Page 65 of The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain
“Aye, and I’ll tell you all about Brian and Mora along the way. But they don’t remember either of you. Please don’t be disappointed, but they will love you with all their hearts.”
“Egan? He’s gone, Lia?” Myra asked. “Thane, your father tried to escape many times, but they always found him and beat him.”
“Once they whipped your mother.” His father’s age showed, his head now dipped as he shook it. “I couldn’t risk that happening again, so we stayed.”
Lia touched Myra’s hands and said, “That is all in the past now. You have three bairns waiting to get to know you. Egan is gone forever. Shall we move along?” Lia led them out the door and stopped in front of Lennox and Meg. “My mission here is done. We shall go for now.”
Lia made introductions to Lennox, Meg, Magni, and Artan, but then brought them in the opposite direction.
Thane said, “Meg, you look exactly like your sister. She is more than anxious to see you again.”
Meg wrung her hands. “I cannot wait to see dear Tamsin again. She is well?”
“Aye, and Alana is anxious to meet you too.”
Lia said, “Please follow me. One more thing before we take our leave.”
Lennox said, “Lia, you’re going in the wrong direction. We’re heading back to Mull.”
“Be patient for a few more moments, if you please.”
She continued to walk, this small lass of power, until she rounded another bend in the coastline, then led them up a knoll to look over the water.
“There,” she said, pointing across the sea.
“That’s the western section of Ardnamurchan,” Lennox explained. “Several villages are there. Which one are you pointing out?”
“Kilchoan. See the castle? It sits on the Ardnamurchan coastline. It will be our next challenge.”
Thane asked, “In what way, Lia?”
“It’s known as Mingary Castle in Kilchoan. Near Lochaber.”
“Why are you showing us this?” Meg asked.
“Mingary is the base for the sea kings. It’s known as the gateway for overlords and privateers. And some of them are not nice.”
A cold wind blew across the bay and Thane shivered, his gaze traveling to Lennox’s, seeing the same concern in his eyes that coursed through him. Were there more bairns at Mingary?
What the hell would happen next?
Thane wouldn’t focus on that. He couldn’t.
It was time to bring his parents home to Mora and Brian. And Meg home to Tamsin.
And Lia was finally reunited with her brother.
These were happy times. He’d not focus on the rest for now.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Meg
As they rowed back across the sound after returning the horses, so many thoughts swirled in Meg’s mind that she couldn’t decide what to say first. She loved Lennox, but had she made a mistake handfasting with him? It wasn’t Lennox that worried her, it was his status. Peering up at the majestic castle they were approaching, she had no idea what she would do as wife to the chieftain of such a large clan. She needn’t have worried about what to say because Lennox started everything for her.
“Meg, stay with me. Marry me. We can make it official.”
“Nay, I cannot yet.”
