“I will stay here, if it is possible, Young Magnus, as Maggie would prefer it. Twill be good for my family and Lizbeth’s family tae be raised taegether. Will there be a title and… who will hae it?”
Magnus said, “Lady Mairead will give ye a title, she has some extras lying around. She collects them for emergencies…” He exhaled. “We hae had a change of fortunes, we thought that we were goin’ tae move tae the future, but my brother and sister are going tae stay rooted here, in the past. Tis a relief now that it has been settled. We will be the better for it, stronger, and I am glad tae hae a home tae come back tae.”
Everyone said, “Slàinte!”
The night was winding down. The kids returned and curled up on our pallet of blankets, which were uncomfortably thin. I really wanted tae go upstairs to our room, but the fire had been so frightening that I was sure we’d all sleep better if we stayed together this night.
Lizbeth kneeled beside Magnus and put her hand on his arm. “Ye hae been a verra good brother, I am sorry I was so cruel tae ye… years ago.”
“Twas just yesterday, or was that this morn?”
She waved her hand. “I hoped ye had forgotten. Ye forgive me for it, for all that I hae done, I ken it has been a lot of trouble?”
“Aye, but ye ken, tis further proof that Lizbeth will get her way.”
“Tis only because I hae such good brothers, theyletme get my way.”
She squeezed his arm. “I need tae go tae bed, the dawn is coming as it does.”
“Aye, the wheel of the day will be breaking upon our good fortune in a few hours.”
I leaned against Magnus’s shoulder. Candles had burned down, and we could now barely see. Over the Great Hall the silence grew as one by one we all began to fall asleep.
Isla said, “This is fun.”
Archie said, “Yeah, I’ve never done this before.”
I said, “I did… once, long ago. Though I don’t remember… what was that?”
Magnus was quiet, then said, “I daena remember it. Ye werna with me.”
I said, “Oh, right, I’m sorry I brought it up.”
Archie said, “What doesthatmean?”
Magnus said, “Yer mother has a memory and in the shifts of time, I hae lost that memory.”
I explained, “…and whenever I’m here, the memory comes back to me.”
Sean said, “This auld castle holds all the memories. I think tis good that it will be in our family for years and years. Ye can call me Lord Exalted of the Lands of Alba, Defender of the Realm, and High Keeper of the memories.” He stood, “I will go say goodnight tae Maggie, over with the bairns, then I will go up tae the walls.”
Magnus rocked back and forth getting comfortable on the floor. “Och nae, Sean, ye daena hae tae go tae go up, the Earl’s son threw ye in the dungeon earlier, ye can take a night instead of protecting his walls.”
He smiled, his white teeth showing against sooty skin. “But Young Magnus, these are nowmywalls. My brother, the king, has procured them for me. It daena cost me a bit of respect tae stand upon my ownwalls.”
Magnus said, “Tis true.”
“Thank ye, brother, I mean it, tis verra grand, I daena ken how I will ever repay ye.”
Fraoch said, “First ye will hae tae rebuild that roof, so the king will hae shelter, then ye need tae fix the wall so he can pace there, then ye will hae tae clean up. This is practically a ruin.”
Hayley said, “And there’s a dead guy upstairs.”
Magnus said, “Only the finest for m’family.”
Everyone laughed.
Fraoch was lying on his side, he said, “Tis verra uncomfortable, did Isla say she thought this was fun? Did ye?”
