Page 87 of The Winter Laird

“Can’t you just try?” she snapped.

James shook his head. “I can’t, Brianagh.”

“I don’t understand.” She seethed as Reilly came back, a large book in hand. She shot daggers at him with her eyes. “You did this to me! You let me believe I was from here—from now!—and then you threw me into Nioclas’s arms without even a how-do-you-do. And now, after all this, after I’ve fallen in love with him, you force me back here!” She choked on her tears. “How could you do that to me, Reilly?” She swept them all with a glare as James finished her stitches. “How could any of you do that to me? We’refamily.” She swiped angrily at her tears. “At least, I thought we were!”

Reilly opened the book and slid it across the table. “This is why we can’t bring you back,” he said, his sadness almost palpable. “I’m sorry, Bri.”

She wiped the tears away and scanned the text in front of her, then stopped cold.

On the first day of 1458, the Lady of the MacWilliam clan (Brianagh, formerly O’Rourke, 1428–unknown) disappeared. Her death was never confirmed. The Laird of the MacWilliam clan (Nioclas, formerly Burke, 1423–circa 1458) was rumored to be killed in a battle with his father, Richard Burke, who regained control of the MacWilliams.

Under his lairdship, the MacWilliams died quickly—all clan elders were tried and hung for treason against their laird, and any women who could not bear his children were also killed. Any MacWilliams who tried to leave the clan were hunted, then killed publicly as a warning to other clans.

The MacWilliam line died out fifteen years after Richard Burke regained control. Causes of death included brutal murder, starvation, and torture. Laird MacWilliam’s body was never fou—

Her heart shattered, Brianagh pushed the book away. Her tears made it too difficult to see the words on the page.

* * *

Reilly glanced out the window,watching Brianagh as she sat on the low stone wall in the back garden. “The Fates are an evil entity.”

Colin placed his hand on Reilly’s shoulder. “You know that’s not true. But I wish we could help her.”

Reilly sighed. “I know.” He stared at her for another moment.

Brianagh hadn’t moved for almost three hours. She sat in the bitter cold, her face expressionless.

“My entire purpose was to keep her safe,” Reilly exploded, slamming his fist into the wall directly above the hole he’d punched in it an hour earlier. “I keep every man who could possibly throw a wrench into their plans away from her for her entire life. You think the Fates maybe could have given Brianagh her love for more than it took to get her pregnant? MacWilliam was a good man, damn it. He would’ve died for her—hell, hediddie for her.”

“Wait a second—Bri’s pregnant?” Colin echoed, completely confused. “How?”

Reilly leveled a stare at him. “The normal way, I suspect.”

Colin looked back at Brianagh. “How do you know?”

“You’re still here, aren’t you?”

Colin’s eyes grew wide. “So, Bri has a child, then—what? The child is sent back—”

“To his proper time, just like Bri was, aye,” Reilly said darkly. “That’s what I figure.”

“Does she know?”

James joined them at the window. “I don’t think she does,” he said solemnly. “Do you think she’d be sitting out in the cold if she knew she was carrying the love of her life’s child?”

“How’s MacWilliam?” Colin asked.

“I think he’ll be ready to come out of it soon,” James said. “You’ll need to be the only one with him, Ry. Even as hurt as his is, he’s incredibly powerful.” Turning his cheek, he showed them the bruise on his jaw.

“He punched you?” Reilly asked in surprise. He thought Aidan to be weakened from the loss of blood, but clearly, he had something left.

“Sure did. Started mumbling in Gaelic. I caughtdungeonandfather.” James rubbed his jaw carefully. “I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his full-strength blow.”

Reilly paused. “Wait a minute…Aidan is here.”

Colin looked at him pityingly. “Yes, Ry. Aidan is here.”

Reilly shoved Colin out of his way. “I’ve not lost my mind, you fool. But if Aidan is here, you can bet that Burke never stopped looking for him. He was the one man who could rally the clan, and take it back from Burke!”

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