MacGregor had a look of concentration on his face. “My men are verra skilled. I will send a few of them out with your men to scout. Mayhap they can pick up something.”
“Thank ye.”
“Donna worry, MacDonell.” MacGregor gave a brief nod. “Ye helped save my wife. I will help to save yours. Rosalia will be cross with ye for stealing me away for so long.” He stood and downed the rest of his drink. “Come. Let us find our women.”
Alex walked with the MacGregor to the great hall where the women were gathered around Aunt Iseabail at the table. Rosalia’s eyes lit up when she spotted her husband. When Alex offered Sybella a smile, her eyes darkened and she quickly lowered her gaze.
MacGregor placed his hand on Rosalia’s shoulder and bent to kiss her on the top of the head. “Wife.” He turned and kissed Aunt Iseabail on the cheek. “’Tis wonderful to see ye again, my lady.”
Aunt Iseabail smiled. “Your husband hasnae changed. He is still a verra fine looking man, Rosalia.”
MacGregor’s face reddened slightly.
Rosalia stood up from the bench and embraced Alex. “Cousin, marriage suits ye. Ye look well,” she said with a grin.
Alex raised a brow. “I could say the same for ye, Rosalia. And this young lad must be Lachlann. Congratulations to ye both.” He ruffled the bairn’s hair and was rewarded with a smile. Alex stood behind Sybella and placed his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t miss how she tensed under his fingertips and then abruptly stood. “And this is my wife, Lady Sybella MacDonell.”
“’Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Laird MacGregor. My husband speaks of ye highly.”
“Please call me Ciaran.”
“Verra well. I am Sybella. Ye have journeyed far. Please sit and I will get ye something to drink.”
“Nephew, did ye see their strapping young bairn? How much longer do ye think it will be before ye have one of your own? I am nae getting any younger, ye know.”
Alex shook his head. Rosalia giggled, MacGregor smirked, and Sybella paled. “Give it time, Aunt. Ye cannae schedule such things.”
To Alex’s relief, Rosalia came to his rescue. “Ye cannae rush the gods. When they bless Alex and Sybella with a bairn, they bless them.”
“I suppose ye are right, but I find that the more time passes, the more impatient I become.”
“Ciaran, Lachlann is falling asleep in my arms. I think I will go to our chamber and lay him down,” said Rosalia, repositioning the bairn.
MacGregor held out his arms. “Nay, give him here. I will take him. Ye stay and enjoy the company of your kin.”
“Thank ye.”
The fierce MacGregor laird departed the great hall, carrying his bairn in a way that was as gentle and nurturing as the caring father that he was. Alex remembered when the man’s blade had struck down Archibald Campbell, the seventh Earl of Argyll. It was hard to believe that a warrior so adept on the battlefield could be a loving, devoted husband and father. Alex didn’t miss seeing how the man doted on his wife and child. Perhaps one day he himself might know the feeling of holding his own son, his heir.
Rosalia and Sybella resumed their seats flanking Aunt Iseabail, while Alex sat down on the other side of the table. “And how is life at Glenorchy? If I were to guess by that smile upon your face, Cousin, I would say life is treating ye well.”
“Everything has been wonderful. Ye probably received my missive that Declan and Liadain are wed. And Aisling and Aiden are expecting another bairn.”
“Ye will have so many MacGregors underfoot that your husband could start his own army.”
Rosalia giggled. “Donna give him any ideas. And what of ye, Alexander?” She leaned forward and smiled at Sybella. “My cousin is treating ye well?”
Alex didn’t fail to notice Sybella’s slight hesitation. “Aye, he is verra kind.”
“I am sure my
Aunt Iseabail nodded. “’Tis true, Nephew.”
“I am so sorry to hear of your father’s passing. He still seemed hale the last time we were here,” said Rosalia in a soft tone.
“His health slowly faded.”
“He was a good man.”
“Aye.”
Rosalia leaned in close to Aunt Iseabail. “And how have ye been enjoying having another woman within the walls?”
Aunt Iseabail clapped her hands. “I simply love it! Sybella is quite lovely company.”
“And I feel the same for ye,” said Sybella, her eyes distant.
“Have ye heard word of your mother, Rosalia?” When Rosalia’s lips thinned, Alex gave her an apologetic smile.
Rosalia shifted on the bench. “Nae since her English lover’s fate joined that of the bloody Campbell.”
“Who is the bloody Campbell?” asked Sybella. If she was being compared to this man, she wanted to know who he was.
“He was Archibald Campbell, the seventh Earl of Argyll. And his lands bordered the MacGregor. He was the right hand of the King, but his greed got him killed,” said Alex with a trace of bitterness.
Sybella’s eyes widened innocently. “So I take it he wasnae a man to be trusted.”
“Trusted? I wouldnae trust him alone with a dog. He held my cousin against her will in order to force MacGregor to break King James’s command. The man got what he deserved. He had nay honor.”
Alex had said that he trusted the MacKenzies as much as Ciaran trusted the bloody Campbell. Granted, the words Sybella overheard had been spoken with a heavy wooden door between them, but did Alexander truly think her clan had earned the same fate as the bloody Earl of Argyll? Something clicked in her mind: she believed the Campbell had met his demise upon the blade of Ciaran’s broadsword. Is that truly how her husband felt?
Rosalia cleared her throat. “Can we nae speak of the bloody Campbell? The man has been buried for some time, and he still manages to anger Ciaran. Please donna even whisper the earl’s name.”
“Aye, there is much to celebrate,” said Aunt Iseabail.
Alex smiled. “Of course there is, Aunt.”
“After a long journey, I would love to walk. Why donna we all walk down to the loch?” asked Rosalia. “I am nae sure how long Lachlann will sleep.”
“I would rather ye nae leave the gates. Why donna ye walk to the parapet? I will join ye after I escort Aunt Iseabail to her chamber. Ye look weary, Aunt.”
Aunt Iseabail looked startled by Alex’s suggestion. “Aye,” she replied hesitantly. “If ye insist.”
Rosalia rubbed Aunt Iseabail’s arm. “’Tis all right,
While Alex cared for his aunt, Sybella found herself walking the halls of Glengarry once again with Rosalia when all she wanted to do was retire to her empty chamber. She desperately needed an end to this brutal day. She continued to struggle with the memory of her husband’s words and the duty she felt to her clan. This was all one big nightmare, and honestly, she wasn’t sure what to do.
They stepped out onto the parapet, and Rosalia gave Sybella a knowing look. “Now ye can tell me the true reason why Alexander doesnae want us to walk to the loch.”
Sybella rubbed her fingers over the stone wall. “Ye are verra observant.”
“Aye, well, when ye live with Ciaran and his two brothers, ye donna miss too much. Tell me. What is amiss?”
Sybella became increasingly uneasy under Rosalia’s examination. Frankly, she was tired. Her clan wanted her to betray her husband; her husband didn’t trust her; and now she was standing here with her husband’s cousin, who wanted answers.
“I can see it in your eyes.” Rosalia paused. “Listen, if it wasnae for the company of my sisters-by-marriage, I would be daft. We are all kin. Ye can tell me anything that is troubling ye. I am a verra good listener.”
