Page 60 of The Lady of Her Highland Clan

Listen chaps, I lost the clan's gold. But what hoo, I escaped a kidnap, so all's well, really...

Except...she desperately needed help in freeing Clyde from Fraser's grip. And that could be hard.

Really hard.

Even before they discovered he was the reason behind this all happening.

So it was with a heavy heart that Fiona filed into the counselors’ chambers and took her place at the head of the clan.

"Gentlemen..."

Fiona's heart was beating as she addressed the room. The chamber was packed, with seemingly every elder in the clan taking their place in the room.

It took a while for the elders to settle, with all the chatter going on. It just about killed Fiona to see the expectant look on their faces.

And worse still, at the back of the room, her brother and sisters had filed in. Seeing Grace press through the melee to stand calmly against the wall added an extra level of pressure.

Finally, there was silence.

From the center of the room, someone coughed.

They were all looking at her.

Feeling sick, Fiona opted just for getting it over with as quickly as possible.

"We lost the gold..." she started.

A massive intake of breath ran around the room. Panicked, Fiona opened her mouth to complete the statement. No words would come.

Seeing her face, Grace pushed her way to the fore of the room. Fiona looked to her helplessly. This was not the way she had wanted to tell them, but at least it was out.

Now the senior counselor looked at her, his concerned face relaxing just a little. Perhaps he had noticed the panic in her eyes. He would really have been blind if he hadn't. Peering over, the elderly man looked at her kindly.

"Miss, um, exactly what happened?"

Fiona composed herself the best she could and went on to give a passable account of what had happened. It was hard. Especially the part about Clyde's betrayal, although she did make sure to hammer home the point about him rescuing her twice.

The murmur from the counselors seemed to last forever. But as Fiona explained, Grace's eyes gleamed. And at the mention of Clyde's name, a small smile grew beneath her nose.

"So, there ye are," said Fiona finally. She was all wrung out. It was all she could to stop herself from weeping. Tiredness and nausea crept up on her. She felt dizzy and spent.

Leaning back on the stool, she rested her eyes. "I ken I cannae be yer laird...or lady...or, och, anything now," she said simply. "An' I really am sorry for how it all turned out."

She was crumbling. She could feel it. Fiona felt all the energy drain out of her body. But before she gave way, she faced the elders.

"But," she said, with a streak of determination, "I'm gonna do everything I can tae get it all back again."

She might have added, but I dinnae ken how but decided against it at the last minute. Likewise, she declined to mention her intention to rescue Clyde. There were some things she did not need to share with the clan.

After all, there was enough to worry about.

A small ripple ran around the room. But most of the counselors sat in stony silence, although the chief counselor looked at her with pity, which was worse.

Finally, she stepped down from the podium. Grace rushed over and squeezed her.

"Och, hen, ye've been through it, havenae ye?" she said, her hazel eyes flashing intuitively. Exhausted, Fiona could not even bring herself to pretend. She merely nodded. Seeing her spent face, Grace pressed her to her arms. "Tell me all about it. Properly..."

Leading her away from the throng of the elders, Grace took Fiona off into a side chamber that used to be her father's closet. It was just a tiny space, but with enough room for private discussion.