There was a knock at the bedchamber door later that evening. Maggie ran across the room and flung open the door, very worried about Reed since he’d disappeared earlier.
“Reed?” To her dismay, it wasn’t her husband but, instead, it was Summer.
“I found out what happened to Reed,” said Summer. She’d been telling Summer her concerns through the entire meal. She knew it was insensitive since Summer was the one who probably needed comforting at a time like this but, still, she couldn’t help herself. Reed had seemed so upset when he’d left the room earlier and she worried what he would do.
“Maggie, is it Reed?” asked Duff from the bed.
“No, Duff, it’s no’.” She reached out and took Summer’s arm and pulled her inside the room and closed the door. “Where is Reed? Is he all right?”
“I found out from Father that he’d seen Reed in the barn earlier. My brother took a horse and went down to the loch to think.”
“But it’s already nightfall and they’ve raised the drawbridge.”
“Father has been looking for you. He said Reed wanted him to give you the message that he wouldn’t be back until the morning. Father told Reed he should have told you himself.”
“So he’s all right.” She let out a breath and sank down on the bed next to her brother.
“What is it that Reed needs to think about?” asked Duff. “Is he goin’ to punch the baron again?”
“Duff, that’s no’ nice,” said Maggie, lowering her head and scowling at her brother. “I told ye he has a lot on his mind lately.”
“I’ll bet it has to do with Edward.” Summer squeezed in between Maggie and Duff on the bed.
“I hear they threw ye to the wolves, Summer,” said Duff surprising Maggie so much she gasped.
“Duff!”
Summer giggled. “It’s all right, Maggie, I’m sure Duff didn’t mean anything by it. Duff, I volunteered to marry the baron.”
“I would punch him instead of marryin’ him if I were ye.” Duff pushed up on the bed and swung a fist through the air to prove his point.
“And if she did that, where would that leave Reed?” asked Maggie. “Thrown in the dungeon and sentenced to death.”
“Ooooh.” Duff sank back down. “I didna think of that.”
“What ye did was a selfless act, Summer.” Maggie took Summer’s hands in hers. “Thank ye. Thank ye from Reed and the entire family. Ye are verra brave.”
Maggie saw Summer biting the inside of her cheeks and looking to the ground. She didn’t miss the tears in her eyes that she tried to blink away. “I’ll never get to marry a man I love the way you did, Maggie. I’m frightened.”
“Then why dinna ye ask ye faither and Rowen if ye can get out of the betrothal?”
“I can’t.” She shook her head furiously. “I have to do it – for my family.”
“I heard the baron is rich,” said Duff. “And I also heard he holds many lands and has a powerful army. No wonder ye’re scared.”
“It’ll all work out.” Maggie tried to comfort her friend.
“Don’t worry about me; I’ll survive.” Summer wiped away a tear with the back of her hand.
“Are ye goin’ to get naked with the baron the way my sister did with Reed?” asked Duff. Maggie wanted to cover her brother’s mouth before he said another word to embarrass her.
“Go to sleep, Duff. We’re takin’ a walk up to the battlements to look for Reed in the moonlight.” Maggie took Summer’s hand and hurried to the door. She pulled her down the corridor and didn’t stop until they were out in the courtyard.
“Maggie, slow down. What’s your hurry?”
“All right, now we can talk.” She stopped outside the keep.
“I thought you wanted to look for Reed from the battlements.”
“Nay, I just wanted to talk to ye about – about couplin’ with the baron.”
“Oh, that. What about it?”
“Are ye scared?”
“I suppose I am since I’ve never done it before. What is it like, Maggie?”
“It’s . . . wonderful.” She smiled, remembering how it felt to be in Reed’s arms and make love to him all night. “It feels right when ye’re in love.”
“How will I know if I’m in love with the baron?”
“Ye’ll be able to tell. When yer stomach flutters like ye have butterflies inside and yer body tingles just from his touch, then ye’ll ken it’s love.”
“Thanks, Maggie.” Summer hugged her. “I hope I’m as happy with the baron as you are with Reed.”
She smiled and nodded, wondering if anyone could be as happy as her since she’d been lucky enough to marry the man she loved.
* * *
Thor watched from a branch as Reed skipped a stone across the water. Ringed ripples in the lake slowly spread out bigger and bigger, finally disappearing altogether. Reed thought of his life and how it was a lot like this stone on the water. His actions had spread out causing other reactions in the lives of those he loved. He could only hope that like these ripples, eventually, things would be smoothed over.
He hadn’t slept much since all he could do was think all night about what the old midwife said. He was the baby that tore apart his mother. Her death was his fault!
He’d often wondered about his mother. Ross had told him that she was Annalyse’s twin and that the two of them looked exactly alike. If things had been different and his mother had lived, would she always be a mistress to the king? Or would she have married? And would she have liked Reed and his brothers? Or perhaps she’d be superstitious just like Edward. Perhaps, they would have killed the babies together and dumped their dead bodies into the sea.
The fog was moving in, settling in on the water. He could barely see the loch anymore and neither could he see the ripples his stone made. Would his reckless actions someday disappear like this, being forgotten forever? He doubted it. He’d never be able to forgive himself for being the cause of their mother’s death. Rowen and Rook would never forgive him either once they found out.
He sat down on the bank, picking at the grass, still perplexed about what he should do concerning Edward. He was torn and it was driving him mad. Should he align with his father the way his brothers had? If so, he would probably be knighted and given a castle. If he did that, Maggie would be well taken care of, but she’d also never be able to return to her clan in Scotland. Hell, he would die if he had to start living and acting like an Englishman. It just wasn’t who he was. Then again, Maggie had made a point when he first saw her pretending to be English. She’d accused him of doing the same thing as her since he wasn’t Scottish. He blew out a frustrated breath of air from his mouth and buried his face in his hands. Life was so much easier when he lived for vengeance. He never had to question a thing.
But that was before he started thinking so much about family and how important they were. Ross had reunited with Annalyse after all these years. It was both Annalyse and Ross’ faults that the girls didn’t have two parents growing up. With just an apology and open communication, the family could have been mended long ago.
“Reed?” came a woman’s voice from behind him. He turned to see Annalyse walking through the fog, making her way down to the loch. She wore a pure white gown and wore her hair long. She looked prettier and younger than usual, even though she was not adorned with jewelry of any kind.
“What are ye doin’ here?” he asked, looking back to the lake. He figured Maggie had become worried about him and they were looking for him. The rest of them were probably back on the road in the cart waiting for him. He couldn’t see a thing in this thick fog.
“I’ve come to talk with you if you don’t mind.”
He shrugged his shoulders and nodded to a stump next to him. “Make yerself comfortable.”
“You seem troubled. What is worrying you?”
If felt good to have Annalyse comforting him. She’d always comforted him and talked to him when he was a child. She was the mother he never knew.
“Too many things,” he said, picking up another rock and flipping it into the water.
“I’m here for you. Talk to me.”
“I dinna ken what to do about Edward. Should I align with him and stay in England or keep fightin’ him and go back to Scotland?”
“What do you feel in your heart is the right thing to do?”
“I dinna ken.”
“Don’t fight it, Reed. Fighting only pushes people apart.”
“So ye’re sayin’ I should pay him fealty instead?” He turned to look at her. Her skin was smooth and almost seemed to be glowing. Her eyes were such a translucent blue and brighter than he remembered. And her hair no longer showed traces of gray.
“I’m not saying that either. I’m just telling you to listen to your heart. It’ll call to you and you’ll know what to do. You are a wonderful man, Reed. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”
“I met an old midwife on the road,” he said, looking at the ground as he told her the story. “She said I was the last baby born. Is that true?”
“Yes,” said Annalyse with a smile that lit up her face. “Rowen was first, always in a hurry – very restless. Then came Rook – very quickly. He was ruthless being born and almost seemed to pull himself out of the womb himself.” She laughed and a tingle went up Reed’s spine. He didn’t understand why. Her voice also seemed to warm his heart and make it swell. This had never happened before.
“What about me?” he asked. “I was reckless when I was born, wasna I?”
“You didn’t want to come out,” she said sweetly. “I can’t blame you since no one knew what a hard life was in store for you.”
“The midwife said I was big. Too big.”
“All three of you were big,” she told him. “Healthy. That is a good thing.”
“But I killed her!” Reed’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s my fault my mother died. I’m the reason she’s dead!”
“Nay! Look at me,” she said, causing Reed to turn his head to see her. “No one killed your mother. It was not a single baby’s fault! Do you understand? It was just an unfortunate circumstance and no one is to blame.”
“Why would ye say that? If it wasna for me, my mathair would still be here today.”
“She wanted you to know someday that you weren’t to blame, Reed.”
“She did?” He studied her face – her beautiful face. Her words were sincere and he could tell she spoke the truth.
“With her dying breath, she said that you were not to blame. None of you were to blame. It was very important to her that you knew this. She said she loved you and your brothers. She loved you so much and wanted you all to know that she would be watching over you for your entire lives. That whenever you had a problem, you could talk to her just like she was here.”
His eyes interlocked with hers and she smiled again. He felt a singing in his heart that made him feel happy and comforted and very secure. He wondered if this was how it felt being in his mother’s womb.
“I think I can feel her presence now,” he told her. A feeling of pure love engulfed him, making him smile. “She is with me, ye’re right. I can feel her comfort. Thank ye, Annalyse.” He looked back to the lake, staring into the fog. “This talk has helped me. It was almost as if my mathair, Gabrielle, was really here.”
He turned around to hug her – but she was gone! “Annalyse?” he called out, getting up and looking toward the road. The fog started to clear. “Ye shouldna be walkin’ around unescorted.”
He grabbed the reins of his horse and headed up to the road where he thought he’d find her along with the rest of the people. His bird followed. When he approached the road, there was no one there. He looked up and down the road but it was vacant.
Then he felt that feeling in his heart again and turned around quickly. “Mathair?” he whispered, his lip trembling as he saw the beautiful woman standing behind him, smiling. He reached out for her and his hand went right through her as her image turned into nothing but the fog. “Thank ye, Mathair.” He felt loved and at peace and more centered than ever. He had talked to his mother for the first – and probably the last time in his life. He knew her now and he believed her words. She never blamed him for her death and this was a weight off his shoulders. She loved him. He loved her. She was family.