Chapter Nine
“We have arrived.” The low timbre of Tierney’s voice woke Rosamond.
They’d been in a steady state of bliss for the past sennight, playing chess, making love and telling each other secrets about their past.
But now, the reason they’d come together, in part to gain the trust of the MacDougall clan and the Bruce had come to fruition.
Rosamond rolled over in their small bed and examined the tense lines of her husband’s features. He would have to make a convincing plea to his people today to trust him, to allow him to be their laird. And it would only work if they believed he would not bring them back into the fold of the English.
She slid a hand over his back, trying to find the right words to offer him comfort.
Tierney slipped from beneath the wool blanket and walked naked to the tiny window facing the shore. The man was built like a god. Long muscular legs, corded muscles on his back, chest, abdomen and arms. Iron hard, and yet able to embrace her with a softness that made her melt. Along his back and chest were scars. Some from battle, and others from the torment her father had forced on him.
She’d never forgive her sire for what he’d done unnecessarily to the man she… The sentiment she was feeling at that moment was overpowering enough she had to slide her gaze from him to stare over his shoulder in order to get away from it. Too intense.
She could just make out the trees and castle tower of Dunstaffnage. Scotland. Her new home.
A husband.
So many things had changed for her in the last few days, she wasn’t quite certain how to take it. What to do…
Standing from the bed, she tugged on her chemise, blushing at having slept naked, but there had been no point in getting dressed, not when he would only take her clothes off again. Sufficiently covered, she approached him.
“It looks the same,” he mused, and she wondered if he’d imagined it would look much different after ten years. “Almost as if time has stood still.”
And yet, it hadn’t.
She’d overheard Tierney speaking with Samuel about the state of Dunstaffnage, that the Chief of Clan MacArthur had been appointed as a captain of the castle since the Bruce had defeated the MacDougalls just after Tierney’s imprisonment. Not only would he have to convince his clan to let him back, but the MacArthurs, too.
Rosamond slid her hands around his waist, hugging him from behind, and resting her cheek against his warm back. “You need only be yourself and tell the truth. If they are to see you the way I do, the way Samuel does and the way the rest of the MacDougall’s here do, then they will know the truth of your heart and they will gladly welcome you back.”
“They may welcome me back, but that does not mean they will bow to me. They know nothing of me. I will have to earn their trust.”
“But surely they know you opposed your father. That you saved your king.”
“Some may recall. It will be a lot of work for me to be respected as laird. I’m concerned the clan will not be satisfied with me. ’Haps they want to keep it the way it is.”
“They cannot want it to remain the way it is. Ruled by another clan. They will want their laird back. A man with their best interests at heart. They will have to trust you, and you will have to prove it to them.” She felt her chest swell with a sudden pride, her belly doing a little flip. She was proud of him. Believed him capable. In the short amount of time they’d known each other, she’d grown to care for him deeply, to be in awe of his strength and kind heart, his sense of protectiveness.
Prison often ruined a man, but it had not done so to Tierney. If anything, it had only made the good parts of him grow. The righteous parts that had known he was innocent from the beginning and the parts of him that wanted to rise up again and make the world a better place. These were the things the men and women of his clan would follow him for, pledge their fealty for.
And what she, a wife, could love him for.
She bit her lip, exploring the powerful swell in her chest, the tightness in her throat, and laid her head on his spine. Was it love she was feeling?
His hand slid over hers at his waist, warm, calloused, safe.
Tierney embodied so many things for her. Over the past week, she’d been surprised at the way her sentiments toward him had changed and grown.
And the way he made her feel inside and out… The way he looked at her. The way he murmured her name as he drove inside her body, and the way she melted, accepting every inch, every thrust. They’d met on some sort of soul-deep level that she couldn’t put to words and which thinking about made her dizzy. So, she closed her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.
“How long until we get to shore?” she asked.
Tierney turned in her arms, taking her hands and bringing them to his lips. “An hour at most. Dunstaffnage has a dock, so we will not drop anchor out here.”
She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed his chin, nibbling at his skin. “Then we have time for one last…” Flames touched her cheeks. She’d grown bolder in bed, but never asked for it. Truth be told she’d not had to. He’d either come to her, or she’d touched him in a way which seemed to lead right into lovemaking. And oh, how glorious it had been. The men above had left them alone, giving them sideways glances when they walked on deck for fresh air, and teasing Tierney with bawdy jests when they thought she could not hear.
“For what?” His dark eyes glinted with teasing.
“Make love to me one more time before we go ashore and the both of us are too consumed with new duties we fall into bed exhausted every night.”
Tierney chuckled. “I dinna think I could be too exhausted to make love to my wife.”
“Just in case…”
“Aye, just in case.” And he lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed, discarding the chemise she’d donned only a few minutes before, and bringing her to shivering heights, causing them both to forget their troubles, if just for a few breathtaking moments.
Having seen their ship approach, the MacArthur guards lined the ramparts of Dunstaffnage Castle.
Tierney squinted his eyes, seeing the shaded figure of woman, dressed in green, float behind the ranks of the men. He smiled.
The glaistig. His great-great-grandmother, Lady Elle, or better known now as the Elle-Maid. She’d come to greet them. Or rather, her ghost had. She’d been an important figure of the castle when he’d been a lad and it was good to see she still awaited him and his family. When she appeared, it often meant good tidings for them. Is that what was happening now? Was this a sign he would be welcomed home with open arms?
They walked up the beach, Samuel on his right and Rosamond, his wife, on the left.
The crew of MacDougalls and Buchanans stood at their back, a show of support for Tierney.
As they approached the castle, the portcullis rose and a sturdy man stepped through, two guards at his back. He wore MacArthur colors, and didn’t appear at all menacing, or disturbed to see them.
“Ye’ve come back.” It was a statement rather than a question, and one the man looked to have known already.
“Ye were expecting me,” Tierney answered.
The captain reached out his arm and Tierney followed, gripping his in a show of mutual respect.
“I’m Mitchum MacArthur, Captain of Dunstaffnage.”
“Tierney MacDougall, Chief of Clan MacDougall, though I suspect ye know that.”
“Aye.”
Tierney nodded to his friend. “Samuel de Mowbray, Captain of the Buchanans, and this is my wife, Lady Rosamond.”
Rosamond looked the man in the eye with a steadiness he’d not expected. She’d been nervous about coming to Scotland, about being accepted, and yet she showed no fear. Every day, she surprised him. And every day, he fell deeper and deeper… in love.
“My lady,” MacArthur reached for her hand, startling Tierney from his thoughts.
“She’s half English,” Tierney said, not wanting the men to discover it when they were through the doors and think he’d been trying to hide it. “Daughter of the man who arrested me after Dalrigh. My warden.”
MacArthur’s eyes hardened. “I was there on the field at Dalrigh when ye went against your father.” He slid his gaze to Rosamond, assessing. “When ye saved the Bruce.”
“I remember.” Tierney crossed his arms over his chest when his hand immediately went to his sword, prepared to protect his wife and his good name.
MacArthur’s narrowed gaze returned to Tierney. “Where do your allegiances lie now?”
“With Scotland. With the Bruce.”
MacArthur nodded at Rosamond, asking her the same question, but before Tierney could answer, his sweet wife did all on her own.
“My loyalties lie with my husband, now and always.” Her voice was strong, her shoulders squared. Every inch a lady.
Without having to say what had happened to her, how she’d been left to die, abandoned by all she knew, she seemed to impress upon MacArthur the truth of her statement. She would not betray the Scots.
They stood silent for several moments, the men behind Tierney growing anxious the longer they were made to wait. He held his ground, silent, and his arms crossed.
At long last, MacArthur grunted and nodded.
“The Bruce has sent a message for ye.” MacArthur retreated through the gate and indicated they should follow. He escorted them through the bailey, up a flight of stairs and through a thick wooden door that led into a great hall. Two massive wolfhounds were laying before the empty hearth. They sat up on their haunches, eyeing the newcomers. “Wait here. I’ll get it.”
A servant approached with ale, and Tierney, thirsty from having held his patience took a long gulp, while Rosamond was daintier about it. The hounds approached, sniffing them cautiously, and then leaned into their hands to have their heads stroked. A few moments later, MacArthur returned with the missive.
Tierney broke the wax seal, then paused, eyeing the man. “Ye didna read it?”
MacArthur smirked. “Else I resealed it.”
Tierney grinned. “Understood.” He unrolled the parchment.
To Tierney MacDougall, Chief of Clan MacDougall,
Welcome back to Scotland. Your imprisonment in England has been far too long. We are glad to have you returned to us. When your father proved to be a traitor, I took MacDougall lands and castles and gave them to MacDonald. He in turn awarded the MacArthurs with a captainship of your castle at Dunstaffnage, which, if you’re reading this, you’ve recently discovered.
MacDonald has sworn he shall return the castle and lands to you, but first you must complete a mission to prove your loyalty to me, and to Scotland. A mission the MacDonald has been unable to fulfill on his own.
Stirling has been captured once more, the English reinforcing the razed walls I destroyed just a few years ago. They have three Scottish prisoners within their walls—MacDonald men. Get them out, return Stirling to Scottish power, and your lands and titles shall be returned to you.
Despite your stepmother’s claims, we know you are the rightful heir, and you need not worry about the Scots giving her traitorous heart anything.
Your king,
Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland
Tierney groaned. MacDonald must have leapt with glee and feasted for thirty days and nights at a minimum when he’d been given the MacDougalls’ lands. They’d long feuded, despite having both been descended of King Somerled himself. But the men imprisoned must have been more important than the feud itself.
With a nod, Tierney rolled the parchment. “Where are my men?”
MacArthur grinned. “Welcome back, my laird. They are armed and ready to leave at your command.”
Tierney grinned. “Then we shall leave at first light.”
As day turned to gloaming, they were properly welcomed home with a massive feast in their honor. MacDougalls traveled from every corner of their holdings to come and welcome their chief home. To praise him on returning to them. For upholding the dreams of the Scottish people to be free.
Men pledged their loyalty, their swords, and Tierney’s heart swelled with the wide show of support.
It melted all the more when he glanced to his left, to see his wife smiling beside him. The men had not only come to pledge their loyalty to him, but to her as well. Their wives and children brought gifts to their lady. Flowers, eggs, strips of fabric, and one darling little puppy.
They feasted, and drank ale, and when the music started and the tables were shoved to the side for dancing, Rosamond leapt to her feet and grabbed hold of his hand.
“I love to dance, Tier, teach me this one.”
A Scottish reel had begun, the men and women kicking up their heels and circling about.
“All right.” He took her by the hand and led her onto the dance floor.
She picked up the moves very easily, lifting the hem of her gown to kick her feet and twirl. She had grace and rhythm, and he was surprised. A Scottish reel was no easy dance. The men and women of the clan seemed to adore her. When she swung back into his arms, her smile bright, her eyes sparkling, she looked up into his eyes and said, “I love you.”
The words struck him, as hard as an arrow to the chest. His heart constricted, filling up painfully with emotion. And an ache, a longing, intense and powerful filled him. On the morrow, he’d leave to complete his mission. And complete it, he would. There was no other choice but to come back to her.
“I love ye, too.” The words were soft, but as soon as he said them, that feeling in his chest increased, and he said them, louder. “I love ye.”
Rosamond threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Lifting up on her tiptoes, she gave him a brief kiss that made him want to sweep her up for something deeper. “And I know it is because in my heart I love you, not because of the legend of the cave.”
“Legend of the cave?”
She tugged him back toward their chairs, handed goblets of wine on the way, and regaled him with the story one of the swabs had told her one morning on the ship. “Do you believe it?” she asked.
“Nay. I dinna believe in magic. I love ye because ye’re full of fire, and not afraid to show it. Because ye’re beautiful and kind and clever. Because ye make me laugh, and because when I was afraid I wouldna be accepted, ye had no doubt.”
“And I was right, wasn’t I?”
He leaned over, caressed her cheek. “Aye, love, ye were.”
Tierney kissed her then, not worrying about the crowd or who would lay witness to their passion. She was his wife, and legend or no, she was his one true love.
This is not the end… The adventure continues!
Look for the expanded, novel-length version this summer!