I put my head on his arm. Jack had his head on my arm. “It won’t be for long, you’ll be up on the walls soon enough, last night was because you wanted to say goodbye, properly.”
“Tonight will be the first night on the walls of m’new castle.”
I kissed him, but then, “Ouch, my nose hurts.”
“Twill be much better in the morn.”
I put my head back down and whispered, “I thought it was Sean and Lizbeth’s castle?”
He chuckled in the darkness. “I haena decided yet. They were goin’ tae help me run m’kingdom, I think now that they arna helpin’ me, I might keep it for myself, but daena fear, I will let them live here. I am a verra good brother, ye heard my sister say so. She called me cruel yesterday, today she thinks I am verra fine. I will allow her tae keep her chambers.”
I laughed, “You sound a little like your mother.”
“Right now, I might be meaner than she is. She wants tae give her children fine titles; I am thinking of giving Sean a title like, Lord Slocmuice.”
“What does that mean?”
“Pig hollow.”
I laughed again.
“Ye liked that? Good, I am tryin’ tae be romantic.” He turned onto his side with his arms around me, nestling in my hair.
“You’re doing very well, Master Magnus, whispering in the dark is always my favorite.”
“Aye, because ye are easy tae bed, ye daena require much, and here we are in a Great Hall and ye are callin’ me Master Magnus. Ye ken I hae nae control, Madame Campbell.”
“But alas, you must, Master Magnus, you have a dog sleeping on your leg, two of our children lie by our feet. I have a baby on my arm.”
Just then Fraoch snored, loudly.
Haggis looked over at him and then put down his head with a dog sigh.
Archie and Hayley giggled.
CHAPTER 45
KAITLYN
I WANT TAE KEEP THIS MOMENT
Iwoke up in the middle of the night and though I had a blanket under my top end to raise myself up, my nose hurt and was so stopped up, I was completely miserable. I sat up and felt my nose and cheeks and around my eyes, everything was swollen and painful.
Magnus was gone, but that didn’t worry me. He would have gone to the walls, as he always did.
Hayley whispered. “Need something?”
“You got more ibuprofen?”
I heard her fumbling around and then two pills were passed to me and a bottle of water. I drank them down and then Jack pulled himself up to sit. “Ma!” He said, a little too loudly.
I whispered, “Want to go see Daddy?”
He put up his hands and I stood, picking him up, and stepping over the sleeping kids. We left the Great Hall.
One of the guardsmen I knew asked if I was going to the solar for the lykewake, but when I told him we were going to the walls to see Magnus, he accompanied us, telling me that the other stairwell couldn’t be used because of the lightning strike.
We walked down the corridors, everything still smelling like smoke and disaster, and climbed the steps to the high wallswhere we came out on a lovely moonlit night and could see Magnus down at the end. Haggis ran over with his tail wagging. Magnus held his hand up in greeting as he approached.
