Page 27 of Highlander’s Haunted Past

Though most of the men were eager to sleep, Hugh passed out small handfuls of berries and wild kale that he had gone off to find during the day. Some of the men teased that they would have preferred he bring the rabbit rather than the rabbit’s food, eliciting a few laughs that earned them a warning from a passing guard. Hugh laughed along before admitting that he had made the attempt but had been having poor luck hunting. Nonetheless, they all ate what they were offered and sat back in the grass satisfied, the dull aches in their bellies now comfortably eased.

Kenna, the only one in the Fraser party to have gotten any rest, tried to volunteer to be the watch, but Rob quickly forbade it, telling her that she wouldn’t know what to look for even if it slapped her in the face. Silently, he repeated his apologies to her for the real reason he couldn’t allow it.

When morning came, the party gathered themselves up once more, this time a bit of anticipation rippling through them. Aberdeen was only a couple of hours away. Before any of them knew it, they could see large clusters of stone buildings ahead, and the dirt road beneath them turned into a pattern of cobblestones.

“Have ye ever been to Aberdeen?” Rob asked Kenna, who had stubbornly returned to her own horse.

“Once. My father negotiated some sort of trade deal.”

“Wine?” Murtagh asked her, kicking his horse ahead eagerly to hear her answer.

All of the men had enjoyed the wine stores Alexander Gordon had gathered in Inverness, but few had held it in as high of an esteem as Murtagh.

“How did ye ken?” Kenna asked, casting him a suspicious sidelong glance.

Murtagh was far too busy laughing to answer.

As the party entered Aberdeen, the clans slowly feathered away, a wordless dissolve as they permeated through the city. Rob’s father led the Frasers down a side street just before they reached the center of town, taking them through a maze of roads and back alleys until they finally came to a stop outside of a large inn. A couple of young boys rushed out to meet them, urging their horses toward a section of stables at the back while an older, crouched gentlemen emerged to greet Rob’s father.

“We are staying here?” Kenna asked Rob as she glanced up and down the quiet street. “Not with the rest of the Queen’s court?”

“Aye, lass. There is no place large enough to house us all. The Queen canna even find a place large enough to accommodate more than her very inner circle in Aberdeen. Most of the clans will rely on the charity of merchants and distant relatives to house them after all of the inns fill up, if they haven’t already. But my father is friends with this innkeeper. A bit of advance notice and he always sets the rooms aside,” Rob replied as he dismounted and led their two horses into the stable.

“I’m off to find Ellen,” Hugh called to them.

Rob responded with a simple wave before he wrapped his hands around Kenna’s waist and pulled her down beside him, flushing as her body brushed up against his.

“Ellen?”

“Yer sister-in-law. Hugh’s wife,” Rob replied, taking a cautious step backward when Kenna did not.

“She is here in Aberdeen?”

“Aye, she and my sister were both sent here when word spread that the Queen was bringing her court north.”

“Yer sister as well? Oh, I see.”

Rob saw a flash of anxiety cross her blue eyes.

“No need to be nervous.” Rob smiled as he hooked his arm through hers and began to lead her back through the streets toward the center of town. “They’re probably with the rest of the courtesans, gathered outside of wherever the Queen has decided to rest her head.”

As they went deeper and deeper into town, it was as if the traveling party rematerialized around them, dusty, tired Highlanders all emerging from the various side streets they had all disappeared down such a short time ago, but with fresh springs to their step. The growing enthusiasm was only encouraged when the steady thrum of music and laughter began to echo through the streets, joined by an assortment of sweet smells.

At long last, they rounded a corner, and the source of the temptations was discovered. Courtesans, dressed in every color of the rainbow, had taken to the streets to greet their queen and the army of loyal Highlanders she had gathered around her.

The crowd was fully invested in celebrating their queen’s return from her journey, no matter how bleak the news was that returned with her. Wine was being poured by the cask and servants circled trays of meats, cheese, and pastries of every shape and color. Ladies were weaving flowers into their hair as if they were fine jewels. Men called for women’s favors, catching brightly colored ribbons and handkerchiefs as they drifted through the breeze and tying them to the tips of their spears. Tucked along the outskirts of the crowd were singers and musicians, the French and Scottish songs intermingling in the air to create a somehow sweet chorus for the afternoon.

It was court at its absolute best, and Rob embraced the joviality as the first good omen he had been afforded in days. He took up a pair of oatcakes from a wondering tray, handing one to Kenna, who beamed at him. The second good omen.

“Rob!” a high-pitched voice called happily over the crowd. “Robert Fraser!”

A tall, pretty lass only a couple of years younger than he emerged from the crowd. Her red hair was filled with ornate braids and bluebells, and her smile was as bright as a summer’s day. She rushed toward him and threw her arms around him with a squeal of delight. Rob lifted her from her feet and twirled her a couple of times before she clapped him on the back and begged him to stop with a laugh.

“Look at ye men, all returning to court as if ye’d already put down the rebellion,” she teased.

“Look at ye lasses, throwing a welcome party as if we had,” Rob returned.

“What else do we lasses have to think about since we are robbed of the chance to wage war? We do not get to play with swords and spears, just gossip and—” She pivoted to face Kenna with a lopsided smirk. “—marriages.”