She clasped her hands before her. “Will they be venturing here?” she wondered in awe.
“Nae,” Callum answered, reading the parchment, “they are remaining to re-build Castle MacCade and regather as much as possible before fall winds settle in.”
Aonghus looked at the king. “This missive is not the only reason you have summoned us here,” he guessed.
“Nae, ‘tis not Sir Aonghus,” the king acknowledged. “Choices are to be made on the future to come. There is a matter not seen to since your knighthood was granted to you, Sir Aonghus. I have yet to speak regarding the lands to be bestowed. I have spoken with my Lord Chamberlain, and the island directly east to the holdings of Castle MacCade shall be placed upon Clan MacCade in your hands.”
Keirah had heard Callum and Aonghus talk about this island. Perfect. It was the perfect territory for settling a castle adjacent to MacCade land. Rich and green and rolling.
“My lord king…” Aonghus grew flustered. “Thank you.”
The king gave a grin and turned toward her. “Lady Keirah, what do you wish for?” he asked. “Anything within your grasp shall be yours at my command.”
Oh. My. She took a step back at the power just thrown at her feet. “Lord King…” She glanced at the MacCade brothers.This is for these brave lads.“I seek your aid to rebuild Castle MacCade on this isle, to fortify the curtain wall and keep in granite, nae wood as the former.”
“Done,” King Alexander promised and retook his throne to continue: “Now this is settled, the messenger also declared to me King Håkonsson has gathered all his dead from our shores, as hoped when we left the surroundings and burned the ruined ships. Lady Keirah, you were not mistaken, Ivar did perish – he took ill after the raids about Loch Lomond. King Håkonsson has sailed north to re-gather.”
“My lord king,” she said solemnly, “King Håkonsson never sets foot upon his dearest Bjørgvin again. He will soon join Ivar in the hereafter.”
The king nodded. “Callum and Sir Brayden, summon the assembly,” Alexander commanded.
Aonghus took her hand before approaching the king. “My lord king, there is one final humble request my lady and I ask of you hereupon.”
The brows knitted. “Aye?”
He glanced at her.Aye,she nodded,you are right and got this–now is the time to ask, Aonghus.Her husband re-met the sovereign’s eyes. “My lady and I have spoken upon the matter many times the days past and fear there are those who may mean her harm. Particularly, if they came to know her prowess through these battlements or that her instinct in sense of being a fate-seer is still intact.”
The king asked knowingly, “You worry there are others seekin’ revenge such as Lord Kollungr?”
“Aye,” Aonghus responded. “We ask to keep these events that have been spoken within these walls and your council concealed.”
King Alexander ran his fingers over his chin in contemplation. “Never to seek glory, my dear lady?”
“I simply seek a long life by my knight’s side. Any threats to this, even glory bound,” she replied easily from want, “donotcarry merit. Glory was never-ever my intent, my lord king, and if not for the thistle awakening me the eve of the final raid I would not have held the shadow-glance.”
“Then it shall be so. A storm took the Northmen upon the shores. Whispers may swirl of mythical forces beyond, but they shall not come from my lips and if any are heard they shall be declared erroneous. The eve of the raid upon the encampment, ’twas…” He paused, smoothing his beard, searching for the word, but a wry grin met his lips when he looked at Aonghus: “…simply a cluaran the Northman’s foot happened upon. Our thistles can be soverysharp.” He met her gaze to incline his brow. “This meets with an approval, Cluaran?”
She smiled at Aonghus and tightened her fingers in her knight’s. Turning to the king, she replied wholeheartedly, “’Tis flawless, my lord king.”
Epilogue
Stirling Castle
Almost one year later
Keirah stretched slightly as the warm slab beneath her tugged her closer. Did it ever turn stale waking in Aonghus’s arms? A press landed on the top of her skull from his lips.Never-ever!Each day was a gift – if only they were gifted a bairn of their own.
The dawn’s rays streaming through the arrow slit hit her closed lids just right, turning them a golden color while shuttered. Ugh! It was almost time to rise.
Tightening her arm about his ribs, she raised her leg and brushed his sated groin, still moist from their mating an hour past when they initially awoke. A slow smile spread onto her lips;thatshe never tired of either.
“What brings a smile unto your lips, Cluaran?”
Her lips became a kiss onto his torso, the dusting of hair there tickling her nose.
Opening her eyes, she leaned up on an elbow, her nipples now being teased by his same torso hairs. “Thoughts you would consider quite shocking, my knight,” she replied; then her mirth vanished. “However, I most certainly was also considering this: our final day before us at royal court.”
“The king saw the merit in our plan for the future.”Forever seeing the jovial side.Was it one of the things she loved most about him? Most definitely!
