Chapter 23 #2
“Duncan MacKenzie.” He inclined his head again.
Drake straightened. Greer glanced at him to ascertain why he had such a curious reaction and found her husband’s gaze on the hilt of a dagger near the man’s hip, where a small golden rose had been etched.
“Duncan MacKenzie,” Drake repeated.
“Aye.” The man’s smile widened.
“I believe ye may know my mother.” Drake paused a moment before saying her name, “Cait Ross.”
The muscles of Duncan’s neck stood out as he sucked in a hard breath. “Cait?”
“Are ye the Duncan MacKenzie I think ye to be?” Drake asked. “The one she loved in her youth?”
“She wasna the only one in love.” Duncan’s affable expression took on a sad note. “I pray she is still well.”
“She is,” Drake replied. “She was widowed when I was a lad and now lives on Skye with my sisters and their bairns.”
“Widowed?” Duncan swallowed. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
But he did not look so terribly sorry to hear it.
“I too am a widower,” he replied. “My wife did not survive Beathan’s birth.”
“We are venturing to Skye soon,” Greer interjected. “Mayhap ye might join us. To see where Bean will be staying now that he has officially become Drake’s squire.”
Duncan nodded. “Aye, I’d like that.”
“Ye’re going to join us on Skye?” Bean asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What a grand adventure.”
“Indeed, it will be.” Drake helped Greer to her chair once more before taking his own.
“Yer mother was in love with him?” Greer asked as her eyes followed Bean and his father as they took their seats on the opposite side of the table.
“She thought my grandda had him killed.” Drake lifted his brows. “I imagine it will be quite a surprise to her to find him still alive.”
Greer slid a bit of venison into her mouth and thought as she chewed, imagining what it would be like to be separated for years from Drake, to presume him dead only to find him alive and themselves both widowed. “I imagine she will be most pleased.”
“Aye, we have much to look forward to upon our arrival at our new home.” Drake covered her hand with his and gazed tenderly down at her, a silent promise for the life they would live together, the one that had seemed little more than a fantasy only days before.
September 1342
Isle of Skye
The journey to Dunscaith Castle had been time consuming to keep the exertion of travel from being too taxing on Greer or Mac.
Though they both insisted they were fully recovered, Drake wanted to ensure Greer’s injury did not fester again, and that Mac continued to build his strength after his time in the dungeon.
Additionally, Drake had wanted to allow them to gather what they wanted from their cottage by Lochmaben, as well as collect Bean’s horse, Brevis, who made the journey as well as any hearty destrier.
The welcome they received was entirely worth the duration of the journey.
Drake’s brother-in-law, Reid, was the captain of the guard at Dunscaith Castle and the first to see them.
“We wondered when ye might finally arrive,” he called jovially down as the drawbridge lowered to allow them entry.
Reid acted quickly in notifying the Fletcher family, and by the time Drake, Greer and the rest of their party had arrived in the courtyard, his family was pouring out from the keep’s entryway.
Sir William, castellan of the keep and husband to Drake’s youngest sister, Kinsey, approached them with open arms. “Welcome to Dunscaith Castle, Sir Drake. And I take it ye’re the bonny Lady Fletcher.”
Kinsey appeared at her husband’s side with a beaming smile. “Ach, I dinna ever think Drake would find a lass who could finally steal his heart.” She whispered loudly to Drake, “And she’s so bonny as well.”
She laughed as Drake caught her in an embrace.
“She is bonny,” said Faye, the eldest of the three sisters, as she bounced a chubby babe on her hip. “Though I’m sure ye’re especially partial to her auburn hair.” She gently tweaked one of Kinsey’s bright red curls and grinned at her.
“I’m Clara.” Drake’s middle sister stepped forward and warmly embraced his wife. The action was somewhat awkward because of her belly, now large and round with a bairn they were soon expecting. “Ye must be Greer. We’ve heard such wonderful things about ye in Drake’s missives.”
A flush colored Greer’s cheeks. “I’m sure, from a man with a biased opinion.” She laughed and glanced at Drake.
His heart missed the next beat, the same as it always did when their eyes connected, and their souls brushed in those moments. God, how he loved his wife, and how proud he was for his sisters to finally meet her.
“This is Faye and her husband Ewan,” Clara said.
Ewan appeared beside Faye and lifted wee Callum from her arms, earning him an endearing kiss.
“Then Kinsey and her husband Sir William,” Clara continued, indicating where the two stood side by side, their fingers entwined.
“And this is my husband, Reid.” Clara waved a hand to her husband, who joined her, wrapping his arms around her, and resting his hands protectively over her round belly.
“And this is Elspeth or Kieran,” Reid added, indicating her swollen abdomen.
Everyone gave a little laugh as the remainder of the introductions went around, first to Mac and then to Bean as Drake’s new squire, but as they got to Duncan, two more figures filled the entrance of the castle and came out into the courtyard.
Drake’s mother and his grandda, the cantankerous Chieftain of the Ross clan. Whatever Ross was saying to Mum had put a slight frown on her face.
“And this is…” Drake said, trying to gain his mother’s attention.
Indeed, he had it in a fraction of a moment. Mum stopped abruptly, and her hand flew to the base of the throat. “Duncan.”
Duncan MacKenzie stepped forward, his eyes burning with emotion. “Cait.”
“I thought ye were dead.” Mum turned to Drake’s grandda. “I thought ye had him killed.”
Ross scoffed. “Even I need a better reason than that to kill someone. I had them beat his arse and told him he’d give ye nothing but a lifetime of misery with the constant war between our people. I dinna want ye to have a life where ye always felt as though ye were hiding.”
“I knew he was right, and dinna want to ruin yer life,” Duncan stepped forward.
“Ye wouldna have.” Mum’s eyes filled with tears. “I wanted to be with ye no matter what that meant.”
“I was only trying to protect ye, Cait,” Ross said gently.
She glared at her father and went to Duncan. “Welcome to Dunscaith Castle. I implore ye to stay as long as ye like. And yer wife…” Her gaze discreetly moved over the courtyard.
“My mum died when I was born,” Bean offered. “I’m his son, Beathan.”
“Beathan, well met.” Mum’s smile grew a little wider, and she turned to Greer. “Ach, and ye must be Greer. Ye’ve got the face of an angel, lass.” She embraced Drake’s wife and grinned in his direction, a clear sign she already loved her new daughter-in-law.
Once Drake and Greer were settled in their rooms in the castle, they had horses readied to ride out to their manor.
Mum was still in the courtyard, locked in deep conversation with Duncan, the rose brooch that had been so significant all those years ago pinned to her bodice.
With the MacKenzies and the Rosses at peace with one another finally, no one opposed or begrudged their quiet reunion.
Drake and Greer did not disturb the two as they mounted their horses and left Dunscaith Castle for the stone manor that sat on its outskirts.
The structure was a tower house atop a craggy ridge.
The home rose three stories and required a drawbridge to enter it over a deep ravine.
It was a house that would promise safety.
There were only a few guards on hand, one of which lowered the drawbridge and bade them welcome.
“’Tis lovely,” Greer breathed, looking up at the side of the keep with its many sea-facing windows.
“Would ye like to go inside?” Drake drew her toward him and pressed a kiss to her silky auburn hair.
“Aye,” she said, still craning her neck in awe.
The guard rushed to open the door for them. The creak echoed through the empty entryway, as did the thunderous boom of it closing as he left them alone to explore.
“Once it’s filled with furnishings, it willna echo so much,” Drake said.
“It’s more than I ever dreamed I would live in.” She curled her arm around him. “With a man that I dinna ever dare to imagine existed.”
He stroked his hand down her cheek. “I waited for ye for a long time, lass.”
“And thanks be to God for it.” She kissed him.
But before they could lose themselves in one another, he brought her through the home to explore. First to their own Great Hall, which was large enough to host at least fifty people, then to the chamber where they would sleep together.
“And where does this lead?” She asked about the stairs going up from their bedchamber.
“Let’s find out.” He guided her up the curling stone staircase, his hand at the slight dip of her lower back where he loved to trace delicately upward and watch her shiver in delight.
The stairs ended in a small room with a cradle set in one corner.
“A nursery,” Drake said proudly. “Close enough to where we are to keep an eye on the bairn.”
“And a good thing too.” Greer slid a sly grin up at him. “Remember how ye worried we might have conceived the night we lay together?”
Drake’s heartbeat kicked faster in his chest. “Aye?”
“I missed my courses.” Greer’s eyes danced with delight. “’Tis been over a fortnight, but I dinna want to say until I thought I could be certain.”
“Ye’re with child?” he asked, incredulous at his good fortune.
She laughed and nodded. He pulled her into his arms and spun her about.
His had not been an easy life, but he would endure it all again for even a taste of what he now had. The knighthood he had always wanted, the woman he had never thought existed, and the brilliantly happy future he never dreamed would belong to him.
A tear slipped down Greer’s cheek.
He wiped it away, concerned suddenly. “What is it, my love?”
She shook her head, smiling. “I’m so verra happy, Drake.”
He pulled her into his arms, breathing in her light floral scent, relishing the joy of his incredible life. “So am I, my wife. So am I.”