Page 137 of Claimed Highland Brides

ANSWERS

As promised, someone came by to collect him for dinner. Angus was nowhere to be seen, but thankfully he had been able to dress himself quite well. His heart pounded as he tried to anticipate every possible development he might encounter.

He was nothing but a stranger to these people. Despite Aileen’s warm welcome, the Douglasses had not seen him for eleven years. They did not know him. They were not likely to just take him at his word. He fingered the amulet he wore around his neck. His father had gifted it to him on his eleventh birthday.

“It’s a family heirloom,” he had said.

If Murdo Douglass were here, he might recognize it. But his daughters had all been young. They barely knew what had happened. Murdo had not wanted to burden them. So he only had his own memories of their time together to vouch for him and Aileen’s acknowledgment that he was who he said.

The maid who had come to fetch him stopped in front of a door and gestured for him to enter. He had been expecting a dining hall but realized from the furnishings that he was in the parlor. A man got to his feet, facing him, his piercing blue eyes attempting to dissect Barclay already.

Barclay came to a stop and looked around. Aileen gave him a small smile, and he nodded back. Next to her was a lady, heavy with child. Her fiery red hair and doe eyes, the twin of their mother, told him that this was Jamesina. Next to her was Fiona, more diminutive than her sisters but radiating all the authority of a firstborn. She was also heavy with child. The twins were unmistakable, as were Ùna’s chubby cheeks and sunny personality.

He smiled, gratified to have recalled them all. “It is guid t’see ye all again.”

Fiona got to her feet with difficulty. “Barclay. It truly is ye.”

He nodded. “Aye. ’Tis.”

She came forward and clasped his hands tight, looking intently into his eyes. “Welcome home.”

Barclay felt a lump in his throat, and tears shimmered in his eyes. “Thank ‘e.”

She turned, gesturing for the man to come forward. “My husband, Laird Campbell.”

Barclay bowed to him. “At yer service.”

A movement from the corner had him flicking his eyes in that direction. His eyes widened as he saw Diego and Antonio standing there. “Ay! Ye’re here.”

Diego nodded. “We met these fine people at Drumacree, and they agreed to bring us along.”

Barclay turned to Daividh. “I thank ye.” He gestured to his cousins. “These are my kin who graciously offered to accompany me on my quest to recover my father’s land.”

Fiona sat back down, keeping her eyes on him as she gestured for him to do the same. “They tell us that ye have encountered some difficulty.”

Barclay nodded, dividing his attention between the laird and his lady. “My uncle claims not to ken me. He willnae give up the property unless I can provide proof of who I am or produce some other evidence that the land is mine.”

Fiona snorted derisively, shaking her head. “Gilroy MacFarland has always been a difficult neighbour. I’m nae surprised he has made such demands.”

“Do ye have anything I can use to fight him?”

To his surprise, it was the other gentleman in the room who spoke. “I have come across scripts with the name MacFarland on them, as I was tidying up Mr. Campbell’s study. I didn’t look at them too closely, but I can dig them up again.”

Barclay quirked an eyebrow. “That would be kind of you.”

“No problem.” The man leaned forward and introduced himself. “Delwyn Barton, steward.”

Barclay gave a bow. “Pleased to make yer acquaintance, sir.”

Fiona clapped her hands together once. “Weel, we have spoken of enough grave things tonight. Let us go in to dinner and celebrate yer homecoming, Barclay.” She grinned at him, and he could not help but grin back.

* * *

Aileen was seated across from Barclay at the table. Ùna sat on one side of him, and Delwyn sat on the other. Like the proper gentleman that he was, he divided his attention between his dinner companions without a show of favoritism. Ùna chattered at him as if they were old friends. She was growing quickly but was still childlike and innocent. The sisters worked hard to keep her that way.

Delwyn seemed interested in their travels. He questioned Barclay extensively on their voyage, and Aileen remembered that before he married Jamesina, he had wanted to go off and be a pirate. She huffed gently to herself before realizing that in her focused attention on Barclay, she was ignoring her own dinner companions.

One of Delwyn’s cousins sat to her left, while to her right, Maisie was in animated conversation with Fenella, who sat across from her, next to Delwyn. The cousin was watching them with fascination.