Page 53 of Reviving Her Highland Spirit

“The boy was reluctant tae fight,” Ian said. “It was clear that he was torn. He didn’t want tae betray Rufus, but I don’t believe he supported him, either. I think… I think perhaps his perspective had been changed. As tae saving Maggie’s life, I’m almost certain that Rufus would have killed her. He’d have killed her right in front of us, James. It was a close-run thing.”

Uncle James sighed, raking a hand through his hair. He glanced over to Aunt Lyla, who gave a single, brief nod.

“Alright,” Uncle James said. “He can go free, but on a trial period. A trial period, Maggie!”

Maggie almost sagged in relief. “Thank ye, Uncle James, thank ye! Can I go and release him?”

Uncle James threw up his arms. “Oh, why not. Off ye go then, lass.”

23

The dungeons of McAlister keep weren’t particularly appealing. They were dungeons, after all.

Two soldiers were sent to accompany Maggie, following her down the steep, slippery steps down into the bowels of the keep. It was cold down here, and dark, too. The candle Maggie had been given managed to light her way - just enough. The middle of the stone staircase was worn with years of tramping feet, creating a divot in the middle of the stairs. It would be easy for a person’s feet to slip out from under them, and send them falling ignominiously down to the bottom.

It was a long way to fall, and with nothing but sharp stone to break your fall.

Maggie shivered. She was glad to get her feet on solid ground again.

“Which way?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at the soldiers. One of them pointed to a dark hallway on the right, lit up by intervals of flickering torches. Maggie hurried down the hallway, leaving the soldiers behind. Most of the cells were empty - the McAlister dungeons were never full. Only people convicted of serious crimes were left down here.

She almost walked past Callum.

He was curled up in a ball in the corner of his cell, a few handfuls of straw scattered underneath him. He scrambled to his feet as Maggie hurried by.

“Maggie!”

She skidded to a halt, rushing back to see him. Callum pressed himself up against the bars, eyes wide.

“I didn’t think I’d see ye again,” he murmured. “So, ye uncle let ye come down tae visit me, eh?”

Maggie smiled. “Better than that. Ye are going to be free, Callum. Uncle James is letting ye out. On a trial period, he said.” She gestured to the soldier, who lifted a bunch of rusty keys off a hook and made his way towards her.

Callum sucked in a breath. “Truly? I’m truly getting out of here?”

He slipped a hand through the rusty bars of the cell, fingers tentatively brushing Maggie’s cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into the touch. For a moment, it was only her and Callum there - the dungeon melted away, and she hardly heard the guard’s obnoxious jangling of the keys.

“I love ye, Maggie McAlister,” Callum murmured, and Maggie’s eyes flew open. He was watching her closely, his eyes sad. “I’m sorry that our relationship is built on lies. I’m sorry I ruined everything. If I could go back and do it all over again, I’d change everything. Everything but meeting you.”

Maggie smiled, feeling the childish urge to cry well up inside her. “Ye taught me tae ride again. I’ll never be able tae thank ye for that.”

Callum rested his forehead against the bars of the cell, grinning. “Ye rode Stardust tae come and get me, didn’t ye? How was that?”

“It went well. I even galloped. I suppose the equivalent to that is me pushing ye off the top of the waterfall tae teach ye tae swim.”

Callum shuddered. “No, thank ye.”

“Got it!” the guard declared. “I found the right key. Excuse me, Lady Maggie.”

Maggie moved aside, and the guard inserted a rusty key, turning it with a screech. Then the cell door opened, and Callum stepped out. He turned to face Maggie, cupping her face in both hands.

“I know I’m no match for a Lady McAlister, but I want tae court ye, Maggie,” he murmured. “I’ll work hard and make myself worthy of ye. I’ll earn Laird McAlister’s trust, and I’ll beg your Da on bended knee to let me marry ye. And, more importantly, I will beg ye on bended knee to agree tae marry me. And I hope tae succeed.”

Maggie grinned, reaching up to draw his queue of hair between her fingers.

“I would be disappointed if ye didn’t.”

Two Months Later, the McAlister keep Chapel