Page 33 of Reviving Her Highland Spirit

“There ye are,” Uncle James said, his voice strained. “Sit down.”

“I’m sorry, Maggie was gone for a while. I had no idea where she was,” Sola said, shooting an angry look at her daughter.

Maggie twisted her fingers in the hem of her gown. “I went further than usual on my ride this morning. We went into the forest. That was why ye couldn’t find me.”

“Ye shouldn’t be going so far with the stable boy,” Amilia muttered. Aunt Lyla shot her a glare.

“Amilia, enough. We’re glad that Maggie is riding again, but for now, there’s something more serious that requires all of our attention. I’ve included you three lassies in this meeting, because ye are the oldest of our children, and it’s time ye learned how tae run a clan. Ruling is not just fine feasts and giving orders. It requires politics, and living with an ever-present fear. Today, ye will learn about that.”

A shiver rolled down Maggie’s spine. Uncle James gestured that she should go and sit beside her cousins. Maggie obeyed. She sat beside Bonnie, and felt her cousin feel for her hand underneath the table.

“Have any of ye ever heard of Red Rufus?” Uncle James said. Maggie glanced at her father, and saw that Bryce was gripping the back of a chair, his knuckles standing out white.

The three girls shook their heads in unison. Uncle James drew in a deep breath, and began.

“As ye know, there are three of us - me, my brother Bryce - your da, Maggie - and our younger brother, Simon, who is travelling. Our father was Laird McAlister. He lived in this keep and ruled the lands. Lyla and Sola were the Murray sisters, daughter of Laird Murray. When Bryce and Sola married, Laird Murray tried tae kill them both. We killed him instead, freeing Sola and Lyla. But that’s not where the story ends.

When we were young, our mother died and our father remarried. Our stepmother hated us. She had a son, our half-brother. Of course, as the youngest, he would not inherit the title of Laird, unless all of us were dead. When he was old enough, our stepmother murdered our father and tried to kill us three,” Uncle James glanced at Bryce. “Bryce saved us. Kept us alive for years, gave us hope, found us a home. Our stepmother hunted us, of course, but she thought we were gone for good, and put her son on the throne. For a few years, he ran the clan. Their worst years, everyone always said. Crime, injustice, famine. Things got worse and worse. When I came back, the people welcomed me with open arms, and we’ve always made sure to reward them for their loyalty. To give them the life and the peace we promised.”

Under the table, Bonnie’s hand tightened on Maggie’s. It felt as though they were hearing some old story, not something that happened only years before they were born. Or, in Maggie’s case, when she was a few years old.

Uncle James continued. “We were always fond of our half-brother. He was a wretch, but our brother. His mother died - we killed her in self defence - and I exiled him instead of killing him. I told him never to return.”

Maggie swallowed hard. Suddenly, she knew where this story was going.

“He’s back,” Uncle James continued. “We should have known he would come back. At first, I expected him back every year, at the head of some rag-tag army. Then time passed, and I suppose we got lazy and complacent. We forgot about him.”

“That was our mistake,” Bryce said bitterly. Maggie had never seen her father look so despondent and angry. As she watched, Sola reached out, touching his arm. Bryce smiled down at her, sad but loving all at once, and took her hand. She had to look away.

“What does this mean? What should we do?” Bonnie spoke. Her voice was thin and reedy, but she tilted up her chin and sat straight. She was trying to act like a lady, that was clear.

Before Uncle James could answer, Amilia spoke.

“Why didn’t we know about this?”

There was a heavy silence in the room. Maggie glanced over at her cousin. Amilia was white, lips pressed together.

She had a point. Why hadn’t they heard of this? Why did everyone else in the kingdom, presumably, know about this, but not them?

Uncle James glanced at Aunt Lyla to answer.

“Maggie was only a bairn when this happened,” she said. “It was many years ago - seventeen or eighteen, I think. People forgot, I suppose. They don’t talk about it like they did. We thought perhaps it would be better to promote a peaceful family if we didn’t tell ye children things ye did not need to know. This was no war, lasses. We didn’t shed rivers of blood to sit on our thrones. It was more of a… a family squabble.”

“A family squabble that could plunge us into war,” Amilia said coldly. “I assume this usurper brings an army?”

“Amilia,” Bonnie said quietly. “Don’t.”

“No, Bonnie, why shouldn’t I be angry? They kept this from us our whole lives, knowing that this man could come back and murder us all.”

“Amilia!”

“She’s right,” Aunt Lyla said calmly. “We kept it from ye, lassies. Sola and I grew up in a violent household. Our father was a cruel, vicious man. He tried tae force Sola into marriage with this Rufus - who was known to be a madman - by threatening tae send me instead. Sola went to spare me, but ran into Bryce on the way. So, I was tae be sent instead. They rescued me. Bryce, James, and Simon lived their lives on the run, in fear of death at every step, forced tae steal tae survive. We didn’t want ye to live like that. We wanted ye tae be happy, cared for, and safe. We wanted ye tae be loved. If I have failed in that, I am sorry.”

There was a little silence after that.

“Ye haven’t, Ma,” Amilia said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“What now?” Maggie said, surprised at how calm and level her voice sounded. “Can we talk tae him?”