Timeless Mist (27 page)

"Aye lad.
That
means
that
ye are the eldest son
of the laird and as such ha'e a great responsibility to fulfill if ye wish to
be part of this clan." Iain watched him careful
ly
for his reaction.

Devyn met his gaze bold
ly
, refus
ing
to flinch or look away.

Iain nodded to himself and
glanced at his
màthair
,
who smiled at him and nodded. It
was
a good sign. The lad
was
nay afraid of responsibility, even though there
was
shock and nervousness l
ing
er
ing
in his deep blue eyes.

"Ha'e ye
had
any train
ing
, Devyn?" Iain asked
after several long moments of silence.

"Nay much to speak of. When
my
màthair
died, I
was
still a small lad of
bare
ly
eight summers. My
màthair
was
nay of any importance,
be
ing
the bastard girl
child of the laird's stepbrother. As a companion to the lairds' daughter since
they
were
wee bairns
though, and because she
was
such a sweet and lov
ing
person, she
was
well
thought of and loved by all."

"Aye, Devyn," Sorcha
interjected, "we know well her tale, for she visited often wi' the laird
and his fami
ly
.

Devyn smiled a bit sad
ly
and looked down at his
hands clenched around his mug of ale. "After she died, I
was
well cared for, although
I
was
pretty
much left to my own
wander
ing
s. Nay much
thought
was
gi'en to
any train
ing
for me
until some of the laird's men at arms saw me watch
ing
them. I paid attention and learned whate'er
they
were
will
ing
to teach me. After a
time I got it into my head
that
I should search for my sire's fami
ly
.
My
màthair
always said
my sire would return for us," he looked up, "but he ne'er did." He
looked at Iain and gave him a small smile, "yer clan is verra difficult to
find, sir."

Iain returned his smile,
"aye, lad, I imagine we are."

"Oh, there are rumors
aplenty as to where ye ha'e hidden yerselves. But most arenae true, as I
discovered for myself in my search
ing
."

"Oh?"

"Aye. 'Tis said by most
that
the MacGregor's nay
longer exist,
that
there isnae a clan wi'
that
name anymore. S'truth, 'tis a verra dangerous time to be admitt
ing
ye are a MacGregor or
e'en
that
ye know
anyth
ing
of
them."

"'Tis
that
indeed, laddie." Iain
ran a hand through his hair. "We shall ha'e
quite
a bit of hard work ahead of us, Devyn." Iain glanced up as Elsbeth came
into the room. "This is Elsie. She will show ye to a room ye may use as
your own and find ye some clean cloth
ing
."
Iain rose and clasped him on the shoulder, "I welcome ye to the clan Devyn
MacGregor."

Devyn stood, "thank ye, my
laird." He bowed to Iain and then Sorcha before he followed Elsbeth to the
door, where he turned and looked at Iain again, "may I ask ye a question,
laird?"

"Ye may."

"Why did my father ne'er return
for us?"

Sorcha inhaled sharp
ly
.

"I wish there
was
an easy answer to
that
question, Devyn, but
there isnae." He met the boys gaze unflinch
ingly
,
"we will discuss
that
after ye ha'e rested, aye?"

Devyn nodded slow
ly
, then turned and followed
Elsbeth out of the room.

Chapter Sixteen

Iain watched Devyn leave with
Elsie then turned back to his
màthair
.

"Ye dinnae ha'e verra much
to say."

"I think I'm still in shock.
Iain, he looks just
like
Jamie. 'Tis as if my eldest son
has
returned to me." She smiled through her tears.

"Aye, he does look a great
deal
like
Jamie, but
he
has
the look of his
màthair
as well. His
eyes are more from Emilee."

Sorcha nodded. "'Tis a shame
to know
that
Emilee
died. She
was
such a
sweet girl, always ready to lend a hand or help out if necessary."

"Did ye ha'e any
not
ion
that
Jamie
had
handfasted wi'
her?"

"Nay. I knew he
was
interested in a Grant
girl, but I could get
not
h
ing
else from him. You know
he always held th
ing
s
close, never
really
opened up until he
was
ready. Then the battles began in earnest with the Campbells' again and I did
n't
think too much on
it."

"'Twould be just
like
Jamie to be over
ly
optimistic in such a th
ing
. To handfast Emilee,
then head out to battle without tell
ing
anyone, think
ing
the
battle would be over quick
ly
.
Then he would ha'e brought her home and informed the rest of us about her,
think
ing
it a great
surprise."

"Aye, Jamie
was
always one to do a deed
and worry over the consequences later. He
had
a big heart, but did
not
always think th
ing
s
through careful
ly
enough." Sorcha chuckled, "he would
have
made a good laird, eventual
ly
.
He needed more maturity first, however. He needed to learn to think th
ing
s through more cautious
ly
, look at e
very
eventual outcome,
before he made a decision."

"He'd ha'e been a better
laird than I. At least he
was
more prepared than I
was
."

Sorcha rose from her seat and
kissed Iain's cheek. "Nay, Iain. You
have
done what you
had
to
do for the safety and security of this clan. You brought us into these hills
and mountains of Rannoch. You protected us and cared for us, as a Laird should.
You are a wonderful laird and e
very
one
respects you and the decisions you've made. The good Lord knew what He
was
about when He made you
Laird of this clan."

Iain felt a warmth creep into his
cheeks at her praise. "Thank ye for your trust and confidence in me,
màthair
." He retrieved
the documents Devyn
had
given him. "I shall see these put in a safe place."

At the door, he glanced back over
his shoulder. "Will I see ye at the even
ing
meal?"

"Aye, I shall be there. We
must
have
a
celebration of sorts. I shall speak with the cook immediate
ly
and see what can be
planned and how soon."

"Verra well. Kristianna will
be at the meal as well."

Sorcha followed him out the door,
"
have
you made a
decision yet as to what ye intend to do about her?
Have
ye thought over my suggestion?"

"Ye know verra well I
ha'e."

"And?"

"I think ye know the
decision I came too, but I will tell ye anyway. I will speak to Kristianna
about it as soon as possible. I believe ye are right in say
ing
'twill be the best way
to protect her. I'm
not
certain I
like
it, but
I can see nay other way right now."

"Good. Then we shall
have
all the more reason to
celebrate." Sorcha smiled at him, "perhaps I shall put off the
celebration until after you
have
had
a chance to speak
with Kris. Then we can
have
a betrothal dinner as well. I must speak wi' Elsie."

Before Iain could say aye or nay,
she turned and practical
ly
ran down the hall in her excitement.

Iain chuckled. He
hadn't
found his sister yet,
but his
màthair
now
had
a grandson she could
fawn over for a time. As well as a betrothal to plan for.

He
had
much to think about and do before the meal. And he still wished to spend some
time with Kristianna, mayhap broach the subject of a betrothal with her. He on
ly
wished he knew what her
reaction might be to his suggestion. He wanted her to say aye, but chose
not
to examine the why of
that
too close
ly
.

He grinned to himself as her smil
ing
face came to his mind. She
had
wit and a fiery
spirit. She stood her ground with him and argued with him more than any other
lass he'd known besides his
màthair
and sister and of course Elsie. But even they knew when to back down, when he
would brooch no arguments. He found Kris intrigu
ing
,
beguil
ing
and a
complete mystery to him.

But, he concluded, she
was
a mystery he thought he
just might enjoy solv
ing
.

*          *          *

Kris reached her room and closed
the door behind then leaned against it for a moment or two. She
was
really
beginn
ing
to hate this room, she decided with a sigh. Push
ing
herself away from the door, she wandered to the small window and opened the
shutters. Elbows propped on the sill, she rested her chin on her fists and
looked out over the countryside.

In the far distance, she could
see the snowcapped mountains, while closer, in the field a short distance away,
the heather began to bloom. The smell of animals and the sounds of the clan at
their work drifted up to her. E
very
one
seemed to be busy with someth
ing
to do or accomplish. All except her,
that
is.

With a
not
her long-suffer
ing
, discontented sigh, Kris closed the
shutters with a bang. She
had
no idea where Sorcha
was
or when Iain would come for her. She
had
not
h
ing
to do except think and
she
was
gett
ing
hearti
ly
sick of it. There
had
to be a project or
someth
ing
to occupy
her until she figured out what she
was
go
ing
to do, or until
she could speak to Iain or Sorcha.

It looked as if she'd be stuck
here for
quite
a while.
Maybe she could continue with her plan to do some explor
ing
.
That
might take up a bit of time and help to occupy her mind with someth
ing
besides the dark
thoughts
that
persisted in try
ing
to
push themselves forward. What other art-history major could say they
had
first-hand knowledge
about the seventeenth century? She would bet
not
one.

Her decision made, she left the
room and stood in the long hallway a moment, try
ing
to decide which way to go first. She'd explored
quite
a bit of the castle in the twenty-first century, but th
ing
s looked a bit different now. Maybe
that
was
because Mr. MacGregor
had
done
quite
a lot
of renovat
ing
before he opened the
castle to the public. Th
ing
s
like
bathrooms with
hot and cold runn
ing
water, and showers, as well as heat and electricity.

Whichever way she went, she
decided, she could go the other way later. And if she got lost, she
was
sure she'd run into
someone eventual
ly
who
could point her in the proper direction to get her back to her chambers. She
turned right and headed down the dim
ly
lit corridor. The torches did
n't
give much light, but it
was
enough
that
she could
see the tapestries
that
hung on the wall if she stood close enough to them. A couple of them she even
thought she recognized, hav
ing
seen them on the tour of the castle when she
had
first arrived.

Kris continued leisure
ly
down the hall, stopp
ing
now and then to examine
a picture or tapestry more close
ly
before mov
ing
on. When
she reached the end of the hall, she turned and
was
about to start back when she
not
iced
a door partial
ly
hidden behind one of the tapestries. The light
ing
was
so poor she'd
almost
missed it.

Curious, she moved the wall hang
ing
aside and turned the
knob, surprised when the door opened with a squeak. She peered inside think
ing
it might be a room used
for storage or someth
ing
.
Instead of a room or a closet, a steep flight of stairs led up. Kris looked
over her shoulder and then back to the hidden staircase she'd just discovered. Where
did it lead? And why
was
it hidden but
not
locked?

Feel
ing
as though she
was
trespass
ing
,
she started up the stone stairs. After a couple of steps up, she stopped. It
was
pitch black. She could
n't
even see her hand in
front of her face.

She returned to the hallway and
reached for one of the torches on the wall. It would do no good at all if she
fell down the stairs. She'd break a bone or her neck and then where would she
be? Nobody would find her for days.

Torch in hand, she started back
up the stairs. At the top, she stopped on a land
ing
.
A
not
her door. Hmmm. Would
this one open as well?

She reached out and slow
ly
tried the knob. It
turned, but when she pushed, she found the door
was
stuck fast. She gave it a
not
her
hard shove, but it would
n't
budge. She held her torch higher and examined the door. She
not
iced several nails banged
into the door at an angle. Well,
that
explained why it would
n't
open, it
had
been
sealed shut.

Now why would someone seal the
door shut at the top of the stairs, but
not
at the bottom? Kris loved a good mystery. She
almost
felt
like
Jessica
Fletcher from
Murder, She Wrote
.

With a giggle at her overactive
imagination, Kris retreated back down the stairs. Maybe she would ask Iain
about it later. Until then, she knew her curiosity would drive her nuts.

As she stepped back through the
open door into the hallway, she
almost
collided with Iain.

"Oh."

Iain grabbed her shoulders to
steady her. "What are ye do
ing
,
lass?"

"I
was
just do
ing
a little explor
ing
."
Kris cheeks heated in embarrassment. "I
was
bored and try
ing
to
find someth
ing
to
occupy my time.

Iain cocked a s
ing
le brow at her. Kris
crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried to ignore the heat of Iain's
hands on her shoulders.

"I hope I did
n't
do anyth
ing
wrong."

She watched him careful
ly
for any sign
that
he
was
upset or angry. Though a
s
had
ow crossed his
features, it
was
there
and gone so fast, Kris thought she must
have
imagined it. He did
n't
seem to be angry.

"What's up there,
anyway?" She gestured behind her. "And why is the door at the top
sealed?"

Iain sighed and ran his hands
through his hair. Kris sucked in her breath at the
almost
overwhelm
ing
urge to run her own f
ing
ers
through his thick, dark hair.

"'Tis a library of
sorts." Iain said, final
ly
.

Kris shook her head to clear her
thoughts, and concentrate on what Iain
had
just said.

"A library? Oh, how
wonderful." She smiled. "I love books. But," she gave him a quizzical
look, "why is it sealed?"

"'T
was
my sisters favorite room."

"
Was
? Why
was
?"

"Aye.
Was
."

 "Wh-where is your sister
now?"

Iain mere
ly
shrugged.

"Do
n't
you know where your sister is?" Kris
remembered Elsbeth tell
ing
her about Cait
ly
n, but
hoped Iain could fill in some of the blanks.