Page 70 of The Highlander's Dangerous Bride

“Aye, so am I.”

They had dozed off, with Raven still in Arne’s arms, when they were suddenly startled awake by the cell door opening. Raven clung to Arne as two men entered the cell. One was holding a lantern up high. After the darkness of the cell, the bright light blinded Raven, and she shielded her eyes with her arm. Arne did as well, so she guessed he was having the same trouble.

However, after a few moments, she got used to the light and removed her arm. In front of them, seemingly examining them in the lantern light, stood two men. Both were tall and well-built, though the one with the lantern was slightly shorter than the other. Both wore padded leather coats, trews, high boots, and had sword belts at their hips.

And both had hair as black as a raven’s wing.

Hope and joy burst within Raven’s chest, and she cried out as she leapt to her feet and rushed to greet her brothers.

“Stay back!” the one with the lantern ordered in a deep voice, unsheathing his sword in a flash and pointing it at her. Raven halted mid-step, staring at the gleaming tip in confusion.

“Who are ye?” the taller one demanded roughly. She saw the flash of silver at his lapel and knew it was Everard, for he was wearing the clan insignia that marked him out as the laird.

“D’ye nae recognize me?” she asked, hearing a plaintive note in her voice. “’Tis me, Raven.”

“Step forward, slowly,” Maxwell, who was still pointing his sword at her, commanded. He held the lantern higher. She obeyed.

Everard inhaled sharply. “’Tis her, Max, ’tis really Raven!” he cried, breaking into a delighted laugh. He grinned as he opened his arms to her. “Come and give yer braither a hug!”

Needing no second bidding, an elated Raven rushed into his arms and threw herself upon him, hugging him with all her might, sobs of joy surging up from within her and bursting from her lips. Everard embraced her tightly, lifting her off her feet and swinging her to and fro. His laughter vibrated deep in his chest and traveled through Raven’s bones.

“Is it really her? Is it ye, Raven?” Maxwell exclaimed, a grin breaking out on his face. Hurriedly, he placed the lantern on the floor and turned to her and Everard. “Well, dinnae keep her all tae yersel’, Everard, she’s me sister as well, ye ken,” he protested laughingly. “I wantae a hug too!”

Everard let her go, and she rushed to embrace Maxwell joyfully.

“We didnae believe it when we got back from scoutin’, and the guards told us they’d caught a lassie who was insistin’ she was our sister,” Everard explained, beaming at her. “I can hardly believe it mesel’.”

Maxwell finally let her go. “Aye, at first we feared ye were dead, that MacDonald had killed ye and was just pretendin’ tae look fer ye. But thank thee Wee Man, we got the letter from the MacLeods and here ye are safe and in one piece. Nonetheless, we still thought that passing a lassie off as our sister was a ploy of yer mad husband’s. We didnae dare believe it could actually be ye.”

“Aye, ’tis a miracle!” Everard said, his eyes turning to Arne, who was now standing behind Raven, watching the scene before him with a half-smile on his face. “Who’s ye friend?” her brother asked.

Raven grabbed Arne’s arm and pulled him forward. “This is Arne MacLeod, braither of Haldor MacLeod, me protector, the love of me life, and the faither of me son,” she told her brothers, beaming at Arne, who grinned, clearly delighted by her introduction. “I cannae tell ye how many times he’s saved me life.”

The two brothers looked Arne up and down with great curiosity.

“Is that so? Then we owe him a great debt. Welcome indeed, Arne MacLeod, ’tis a pleasure and an honor tae meet ye,” Everard declared, seizing Arne and enfolding him in a brotherly embrace. Maxwell greeted him with equal enthusiasm, and for the next few minutes, Raven watched happily while her brothers almost fell over themselves to give Arne the warm welcome she knew he deserved, pumping his hand in theirs and slapping his back heartily until he started coughing.

At that point, Everard said, “Let’s get the both of ye out of this stinkin’ dump. Ye look like ye need warmin’ up and somethin’ tae eat. Come on, Max, we need tae celebrate this happy day, our sister’s safe return tae her rightful home!”

Once out of the dungeon, Raven breathed a sigh of relief. She walked with Arne at her side up many stairs as they followed her brothers, until they got to the great vestibule of the castle keep.

“Tis very strange tae be back,” she murmured, looking about. “Everythin’ looks so familiar but so different at the same time.”

“Aye, that’s what I used tae think when faither would send me away fer me trainin’. Things always looked strange when I got home again. But ye soon get used tae again.” Maxwell confided, putting an arm around her shoulder.

Arne stood looking at the brothers and scratched his head. “Am I seein’ double?” he asked with a crooked grin. “Now we’re in the light, I can see ye both better, it looks like the two of ye are almost exactly the same.”

The MacNeil siblings laughed. Raven looked at her brothers too. “Ye ken, even though ’tis six years since I’ve seen ye, ye look more alike than ever,” she said before turning to Arne. “Everard is the eldest by two years, but they look so alike folks often used tae mistake them fer twins,” she explained.

“Thank the Wee Man fer that,” Arne joked, “I thought I was going mad.”

After they had finished chuckling over that, Everard summoned servants to arrange chambers for the new arrivals.

“Ye can have yer old chambers, Raven,” he said. “I think ye’ll find nae much has changed in all the time ye’ve been away. I think ye even have some old clothes in the wardrobe. Meanwhile, Maxwell can go and see the cooks and make sure we have a feast fer our dinner. That’ll give ye both a couple of hours tae clean up and rest afore ye come down and join us at the laird’s table. I cannae wait tae hear all ye’ve got tae tell us about how ye got here.”

“Grand, I’ve nae a stitch tae wear save this lad’s outfit,” she told him, pleased at the idea of having fresh things to change into. Then, she thought of Arne and quickly explained, “Arne needs some clothes too, Everard. We lost all we owned gettin’ here.” Her brothers looked at her with frank interest. She smiled and said, “We’ll tell ye all about it later, after we’ve bathed and changed. But would ye mind lendin’ him some of yer clothes fer a while?”

“Nay problem, I’d be happy too,” Everard replied, clapping Arne on the shoulder. “And we’ll find him a nice comfortable room nae too far from yers, eh, sister?” He shot her a cheeky grin that made her smile and blush at the same time, though she was thrilled to see how easily her brothers had accepted Arne as her man.

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