Highlander’s Broken Love by Fiona Faris
Chapter Three
Once he was clear of the stony path, so treacherous to that alluring girl’s horse, Magnus kicked his own mount into a canter across the open moorland towards his mother’s entourage. The horn sounding in the distance had broken the spell and dragged him back to reality, but he had wished that he could stay with her forever, staring into those flashing green eyes.
She had been modest and tongue-tied, too, in his presence, which led him to feel that the attraction was mutual. He had never seen such beauty as hers, with that pale skin and flaming red hair cascading down her back. It had been a great pleasure to him that he’d been able to appear, just at that perfect moment, to calm her horse and stop her from falling to the ground. His own horse was flighty and skittish; he’d have to keep a look out for snakes when he was riding out alone in these fine woods. Because this was to be his home now, this land surrounding the MacEwan castle.
He galloped across the moor, relishing the thrill of speed, as always. He was heading in the direction of the horn, and it was not long before he saw a line of horses, some pulling carts laden with luggage and others with riders on their backs, making steady progress towards their destination. He knew his mother would not be happy that he had strayed from the group in what could be a dangerous and hostile country. He prepared himself for her to berate him a little when he finally reached her. He knew, though, that when he apologized and begged her forgiveness, she would smile and let it go. His father had always said that his mother indulged him terribly, but she would protest that he was her one and only son, and it was only natural that she should be protective of him and perhaps even spoil him a little.
His mother looked rather small and hunched as she rode slowly along on her horse near the head of the procession. She was wrapped in a cloak to shield her from the wind. Although it was springtime now, there was still a bite to the wind as it blew across the open moorland. He felt a pang of sadness as he slowed his horse to a walk and drew up alongside her. She had suffered greatly since his father’s death, and now she had taken this momentous decision in order to ally themselves with the MacEwans.
Joanne MacBaine looked up at her son as he appeared next to her, sitting bolt upright on his horse. She frowned. “Where have ye been? I’ve been so worried!” she said crossly. “There could be bandits out here, for all we know! ‘Tis unfamiliar land.”
He smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mother. The pace of the ride was too slow, and Bonnie here was getting restless.” He patted his horse’s glossy black neck fondly. “I needed to let her stretch her legs a wee bit, and I wanted tae see some o’ the land around these parts too!” He paused, seeing his mother’s furrowed brow. “I am sorry tae have worried ye though, Mother. I should have told ye I was going,” he added.
Her face broke into a gentle smile, and he knew that he was forgiven, as he had predicted. They walked along in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts, before he broke the quiet between them, voicing the thoughts he had been unable to free himself from since she had told him of her plans.
“Mother, I confess I am still not convinced o’ th’ wisdom o’ this plan. Do ye really want tae wed this man? So soon after Father’s death?” He had not felt anger towards her when she had announced her intention to marry Edward MacEwan, his father’s oldest friend, but he had been surprised that she would do such a thing so quickly, only a few weeks after his father had departed from them to a better place.
“Magnus, we have already been through this!” Joanne said with a groan of frustration. “Philip and Edward made a pact that they would look after one another’s families if anything ever happened to them. And Edward is now a widower, so the best way for him tae fulfill his promise is tae marry me! Aye, it isn’t a love match, like our first marriages, but we are too old for all that now.” She gazed off into the distance with a wistful look on her face as she spoke. “Anyway, you should be pleased! It means you will be a laird in due course. That would never have happened otherwise. I have done this for you, just as much as I have done it for myself!”
Magnus frowned. “But Mother, it doesnae sit well wi’ me! It feels to me as if we are just tae go in and take over this family! What about his daughters? Do they not have a view on this? I cannae imagine they’re too pleased about it, so soon after the loss of their mother?”
Joanne signed. “We must have brought ye up well, Magnus, yer father and I, that ye’ve more concern for some strangers’ feelings than for yer own future! I offer ye a lairdship, and all ye care about is the feelings of a couple o’ girls you’ve no’ seen since ye were a wee bairn!”
Magnus said nothing, riding on in silence for a few moments more.
“Ye see, this is how it is,” his mother continued in a determined voice. “It will be of help to those girls, don’t ye see? Their father is old, and they lack protection. They need a strong, young man around tae keep the castle secure and tae keep them safe. And ye can help him wi’ the duties o’ the lairdship until the time comes for ye tae take over the clan!”
Magnus nodded. Of course, he could see his mother’s side of the argument too. But he could not shake his feelings of unease, despite the promise of the lairdship.
“And there’s nae other man around from that family tae become the next laird after Edward?” he asked. He knew the answer, as they had already discussed it several times, but he felt the need to go over it all one more time before they arrived at the castle to claim their new position within the clan.
“There’s no one – I promise ye, Magnus. I went through all of this with Edward when he visited to make the arrangements for our marriage. There are no sons, of course, and no cousins or long-lost brothers who might turn up to be a threat tae ye. The clan needs ye, Magnus. And having ye as the laird will stop any fighting between the daughters’ future husbands too when th’ time comes. We talked it all through, Edward and I – ‘tis a failsafe plan.”
He nodded. It did seem as if his succession to the lairdship would go unchallenged in the event of Edward’s death, and perhaps this allegiance would make them safer too, now that his mother was a widow.
“Magnus, I dinnae understand why ye are making such a fuss about this!” his mother went on. “I have done this fer ye, just as much as fer me! Aye, I dinnae wish tae be alone in my old age. I’m fond of Edward, and I think we’ll be content. But this gives ye the chance to be a laird in yer own right. ‘Twas not meant tae be for yer father, as ye well know – his brother has the title, as the older o’ the two sons. But we have brought ye up as a fine nobleman, Magnus, and this is yers right now!”
It was Magnus’s turn to sigh. After all the years he’d spent at war, camping in wet and muddy battle fields and fighting the enemies of his clan and the foes of the Scots, he knew he was ready to take on the lairdship in his own right, and he knew that he would make a good laird. He had worked hard all his life for a moment such as this, and he understood all the reasons why his mother had made this choice. And yet, his heart resisted it somehow.
“Aye, Mother, I know,” he said, suddenly not wishing to talk of it anymore. “I know why ye’ve made the choice ye’ve made, and I’m grateful for it.” He could see all the benefits, but he still felt uncomfortable about it, despite all the advantages for himself that the alliance presented.
His mother nodded briskly. Clearly, she did not wish to discuss it anymore either.
He kicked his horse into a trot and moved along to the very front of the procession as they made the final approach up a steady incline to where the MacEwan castle stood proudly on the crest of the hill. It was an impressive, towering structure of grey stone, with two round towers and a square keep. As they neared the top of the hill, at last, the view opened out around them, and Magnus reined his horse in and pulled her to a stop, wanting to pause for a moment to take it in before progressing any further. Just behind the castle, the ground dropped sharply downwards, and a glistening loch lay beyond, with dense woodland all around. It was a breathtaking sight.
“ I have so many happy memories of this place!”
Magnus looked up to see his mother’s horse drawing up beside him.
“Aye, Mother,” he nodded.
“We used to have such wonderful times here, even before ye bairns all came along. And ‘tis a fine land, is it not?” She was smiling as she took in the vista beneath them. It was such a rare sight these days to see her smile that his heart warmed at last. Perhaps they could be happy here at the MacEwan castle after all.
He resolved to put his own reservations aside and make every effort with his new family, for her sake at the very least. She had been through enough already, without him protesting against his fate at every turn when all she had done was try to pave the way for him towards prosperity and power.
As they picked their way slowly towards the castle gates, Magnus’s thoughts returned to the girl he had met in the woods earlier on. Her image was strong in his memory, every detail of her beautiful face engraved on his mind forever, or so it seemed. He wondered if he would ever see her again. He scanned the horizon again, taking in the stunning loch and surrounding forests. He would certainly have fun looking for her, he thought, as the entourage slowed to a halt at the castle gates.
He looked up towards the battlements of the castle, expecting to see men at arms parading the walls, but was surprised to see a lone pair of guards at the top. Perhaps the others had been sent down to give word of their arrival and to prepare a welcome for them? He felt surprised, though, that the castle was so poorly defended. Perhaps his mother was right, after all, that they were doing a service to the MacEwan girls by becoming part of their family to better protect them from the dangers of the world.
He felt nervous all of a sudden as they waited to be admitted to the castle. He could not shake the sense of being an interloper, an outsider coming to a place where he did not really know if he was fully welcome. He sat up even straighter on his horse and rearranged his plaid as the castle gates began to creak open. If he was destined to be the laird of this clan, he had better make sure he looked the part from the beginning.
