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“Should we kill him for everything he’s done?” Lucas asked, standing beside Erik the younger.

“Perhaps. He certainly deserves it for all the misery he’s caused in life, but I think, for now, the life of a prisoner would suit him. He should learn to understand what it’s like to be a captive. Besides, my wife is sure to want to have words with him,” Erik the younger said. He beckoned guards to take Gorm as well as the other Viking prisoners away.

Erik turned to Lucas. “Thank you for coming to our aid. It was…unexpected,” Erik said.

Lucas smiled. “Never let it be said the Bannermans are nae ready for a fight. When Seamus came tae me and told me what Douglas haed told him, I couldnae stay out of the battle,” Lucas said.

“It might have given you a better opportunity to get the land you want,” Erik said.

“Aye, it may hae done,” Lucas said with a twinkle in his eyes, “but I wouldnae be a good Highlander if I allowed Vikings tae invade the land. I believe we hae much tae discuss, Erik, but for now, we should rejoice in our victory.”

Erik smiled and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“What happened on the mainland? How did you get here? I thought the land was being sieged by Gorm’s boats?” Brenda asked.

“Aye, they were. A terrible sight it was,” Lucas said, shaking his head. “It was like something from the old days, the stories my da used tae tell me when the Vikings would come and leave nothing behind but misery and death. The land burned with fire, but there was one difference between those stories and what happened taeday. Back then, the clans of the Highlands were small and didnae band taegether tae fight as one. Erik, what ye and yer da did was show the Highlanders that we are stronger taegether. Ye brought our clans taegether, and we are a formidable army. Yer bride led an army tae defend yer village and defeat Haldor, while yer brother led the other Highlanders tae drive back the Vikings. It allowed us tae get tae the shore and sail over here. They suggested that ye might need our help.”

“And I’m glad for it,” Erik the younger said.

“It’s certainly different from the last time this place was invaded by Vikings,” the older Erik said, “but I’m glad it has come to the same conclusion. I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson here today.”

“Aye, we have indeed, and there’s something else I have learned too,” Erik the younger said, turning to Douglas.

Douglas bristled when Erik approached him. Brenda watched on, not realizing until a few moments later that she was actually holding her breath.

“Douglas,” Erik continued, “I’m sorry for leaving you in Norway. I should have tried harder. I should have gone to war with you if it was necessary because a laird should not leave a man behind. I should have tried harder to learn if you were alive or dead. You swore your sword to me a long time ago, and I should have lived up to my end of the bargain. I’m sorry that you suffered at Gorm’s hand. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more to bring you back home.”

Douglas’s expression was stern. To someone else, he might have appeared impassive, even unemotional, but Brenda had become accustomed to his ways and knew that bubbling underneath was a strong undercurrent of emotion, as violent and passionate as a storm.

“And I should nae hae let myself be blinded by revenge. I let the Vikings twist my mind. I should never hae betrayed ye or my clan and lead them here. I…I’ll accept whatever punishment ye see fit.”

“Douglas, don’t you think you’ve been punished enough already?” Erik said. He walked up to the man and placed his hand on Douglas’s shoulder, the one that wasn’t wounded. “You’re a victim as much as anything else, and I’m not going to punish you.”

“If anything, he should be rewarded, especially considering he helped save my daughter,” the elder Erik said.

The younger Erik nodded enthusiastically. “That seems fitting to me! What do you say, Douglas? Is there anything that you would like?”

Douglas didn’t have to think about it at all. He turned and looked at Brenda, his lips curling into a smile.

“Aye, there’s something alright. I would like yer cousin’s hand in marriage, if she’ll hae me,” Douglas said.

Erik barely had a chance to give his permission before Brenda flung herself at Douglas and was peppering him with kisses. Douglas staggered back and braced himself against the force with which she threw herself at him, and everyone around them laughed at her enthusiasm. But Brenda was not in a laughing mood.

“If any of you get in the way of this, there will be another war,” she said. “And I don’t want this little dispute over land to get in the way of the marriage either.”

Lucas and Erik glanced at each other.

“In light of what haes happened, I’m sure we can come tae an agreement. After all, if a Bannerman is marrying a Hoffstad, then perhaps it’s wise for us tae share the land,” Lucas said.

“I think that would be best for both parties,” Erik said.

Brenda was already ignoring them, though. She didn’t want to think about petty matters like land disputes when she was in the arms of her soon-to-be husband, preparing to spend a life together.