“Neither of ye look worse for wear after your encounter with Brielle,” Cormac commented, eyeing them up and down as they turned and travelled towards the castle. “And ye seem to have found yerself another horse.”
“The horse belongs to Sir Richard,” Dylan explained. “We met up with him when we stopped at a cottage for the night.
“You had to deal with the witchandSir Richard?” Cormac questioned sharply. “Given that ye have his horse, can we assume he’s dead?” Cormac glanced at Dylan and Maggie with a hopeful expression.
“Nae. Not dead, but we have no idea where he is.”
“Well, good riddance to him,” Cormac announced.
Maggie reached out and grabbed Cormac’s sleeve, shaking her head violently. “No, you dinnae understand, Richard was helping us! He had experienced a change of heart regarding his past actions. We spent a few days with him and I truly believe he wanted to make amends with the MacKenzie clan. He seemed genuinely sorry for all the trouble he’d caused over the years. He was coming to Breaghacraig to apologize and beg for the clan’s forgiveness.”
“I find that verra hard to believe. Perhaps he was merely trying to fool ye,” Cormac said skeptically.
“He was in truth, verra sincere. As I said, a changed man,” Maggie looked to Dylan for confirmation.
“I agree with Maggie. I’d never met him before, so I’m not familiar with the man he was, but the Richard I met and spent time with had obviously experienced some sort of transformation. He told us about it and I’m certain he was telling the truth. He stood by our side during the fight with Brielle and it angered her. She really meant to kill him, she was forcing him to come towards her, and she was going to burn him to death with the magical flames she’d created, but Maggie was able toput out the fire.” Dylan shook his head. “It all happened in a split-second, but when it was over, Richard had disappeared.”
Cormac lifted his eyebrows. “It seems too strange to be true, but if ye and Maggie believe he had turned over a new leaf, I’ll have to believe ye.” He smiled softly. “T’would be verra good indeed, if it is true, for it’ll mean one more thing we dinnae have to worry about in the future.”
They travelled the last few feet and headed through the gates of Breaghacraig. “It’s good to be back,” Dylan said. “I wasn’t sure we’d ever see this place again.”
“What do ye mean, ye werenae sure,” Maggie said indignantly, scowling at him.
“Maggie, you know what I mean. Even though I had every faith in your abilities, there were a few moments when I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, especially after Richard disappeared.” Dylan gave her his best puppy-dog-eyes.
“Well, when ye look at me like that, how can I stay mad at ye?” Maggie smiled, forgiving him instantly. They dismounted and handed their horses off to a couple of the stable lads. “I’d like to see Angus before I do another thing.”
“He’ll be happy to see ye,” Cormac said. “He’s upstairs in yer room, Dylan.”
“Will ye join us, Cormac?” Maggie asked.
“I’ll let ye visit with Angus on yer own. There’s much to do in preparation for the women and children coming back.” Cormac bid them goodbye and headed towards the great hall.
“Shall we?” Dylan asked, leading the way up the stairs.
Maggie followed behind, in a hurry to see Angus again. She had been so worried about him and now she had such good news to share. Their mission had been a success and they could go back home to Edna.
Dylan knocked on the door and Angus called out. “Come in.” He sounded rather grumpy, but the expression on his face whenhe saw Maggie was that of a very happy man. “Maggie! Dylan! Yer back. All went well, I hope.”
“It did Uncle Angus. Better than I could have hoped. How are you feeling?” Maggie sat by the bed and took hold of his hand.
“I’m fit as a fiddle,” Angus replied. “Tell me all about it and dinnae leave out any details.”
Maggie looked back at Dylan, who suddenly grew a shade paler.
“What’s going on between the two of ye?” Suspicion tinged Angus’ voice.
“Well, first I’ll tell ye that Dylan and I are in love,” Maggie blurted out. Angus’ eyes darted from Maggie to Dylan, who had now gone from pale to very red in the face.
“What are yer intentions, lad?” Angus who had appeared so happy just moments before, now sounded distinctly grumpy.
“Well, Angus,” Dylan stammered. “I haven’t had a chance to ask Maggie yet because I wanted to get your blessing first. I’d like to marry your niece.”
Maggie just about fainted dead away. “You want to marry me, Dylan?”
“I do. This wasn’t the way I had intended on proposing, but I want to set your mind at ease, Angus. So, do I have your blessing?”
Maggie could hardly contain herself, practically jumping for joy. “Say yes, Uncle, please!”
