Page 31 of The Highlander’s Gypsy Temptation

“Then we must nae delay. There is much to be discussed, and we are all curious to ken what happened to ye and where ye have been all this time,” Dunn said, he and his brother Tor following after them. “I will also call the healer to check your wounds,” he added. With everything that was going on, Bran had almost forgotten the pain he had been living with from the past day’s encounters.

Bran shrugged and allowed them to lead him to his chambers, so he could clean off all the grime. He quickly discarded the ruined clothing and, with a satisfied groan, sank into the bath filled with warm water that was waiting for him.

He scrubbed his body clean as his brother and friends waited patiently for him to finish. Once he was thoroughly washed and rinsed and wrapped in a blanket, he sat on the bed, ready to begin his tale.

“Where have yet been all this time, Bran?” Andrew asked once again, and Bran sighed. He looked down at the floor and began.

“I have been with August Raymond,” he said and rushed to explain when he saw their expressions turn to alarm.

“In some ways I was his prisoner, and in some other way, I was nae. I was locked up by Alistair but managed to escape. I could have found my way back to ye or run, and I had certainly been about tae dae that when I heard the scream of a lass. I hurried towards the sound and saw it was Idalia. I could nae leave her there. She was being taken prisoner by August, who had broken into the Morgan castle and had nay desire tae leave without her. But neither did he care tae help Leonor. We came tae blows, but after some time, we made a pact involving me… me daughter Mahala.“

“Yer daughter? Ye have a daughter?” They stared at him, their eyes filled with shock as they waited for him to answer.

“I am an uncle? Ye are a father?” Bran stared at the look of surprise and wonder in Andrew’s eyes. It was totally different from what he had expected. His brother and friends were not looking at him like they were disgusted or ashamed. They looked… happy.

Bran paused and looked at Andrew. “Dae ye remember Kezia? She was August Raymond’s sister.”

Bran waited as Andrew thought about it. His brother nodded slowly as the memory clearly came back to him.

“Aye, I think I remember her vaguely. Why dae ye ask?”

Bran sighed deeply, not knowing how to explain the situation to his brother without feeling he had sided with the enemy.

“I had an affair with Kezia. It was for a short time, and I did nae love her, nae truly. But when she fell with child, I was ready tae do right by her. I went tae her family tae ask their blessings tae marry her since she was with me child, but they refused. Her family would nae let her marry a man who was nae a gypsy like they were.” Bran smiled sadly at the memory, knowing things would have turned out differently if he had been allowed to marry her.

“It was not long after that, that she disappeared. I tried tae look for her, but I could nae find her, no matter what I did or who I asked. It was like she had ceased to exist. I didnae ken what happened tae me child either. August finally told me that I had a daughter and that she was with him. However, I was never allowed to see her until after I made the pact with him.”

Bran had not looked up to see his brother’s reaction, nor that of the other men, since the beginning his tale, and he had no plans to do so until he was finished with it. He doubted he would be able to tell them all of it if he looked up and saw the expressions of judgment on their faces. So, he continued his tale, still staring at the ground.

“When I heard about me daughter, I kenned that I had to go tae her and find out all I could about her. I needed her tae ken that I did nae abandon her, so I made a pact with August on the day I saved Idalia. He said he would let her and Leonor go if I would do whatever he told me tae dae. In exchange I would be allowed tae be near my child and perhaps see her. If I didnae obey him, however, he would have had his own niece killed. I did it in hopes that I would easily find a way tae get tae me daughter and take her away from there. However, things didnae turn out as easy as I thought. August made sure we were always watched whenever I spent time with her, and when I did, it was usually for a short periods, and only when I did what he wanted. That was how I began tae dae as he bid. There was nay other way for me tae see her again.”

“That is horrible,” Dunn said. “I cannae imagine what I would dae and how I would feel if I was nae allowed tae see me bairn again.”

Bran looked up and saw the look of sympathy in his eyes. Tor and Andrew also wore expressions far opposed to the looks of rage and disgust he had expected from them.

“Ye dinnae ken the length of it. I can never go back tae the man I used tae be because my soul is dirty.” He looked down at his hands. They were clean, with only the marks left from all the injuries he had gotten over the years showing white. Yet all he could see were the things he had been forced to do for August, in a bid to see his daughter for the handfuls of minutes he was allowed.

“Ye are a good man, Bran. Nothing is ever going tae change that.”

Bran was happy that his brother could still see the good in him, yet he sighed deeply, weighed down by the memories of the atrocities he had committed.

“Ye dinnae ken the things I have done, brother. If ye did, ye would nae think so.”

“Ye are right, I dinnae ken what ye have done, but that daes nae change what I ken tae be true in my heart,” Andrew argued back.

“I have killed, Andrew. I have killed men who might nae have deserved death simply because I wanted tae see me daughter again,” Bran shouted in agony, getting to his feet. He sat back down heavily and propped his head on his hands, trying to stop the memories, but it seemed they could not be stopped.

“The first man I killed for him was one of August’s enemies. The man had something August wanted, but he refused tae part with it because it belonged in his family. That was all the reason August gave for seeking tae murder the man. He invited him over, proposing an alternative solution, where they both got what they wanted, and the man came tae him trustingly. I was charged with killing him when he arrived and that was what I did. I killed him without asking any questions because I believed I needed tae dae all he asked so he did nae harm me daughter.”

“Bran, it was nae your fault. Ye did what ye thought was right as a father trying tae protect his child. We cannae fault ye for that. The only person who deserves any of this blame ye have carried for so long is August Raymond.” Tor, who had been quietly listening to Bran’s tale, finally spoke up.

“Ye dinnae understand the gravity of what I have done. The many people I have had to kill for August,” Bran moaned in guilt and pain when he felt hands on his back, consoling him.

“I dinnae care what ye say, brother. Ye are me brother, and I ken the truth about ye. Ye are good, and ye can never be a monster. If anything, ye have been a victim all this time and it is why ye feel the way ye dae,” Andrew said.

“Yes. If anyone is a monster, it is the man who uses his own niece as a way tae get people tae do terrible things on his behalf. A monster would bask in the blood and sufferings of those he has killed, but instead ye have carried this burden in yer heart for a very long time. Ye might have done things ye are nae proud of, but that is the story of everyone. There is nae one of us who has nae had tae dae something terrible in a bid tae protect those we love,” Tor said.

Bran looked at the men around him and appreciated having people who could still see good in him, just like Idalia did. Maybe if they all believed him to be good, he could learn to see the light in himself as well. Maybe there was hope for him after all. He had sworn to avenge those he had killed, by killing the man who had sought their death, and until he did that, he would not rest.