Chapter Eighteen #4
She still hadn’t stirred at all, so Els shook his head at his cousin and gently carried her outside. Alasdair followed him. “John’s not in here,” he said to the others. “Look around everywhere. He could be tied to a tree or hidden somewhere.”
They all searched, but then something occurred to Els. “Papa, can you hold her for a moment?” he asked. When his father agreed, he gently handed her over to his sire’s capable hands. “Alasdair, come with me.”
Alasdair raced to his side, his face anxious. “Did you find him?”
“Nay,” Els said, “but I think I might know where he is.”
“Then find him!” his cousin barked, more anxious than Els had ever seen him.
Els stepped back inside the hut and, adopting a more playful tone, said, “I wonder where John is. I think he’s hiding from the English. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to find him.”
A slight moan carried to them, but it didn’t sound like his cheerful nephew.
“John?” Alasdair whispered, he guessed because the poor man was afraid the precious sound would disappear.
Els pointed to the back of the hut, near a pile of rags that suddenly appeared to be moving. “I wonder where John’s hiding.” He moved slowly toward the back, talking along the way. “He’s not under the table, not under the bed. Can you find him, Papa?”
More unidentifiable noises. Grandsire and Dyna entered the hut but didn’t say anything, giving Els the chance to finish the game.
“I think he’s in the corner,” he whispered to Alasdair.
He was almost upon him when John jumped out from the pile of rags he’d been hiding under and said, “I hiding. I scared.”
His father reached for him and grabbed him close, and Els could swear he saw tears in Alasdair’s eyes. “Don’t worry, John. Papa’s here with Seanair and Uncle Els.”
“Bad men.” He pointed toward the front of the hut. “Hurt her.”
“The bad men are gone, son. They’ll not hurt you. We’ll take Joya home with us and help her. Will that please you?”
The lad nodded and hugged his father.
“Check him for injuries, Alasdair,” Grandsire said. “Is he bleeding anywhere? Any bumps on his head?”
They carried him out into the moonlight. “He might need a bath,” Alasdair said in awe, “but otherwise, he looks fine. My thanks to you, Els.” He gave him a brief nod, then stared at his son again. “I wouldn’t have thought of it, but it makes perfect sense. Wise laddie hid from the bad men.”
John’s face lit up, and he called out to his grandfather, “Greetings, Seanair. I Aleshander Grant.”
Grandsire ruffled the lad’s dark hair and said, “Aye, I believe you are, laddie.”
Da said, “He’ll be the next one, I’m guessing.”
Dyna joined them from the periphery of the clearing.
“I checked the bodies. I don’t see any sheriff and I don’t recognize any of the dead men.
” Then her eyes fell on Els, who’d taken Joya back into his arms. “Oh, poor Joya.” She moved next to her and pushed the hair back from her forehead.
“Lass, you saved John. He’s here and he’s hale thanks to you. ”
Dyna’s eyes filled with tears, something he rarely saw. “Bastards,” she whispered.
Els stared at Joya again, smoothing her hair back and kissing her cheek. “Joya? Wake up, please. You did a fine job protecting John.”
She never flinched.
Els said to Da, “We’ll take her back to the inn. We still have two chambers, but ’tis not busy. They have others if we need them.”
His sire said, “We’ll gain another chamber or two. We can squeeze into the space for one night. But we must take care of Joya and John, though I think the wee one will suffer less for what happened this eve than your grandsire. He’s not used to fighting anymore, but he did well.”
“Aye, Grandpapa’s Grant whoop is the best.” Els couldn’t believe how ably he’d fooled the enemy.
His father patted his shoulder and held Joya while Els mounted. Once he had her settled on his lap, he told his sire, “On the morrow, I go after the sheriff.”
Da glowered at him. “Els, don’t do anything stupid like going after him alone. We’re here to help you.”
Els didn’t know exactly how it would happen, but he was certain of one thing.
The bastard would pay with his life.
Epilogue
Alex travels to visit his great-grandbairns again…
Dinner ended and his grandfather stood from the table and said to John, “Are you ready, laddie?”
John laughed and jumped off the bench, his face staring up at his great-grandfather with absolute delight. “Ready, Seanair.”
Grandsire stopped next to Emmalin and asked, “May I hold Ailith for a bit?”
“Of course,” she said, handing over the smiling cherub.
The big man picked up the wee lass and said to John, “Over by the hearth. There’s a package tied with ribbons by the chair. Open it for me, please.”
Alasdair, Els, Joya, and Emmalin walked over to stand behind the man, watching John open the package.
He untied it and unfolded the fabric wrapping as carefully as a wee laddie could.
Reaching in, he pulled out a twined set of parchment paper painted in various colors, a vibrant scene of a castle on the front.
John looked up at his seanair with wide eyes. “What is it?”
Grandsire said, “’Tis a book. And you need to learn about storybooks.”
Alasdair and Els both gaped wistfully and said in unison, “Grandmama’s storybooks.”
Joya and Emmalin both broke into peals of laughter, watching the big warriors simpering over their beloved grandmother’s storybooks.
Alexander Grant turned to his grandsons and winked at them. “I have instructions from a sweet woman above.”
Then he turned to John, positioned the two siblings on his lap, and began the story of the beginning of Christmas at Clan Grant, the two bairns spellbound.