Chapter 12
Three weeks after his marriage to Fennella, Aleck was finding it hard to wipe the grin off his face.
After their visit to the cavern, Fennella had opened up to him, allowing him a place in their bed every night.
His evenings in the great hall were now cut short by the need to get his wife up the stairs and into their bedchamber, locked away from the rest of the keep.
It was how a marriage was meant to be.
Whistling, he walked out to the sparring fields, his sword slung over his shoulder. Who would have thought that their marriage would turn out like this?
Not him. He had never seen himself in this position, laird of his clan, a husband to a fiery lass that had his blood singing the moment she turned her eyes on him.
Aye, he was a happy man.
“That grin, ’tis reminds me of yer da.”
Aleck slowed as Uncle Fergus fell in step next to him. “I thought Lachlan was the one who reminded ye of da.”
“He did,” Uncle Fergus replied. “In every way except his demeanor. Your brother would have never been the laird ye have become Aleck.”
“Nae,” Aleck chuckled. “He would have been better.”
His uncle stepped before him, stopping him in his tracks. “Nae, he wouldn’t have been. Ye have a way about ye, lad, a way that makes people stop and listen. Lachlan never had that gift, but yer da did.”
The pain flared in his chest as Aleck remembered the loss he had suffered, the loss that had thrust him into power and responsibility that he never imagined. Lachlan had always been, in Aleck’s eyes, the formidable laird that this clan needed.
He was just trying to live up to what he would have done. “I only do what’s right for the clan.”
Uncle Fergus clamped a hand on Aleck’s shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. “And ye have done right by this clan Aleck. I’ve never been more proud tae watch ye grow as laird and I believe that lass of yers is gonna make ye an even better man.”
Aleck grinned then, the thought of Fennella chasing away the pain that resided in his chest. “Aye, either that or she is going to make me lose all mah bloody hair.”
His uncle chuckled, dropping his grip. “Well then, why are ye going tae spar? Don’t ye want tae be with yer wife?”
Och he did, very much so. He could go back into the keep right now, find Fennella, and the two of them could sneak off to the caverns again.
Or he could take her against the wall in the barn, like he did a few days ago when they were attempting to head to the cavern.
“Go lad,” his uncle urged, stepping away from Aleck. “No one will fault ye.”
Why his uncle was making Aleck shirk his duties was not clear, but he wasn’t going to complain. Turning back toward the keep, Aleck got to the entrance before there was a shout from the wall.
A rider approached.
Aleck held his sword loosely as a lone horse entered the courtyard, a beautiful young woman seated on its back.
Her tartan was not their colors; she reined in the horse near the entrance of the keep, sliding off its back.
Aleck walked over cautiously as she threw the reins over the saddle. “Welcome tae Clan Campbell.”
She turned and he sucked in a breath as he saw her protruding stomach under her tartan. “Are you the laird?”
“Aye,” he stated, swallowing. Who was she and whose bairn did she have in her belly? She did not look familiar, nor her tartan. “I’m laird here.”
She looked him over, her green-flecked eyes traveling from the tips of his boots to the top of his head. “It is you I wanted my Laird”
She took a deep breath. “I am Isla. Your brother Lachlan was my husband.”
Aleck felt the blood drain from his body as he heard her words. His brother was married? Nae, Lachlan would have told him, would have brought his bride home to the keep.
Seeing his confusion she went on. “I- I wanted to make this trip for a long time now. But I could not find the courage.” She said.
“I know this is a surprise. Our marriage was-” she looked at her belly, and put her hand on it “-not planned. But he loved me and I loved him. If he was not gone, things would have been very different. ”
There was no reason for him to keep her in secret, not from his family. Not from him. “I’m afraid I will need more than just your word lass,” he forced out, keeping the solemn expression on his face.
She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a small object, holding it up for him to see. “He gave me this, as a token of his devotion to me.”
Aleck took the object, rubbing a finger over the crest stamped in the gold. It was his family’s crest, the ring that had been passed down for generations, but it was not found on Lachlan’s body after his death on the battlefield.
Now there was no question of what had happened to the ring.
Clenching it in his fist, Aleck nodded toward the keep.
“Come,” he said, his voice harsh in his own ears.
The woman fell in step beside him as he strode toward the entrance, the ring cutting into the palm of his hand.
Lachlan had been wed to this woman and had not shared the information with his family.
How long had the woman been on her own, searching for his clan?
And the babe. Aleck swallowed hard as they walked into the main hall, finding Fennella discussing household matters with their cook, Aileene.
Her eyes immediately met his when he entered, and Aleck wished that he could have followed through with his original plans before the woman had arrived. “Wife.”
Fennella inclined her head, her eyes on the woman at his side. “Husband. I thought ye were sparring.”
“I was on mah way,” Aleck replied, the knot tightening in his chest. “But this woman arrived, and she is claiming tae be mah brother’s wife.”
“Duncan?” Fennella asked, a hint of a grin on her face.
Aleck shook his head, finding it hard to force out the words. “Lachlan.”
Recognition flared in her eyes, her smile fading. “Lachlan?”
“Aye,” the woman spoke up, her voice clear now and without fear. “I married Lachlan and now carry his child, the heir to his clan.”
Fennella paled as she glanced at the woman’s stomach. “His heir?” she whispered, a torturous expression coming across her face.
Clenching his jaw, Aleck motioned for the nearby maids to attend to the woman before crossing the room and taking his wife’s elbow. “Come Fennella,” he murmured.
She did as he asked and he pulled her into his study, shutting the door behind them. “I dinnae know if she’s telling the truth.”
Fennella raked a hand through her hair, pacing the floor in front of him. “But what if she is? Then she truly is carrying the heir to your clan.”
His clan, not theirs. It was as he feared. Aleck stopped her movement, his hands gripping her upper arms lightly. “Fennella, lass, dinnae worry. This changes nothing.”
Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. “It changes everything Aleck. If this is true, then you had no reason to wed me.”
“I wedded ye because I wanted tae,” he said firmly, feeling helpless to this situation. He didn’t want to think about not wedding Fennella, not when she had brought him joy in his life. “Not tae carry on mah legacy or that of the clan’s.”
Fennella let out a broken laugh, pulling out of his grip. “Dinnae lie to me Aleck. That is exactly why you wed me.”
Aleck watched as she hurried out of the study and as much as he wanted to go after her, he simply stood there, his arms at his sides. He didn’t know what to do.