A genuine smile lit the older woman’s face, making her seem ten years younger. “I ken who ye are, though. When Blake was a lad, he’d scarce talk o’ much else, whenever we were out o’ earshot o’ his faither. ‘Twas clear he was smitten with ye, and I had hopes that someday his faither would see sense and permit him tae court and marry ye properly.”
“Which it seems he’s managed tae do anyway, despite everything else that’s happened.” Hutch spoke up. The young and newly appointed laird was grinning at his cousin, a sparkle of teasing mischief in his eyes. “I see ye’ve carried off yer girl from the meadow at last, cousin.”
Blake scowled at him. “’Tis a bit more complicated than that.” His gaze flicked past all of them, to the gates, and his expression turned resigned. “But explanations will wait till later, I’m thinking. ‘Tis clear the guards have been spreading the word, and if we dinnae go now, we’ll never be able tae get intae the castle through the crowd.”
Reyna followed his gaze and blushed. Blake was right. During their discussion, brief as it had been, several dozen folk had gathered in the courtyard, men and women both.
Hutch laughed. “Och, cousin, can ye fault them fer wanting tae apologize and welcome ye home?”
“Nay. So long as the dinnae squash me in their efforts.”
Together, the four of them moved into the crowd, walking slowly with Hutch and Blake in the lead. Reyna was grateful for Hannah’s comforting presence at her side, and the shield of Blake’s broad shoulders as they made their way to the castle proper. It seemed like every man, woman and child wanted to greet them.
Some of them, the children especially, were curious about who they were. But the men all wanted to shake Blake’s hand andclap his shoulder – she and Blake both winced when the hand came down on his bad shoulder – and all the women wanted to pat his cheek or grasp his arm. The air was filled with soft apologies and words of welcome, all overlapping one another. The voices were so entangled Reyna wasn’t sure any of them could tell who was speaking which phrases.
Eventually, they made it to the entrance of the castle. Reyna sighed with relief as Hutch led them to an out of the way meeting room just off the library and sent a maid for refreshments. Once they’d all had a chance to get some food and drink, Hutch turned to his cousin. “Explain what ye were saying afore, Blake. Why is the situation with yer lass so complicated? Last I heard, ye were the second in command tae Laird Murray.”
Blake snorted a half-laugh. “Aye. And if ye think he would have been pleased about having me leave him tae return tae Sinclair, ye’re fair wrong. Laird Murray’s a greedy, stubborn, grasping bastard o’ a man, and he’d have hunted me down fer that alone. And that was afore I stole away with two o’ his horses, his prisoner, and his supposed betrothed.”
Hutch choked on his drink. “Pardon?”
Reyna stepped forward. “Laird Murray had me braither captured tae force me faither tae hand me over tae him as his wife. Me braither is heir tae the clan, and the only son. His wife is expecting their first child. Faither didnae think he had a choice.”
“That’s despicable behavior!” Hannah’s expression was tight with disapproval. “Surely he could find a better way.”
Blake shook his head. “He’s kent tae be a foul-tempered man who treats his women, servants or otherwise worse than he treats his livestock. Nae woman would have him by contract o’ alliance or otherwise, and most faithers wouldnae force it.”
“Ye’re nae serious.”
“Och, I am. I heard one lass tell her faither she’d rather be outcast and without a clan than accept a betrothal tae him. Another told her faither that she’d run off tae marry an English shopkeeper afore she’d tak’ Laird Murray.”
“Even if that werenae the case, it wouldnae matter.” Reyna sighed. “Me faither’s been in a feud with Laird Murray fer a long time and the laird has been after forcing an end of it through a marriage contract fer a long time. He didnae want tae put forth the effort o’ winning by combat if he could force me faither tae surrender through other means.”
“So he kidnapped yer braither.”
“Aye. But when Blake came tae fetch me, we recognized each other, and began tae recall the feelings we had fer each other. And the... the things we’d hoped... hoped tae share…” Reyna blushed, recalling what they’d shared by the loch the night before. Her tongue tangled, trying to convey the feelings between them without speaking too openly.
Blake came to her rescue. “‘Twas nae easy, fer she was after hating me. Kept calling me a brute.”
Reyna glared at him. “Well, what else was I supposed tae call ye, when ye’d taken a name like Brutus? And anyway, it was yer fault fer leaving me fair vexed with ye, and well ye ken why.”
Blake grinned. “Mayhap, but even ye admit I had a reason. And I’d like tae think I made it up tae ye…” he raised an eyebrow, his meaning clear.
She blushed hard.
Hannah laughed, the high sweet sound ringing through the study and catching both off guard. “Och, ye’re an even better match than I thought ye were.”
Both of them flushed at her laughter, and Hutch’s amused glance. Reyna coughed and attempted to recover the thread of the explanation. “As I was saying, we rekindled our childhood relationship. One o’ the laird’s men suspected and was watching us…” She blushed but continued gamely. “He caught us close taegether, closer than mayhap we should have been. He accused Blake o’ treachery. Laird Oran Murray believed his accusations and took offense, and Blake had tae flee, with me braither and meself. Oran kept changing the terms of his negotiation with me faither as to when he would free me braither. Before we ran, he threatened to force me intae a marriage to breed an heir and give me braither back dead tae me faither.”
Hutch shook his head, chuckling a little in disbelief. “Och, when ye said ‘twas a complicated situation, ye werenae joking.”
“Aye.” Blake shifted, his expression tight. “I didnae mean tae bring trouble tae ye and the clan when I came home, Cousin. I ken yer letter said I had a home tae come back tae, and I’m forever grateful, but I also ken that ye’ve just lost a laird, and ye may nae want tae be facing a feud so soon after burying yer faither. If it’s tae much, and ye want me tae leave and find another place tae shelter until the matter is resolved…”
“Dinnae be a fool, Blake.” Hannah spoke sharply, her eyed fixed fiercely on her son. “I willnae hear o’ ye running off tae face trouble alone again. I ken ye didnae have any choice last time, but I’ll nae see me son trying tae face an entire clan alone, when he has kinfolk who can help.”
“Aye. Yer maither’s right.” Hutch nodded. “After what happened with yer faither, the clan owes ye fer nae standing behind ye and giving ye a chance tae defend yerself afore declaring ye guilty.” He set his cup down. “Tis the least we can dae tae defend ye, if Laird Murray comes hunting fer ye.”
“Aye. Ye’re a Sinclair again, me son, and we willnae be handing ye over tae be killed, whether it’s tae Laird Murray or anyone else.” Reyna thought she saw Hannah’s gaze dart to Hutch for a moment, and Blake shifted uncomfortably, as if he still wasn’t entirely sure of his welcome.
Then the moment passed, and Reyna heaved a sigh of relief. She knew Blake truly would have left if he thought his clan couldn’t defend him or wouldn’t. She also knew she would have gone with him, but it was comforting to have the might of Clan Sinclair beside them.
She turned to Hutch. “I appreciate yer aid, on behalf o’ clan Gregor, and yer courtesy in sheltering me. If it helps matters with yer Elders, ye can tell them that me braither Finlay has gone tae me faither, and ye can expect reinforcements from Clan Gregor soon.”
“Hopefully, ‘twill nae come tae that. But ‘tis good tae ken.” Hutch nodded. Then he smiled. “But enough o’ that.” He reached out and clapped Blake on the shoulder. “We’ve been waiting fer ye tae come home, and since ye’re here, I’ll have orders fer the welcoming feast taenight. Fer now, I’ll have a lass show ye both tae yer quarters so ye can rest, wash, and refresh yerselves.”
As she was led to a room with a bath and clean clothes waiting for her, Reyna wondered about the glance she thought she’d seen, and whether it was the circumstances of their return or something else that had caused Blake’s momentary awkwardness with Hutch.
And even more, why she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that rested quietly in her heart, even in the face of his warm welcome and offer of protection.
