Page 29 of Wild Highland Rose
"Nay, she was killed in the struggle."
"Manus Macpherson did it." Allen's words made sense now.
"I never knew how. No one here ever talked of it. But I do know she was dead, with two sons left behind. You and Allen."
"Who took care of the boys when Torcall was gone?" He watched as a stone he hurled bounced one, two, three, four times. It was a pity Grania couldn't see.
"I've no notion. I canna imagine it was a pleasant time for the lads, though. What with their own sweet mother fresh in the grave and their father imprisoned at Cluny."
"So after Torcall was released, he came back to Tyndrum?"
"Aye, and soon after that, he attacked Crannag Mhór."
"What do you remember about the battle?"
"Nothing much. I wasna there. As I said, I'd gone to live across the loch. I only came back afterward. There was a need for my healing touch."
"I'd imagine so." Cameron sucked in a deep breath, trying to banish the sudden image of Marjory's butchered family from his head. "And when you got there, Torcall and his men were already gone?"
"Aye, they were gone. Leaving, behind nothing but the dead and the injured, and most of them dying. 'Twas an awful sight. I willna easily forget it."
"You could see then?"
"Aye, I dinna lose my sight fer many more years."
"What happened to Marjory after the battle?"
"She was traumatized. I couldna even get her to speak at first, but slowly she returned to us. And then her cousins arrived to take her away to the safety of Moy."
"Moy?"
"Aye, 'tis the seat of the Mackintoshes. Her grandfather is the head of Clan Chattan. Everyone agreed she would be safe from Torcall if she remained there."
"I see. So when was the marriage arranged?"
"Well I dinna recollect precisely, but it wasna long after Marjory left. It was a repayment, of sorts, for all that Torcall had taken from her."
He nodded. "Marjory told me some of it, but I still don't understand how her being forced to marry her father's murderer's son is any kind of justice." Or for that matter the reverse, as it must have been for Ewen.
"I understand yer confusion, but 'tis the way of the Highlands. Malcolm," she paused, then offered clarification, "Marjory's grandfather, no doubt wished to avoid further feuding with the Camerons. Mackintoshes and Camerons have always been enemies. There would have been desire on both sides not to escalate the feud further. Anyway, Torcall had taken her father away from her. In the Highlands, 'tis the father who protects his wee daughters, then in turn hands them over to a husband for continued protection."
"I'd say that things are much the same in all cultures, Grania." He flipped a stone, but it sank without a single bounce.
"Aye, but here, 'tis the only thing that stands between a wee lassie and the cold cruel world. Scotland is still a verra wild place." She shook her head as if lost in a personal memory. "Anyway, in effect, Torcall took away Marjory's protection. By marrying her off to Torcall's son, Malcolm assured that the protection was restored, and at the same time, he ended the need for retaliation. Marjory regained all that she lost."
"You've got to be kidding. An unwanted husband is supposed to make up for the loss of her family?"
Grania sighed. "Ye canna remember the way of it then?"
He shook his head, cursing his loose tongue. He had sounded too much the foreigner just now. And even though he trusted Grania, now wasn't the time to reveal his secret.
She sat patiently, waiting for his response, her face turned toward the pale rays of sunlight trying to peek through the dark clouds.
"I guess the concept is there somewhere, but when you put it in a personal context, it seems barbaric." His words sounded lame, but she seemed to accept them, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had to be more careful. It was so easy to say or do the wrong thing. Something that would brand him as more than just a little off center.
"What about me? Was I happy with the decision?"
Grania shook her head. "I dinna know ye then. But 'twas easy to see ye were an angry lad. Angry about yer mother. Angry about the marriage. Ye did no' tolerate the union well."
