Page 2 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
“Aye, well if he hadnae, I’ve nae doubt none o’ us would be here tae tell our tales,” Lana said solemnly.
“Och, I kent that,” Rowan agreed, sounding almost frustrated. Whether her frustration was aimed at Lana or the circumstances their family had been forced to bear all those years ago, Skylar could not know. “He was only trying tae protect us,” Rowan continued. “I just wished we could’ve had the chance tae see him again.”
“Ye’ve never really told us, Skylar,” Lana said, looking over at her. “What was it like when ye were sent tae Iona Nunnery? Were they horribly strict?”
All the sisters now looked toward Skylar. It was true; so much had happened that she had never really talked about her time there.
Skylar shrugged. “Actually, the nunnery was fine. Father had sent word ahead. The nuns all kent why I was there. I think they were a little afraid o’ me at the beginning.” Skylar smiled, and the sisters giggled a little. “In fact, I’m certain they thought I was possessed by the devil himself. Even so, they just let me be. All was well for a long time—well, until I received Lana’s letter.”
Skylar then remembered something, and digging about in her pocket, she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It was old and marked, faded and stained from the many times Skylar had read it since. Unfolding it and pressing out the creases, she placed it on the table.
“Ye still have my letter?” Lana cried.
Skylar shrugged a little sadly and looked over at her sister. “Aye. I couldnae have kent if it was the last time I’d ever hear from ye.”
Skylar looked at the letter for a long moment before taking a deep breath in.
“It was three nights after I received the letter that it all began.”
CHAPTERONE
1689, Iona Nunnery, 30 years earlier
It was dark. The nuns stood in a circle, Skylar with them, their heads bowed in night prayer. Flickering shadows that appeared larger than life shimmered on the walls, the movement made by the dancing flames of the candles sitting in tall candelabras positioned at different places in the cold, barely furnished room. It happened every night the same way and had done for the last four years, ever since she had arrived and likely long before that.
Long prayer beads hung from the old women’s wrinkled hands, and other than the soft muttering that dripped from their lips, nothing else could be heard but the soft sound of the whistling wind as it tried to enter through the wooden slats that sat across the window.
While Skylar appeared to be praying—her head bent forward, her eyes closed—the thoughts that ran through her mind were far from the deity the nuns so fervently revered. Instead, she re-read the words she had committed to memory in the letter sent from Lana. There had been no word from any of her sisters or her father for four years—four years of solitude and not being able to see her family. She’d also spent those four years having to relive the dreadful murder of her mother.
That had been her life until three days ago when a nun had swiftly and secretly handed her a note.
My dearest Skylar,
I ken Father instructed us to make nae contact with each other, but I send this letter on a matter of urgency. I cannae tell you where I am or how I ken what I am about to tell you. If this letter is discovered before it gets to ye, such information will reveal my location.
Ye are in danger. Laird Graeme Johnson is after you. I do believe he has discovered yer whereabouts, though I cannae be certain. I do ken that at this very moment, he has sent men to search for you. He kens about yer gift and wants ye for himself. He wants to ken the future, Skylar, and he will force ye to tell him.
Ye must find a way to escape. He cannae find you, or Mother’s sacrifice will have been for naething.
I miss you so very dearly, sister. I pray every night that we will once again be reunited as a family. Keep safe and stay vigilant.
All my love,
Lana
Laird Graeme Johnson was allied with the English. The Johnson Clan castle was situated in the Lowlands, and using his connections, Johnson reported to the English in return for wealth and titles. He was also Samuel Morgan’s greatest enemy. Her father had tried to protect her mother, but Jenny Morgan had been murdered at Johnson’s request when he had discovered not only the powers the Morgan women possessed but how deeply involved their family was in the Jacobite uprising.
From what Skylar had discovered, Johnson would sooner kill the likes of her mother than allow her to live as a prisoner. In that way, there was no chance she could use her gifts to help the Jacobites. Jenny Morgan had made it clear she would never take sides with the likes of Johnson or the English. And so, she had lost her life.
Graeme Johnson was a hateful man if ever there was one.
With her head still bent, Skylar raised her eyes and looked at the circle of nuns that surrounded her.
I cannae stay here. If I stay, I risk their lives. I must run.
She had made that decision immediately after reading Lana’s letter. It had just taken her three days to secretly gather what little possessions she had and tuck them safely away in a small sack. She had to stay away from any suspicion. If the nuns sensed anything was untoward, they would try and stop her, and Skylar did not want that. She would not put these women’s lives in danger. The nuns had protected her with no questions or judgement. In fact, she remembered the very day she had arrived there.
Skylar could not have known her father was a long-known acquaintance of Mother Mary, but the old woman had smiled and said, “I didnae always wear this frock, ye ken.”
