Love Letters from Largs: Brodie and Celestina (Highlander Clan Grant Series Book 3) (12 page)

Chapter Thirteen

The World Changes

Celestina paced another circle in her tower room. Her life here wasn’t so bad, just boring. Fredrik left her alone, content to await her courses before bothering her. Inga was allowed in twice a day to bring food and water and help her clean up her prison. Each day she had hopes of receiving news about Brodie from Inga, but the days came and went without any information. Inga had snuck up one small book for her to read. She hid it in her bed, hopeful Fredrik would never find out she could read.

Thank goodness for the short time she
and her mother had enjoyed together. All the years she had spent alone in her room had only been made tolerable because of her books. Father Padraig and Inga had always managed to find something for her to read. That and her needlework were her only ways of occupying her time.

A scratching sound in the garderobe stilled her pacing.
What in heaven? She leaned toward the noise, not wanting to move until she determined what the source was. The sound continued, and worse yet, it seemed to be ascending the tower wall. Her breathing hitched in a panic—what if a critter or snake found its way into her room? Searching for the broom, she grabbed it and held it in front of her as if it would protect her.

No one would hear her scream.
Forcing a few deep breaths, she reminded herself she had basically been on her own since the age of seven. This was no different. She could and would face whatever came her way. Her heart sped as the noise increased. She forced herself to move closer to the garderobe, listening intently. The scraping noise was definitely coming from inside. She thought of covering the opening, but couldn’t bring herself to get that close. Her courage fled and she stepped back. Sweat beaded down her breastbone as a procession of nightmarish creatures marched through her imagination. Suddenly, the sound stopped and she sighed in relief.

Then, all at once, a wee face popped up through the opening and a small urchin landed directly
in front of her.

S
he waited in shock as the boy held his finger to his lips to shush her. While a snake or a bat might elicit a scream, this small child wouldn’t. He was the cutest she had seen in quite some time, though she hadn’t met many children to whom she could compare him.

She
backed up to the table, never taking her eyes off the wee lad. When she reached her chair, she rotated it until she sat facing him. After a moment, the boy strolled over to her and whispered, “Good morn to you, Angel. My name is Lucky Loki. Master sent me, rather, Master Brodie.” He giggled and then shushed himself. “We must be quiet. If I get caught, Master will no’ make me a Grant warrior.”

Ignoring the odor that filled the room from the wee one,
Celestina swallowed and smiled at the lad. “Brodie? You know my husband, Brodie Grant?”

“Aye, he sent me. Look what I have for you.”

The urchin stood close to her and promptly lifted up his shirt. A note with her name on it was at the front of a pile of blank papers tied to his belly. “These are for you, missy angel. Take them off.” He jutted his wee belly at her, his shirt raised up over his head to give her access.

Her hands trembled as she
untied the string, but she managed to catch the papers and set them on the table before they fell. The boy pulled his shirt down and handed her a writing utensil. “Master Brodie says I have to wait for your answer. He says you can write. Can you, missy angel?”

“Aye.”
She grabbed the utensil, still stunned by the sight of the lad standing in the middle of her tower prison. “How did you get here? Where did you come from? What is your name again?”

He giggled and, without any preliminaries, plopped
himself on the bed. “My name is Loki. Master Brodie sent me with this note. If I bring him one back from you, he and Master Nicol will train me to be a Grant warrior. He promised.”

“But how did you get in here?”

“Och, ‘twas easy, missy angel. I climbed up the rungs in the garderobe.”

Celestina wrinkled her nose at the
raw odor emanating from the young one. “There are steps inside the garderobe?”

“Och, aye, you can sneak out
in case of an attack. Course, you can no’ because you are too big for the wee hole. I tried to move the piece of wood, but ‘tis nailed shut. But I can sneak up. See?” He giggled and leaned back against the pillow. “I’ll just rest my eyes a bit while you read and write, if you dinna mind. Wake me when you are ready, and I will take your letter back to Master Brodie. He keeps me verra busy, you see.” He closed his eyes and settled back.

Celestina
smiled at the lad on her bed. He was by far the dearest thing she had ever had this close to her. Children were rarely seen in her world, and he was definitely the most wonderful thing that had happened to her since her imprisonment. She reached for the note on the table, and her hand stilled, almost afraid to open it. Had Brodie changed his mind about her now that the wedding to Ivarsson had actually taken place? She closed her eyes, saying a swift prayer that he still loved her and would help her escape this prison.

As if sensing her troubled thoughts,
Loki’s eyes opened. “Tis all right. He is verra sweet on you, missy angel.” He nodded his head in assertion and closed his eyes again.

Celestina
smiled at the young one’s declaration and reached for the note, carefully unfolding it.

My love, I am sorry this has taken so long. I will explain later, but do not give up. I will rescue you. Trust lucky Loki. He will return to me. I need to know you are all right and not hurt. Now that I know where you are, Nicol and I will make our plans to rescue you. Has he hurt you? Does he have any plans to move you?

Have faith in me and be strong. I love you and miss you. Pen me anything so I know you are all right. Now that I have found you, I will send Loki back with news of my plans.

Your faithful husband.

A lone tear slid down her cheek before she swiped it away. He had referred to her as “my love.” She would treasure this letter forever. So, he did love her and he was planning to come for her. How had she been so fortunate to have met and handfasted this wonderful man? She stared at the ceiling and said a quick prayer of thanks before continuing. Her trembling hand picked up the parchment and quill and began to write.

To my loving husband. I love and miss you with a depth that frightens me. Be careful in all you do, as I could not bear to lose you. He has not touched me yet. He waits to see if I am carrying your babe. I am not aware of any plans to move me, but I have not seen him since our wedding. I see Inga twice a day. Please hurry and be careful, because he is indeed a nasty man. And please take care of our courier Loki. He is a sweet lad. Your loving wife.

Celestina couldn’t help but smile at the term ‘wife.’ How she wished she could be a normal wife to this one man who had turned her world upside down, or finally right side up. He had given her hopes and dreams, something of which she had so little experience. She glanced at the slumbering lad on her bed. Did she have any hopes of having a sweet bairn with Brodie? How much her life had been lacking until Brodie Grant had appeared beneath her window that fateful day.

Did she dare to dream that she and Brodie would
one day be blessed with a wean much like the one on her bed? Though he had only been in her life for a few spare minutes, she knew she would fight to protect this lad who had gone to such trouble to help her. She reached over and ruffled his hair, and his eyes fluttered open.

“Is the note ready, missy angel? I will take it back so I can be a warrior. You will see
, I will be the best in all the land.”

Loki’s grin
shot straight to her heart. He lifted his shirt and she carefully secured the small bundle for her husband across his tiny chest.

“Brodie says to keep the
writing things in case you need to pen him a note before I come back.”

She nodded her head and hid the items in the folds of her skirt. The lad moved over to the garderobe and
climbed on the seat. “Wait, lad!”

Loki peered up at her as he waited
, his hand resting on the wooden surface.

“Please allow me to hug you for your efforts. I have naught else to offer you.”

Loki returned to stand in front of her, arms at his side, and beamed sheepishly at her. “Aye, but only if you insist.”

Celestina grinned, realizing the lad wanted the warmth of the embrace as much as she did. When she finally let him go, he scampered over to
climb up the wooden seat again, but at the last instant, he turned. “Master Brodie dinna know how I would get in, but I told him Lucky Loki would find a way. I’ll be back, missy,” he whispered with another big smile.

She fell back into her chair and sighed. Another lovely soul had been brought into her life by her husband.

***

The month of August had not brought any improvements in the
relations between the Scots and Norway so far. Brodie sighed as he awaited his king in the royal castle. Frustrated that he had been unable to uphold his promise to rescue Celestina within a sennight, he fought to maintain the control necessary to keep his good standing in the eyes of the King of the Scots. Thanks to Loki, they were at least making progress now. Celestina had been located at Creggan Hall in Largs; she was safe and had not yet been touched by Lord Ivarsson.

In searching out her location, Brodie and Nicol had uncovered some information they had hoped to discover. A suspected traitor had been seen in Ayr talking to the Blackfriars. This
in itself was not unusual, since the Blackfriars were the chosen emissaries between the two kings. But another of the friars had come to him with his suspicions. He and Nicol had spent considerable time following the suspected friar in the hopes of gaining the identity of the traitor. There was nothing for certain, as of yet, so he had not reported this to Walter Stewart.

A group of chieftains and guards, including The Mure and The Boyd, had arrived at the castle at the command of their king, hopefully because he had new information to impart. While Brodie stood in the solar awaiting Alexander, he could feel the tension among his comrades had escalated since the last meeting.

Robbie spoke first. “I do no’ like the feeling here, Brodie. More and more
members of nobility are arriving along with more lairds and chieftains. There are some chieftains here I do no’ know. This is no’ a good sign for the Scottish.”

Brodie scratched his chin. “Aye, but the more
who gather to fight, the better our chances are. I have heard rumors of twenty thousand men bound for Scotland. Who knows where they will land?”

They both directed their attention to the door as voices
from outside reached them. Walter Stewart flung open the door and entered first. After scanning the large library, he stood back so the king could enter safely. He was followed by Alexander of Dundonald, high steward and advisor to the king.

Instant
silence descended as the group awaited their king’s news. Alexander of Dundonald’s attendance did not bode well for the seriousness of the situation.

The king lowered himself
into his seat behind his desk before speaking. “Gentlemen, I wished to update you on the events as they have happened so we can pull together to protect the land of our ancestors.”

He waved
a hand and two servants brought in ale and set trays of cheese and fruit around the room. Brodie and his brother each grabbed a drink and sat on a nearby settee as directed by the king.

Once the servants departed and closed the door
behind them, a hush fell over the solar. “We have received word that King Haakon has arrived in the Hebrides with about one hundred and twenty ships. King Dougal has joined with him and Magnus of Mann plans to join them as well. Today, a Blackfriar messenger, the chosen emissaries, arrived with a note offering no concessions from Haakon.”

Brodie’s gaze searched the group. What would their response be? War seemed
inevitable if Haakon remained steadfast. But even with all of his brother’s warriors, they would never come close to matching the enemy’s twenty thousand men. And how many would Haakon recruit from the Isles? Brodie had a sinking feeling in his gut. He and his brothers had already decided King Alexander III was not about to back down. Perhaps he would not acquire all the lands he hoped for, but he would not stop until he regained Kintyre in the very least. While currently in a defensive position, Alexander hoped to strike enough fear in Haakon to regain control on some of the Western Isles.

But
then again, wouldn’t this offer Brodie the chance to save his wife? With his king focused on war, would he care about one small lass? Mayhap he would wait a few more days to be certain he handled everything correctly. Alex had lectured him about reigning in his hot temper and being patient.

Robbie had reminded him
of how he had often been teased in his younger years about being smaller than some of the other lads. His father had told him to be patient, that he would catch up to the others one day, but he’d often lose his temper and fight with an older lad. He’d almost always lost those battles. He smiled as he thought of the number of times his father had picked him up and brushed off his wounds, attempting to instill in him the one quality that had proved so evasive—patience. If his father was here now, he would show him how well he had listened. He would only go for Celestina when the timing was right. It was crucial that her rescue go off without a hitch.