“They also made sure I was comfortable on the journey here. We packed plenty of food, and we stopped whenever I felt tired. If Douglas and Lyle hadnae helped that brute take ye away from me, I would count them as gentlemen, I would! But there is nayexcuse. Nay matter how respectful they are, I cannae forgive them for takin’ ye away from me, Skye,” her mother emphasized. “Now tell me how come ye are wed.”
Before Skye could start her tale, Elsie started mid-snore.
“Have I missed the sweet bannocks, lassie?” she asked, wide awake in less than a second, as if she weren’t asleep seconds ago.
“Nay, Aunt Elsie, ye havenae. I’m sure Astrid will bring them out soon.” Skye paused, realizing her mother would love to get to know the elderly woman. “This is me maither, Elsie. Her name is Helena.”
“It’s lovely to meet ye, Elsie. Thank ye for lookin’ after me daughter,” Helena said graciously.
“She is a wonderful girl. But what would be even more wonderful is some bannocks,” Elsie replied as she rose from her seat and then went to search for a sweet treat.
“I like her spirit, Skye, but is she quite all right? She seems a bit lost and frail,” Helena remarked after she was gone.
“Aye, she is very opinionated—daenae let her fool ye,” Skye cautioned. “Old or nae, I think she’s more clever than she lets on.”
Skye felt better talking about her situation now that Elsie had left. Her mother listened intently when she told her that Arrandid take her to Blackwell, but then everything changed after her stepfather showed Arran how truly awful he was.
“Grayson hit ye?” Helena gasped.
“Nay, nae really. He pushed me down to the floor and held me there. But then out of nowhere, Arran punched him right on the nose!”
“I wish I’d been there to see that! The bugger deserved that and more!”
Skye continued her tale of how she’d been thrown in the cells after Arran and their escape in the enforcer’s carriage.
“Is Magnus the enforcer ye speak of?”
“Aye, he is, Maither. He is here somewhere. He is a friend and valued advisor to Arran.”
“I want to thank him for helping ye. I remember him somewhat. He was always kind when he came to Castle MacKeith. But none of this tells me why ye married Arran Gilroy.”
Skye revealed to her mother how Arran’s grandfather gambled away their ancestral burial lands and how Blackwell refused Arran’s father’s petitions to buy them back.
“That is just like him!” Helena fumed. “Always making life difficult for someone just because he can!”
Skye nodded in agreement. “So, Arran agreed to hand us over to him in exchange for those lands. We had nay other options, Maither. This was the only way we could be safe, and now Arran has leverage to get the lands back.”
Helena dropped her head in her hands. “It’s all me fault!” she sobbed.
“Nay, it isnae,” Skye soothed her. “It’s nay one’s fault but Blackwell’s.”
“I just wanted more for ye, Skye—a love match. Nae something arranged for the gain of one clan or another.”
Skye had heard this sentiment from her mother many times. “I’m fine, Maither, really. And Arran’s nothing like Blackwell.”
Helena sighed ruefully. “I thought the same when I married Grayson, Skye. I had hope for love, and in the beginning, it was good. But ye never really ken who someone is—nae at first.”
Skye’s mood darkened, her mother’s words weighing heavily on her.
At that moment, Arran entered the hall, followed by Magnus and Fionn. The hall had cleared out almost entirely, andservants were hauling out the tables and taking down the festive decorations.
“Maither, this is Magnus and his son, Fionn,” Skye said. “Magnus, ye remember me maither, Helena.”
Magnus’s mouth dropped open. He looked at Arran, then at Helena, then back at Arran. Slowly, a smile spread across his face.
“Ye told everyone she was dead?” He laughed.
“Aye, I did. It was the only way to keep her safe and still get the deeds back. Or at least I thought it was,” Arran added.
