Page 71 of The Highlander's Dangerous Bride

Servants were duly summoned, orders issued, and Raven and Arne were shown upstairs. “I wish we could have shared me chambers,” she whispered in Arne’s ear when they reached their separate doors. “Will ye come and knock fer me when ye’re ready, so we can go down tae dinner together? That’s me chambers, just there,” she added, pointing to a door a little way down the tapestry-lined hallway.

He nodded. “Aye, I’ll see ye later, lass, but before ye go, I must tell how much I like yer braithers,” Arne replied, planning a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“It warms me heart tae see it,” she told him, squeezing his arm before they parted and entered their respective chambers. “In the past, I never dared hope ye would meet.” She smiled sadly and he caressed her cheek.

About two hours later, Raven put a shawl around her shoulders and looked in the looking-glass to check her appearance. She thought the shawls’ purple-heather shade went rather well with the old willow-green, woolen gown she had found in her wardrobe and had put on after bathing. The clothing was hers, but did not seem familiar at all.

When she had found the dresses hanging there, she realized she must have left them to wear when visiting her family after marrying Struan. But there had been no such visits. Struan had always found some excuse for her to stay on Barra, however much she told him she missed her brothers.

A loud knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She smiled to herself as she turned to the door and said, “Come in!” The door opened, and Arne stepped into the room. She looked him up and down admiringly. “My, my, ye look a wee bit different,” she told him playfully, thinking how outrageously gorgeous he looked in his white shirt, dark coat, clean leather trews, and high boots. She went up to him and stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his grinning lips. “Ye look very dashing!”

Arne was taking her in as well, his eyes twinkling. “Well now, ye scrub up very nicely,” he joked, suddenly grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a proper kiss, clearly not content with just a peck on the cheek. “Ye look… edible,” he added with a wolfish look.

“Edible? Well, I suppose that’s a sort of compliment.” She laughed as she slipped her feet into a pair of pretty house slippers she had forgotten she owned and took his outstretched hand. They went out into the hallway, and she led the way down the staircase and through the hallways of the castle, to the great hall.

She enjoyed being on Arne’s arm, walking the halls where she had grown up. She felt absurdly proud when she caught many an admiring glance at him from the female servants as they as they passed. It felt good to know he was hers, and that she no longer had to pretend that she did not love him.

They entered at the rear, near to the laird’s table, where they found a reception committee waiting for them. It took some time for Raven and Arne to be introduced to the other guests, mostly members of Everard’s council of advisors and his military leaders, as well as their wives and families. Some of them remembered her well and greeted her warmly, glad to see her returned safely to her former home.

When the dishes of food were laid out and the wine and ale poured, she and Arne and her brothers soon settled in to eat and began to catch up in earnest.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Raven regarded her brother across her wine goblet, inwardly marveling at how they had matured from the handsome, youthful young fellows of six years before to men with the air of hardened warriors and the scars to prove it. Both had been forged and tempered by adversity, she knew. She was sad to have missed so much of their company, but nevertheless felt very close to them. It moved her greatly to look across and recognize their close family ties reflected in the way they all resembled each other.

The brothers both had light-brown eyes and pitch-black locks, just as she did. Thinking of family ties made her think of Thorsten. She could hardly wait to tell them they were uncles, and she just knew they would be very excited by the idea.

She could not help noticing how Maxwell was now covered up to his neck and the sides of his face with swirling tattoos. She recalled how, years ago, he had sworn to have a new one after each victory in battle, and concluded with a hint of pride that he must have won very many of them.

“How dae things stand with ye and MacDonald at present,” Arne wanted to know as the conversation turned to the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in, through no fault of their own.

“We’re on the brink of a war with him,” Maxwell explained. “Since Raven got away from him, he’s been accusin’ us of bein’ in contact with her, wantin’ us tae give her up.”

“Aye, but we dinnae believe a word he says. We accused him of makin’ up stories, sayin’ Raven had escaped from Barra tae cover up the fact he’d murdered her. He was furious, and he’s been makin’ threats tae attack us if we dinnae comply and help find her. Of course, we told him tae go tae hell,” Everard said.

“Ye cannae understand how surprised and happy we were tae get the letter from yer braither tellin’ us she was safe with ye on Harris,” Max told Arne earnestly. He reached over and gripped Arne’s arm for a moment. “Thank ye fer savin’ her from drownin’ and takin’ her in as well. We owe ye a lot.”

“Why does MacDonald want Raven back so badly after she’s made it clear she hates him?” Arne asked.

“Well, apart from wantin’ revenge fer bein’ made to look a fool, he wants her so he can ultimately get his hands on the MacNeil lairdship,” Everard explained. “Ye can bet that after Raven’s disappearance and supposed death, me and Max here will be next on his death list. With us out of the way, as Raven’s lawful husband, he’s in line tae take over the entire clan and all our assets.”

“Of course, that makes sense,” Arne replied with a thoughtful nod. “Nay wonder he’s put so many resources intae gettin’ her back. There’s a lot at stake for him. So, now ye’re on the brink of war with him, ye say?”

“Aye. We’ve discussed launchin’ an attack on him before he attacks us. We havenae ruled that out, but I want more information about what his next move might be before we make a final decision,” Everard replied, looking at Arne hopefully.

“But now ye’re here, I’m hopin’ ye might give us a better picture of how things stand with him. Since ye and Raven are close, we were hopin’ that perhaps yer braither might agree tae help us defeat him once and for all. We badly need more trained fighting men and arms if we’re tae have any chance of victory.”

Arne said, “I’ve discussed that with him, and I believe he will. I’ll send him a message later, tae fill him in, once we’ve discussed what might be done. Of course, I’ll stay and give ye whatever help I can.”

“Grand,” Everard said with a smile.” We have messengers on standby, and I have scouts out searchin’ fer signs of McDonald’s movements on the mainland.

“He tried tae kidnap me five days ago,” Raven put in. “That’s when me and Arne lost all out possessions.” She proceeded to tell them the story of being tricked aboard theLady Anne,breaking off to allow Arne to finish the tale of the rescue and how Bosco and the crew of theKelpie Lasshad kindly helped them and then taken them to safety.

“Christ! Ye’re tellin’ us ye had tae walk a whole four days just tae get here?” Maxwell exclaimed when they had finished. “Nay wonder ye looked so bedraggled when ye tried tae sneak intae the castle.”

“We thought it would be better if were nae seen tae be here, in case MacDonald’s men were spyin’ on us,” Raven told them, adding with a wry smile, “But that didnae exactly work out as planned.” She paused for a moment before frowning and adding, “I’m so sorry fer putting’ ye all in so much danger. I feel terrible.”

“’Tis none of it yer fault, Raven,” her elder brother told her firmly. “This is all down tae Faither’s greed. He was nae much of a faither tae ye as it was, always takin’ it out on ye for Ma’s death, but weddin’ ye tae that monster against all our wishes…” he trailed off, shaking his head, clearly appalled. “’Tis the pair of them and their scheming that’s caused all this strife and heartache.”

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