Page 84 of Once Upon A Haunted Castle
Chapter Eleven
’Twas not Brodiewho greeted them on the shore at Kilmalaug Bay after all. A huge man with muscled arms and a severe expression watched their approach and he was none too happy from the look of him.
Isabel shivered then at the sight before her.
Alex had spoken of one boat, a small birlinn mayhap, coming to help them escape. Not one but four larger boats sat in the bay there. All carried the banners of the MacDonalds. So, that meant that this man could only be....
“Isabel, may I make you known to my father, Eoin MacDonald of Sleat?” Alex’s voice was calm as he spoke the words, but she could feel the tension in his hand that held hers.
His father closed the space between them in two long strides. From his appearance alone, she should be terrified of him. He was carrying every weapon a warrior could carry and seemed every bit ready to use them all. And yet, the funniest thought came to her in that moment. She smiled as she bowed her head to him.
“Father, may I present to you, Lady Isabel MacLeod, my wife?” A moment of silence was followed by sheer mayhem.
“Wife?” his father yelled.
“Wife!” another man who looked remarkably like Alex called out. He pushed others out of his way to approach them. Before Alex could stop him, the man took her hand and pulled her into his arms, squeezing the very breath from her. “You married her? You married her!” he yelled.
“Connor, let go of my wife,” Alex ordered in a growl.
Connor. Oh, this was his older brother, Connor! Before he released her completely, he leaned in and kissed her on her cheek.
“If I had known you were this bonny, I would have agreed to marry you myself, lass.”
Alex finally managed to pry her loose from his brother and she was left facing his father. Her husband entwined their fingers and began to speak.
“Father, we married three months past.”
“And I am only finding out about it now?” His father crossed his massive arms over his chest and narrowed his gaze at both of them. “And ’tis not my son who tells me of his marriage to our enemy’s daughter. Nay, ’tis Brodie.”
Isabel could not help but smile as this bear of a man growled at them. Any fool could see his love for his son there in his gaze. But men were not always able to see it, were they? Loosening her hand from Alex’s, she stepped up to The MacDonald and placed her hand on his forearm.
“Aye, my lord. Your son married your enemy’s daughter. And your enemy’s daughter now carries your first grandchild in her womb.”
Alex’s father crumbled into laughter then, leaning over with his hands on his knees to support himself. Everyone else looked on in shock, not expecting this to happen, she could tell. After several minutes, the chieftain stood and grew serious once more. Alex stepped to her side and smiled proudly at her.
“I guess we’ll have to keep you then.”
As the others cheered, he motioned for Alex to come closer and whispered some fierce words to only him before he released her husband back to her. Then, with a wave, he summoned her to him. Alex tensed as though worried over what his father would do, but she did not worry. She walked to him, stopping only when she could go no further and then looked up and up and up to meet his gaze.
“Why did you smile when you saw me?” he asked.
“You are bigger than my father and his man, Gair. I knew you were the perfect one to be at my back if my father challenges my marriage to your son.” She had surprised him and she knew it at once.
“How do you ken I will back this marriage?” he asked gruffly. “’Twill be more trouble than you ken.”
“Because,” she began, leaning in closer. “You love your son and will stand at his side when he needs you there.” He shook his head as if denying it. “Come now, any fool with eyes can see it.”
One moment she was watching him and the next she was being hugged to within an inch of her life. Alex grabbed his father’s arms to try to free her, but even the pain could not make her give up this embrace. It felt so wonderful to have the support of this man, when she had never gotten it from her own father.
As big as he was, The MacDonald could be gentle, too, for when she gasped, he loosened his hold on her and then released her to Alex.
“Come. We saw more MacLeod warriors gathering a few miles back and one of their ships behind us.” Eoin called out orders and within a shorter time than she thought possible, they were out to sea.
As they passed the cliffs where Duntulm sat, Alex kissed her. Staring up at the crumbling ruins there, she thought about the poor woman who had suffered so many years and was now free. In a small way, that could describe her own life. Isabel smiled then as the years ahead stretched out before them, much as the miles of sea that surrounded Skye did.
Endlessly she hoped.
The End
