Love Letters from Largs: Brodie and Celestina (Highlander Clan Grant Series Book 3) (15 page)

She would have to forget him
since there was no way he could find her now. He had to do his duty to his king, and his family needed him to protect his clan. Her father’s insults echoed in her mind. “
You are nothing more than a worthless female. You have no brain, no value other than as a way for a man to gain a son. How will I ever get you off my hands? You have no personality, you are homely, you are stupid. Who would ever want you? I hate you for all you have put me through.”

Her hands rubbed her temples as the same scene played over and over in her mind.

Inga’s voice finally broke through her thoughts. “I heard rumors in the kitchen. I didn’t want to tell you before because of your illness, but I can keep it a secret no longer.”

“What rumors?”
Celestina’s hands gripped her skirts as she whispered.

Inga peered at her friend. “The
Norsemen are coming. Twenty thousand of them are coming for the king.”

Celestina gasped.
“For our king? Brodie told me a little bit about why he was here, but twenty thousand fighting men?”

“King Alexander wants to buy Kintyre and the Western Isles back from Norway, but the King of Norway
has refused. Our king refused to take no for an answer, and has attempted to win allegiance from several of the chieftains and lords. Moreover, our men ravaged the Isle of Skye not too long ago, so King Haakon decided to gather a fleet of ships to attack us.”

“But Brodie said
Ivarsson would help drum up support for King Alexander if I married him. It was one of the main reasons I had to go through with the wedding. King Alexander wanted support from some of Ivarsson’s Norse vassals. I don’t understand.”

“
Well, that is the reason the king needed his support, I suppose. He knew a fleet of Norwegian ships had been dispatched this way. But now it does not matter.”

“Why not?”

“Because the
Norsemen are coming up the Firth of Clyde to take on King Alexander. They are attacking already and are not far from Ayrshire. ‘Tis the reason we are being moved; the king wants all the women and children away from the coastline. He is calling in more guards to protect the castle and fight the interlopers.”

Celestina closed her eyes.
Brodie’s life was at risk and so was Loki’s.

What would she do if she lost them?

Chapter Sixteen

A Dream Comes to Life

Brodie’s men had been active in the village helping families to pack carts and move inland. Word had reached him that Baron Lunde had moved his daughter out of Largs.
Brodie had sent a couple of guards to find Loki, but they returned with their hands in the air. After searching the village for the lad, he had to admit that the lad had disappeared, and he was beside himself with worry about both Celestina and Loki.

Robbie stood i
nside the gates of the royal castle doing his best to calm his younger brother to no avail. Brodie paced and cursed, flinging small stones at will, almost hitting one of his guards close enough to his face to force him to rein in his anger. “Where? Where did he take her? We have to go after her now!” Brodie’s fists clenched at his sides, his vision blurring in reaction to the worst possible news he could have received.

Nicol
had broken the news as best he could. “No one knows. We tried talking to the staff at the Creggan Hall, but they are no’ talking.”

“Where’s Loki?
Is he around the village somewhere? He still might know something. The urchin could be anywhere.” Brodie scanned the area for his wee friend, but didn’t see him.

“That’s another problem. We can no’ find him. He did no’ sleep
under his crate last night.” Robbie’s hands sat on his hips.

“I thought you kept him with you? I promised him he could be a Grant warrior
and he could sleep with all the guards. Just keep him around for now. He knows the area and we do no’.”

Robbie stared at his brother. “Loki told me he was going with you. I tried to keep him with us, but the wee
sprite took off on me. He is a fast one, is he no’?”

“Hellfire, aye, he is. I need him.”

“Brother, you are on your own. I am under orders to take two hundred warriors south. ‘Tis said the Norse may ravage the mainland. The king is sending us to stop them before they reach Ayrshire. Two other clans are joining us just south of here.”

Brodie froze. ‘Twas true; they were at war. His brother’s life could be at stake. He grasped Robbie’s shoulder, “Godspeed, brother. I know you will make us proud.
Beannachd leat.
”

“
Aye, and you? What are your orders?” Robbie’s eyebrow quirked. “Please remember them? The lass will still be there waiting when you get to her. She is a survivor like Maddie. Women can fool you; they may look all soft and tender, but inside many are fighters. Alex tells me she is much like Maddie.”

Brodie nodded. “Aye, she is. My orders are to retrieve new information. I am the only one
with orders to travel outside the castle. The other sergeants are to keep within a certain area.”

Robbie mounted his horse and headed toward the gate. “Travel with care, brother. I expect to see you soon.”

Brodie jumped on his horse and beat his brother to the gate.

“Where in
hell are you headed now?” Robbie shouted after him.

Brodie glanced over his shoulder with a grin.
“To find Loki.”

***

Celestina grew weary as they passed various keeps and valleys. Inga did her best to keep them cheerful, but Celestina’s belly had begun to ache terribly from all the bouncing and jarring of the ride. Each time a wheel hit a stone, she gasped.

The ca
rt slowed as they entered yet another village, this one larger than others. She peered out the window so she could see the homes as they passed them. They rolled by a couple of castles surrounded with rows of huts, but they were mostly just farmer’s thatched cottages. Still, she could tell this was a larger town just by the size of the estates and the stone gating throughout. Inga pointed to a loch or a firth on their left with some small huts nearby, fishermen’s housing.

The center of town
boasted one of the largest castles Celestina had ever seen, surrounded by multiple outbuildings. She wondered who the baron was here. Many roadways jutted off the one they traveled, but everything looked the same to her. She tried to find some landmarks she could tell Brodie about, but other than a loch or the castle, there were none.

After passing through much of the town, they finally turned down a small road
bearing numerous ruts and deep holes, enough to challenge her remaining strength. Still, she was determined not to scream or cry or give the guards any cause to stop the cart. After it had finally rolled to a complete stop, Inga and Celestina stared at each other. A couple of voices yelled at each other for a time without anyone coming to assist them.

Once the guard finally came to help her,
Celestina took a deep breath before alighting from the cart. The sun shone bright around the deep greens and heather of her country. When she finally took the time to glance at the keep in front of them, she froze. An old stone castle stood in front of her, but for some reason, it looked familiar. She glanced around and was pleased when she didn’t see any signs of Ivarsson or Aldrik coming behind them, only a group of strange men. Her small satchel sat on the steps of the stone house.

Though o
vergrown with weeds, the castle had potential. She could imagine it surrounded with purple flowers and bluebells, bright yellows and oranges that would beckon visitors inside. The only other buildings in the immediate area were a storage building out back and a stable for the horses. She crept toward the front door and stopped. The door knocker was an ornate circle made of laurel leaves. Just as she leaned in to peer closer at the beautiful design, the door flew open and her father stood in front of her. Shocked to see him instead of Lord Ivarsson, her mind searched for a reasonable explanation.

“Do not get your hope
s up, girl. Ivarsson has given me strict instructions. He gave me all the details on what has transpired since your marriage. Get your things and move it.”

Bending over was near to impossible for her with all the bruising on her midsection, so Inga grabbed her satchel for her. She reached for
Inga’s elbow to help her walk. As much as she tried to stand completely upright, she failed. Her hunched walk was slow up the inside staircase, but at least relief was in sight. Wherever she was to settle, it had to be an improvement over the bouncing of the carriage.

She
wasn’t pleased to see her father, of course, but she thought she could handle his worst better than Aldrik’s punishing blows. Her father had never done that much damage.

He led them through the great hall and up the stairs to another small tower.
Before he opened the door to her assigned chamber, Baron Lunde turned to face her. “Daughter, my orders from your husband are very clear. I am to keep you locked in this room until he arrives. We have no way of knowing when that is since war is now upon us. Inga must help with kitchen duties until the heavy laden carts arrive. I will send her to you with your food twice a day so you can meet your other needs. Otherwise, do not bother me as I will not answer you.”

He s
pun on his heel and opened the door, then stood aside for her to enter. Celestina took a deep breath for strength and crossed the threshold to her new prison. Just as she stepped on the entranceway, she turned to her father. “Whose house is this, Father? It looks familiar to me. Have I been here before?”

“
This is one of my small castles, but you have never been here. The king has ordered all women and children out of the coastal villages. We will stay here until those daft Highland savages have beaten back the mad Norwegians.”

He gave her a little push inside and then spoke in a whisper. “Daughter, your husband also spoke to me of your transgression. I see you have been
chastised harshly for it, and I will not bother you. You are no longer my concern.”

Stunned, Celestina stared at her father as he closed the door. A few moments passed before she turned to view her new prison. She closed her eyes as soon as she
took in her chamber, attempting to control the strong emotion flooding her body.

Her
new prison was the chamber from her dream.

***

Brodie had turned up nothing after searching the entire royal burgh for Loki. He had, however, learned of a traitor who was giving information to the Norse. No one could tell him who it was, but a member of the Dominican Blackfriars had been seen with him. Brodie planned to search out Father Padraig to see if he might know something. A thought had crossed his mind once. Dare he hope the traitor could turn out to be Ivarsson?

He
and Nicol sat in the middle of town now, in the same area where they had first found Loki. Hoping to see some sign of the lad, they spent near an hour searching the area and questioning those who lived nearby. No one had seen him and that was rare; the sprite was well known.

It had been
almost two days since Celestina had been stolen away, and Brodie still had no idea where Ivarsson had taken her. The sun rising over the horizon reminded him of how fast events transpired. The Norse drew closer by the hour, and they were not being slowed at all by the Highland Warriors. While reports stated that the Grant warriors along with the Boyd guards had successfully stopped the pillaging of the coastline, putting a stop to the attack on the towns and people there, it had done nothing to stop the Norse’s onward momentum. They had headed back to their longboats not long after the Scottish warriors arrived on the scene.

Brodie’s
brother Robbie was reportedly alive and well, but word had it the galleys were now headed straight for the royal castle.

Nodding
to Nicol to indicate it was time to search elsewhere, Brodie placed his foot in the stirrup, ready to mount and move on. But just as his right leg started to swing, Loki’s voice reached his ears. He jumped down and spun in the direction of the wee one’s voice.

Loki barreled into
his arms in a flash.

“Where the devil have you been, lad?
” Brodie said in a gruff voice. “I have things for you to do. You can’t be a Grant warrior when you disappear all the time.” Secretly glad to see the lad was in good shape, he still needed to blister his ear a bit to get him to listen.

The boy
shoved him in the chest. “Och, I am a Grant warrior. You told me so. You can no’ just take it away whene’er you want.”

Brodie
couldn’t help but like the feisty wee one. Still, Loki couldn’t just wander at will. “Grant warriors do what they are bid, no’ take leave on their own.”

Loki took on his warrior’s stance and
both of the grown men chuckled. The sprite’s brow furrowed and his gaze bounced back and forth between them. “I thought you said Highland warriors had to protect the innocent at all times.”

“Aye, we did,” Nicol said. “We also said Highlanders must follow orders. Their leaders are wiser than they.”

Loki backed away as if he was preparing to bolt. “And you also said Highlanders were to do the honorable thing and protect the weak.”

Brodie held his hand up to stop Nicol’s next words. His voice dropped to a whisper,
understanding dawning in his gut. “Aye, we did, Loki. Tell us what you have been about.”

“I have been protecting someone
who can’t protect herself.”

“Who, Loki?”
Hope sprang in Brodie’s gut. Would the lad pull through for him again?

“
Missy angel.” He pointed to Brodie. “Ivarsson would kill you if he saw you. But I can follow her.”

“
Is that what you were doing? Were you outside the tower when they left? Do you know where she is?” Brodie had to force himself to cease pummeling the lad with questions.

“Aye and aye!”
Loki broke out in a wide grin and nodded his head, clearly quite proud of himself. Brodie wanted to kiss the boy, but he held back since the wee lad had asked him to train him as a warrior.

Nicol, clearly stunned, asked, “How did you know they were leaving?”

“’Twas easy. I put a bunch of stones in Aldrik’s shoes. I knew he would holler and bellow loud when he put his shoes on and stepped on the stones.” Loki had an evil look in his eye when he said, “I put quite a few inside. They had to hurt.” He threw his head back and giggled.

Nicol stared at him. “What? Speak up
, lad, and stop talking in circles.”

“
I was afraid I would fall asleep when I was watching over my—I mean—missy angel. I wanted to know if they were leaving. If the nasty draugr left, I could sneak up and see if she was all right. So I put little rocks in the shoes of Aldrik—the draugr—so he would bellow loud enough to wake me when he put them on. He can no’ leave without putting his shoes on, now, can he?”

Brodie and Nicol both grinned and nodded their heads simultaneously. “Well played, lad. Out with it.”

“So when he bellowed—and they hurt him bad,” he put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to contain his glee. “Sorry, so when he hollered, it woke me in the bushes and I knew they were leaving with missy angel. So I was right there when they put her in the cart with her maid and left. I did no’ know she would be leaving. ‘Twas a good thing I was there, Master Brodie. But Ivarsson did no’ go with them.”