“There must be a way to avoid more bloodshed.”
“Nay. I canna overlook what has been done. If I did, word would spread throughout the Highlands of how weak the MacKays have become. An eye for an eye.”
“And whose eye do ye wish to take?”
“I willna settle for any less than one of his sons.”
Keely nodded, but Alex dinna miss the worried look on her face. “Is my father ready to speak with me?’
“Aye—he’s accepted my invitation to stay with us for a while. I wish ye to have some time with yer da, Keely, and yer brothers.”
“And where will ye be?’
“Fortifying the west villages and recruiting new soldiers.”
“How long will ye be gone?”
“Days at a time. But never too far away, lass.”
She hopped off the boulder and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirts. “I doona wish to keep my father waiting. He deserves the truth.”
Alex offered his arm. “I will take ye to him.”
*
Surrounded by herbrothers and seated across from her sire in front of the main hearth in the great hall, Keely couldna keep from smiling. Her brother Simon tugged on a strand of her hair.
“Ye’re glowing,” Simon teased.
“Tis warm in here,” she said.
“Are ye happy, lass?” Broc asked.
As a child, Keely had been immeasurably happy. Her sire had indulged her, perhaps too much, because he felt guilty for her mother’s death. Everything changed when she was sent to the MacKays for that first summer at the age of thirteen. Laird Oliphant thought it would benefit her immensely to spend time away from home, in preparation for when she would marry and be expected to run her own household.
Whether her da had planned it or not, Keely did fall in love with one of the MacKay sons. And Alex’s father had always been affectionate with her, inviting her back every year. She looked about the familiar space and frowned when she saw the sheet again.
“What troubles ye?” Gavin, her second eldest brother asked.
“Tis nothing.” She dinna want to ruin the moment.
“Keely…” His eyebrows arched.
“The bridal bed sheet is an embarrassment.”
“Why?” Her other brother, Justice, asked. “The proof of yer purity is an honor to yer husband and all of us.”
“I doona want it there,” she complained.
“Very well.” Broc yanked it down and balled it up. “If anyone complains, send them to me.”
Keely jumped up from her chair and hugged her brother. “Thank ye, Broc. All of ye. Father.”
“For what, lass?” the laird asked.
“Coming here.”
“Ye are an Oliphant. And we take care of our own,” her father said. “But doona think all the pleasantries mean we’ve forgotten yer sins. What ye did was wrong. And I require an explanation.”
