Page 75 of The Lady of Her Highland Clan

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"Miss Fiona! Miss Fiona!"

The chief counselor of the Duncan clan pushed his way through the throng to reach them. Dismounting from Lizzie May, Fiona arrived at a scene of chaos.

The castle was in an uproar. People were milling everywhere, and at each turn, an elder seemed to be standing. But the prevailing mood was positive, if rather confused.

Now the wizened counselor almost beat a path to get to Fiona first.

"Tell us what happened! There are rumors that Greenock has fallen!"

The shock of his expression was almost comical, and Fiona had to suppress an irritated laugh as the stableboy took her horse.

Behind her, Clyde dismounted. "It did," he said, his face in a smirk.

Now the elderly counselor appeared confused. He looked at Clyde, and then he looked back at Fiona blankly.

"It just depends which one," said Clyde, with a grin. A blast of wind ran all the way around the Duncan castle, ruffling Clyde's hair. In the fresh and open he had rallied, the pale skin and darkened lines banished.

The counselor looked more confounded than ever. Perplexed, he looked at Fiona.

"Miss Duncan? Please, can someone tell us what is going on?" he said, following her like a sheep across the entrance to the Duncan castle and down into the hallway.

Clyde and their entourage followed him, with the counselor sending searching glances as they went. Fiona tried to bite down her annoyance. It wasn't his fault. She had not told them much if anything.

"I mean, ye say ye’re going tae get the clan gold back, then, we get word that ye want us tae raise an army tae the Greenock clan. Nary a word about what it's for, or what's happened...an' noo..."

Clyde squeezed her hand tight as they passed through the castle corridors and finally arrived in the main hall. There, even more counselors were assembled.

Fiona, who was tired and overwrought, felt her head spin. Suddenly, she felt too weary to go into details. But a sudden cheer in the background roused her.

Turning, both she and Clyde looked around to see clapping begin in the hallway. The chief elder raised an eyebrow. Everyone else in the clan was celebrating. They, at least, had gotten the news from the incoming party,

As kindly as she could, Fiona turned to McTavish. "We won," she said, simplifying it. "Clyde came good. He helped us get the treasures back for the clan."

She could see the look of confusion on the old man's face and felt a little guilt. It was true, she had not provided much in the way of explanation. In fact, he probably still thought Clyde was responsible for taking the clan gold.

Clyde jumped in. "I'm very grateful tae the Duncan clan," he said, attempting to put things right. Patiently, he smiled at McTavish, who pulled his brow into a knot. "My cousin Fraser tried tae take the Greenock clan from me—an' wi' it the Duncan gold."

By now, they were in the center of the great hall, a small crowd forming all around them.

"Fiona pulled me out o' there when I thought no one could...an' I am sincerely sorry for my part in the plan tae take yer clan's gold. But rest assured, sirs, that has been righted noo."

Another loud cheer went up, and the ancient counselor looked mildly amused. But still, there was confusion in his eyes.

"Pulled ye out o' where?" he asked unsurely.

"Fraser Greenock had captured him," said Fiona, taking the confused man aside. She smiled as they went to sit down. Resting herself on the cushioned chair, Fiona felt a glow of warmth.

It felt like years since she had sat down on anything that wasn't a horse!

"Fraser?" asked McTavish, his gray eyes darting hopelessly between the pair of them.

"My cousin," replied Clyde helpfully. "Like I said… He stole from me, from ye...from all o' us..."

Then, thoughtfully, he added, as an aside, "He even sent his bandits tae attack ye, Fiona, right at the start, when we were camping..." he murmured softly into Fiona's ear.

This she had not known. Swiftly, she looked up.