Page 58 of To Win a Highlander’s Heart

“Does Mother know this?” Orrick asked.

Again Aria nodded. “I told her when I entered Dunvegan Castle. I was waiting to tell the rest of you when the time was right.” She offered them a half-smile. “Now is not the perfect time, but I could wait no longer.”

“Thank you for telling us now.” Alastair looked at each of his brothers. “Is it possible to retrieve him from Fairyland?”

Aria straightened. “With the help of a fairy.”

“Then let us go retrieve him right now,” Tormod said.

“Is Keiran safe for the moment?” Alastair asked.

“I doubt the king would ever harm his own adopted son, but he has had to endure the same sort of abuse as I have from the other fairies. But being fully human, I can only imagine their taunts were even worse than those I suffered.”

“I’ll round up some men. We should go to Fairyland tonight.” A flare of anger passed through Tormod’s eyes.

“Nay.” Alastair stayed his brother with a hand. “Tonight is for Orrick and Isolde. I am fairly convinced that Keiran is safe enough where he is. Let us come up with a well-thought-out plan, with Aria’s help, to enter Fairyland and successfully retrieve our brother. Agreed?” Alastair looked at his brothers, waiting for their agreement.

When Orrick and Tormod both nodded, Alastair turned back to Aria. “Thank you for telling us about our brother. We are so grateful that you not only helped us this day, but that you will also help us in the future.”

The tension that had filled Aria earlier slipped away. “It is what family does—they help each other in times of need.”

“Do Rowena or Callum know about Keiran?” Tormod asked.

“Nay.”

A smile pulled up the corners of Tormod’s mouth and brought a spark of mischief to his eyes. “I cannot wait to tell them not only about Keiran, but also that Rowena finally has that sister she has forever been longing for.”

“And that Callum will no longer be the baby of the family.”

Aria bit down on her lip. Should she also tell them that Keiran had been magically aged to be their own equal? The human side of her wanted to force the words out, but the fairy side of her, the mischievous side, won out and kept her silent. The MacLeod triplets would discover that fact in time.

“Come, brothers, we have a wedding to prepare for,” Alastair said with a note of cheer that had been missing from his voice before she’d told him about his brother. At least some good had come from today. Isolde was alive. She and Orrick would marry tonight. Aria had been accepted into the MacLeod clan fold. And the English would be subdued for a time.

They had much to celebrate even though danger still lurked in the shadows for the MacLeod clan.

Chapter Twenty-One

Night had fallen and a million stars filled the sky as the MacLeods and the Nicolsons finished the burials and taking down the encampment. There was no longer a trace that the English had ever been there. The mood in the air was sombre. They’d spent themselves physically by not only battling but by the work afterwards. Orrick was thankful for all those who had come to support both him and Isolde. Without them, the day’s outcome might have been very different.

As they headed back to Dunvegan, Orrick scanned the faces of those who rode with Isolde and him. These men and the two women looked exhausted and wanted nothing more than a warm hearth, a hearty meal, a mug of ale, and a good night’s sleep as their reward. Yet as they approached the castle, their tired mumbles became excited chatter at the sight that greeted them there.

Gwendolyn, Fiona, and Rowena waited outside, dressed in brightly coloured gowns. The approach to the castle was lit with torches. They greeted everyone as the travellers entered the courtyard and directed them towards several large tubs of warmed water that had been set out for their cleansing.

Before Orrick could dismount, Rowena helped Isolde down and whisked her away inside the castle. Though a sense of disappointment rippled through him, Orrick had to admit once he’d taken his turn at the washing stations, that the water combined with the cool night air renewed his spirit.

When they were finished, the men were invited into the great hall where they were greeted by Mrs Honey and her staff for a feast of boar’s head, minced pies, salmon, herring, rabbit stew, roasted onions, bread and cheese, and ale, and frumenty for dessert. Tallow candles set in pairs about the chamber gave the great hall a warm and magical air.

It was made all the more magical when the once-exhausted men entered the chamber, greeting the others with good cheer and laughter. Callum and Rowena were there, sitting alongside their mother, who hovered more than sat at the table. Gwendolyn’s siblings, Arabella and Samuel, were there also seated nearby. Graeme and Geordie were deep in conversation at the far end of the table. And Mrs Morgan, Becks, and Lottie joined them as well instead of eating belowstairs with the staff. John Nicolson joined Callum, Alastair, and Tormod while the Nicolson warriors and the MacLeod warriors filled the long tables all around the hall. Orrick looked out at the sea of green and blue and red and green—the MacLeods and the Nicolson clans were no longer allies, but kin.

A warm smile came to Orrick’s lips. He’d had many feasts in this great hall, but none had ever filled him with such hope and excitement as this one did. Tonight he and Isolde would join their lives forever. Dunvegan had seen many difficult times in the past few months, but as of late, it had also been filled with joy and celebration that had helped push those bad times into the distant past.

From across the chamber, Isolde entered the room with Gwendolyn on one side and Fiona on the other. She had washed and was dressed in a heather-coloured gown that enhanced the fullness of her breasts, the narrowness of her waist, and clung to her well-toned hips before falling to the floor in waves of fabric. Her hair was swept up in a smooth twist at the back of her head. It was near impossible to reconcile the woman he’d met in the wilderness with the beautiful, refined, and elegant vision before him. When her gaze met his, her smile was warm, and bright.

Orrick moved across the floor to her side. With each step he took he felt himself changing, evolving. The shadows and memories of his past fell away, and light—pure and hot and white—flooded his body, illuminating places deep inside that had been cold and dark for years. For the first time in his life he knew what he wanted, and more importantly, he felt as though he deserved it.

When he reached her, he took her hands in his, and the rest of the room seemed to fade away, until there was only the two of them. “Isolde.”

“I am so pleased to finally have time to talk to you in relative privacy. There are so many things I long to say.”