Mairghread, you must teach her! Callum will be beside himself if he discovers his niece-by-marriage can out-throw him too.”
At Elene’s confusion, Mairghread explained. “I had no sisters growing up, so I followed my brothers everywhere. They gave up trying to get rid of me when I popped up wherever they headed. I eventually got to an age where they didn’t really know what to give me on my saint’s day, so they started giving me dirks.” Mairghread chuckled. “You’ve met them. Not so surprising, is it? I used to practice with them, but it was Magnus who encouraged me to compete against the other women at the Highland Gatherings. It was soon clear my competitors didn’t have the same—experience—as me. Magnus and Tavish taunted Callum one year, and other people heard them. The other men thought it was hilarious that Magnus and Tavish said their wee baby sister could best Callum. Wanting to win the wagers, the two daft men came and got me. They told me the men insulted me and said I couldn’t do more than cut a loaf of bread with a dirk. I had no idea about the wagers or about Callum. I marched over to the knife throwing contest, picked up Callum’s five blades and chucked them at the targets. They all landed dead center. I’d bested Callum’s last try. I didn’t understand why everyone laughed so hard. I thought they were laughing at me. But Callum’s face was scarlet. I thought he was having an apoplexy until Magnus explained. Callum is the best knife thrower of all the men in the Highlands. He has been for decades. I just happen to be better.”
“That’s only because Siùsan refuses to compete,” Ceit chirped as she elbowed Mairghread.
“I keep my knife throwing for defending my husband and weans,” Siùsan said casually as they arrived at a booth with ribbons and laces. Ceit leaned back to look past Siùsan and shook her head, grinning. Her irrepressible smile made Elene giggle. The younger woman looked back at the material on display. She thought about the laces Liam cut the night they handfasted, both of them impatient to make love for the first time. Her cheeks heated.
“Let me guess,” Deirdre grinned. “My nephew shredded at least one set of laces.”
Elene choked. It mortified her as she looked at Mairghread, who pretended not to hear. Elene gave a quick nod, then went back to browsing. She picked up a lavender ribbon and was about to ask its price when she realized that she’d spoken Norn with her new family since she arrived. Now that she was among the villagers, she had no way of communicating. Her brow furrowed. She didn’t want to ask one of her aunts-by-marriage or her mother-by-marriage. It embarrassed her to talk about money, especially since she had none with her. She was merely curious.
Mairghread shifted to stand beside Elene. “Dè a tha seo a 'cosg?That’s how you ask, ‘how much is it.’ Repeat each word after me while you ask.”
Elene shook her head. The words sounded too foreign for her to mimic. She was already embarrassed and didn’t want to descend into humiliation. She’d hoped to learn Gaelic with Liam, or even with his family, but in private. She watched the merchant grow impatient as he looked between Elene and Mairghread. He grunted in annoyance and turned his back.
