His pinched expression told James that he had hit a nerve in the older man. He doubted that Jonah liked being shown so blatantly wrong, but James wasn’t quite done.
“I mean only to remind the Laird that Laura is one of our own. She has been taken from her home. Surely, that is punishment enough for her mistake. Now, I have done as ye asked, and since I ken ye to be an honest and fair man, I am sure that ye will do whatever ye must to bring Laura back.”
The Laird watched James from behind steepled fingers, his eyes heavily guarded. A younger version of himself, a less troubled and weary, a less jaded version of James might have been worried that he had gone too far. He might have taken the Laird’s silence as a sign of his irritation or displeasure. But the James that faced him now had seen too much, had experienced too much, to fret over the approval of one man. Especially not one as weak and easily misled as Laird McGregor.
Jonah looked miffed, his head swiveling between James and his brother. After another tense moment, Laird McGregor put up a single hand.
“Ye are right, James. I will do as ye ask and ensure Laura safe passage home. Ye have my word.”
Nodding his thanks, James turned to leave the second he was dismissed. He could hardly stand to be in the same room with the likes of Taryn’s family any longer. As soon as he was in the hall, James rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the day, to no avail.
“A drink,” a decidedly gruff voice said with a firm slap on James’ back. “Ye must join us for a drink.”
James turned his head to find one of his closest friends from the guard, Alec, grinning widely at him.
“I ken that ye told the Laird ye dinnae want a feast, and that is fine. But ye can nae tell me that after months of traveling and however long ye had to put up with that lass, ye are nae desperate for a pint—or two or three.”
Alec’s mischievous smile was infectious, momentarily washing away James’ foul mood. And he was right—it had been a difficult few months. A drink with his friends might be just what he needed to make sense of his swirling thoughts.
“Aye, Alec,” James conceded. “I will join ye. But just for one. I need to go see my Ma after that. She will have heard I am back and is nae doubt driving my father half crazy with her worry.”
Alec draped his heavy arm across James’ shoulders and started to pull him out of the castle and towards the nearest tavern.
“Dinnae fash. We will get ye home in plenty of time to see yer Ma.”
Much like his entrance to the Great Hall, as soon as James stepped foot inside the tavern, cheers erupted from everyone in sight. They threw their mugs in the air, sloshing their ale overthe sides in his honor. More than a handful of them rose from their seats to clap James on the back or shake his hand. They all offered him words of congratulations, thanking him for solving all of their problems.
Eventually, someone pressed a full mug into his hand and insisted he drink. James didn’t have to be told twice. He downed it all in three large gulps, earning him another round of cheers. Yet, every time someone offered him their thanks or told him how he had saved them all, James could only think of the look of terror that had been etched into Taryn’s face as the guards pulled her away.
He found himself wondering if she had truly been thrown into a cell, if she was all right. He tried to convince himself it was only natural, his caring about her well-being, after seeing to her survival and safety, was his sole purpose for the last week. But it was a lie not even he could believe.
Two mugs in and James had nestled himself into a cozy spot by the little window of the tavern. The cold from the glass seeped into the room, cooling his flushed face. His presence had already grown uninteresting to the rest of the tavern once they discovered that he wasn’t going to share with them any stories from his travels. He was left on his own to watch the world outside the tavern.
Less than an hour after his arrival in the little pub and a group of four riders blew through the village. They were all wearing their McGregor tartans with their finest hats and boots, their horses’ coats gleaming from a fresh brushing. One of the men carried a satchel with the McGregor crest on it. They turned to go south, towards the border. Messengers then, James decided, sent off to propose peace to Baron Dudley. They would no doubt be carrying word of Taryn’s capture and the Laird’s desire to uphold their original agreement.
How the Laird could still wish to align himself with a man like the Baron after all he had done was unfathomable to James. But if that was the only way to ensure the safety of the clan, he supposed it had to be done.
While the riders’ tracks were still fresh in the snow, James stood from his seat and made to leave.
“Off so soon?” Alec asked lightheartedly.
James knew it was merely Alec’s personality and not a general lack of care or understanding that made him so easy going, but with the weight still crushing James’ shoulders, he found he wasn’t in the mood for company.
“Aye. I have already stayed longer than I intended. I ken my mother will be up, waiting for me.”
“Give her a kiss for me and tell her I will be by tomorrow as usual.”
The two men shook hands, and then James confronted the blustering winds once more. He could have gone to fetch his horse for the journey home, but the beast had already done enough, and the cold air was as refreshing as it was bracing. It didn’t take him much time at all before he was undoing the latch of the gate that led to the front door of his parents’ home, his home.
Though he knew the dreary weather didn’t help, the house looked nothing like it had during his childhood. There were no warmly glowing lanterns hanging by the front door to greet him. The once bright yellow paint that his mother had given the wooden door several summers ago was chipped and faded, mud staining the bottom. Garden beds that had once overflowed with flowers and herbs were long gone. The shutters that framed the windows were falling apart, crooked and broken.
So much had fallen apart in the past three years that went far beyond the exterior of their home. Regardless, James was glad to be back. Some of the tension he had been carrying betweenhis right shoulder and his neck loosened as he curled his fingers around the cold metal doorknob and pushed it open.
“Ma?” he called out into the hallway. “Da? I am home.”
He stood by the front door, knocking snow and mud off his boots before he slipped out of them. A light and shadows danced over the walls, signaling his parent’s arrival.
“James? James, is that ye?”
