Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes (29 page)

“Ye say that as if ye understand it now.”

Grace nodded, but she couldn’t meet his eyes.

“What changed?”

“I fell in love with a man who I had no right to love.” Grace gave the man an imploring look. For some reason, she felt the need to make him understand. “I tried not to—I swear I did. But I couldn’t. I love him so very much, the thought of losing him causes me more pain even than the deaths of my parents and my husband.” She turned her head away for a moment.

When she looked at him again, he smiled gently. “I can see how much he means to ye. Does he feel the same way?”

She nodded. “Aye.”

“And who is this lucky man who has won the heart of such a lovely young woman?”

She bit her lip and looked away. “Ye said ye were a Sinclair. I’ve said too much. Please excuse me.” She struggled to lift Kristen from her lap.”

“Stay put. Ye needn’t wake the bairn. I know who ye are and who ye fell in love with.”

“Ye do?”

“Aye, it’s causing a bit of a stir at the moment. I understand ye married Bram Sutherland last night.

She nodded and looked at him again, expecting to see censure.

His smile was warm. “Are ye happy?”

Her mother’s voice came to her,
Grace, be happy
. She smiled. “Aye, I’m happy. I suspect we’re in quite a bit of trouble with Laird Sutherland, but I’m very happy to be Bram’s wife.”

“I dare say. Perhaps if his father knew ye were a noblewoman—”

“But I’m not.”

“Aye, Grace, ye are. Ye didn’t say so, but the only man who could have had the power over yer parents which ye describe would be the laird of a clan, or a close member of his family. Am I right?”

She nodded. “He was the laird.”

“Then we should try to find out who they are.”

“But I promised my mother…”

“I understand. Still, yer mother extracted that promise from ye because she had no other way to protect ye. Now ye are married to Laird Sutherland’s heir. Ye can’t be forced to marry another. Frankly, I don’t think any reasonable man would visit vengeance on his own granddaughter but even if he were still alive, ye are well protected and yer parents are beyond his reach now.”

She frowned. “I hate to break my promise, but ever since I learned the truth and saw the pain it caused my grandmother, I have worried about my mother’s family. I would like for them to know. I can’t imagine losing my daughter like that. But I really know nothing about them.”

“Do ye have anything belonging to yer mother?”

“Aye, I have a small box with a few personal items.”

“Have ye shown them to anyone? To Bram or Laird Sutherland?”

“Nay.”

“Perhaps something on them will identify her clan. If I could see them, I might be able to tell ye who they are.”

Grace hesitated. “I don’t know…”

“It is up to ye, lass. But if ye want to know who yer mother’s people are, if ye want them to know what happened to her, her belongings could hold answers.”

He was right, but he was a stranger. “Mayhap. But I should probably show them to Bram first.”

“Aye, that may be best. I should be getting back anyway.” He stood. “I’ll carry the lass to yer cottage and perhaps yer grandmother will mind her while we go to the keep.”

“Ye needn’t. I’m not going to the keep.”

“Aye, Grace, ye are.”

“Nay—but—I can’t.”

Despite her protests, he gently lifted Kristen from her lap, adjusting the child so she laid against his chest. “There is something altogether wonderful about holding a sleeping child and I haven’t done it since my own were wee ones.”

She stood and brushed the bits of grass from her skirt. “I appreciate ye carrying her to our cottage, sir, but I can’t go to the keep.”

“Aye, ye can, and ye will. And what’s more, ye’ll bring yer mother’s belongings. Eanraig will need to see them.”

Grace stopped and stared at the man who had introduced himself as simply, “Ranulf.” Realization flooded her. “Ye called Laird Sutherland by his given name.”

“That I did.”

She swallowed hard. “Ye introduced yerself as just Ranulf. I thought ye were a Sinclair guardsmen. Oh sweet mother of God, ye’re Laird Sinclair. What have I done?”

“Aye, I am Ranulf Sinclair, Laird Sinclair, but calm yerself, Grace, ye’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Please Laird, I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I’ll take Kristen—”

“That’s enough, lass. Let’s get Kristen tucked up for the rest of her nap.”

She nodded and led him into the cottage. The fresh bannocks sat cooling on the table. Her grandmother dozed in her chair by the hearth. “Grandmother, we have a visitor,” Grace said, holding the door for Laird Sinclair. Her grandmother looked up, surprise registering on her face when she saw the stranger carrying Kristen. Grace opened the door to the little bedroom for him. “There is a pallet for her in here.” She watched as Laird Sinclair gently laid Kristen on the pallet, covered her with a blanket, and to Grace’s utter surprise, kissed her forehead before coming back into the main room.

Overwhelmed, Grace said, “Grandmother, I would like ye to meet Laird Ranulf Sinclair. Laird Sinclair, my grandmother, Innes Murray.”

Her grandmother’s eyes grew wide with alarm, but she stood, curtsied and said, “Welcome, Laird.”

“Very nice to meet ye, Innes. Please sit down. I have spent the last little while getting to know Grace and she has completely charmed me.”

Innes glanced cautiously at Grace before asking, “Is there anything I can get ye, Laird?”

“Nay, thank ye Innes. Would ye object to minding Kristen for a bit while Grace and I go up to the keep?”

Innes shot worried glances at Grace. “The keep, Laird?”

“Aye, Innes, the keep. Do ye mind?”

“Nay, Laird, of course not. Whatever ye wish,” Innes said weakly.

“Grace, get yer mother’s box and we’ll go.”

“Please, Laird. Don’t ask me to do this.”

“I already have asked ye to and I am not accustomed to my requests being ignored. I promise ye everything will be fine. Now, yer mother’s box please.”

He had gone from kindly stranger to commanding laird in a matter of moments. He was polite, but his request brooked no refusal. She retrieved the box and followed him outside. The men who she now realized were his guardsmen waited for them.

“That’s the box? May I see it?”

Reluctantly, she handed it to him. He looked at it and ran a hand over the carved lid. “It’s very pretty. We’ll look at what’s inside it when we get to the keep.” He gave the box back to her. “Grace, lass, ye look terrified.”

“I don’t want to go to the keep. Bram said I should stay here and…I—I’m afraid of Laird Sutherland.”

“Why are ye so afraid of him?”

“He doesn’t like me. He’s bound to be livid with me…and Bram.”

“Oh he is, but he’ll get over it.”

“But…”

“But what, lass?”

“Laird Sutherland threatened to kill me if I married Bram.”

“Did he?”

“He wanted Bram to marry Annice for the good of the clan but—”

“—but he didn’t want to be the villain. He didn’t want his son to hate him. He gave ye that privilege.” Laird Sinclair looked furious.

“I’m so sorry, Laird.”

“There is nothing to be sorry for, Grace.”

“Ye’re not angry?”

“Oh, I’m very angry, but not with ye or Bram. I am furious with Eanraig.”

“But he tried to stop us.”

“That’s what annoys me. He knew Bram loved another woman and let us travel here anyway. I guess he hoped to fool us. My wife is affronted, even my mother is upset by this whole mess. Frankly, I had to leave the keep before I did something I would regret. That’s why I was out walking.”

“What about Annice?”

“What do ye mean?”

“Is Annice terribly upset?”

He smiled at her. “Annice will be fine. She is rather in love with the idea of being in love. She is more concerned about Bram and his new bride”—he looked pointedly at Grace—“than she is herself. Well, my sweet lass, a few problems await us at the keep but they should be easy enough to solve now.” He took her by the elbow. “Ye have nothing to fear.”

As they passed villagers—people who she had considered friends until Laird Sutherland had turned them against her—most of them stared at her with derision. However, she saw pity on a few faces. That was something at least. Perhaps a few minds and hearts were changing.

Laird Sinclair’s scowl grew darker as they went. “Why do they show ye such contempt?”

“Laird Sutherland tried to turn Bram against me and, well, it worked on nearly everyone else.”

“This will stop. Eanraig will see to it.”

Grace wasn’t convinced but she was already in enough trouble so she held her tongue.

When they reached the doors to the great hall, he stopped and faced her. “Things might get…tense. I know ye are Bram’s wife, but Bram is likely to be at the heart of any…uh…tension. For the next few minutes at least, if I ask ye to do something, will ye do it? Without question?”

“I—I—I suppose.”

“Why doesn’t that instill me with much confidence?”

She shrugged and gave him a half-smile. “Because I’m not particularly good at following orders but I have trouble lying.”

He chuckled, opening the door for her. “Just remember, no matter what is said, I’m on yer side.”

When they entered the hall, things were indeed tense. Bram and his father were having a heated discussion. Bram’s mother sat to one side, looking worried and not a little frightened. Ian also stood by silently, arms crossed and face set in a scowl. A young woman and a much older woman sat at the opposite end of the table from Lady Sutherland, watching the proceedings with concern. These were surely Annice and her grandmother. Another woman, who Grace assumed to be Lady Sinclair, had been pacing in front of the hearth and men from both clans stood by, clearly poised to act at the slightest hint of trouble.

Lady Sinclair was the first to notice them. She rushed toward her husband, her face flooding with relief. “Ranulf, ye were gone so long, I was worried.”

“I’m sorry, Lara.” He kissed her cheek. “I met a lovely young woman while I was walking. I’m fairly certain she has a vested interest in these proceedings. This is Grace.”

Bram turned his head towards them, a pained expression on his face. “Grace, my love…”

Lady Sinclair glanced at her and gasped. The elder Lady Sinclair looked equally shocked, exclaiming, “By the angels, Ranulf…”

“Aye, we have a few things to sort out. Annice, pour yer grandmother a goblet of wine.”

“Ranulf, she—”

He shook his head at her. “We’ll figure it out, mother.” Turning his attention to Laird Sutherland, he said, “Eanraig, I understand ye threatened to kill Grace if she married Bram. Are ye prepared to do that? Here she is.”

Grace gasped. Laird Sinclair still held her elbow and tightened his grip as she tried to pull away.

Confusion reigned for several minutes, with everyone talking at once.

Both Laird Sinclair’s wife and mother were outraged.

“Papa, ye can’t,” exclaimed Annice.

Lady Sutherland jumped to her feet, facing her husband, “Ye did what?”

As shocked as she was, Grace could barely take it in. Laird Sinclair seemed so nice and he had said he was on her side. What was he doing?

“Rodina, stay out of this,” ordered Laird Sutherland.

Bram turned on his father. “Nay. Father, ye didn’t mean that, I know ye didn’t.”

Grace tried to escape Laird Sinclair’s grip but he only pulled her close and whispered, “Be still, Grace. Let this play out. I told ye, I’m on yer side.”

Finally, Laird Sutherland roared, “Silence!” He glared at Laird Sinclair. “She is my son’s wife and the mother of a charming wee lass. Ranulf, ye know I didn’t want Bram to marry her, but nay, I will not kill her.”

“Then ye’ll banish them? This is a grave insult, Eanraig.”

“Ye’ve already said that several times.”

“So banish them and be done with it. Maybe that will assuage my temper.”

Lady Sutherland said, “Nay, please don’t ask that, Laird Sinclair. Eanraig, tell him nay.”

“Wheesht, Rodina. Laird Sinclair, I love my son. I’m angry with him and I am terribly sorry this all happened. But nay, I will not banish him.”

“Ye won’t kill her and ye won’t banish him. Ye intend to let this conniving tart become Lady Sutherland someday?”

Conniving tart
? Had Grace completely misread Laird Sinclair?

“How dare ye?” demanded Lady Sutherland, furiously.

Laird Sinclair shrugged. “She’s too bold by half. The whispers I heard about her as I walked through the village were shocking.”

Even Laird Sutherland looked affronted. “Don’t ever speak like that about my son’s wife again.”

That statement stunned Grace. Had Laird Sutherland just defended her?

“But the rumors—”

“Are false. All of them. I started them, or helped them along. I wanted…”

“Ye wanted an alliance with me for good reasons. So ye hoped to turn yer son against her by ruining her reputation.”

“Aye. It was wrong, but I thought…I thought it was the best thing for my clan.”

“What ye thought, Eanraig, is that ye didn’t want yer son to hate ye if he could learn to hate her instead. Then ye would have both yer son and yer alliance and there was no reason to worry about a common lass of no consequence. So why do ye care now?” He pulled Grace close and unsheathed his dagger. “I have a knife right here. I can do it for ye. I’ll cut her throat. Then we’ll have our alliance.”

Again, Grace struggled against Laird Sinclair’s vice-like grip to no avail. Although he wasn’t hurting her, she was terrified. She tried desperately not to panic, but it was increasingly hard to believe he was on her side.

“
Let her go
,” Bram roared, lunging towards Laird Sinclair. Ian and Eanraig held him back.

“Bram, stop! He’s too close to her,” said Ian, clearly convinced that Laird Sinclair would kill her if Bram attacked.

“Nay, Papa,” screamed Annice. Her grandmother clamped a hand on her shoulder, preventing Annice from standing.

Struggling to hold his son back, Eanraig warned, “If ye do that, Ranulf, it will be war. Take yer hands off my good daughter.”

“So ye are accepting her as a daughter?”

“Aye, of course I do. Bram loves her. She’s a good lass.”

Bram stopped struggling against Ian. “Da, do ye mean that? We have yer blessing?”

“Aye, Bram. Ye love her and she is a worthy bride. I won’t see either of ye hurt.”

A worthy bride
? Grace could scarce believe her ears.

“And ye will fix her reputation in yer clan?” asked Laird Sinclair.

“Aye, put the knife down and let her go…please.” Eanraig almost sounded desperate.

Laird Sinclair gave a small bow. “As ye wish.” He kissed Grace on the cheek. “Grace, my love, show yer mother’s box to Laird Sutherland.”

Confused, Grace walked across the room. Both Bram and his father met her halfway. Bram wrapped his arms around her. “Ah, Grace, my love, are ye all right?”

“Aye, Bram, I’m fine.” She gave the little box to Bram’s father.

Lady Sutherland also crossed to where they stood, placing herself between Laird Sinclair and Grace in a protective stance. But perhaps to Grace’s greatest surprise, Laird Sutherland, who had taken the box from her but hadn’t looked at it, put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Grace.”

“Look at the box, Eanraig. It was her mother’s,” urged Laird Sinclair.

As Laird Sutherland examined the carved lid of the box, a looked of dawning realization crossed his face. “She’s yers, Ranulf?”

Laird Sinclair smiled. “Well, I think it’s fairly obvious she’s yers now, but aye, I gave my sister that box years ago and Grace is the absolute image of her.”

Lady Sutherland looked at the box and gasped. “Eanraig, she’s…”

Grace was stunned. “What?”

Both Annice and Bram looked equally shocked by the pronouncement. Laird Sutherland held the box so Bram could see the lid.

“I suspect she never showed ye this, Bram.”

Bram looked and almost laughed. “Nay, she didn’t. Grace, yer mother was a Sinclair. The rooster and gorse are Sinclair symbols.”

“A Sinclair?”

Laird Sinclair’s mother drew everyone’s eye. With tears pouring down her cheeks she had risen from her seat and walked across the room to Grace. She cupped Grace’s cheeks in her weathered hands. “My precious child, ye look just like Catriona. I knew it the instant ye walked in the room. I wasn’t sure what my fool son was up to.”

“My mother was a Sinclair and ye knew this?” Grace asked Laird Sinclair.