Page 28 of The Plight of a Scottish Lass
There were numerous regrets about her trip to the Isle of Mull. She should have asked someone like Eli to teach her how to swim. She wished she’d learned how to use a bow and arrow, though she’d never seen either around Raghnall’s home, and she knew he would never have allowed her to bring weaponry along.
Tamsin was all alone on the Isle of Ulva. How would she ever find her way off the isle? And if she found a way for herself, how could she manage to get Alana away when she had no idea where the child was hidden?
Raghnall lived in a type of longhouse much like the Norse lived in. That was what her mother always called these structures. Her mother-in-law wasn’t far away, residing in a separate but similar building, but Tamsin didn’t know which one. There were three buildings behind their main longhouse. But there were only two ways to locate her daughter.
She would ask Alma, the only serving lass to ever be kind to her, if she knew where Alana was. If the serving lass couldn’t help her, then the only alternative was Raghnall.
Knowing that her ultimate goal was to find her daughter, Tamsin accepted the sad fact that since Raghnall had kept her isolated ever since their marriage, she had no friends to help her.
Forcing herself out of her chair, she moved about the chamber, rubbing her arms for warmth. The chamber was cold, even in the early summer months. The sun was never upon her window, the trees behind the house preventing the warmth she needed from the golden orb in the sky.
The door banged open with a force unlike she’d ever seen before, and her husband filled the doorway. “Are you prepared to give me a son? I will plant my seed again, but it is up to you to guarantee that this bairn is a lad. Do you agree, wife?”
She had no other choice but to do what he said, even though she had no idea how to accomplish such a thing. She knew what she had to endure to make a child, but how to make sure it was a boy was something she’d never learned.
“Ready yourself.” He stepped out and said, “I will return quickly.”
She had no choice in this matter. He was the only path to Alana.
Chapter Eighteen
Thane
Thane rode with Mora, Brian, Artan, and two other guards to Duart Castle. Mora was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Thank the lord above for his sister. Her enthusiasm and outlook on life always made him smile.
He hated to admit to anyone why she was the only female who lived inside the walls of his castle, but he also couldn’t change it. The belief lived inside him with a force he still couldn’t fight.
His own mother had treated them so poorly that he didn’t trust any female. Only his sister. And when those evil memories forced their way into his mind, he had to fight to quash them back where he’d never think on them again.
The memories were too painful.
This trip often brought past memories to the forefront of his mind, though he had no idea why. They had to go around the mountain, through the forests, to a high point that was a favorite of anyone who traveled across the isle because the view was unbelievable. He always stopped to look in all four directions, toward the Firth of Lorne, Loch Linnhe, the Sound of Mull. One could see forever.
He held his hand up to stop their progression, making a motion to his brother to occupy Mora while he dismounted and wandered off the path a bit. “I’ll return in a few moments, Mora.” They were accustomed to his penchant for stopping at this point.
He faced the Sound of Mull, memories of times as a child racing though his mind. If he could only stop them so he could study each one. Visions of sitting a horse with his father, a time of happiness and safety. He could almost hear the rumble of his sire’s voice as he instructed another man with them, though Thane ignored the man, so excited for their journey that hecould barely keep still. His father’s hand would often rub his arm or pat his leg, those small motions of affection something he treasured. He’d taken Thane to a cave that day, one they’d explored for a long while. His father searched for something, but he never knew what it was he’d hoped to find.
The vision bothered him because it didn’t fit with the image of a man who would have deserted three bairns and their mother, something their mother reminded them of often.
The second memory was the one that haunted him more. It was of a woman he didn’t know grabbing Mora while his father bellowed at him. “Run, Thane. Take Brian with you into the forest!” A rainstorm pelted them, but he took Brian’s hand and ran, looking back to see where Mora and his father was. When he turned around, he stared at the rivers of blood running by his feet. In the distance, the sea was visible in every direction. That was all he recalled.
But from each memory, he attempted to retrieve another bit of information that could prove important. Who was the woman? It was not their mother because this person was too pleasant. He’d decided it must have been an aunt, possibly a sister to his father.
But where had the blood come from?
And the last words he’d heard, he would never forget. “Thane, take care of Brian and Mora!”
He had no other memory than that. His age must have been around five summers, while Brian would have been three and Mora just a year. They had no memories at all from those times, so he had no help in the matter.
But the memories haunted him whenever he crossed the isle and sometimes in his dreams. He would awaken in a cold sweat. “Thane, are you hale?”
His sister’s voice often took him from his memories, but he was glad of it this time. “I’m fine, Mora. Just admiring the view. We can move on.”
“It is the best view of all. Even better than the view from our battlements. Do you not agree? What do you think, Brian? Do you think they’ll allow me to look out over the battlements at Duart Castle? Do you think they will like me, Thane?”
He smiled; the memories gone for now. “I think Lady Ramsay and Lady Grant will both love you, Mora. Who wouldn’t love my sister?” He meant that statement with every beat of his heart. She was a blessing to all of them. “All you need to do is ask, and I think they’ll honor your request to look over the battlements. I’d like to join you as I’m sure it is quite a view.”
“May I visit the warhorses with you? Could I visit their kitchens too? Will you ask if she will teach me how to shoot an arrow?”
