Page 68 of The Best of Madeline Grant

The fire popped and settled just as Maitland stepped out of the bedchamber, looking as if he was ready for bed. His feet were bare and tunic hanging loose “Come, Maeve. I will dry yer tears.” Then he looked to Callie. “Do ye have any more words for us?”

“Nay, everyone who wished to speak to ye is gone. Even Mama. ’Tis time for my bed.”

Maitland banked the fire, protecting the embers enough to stay warm all night. Callie retired to her own chamber.

Maeve fell into Maitland’s arms and said, “Ye received a message from the heavens too?”

“Aye,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. “Come to bed and we can each share our experiences with the lass.”

She moved into the bedchamber and vowed to do what she’d never done before.

She was about to give Maitland her heart if he wished for it.

One small tallow cast a faint light across the bedchamber. She had no idea how to handle this situation or what to do. The sweat on her palms betrayed her, but Maitland said nothing, instead clasping her hand and leading her to one side of the bed where he sat down, fitting her in beside him.

“I know not whether to believe the words the lass gave me, Maeve, but I wish to believe her words to be true.”

Maeve played with the folds in her night rail, then gazed up into Maitland’s warm eyes. “I received the same. Good words, words I wish to be true, but I’m unsure. What think you of Callie?”

He stared up at the small light in the chamber, pausing to gather his thoughts, but it did not take him long to answer. “I believe she is an angel sent to us. She passed words to me from Nesta, and I believe them to be true. My mother, as ye know, is a seer, a most powerful one. She believes in angels andspecial guidance from the heavens above. I am going to trust that Callie’s words are true. What say ye?”

He waited, giving her hand a small squeeze, and she closed her eyes, a slight smile breaking out. No one knew of the plaid. No one. Callie’s words to her had to have come from her dear mother and father. “I believe the same, Maitland. My sire said you would guard my heart, so if you wish, I will give it to you.”

Maitland broke into a wide grin, intertwined their fingers just so, and brought his Menzie plaid from the end of the bed so a section crossed their wrists, tying them together. “Maeve, I pledge my troth and my love to ye. To honor and protect ye for as long as we both shall live. Do ye do the same with me?”

Maeve whispered, “I do. I love you, Maitland Menzie, and though I know not what life has in store for us, I trust my heart to you. Together, we will find our way, wherever it may lead.”

He kissed her, pulling her close, then settled in next to her. Maeve’s heart blossomed in ways she never knew existed.

Clans of Mull

1316

The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds

Sloan and Eva

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Two spirits comfort Maeve after she’s kidnapped and thrown in a cellar with the bairns.

Maeve sat up, brushing her wild strands back from her face and searching for light to tell her where she was, but there was nothing but a small tallow burning somewhere down the passageway. The soft rhythmic breathing of her son calmed her immediately, so she leaned over to kiss his head, watching him smile in his sleep in reaction to her tenderness.

Her memory came back. They’d arrived at the Isle of Ulva and been led into a building. Then at the very back of the manor home, under a chest that was pushed aside, a piece of wood was lifted by one of her captors and they were hurried down a staircase that took them into what looked like a dungeon in a small castle. A cold passageway with four doors that locked, two off to each side, was not the least bit welcoming. Their abductors had shoved them into the farthest chamber, a room with four pallets, a pot to pish in, and several blankets, all disgustingly dirty. They were given one loaf of bread to share along with a pitcher of water and then the men disappeared, leaving Maeve and the children alone in the cellar, the wooden door with one small window now locked by a key on the outside.

Thank the Lord for small favors that wee Lia had the foresight to grab the two thick woolen plaids on the way out of the great hall. The two were plenty large enough to cover the five of them. She lay on one pallet with Grant and Sandor tucked up against her, covered with one plaid, while Lia and Tora slept onthe pallet next to them, snuggled under the other clean plaid Lia had grabbed.

How long were they going to be stuck there?

Maeve had to admit that seeing how well-hidden the staircase to the cellars was had not made her feel any better. If Maitland entered, he’d never know the cellar or the staircase existed because with the chest replaced, it was so well hidden the door would never be seen. Even though Lia persisted in telling her that they would be saved, and that this all needed to happen for a reason, she couldn’t shake the fear deep in her belly.

Her worst fear could come true on the morrow. If they were headed to Coll, they’d be back on another boat in the sea, and fear would have its fingers in the deepest parts of her body.

Especially when their only path to safety might mean swimming. She couldn’t swim and neither could her son. It was possible Tora and Lia could, but probably not Sandor. Three of them would drown if forced to swim anywhere or if their boat capsized.

The tears welled in her eyes, but she did her best to keep them inside. Sleeping would be the most pleasant way for the bairns to pass the time. They’d be less afraid that way, though Sandor persisted in thinking they were on an “aventuwe,” as Tora had said.

Sandor opened his eyes, his back up against Maeve, a little beneath wee Grant. He smiled and waved, though she had no idea why.