Page 54 of Highlander’s Haunted Past

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Rob had never minded the scent of a stable. He liked the sweetness of the hay and the muskiness of the horses. It was a comforting smell to him. When he was a child, he used to play in the stables of Dounie Castle for hours, running up and down the stalls while pretending he was a knight fighting back raiders. When he was a bit older, he had run to the stables to hide from his overly enthusiastic tutors, much preferring a nap in an empty stall over practicing his arithmetic and languages.

Apparently, hiding from disagreeable things in the stable was a trait he hadn’t lost. The small stable of the inn was nothing compared to the one at Dounie, but, if he closed his eyes and leaned back against the rough wooden walls of the stall, it was easy to pretend he was home.

He hadn’t been back in Aberdeen for long before he had encountered the Queen. She nearly pulled him off of his horse; she was so angry. Her face was as red as the rubies around her neck as she described, in detail, how displeased she was with him and the things she wished she could do to him as a punishment for his failures.

“They told me ye were an excellent warrior. That ye were a competent and capable man. And they were right, weren’t they? Ye successfully raided a defended castle with only twenty men, did ye not? And yet, when it comes down to capturing important men, ye are as worthless to me as a stream without water. Ye couldn’t manage to capture the Earl of Sutherland or the Earl of Huntly, both of whom ye had in yer grasp. What, pray tell, is the issue?” she had asked before immediately dismissing him, not caring to hear any sort of excuse—which was good since Rob had none to give.

I didn’t catch the archer that attacked the camp either, he thought with a smirk.

Although, he was glad the Queen seemed to have forgotten that much. Something must truly have been wrong with him.

“Welcome back, Highlander,” said a light voice behind him, interrupting his solitude.

He glanced back, his heart beating wildly at the sound of her voice.

“Kenna.”

She rushed toward him and jumped into his arms. He lifted her from the ground, pulling her tightly up against him. It was a bit odd, he comprehended, for her to greet him so affectionately, but he wasn’t about to complain. He buried his face in her curls and breathed in the rich scent of rose and honey that seemed to always cling to her.

“I heard what happened,” she murmured.

“Great.” That is the last thing I want ye to ken about.

“But I am glad ye are home safe and…” She leaned back and traced her finger along the small wound on his face, “… mostly unhurt.”

“Aye, and no one managed to kill ye while I was gone either,” Rob said with a grin.

Kenna laughed nervously. There was a story there, but he had a feeling she would refuse to share it. And, if she did, he wasn’t so sure he would be able to leave her alone again.

“They could not quite get it done. How long are ye able to stay in Aberdeen?”

“Not long. An hour, maybe even less. After the Earl of Huntly ran off, we had a bit of time to raid his office in Strathbogie. There were scores of messages that he had exchanged with whoever was leading the Gordon army in his absence. We found out that they are planning on attacking Aberdeen. We sent a rider ahead of us to tell the Queen, so she could prepare.”

“They’re coming here?” Kenna asked, a bit shocked.

“Aye. ‘Tis a good plan. They could ransack the city and spread out the Queen’s men in the process. But the most important piece of the plan is that they want to try and capture Queen Mary. If they can take her hostage, they can demand just about anything they could possibly want from the Crown fer as long as they can keep her alive.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We do nothing, lass. The Queen will never let them get close to Aberdeen, or to her person. The other men and I will march out and intercept them while they are still miles away.”

“So…” Kenna shifted and bit her lip, glancing up at him with those big blue eyes of hers. “… there will definitely be a battle?”

“Aye. Canna avoid it now. Thanks to me.”

“‘Tis not yer fault. ‘Twas an impossible mission from the start.”

“I almost had him. I could have had him if I had just… Ach, who could have ken that he would be so good at climbing walls?”

“Whoever taught him how,” Kenna replied with a smirk.

Rob patted his horse and did his best to put his failure from his mind. There would be plenty of time to think back with regret later.

“So, Kenna, I just want to ken what ye want me to do in case I—”

“In case ye?”