Page 6 of Highland Renegade
Emily smiled. “We definitely plan to stay.”
“Good.” Fiona paused, as though contemplating, and then took a deep breath. “I think ye should ken something, though.”
“Ken?”
“Ken…know. Know something.”
“What is it?”
Fiona hesitated once more. “My brothers hatched a plot before ye came.”
“A plot?” Juliana asked. “What kind of plot?”
“It was to get ye to go back home.”
We are home, Emily wanted to say, but thought better of it. Evidently, the MacGregors didn’t want to welcome an Englishwoman, even for a visit. “Can you tell us about this plot?”
“They were nae going to hurt ye or anything. They figured an old lady was coming—on account of the earl being in his sixties—and thought if they made life verra uncomfortable, ye would nae stay long.”
“I see,” Emily said.
Fiona looked around. “’Tis why they gave ye this room.”
Emily frowned. “This room?”
“Aye. ’Tis on the old side of the castle.”
“There is nothing wrong with it.”
“Nae, but ’tisold.” When they all looked at her blankly, she went on. “The back side of the castle is newer and has conveniences. There is a cistern with hot coals banked beneath it to provide pumped hot water for the bathing room, oil lamps and chandeliers, wood paneled walls, rugs, and comfortable furniture. My grandfather even built a wide staircase. And,” she added, “all the rooms have proper windows.”
Emily was beginning to understand. No doubt the MacGregors had thought that an elderly countess, one used to luxury and being waited on, wouldn’t last long under these conditions. They hadn’t planned on someone younger and more adaptable to show up. Nor did they know that she was destitute and had no place else to go. Everything they owned was in the wagons that had followed them. She set her jaw.
“But why would your brothers do this?” Lorelei asked.
Fiona grimaced. “Because they are eejits.”
“You will not get an argument from me,” Juliana said and glanced at Emily. “We may not be a clan, but I think your brothers have just declared war.”
For once, Emily agreed. It seemed she was going to have to do battle. But knowing what she did now, it would be onherterms.
Chapter Three
By the time the big gong sounded in the bailey, signaling the evening meal, Emily and her sisters—with a bit of help from Fiona—had hatched their own plan.
Fiona escorted them through the twisted hallways until they reached the spiral staircase leading down. “’Tis better my brothers doona see me with ye just yet, but all ye need to do is go through the double doors in by the entrance. Ye’ll be in the Great Hall where the clan eats.”
Thanking her, Emily led her sisters down the stairs—careful to stay on the broader side of each curved step—and then through the doors she’d spotted earlier. Once inside, she stopped so abruptly that Lorelei and Juliana bumped into her. Ignoring their chiding, she gazed around the huge room.
She could very well have stepped back a century in time. The hammer-beamed, wooden ceiling was two stories high. Three large iron chandeliers hung from heavy chains. Tapestries depicting hunting scenes and warriors in battle lined the walls between the arrow slit windows. Four hearths were set in the stone, two on either side of the long, rectangular room, fires blazing with warmth to ward off the dank chill. The long tables and benches that took up most of the floor space were filling with MacGregors of all sizes and ages, many of whom were armed.
At the far end of the hall, a raised dais held the high table. The MacGregor crest—a buckled belt around a lion’s head with a royal crown—graced the wall directly behind the large, intricately carved armed chair which obviously belonged to the leader of the clan. To either side of that hung various types of weapons.
“I thought the MacGregor name was banned.” Juliana gestured to the round wooden crest and then looked around. “And didn’t our solicitor say only a few MacGregors were allowed to live here?”
“He said the MacGregors who did not fight at Prestonpans were given a retreat. I’m sure that included their families as well.”
“You are quite right.”
