Page 64 of The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain
Magni stared up at Thane with a perplexed expression, but he didn’t question Lia, instead saying, “Aye, I can wait. May I go with him? And with you?”
Lia said, “Would you mind waiting here with Lennox and Meg?”
Lennox and Meg joined them, both looking as though they’d come from battle, but smiling.
Lennox said, “Good to see you, Thane.”
Magni hugged Meg and then stared up at her. “You look different. Did someone hit you?”
“Aye, Magni, but I’m fine now. We did have a wee battle with some evil men, but they’ll not be bothering either of you again.”
“Are they the ones who stole us away?”
“Aye. They paid men to steal you. Never again. Come, we have some dried meat for you to munch on. I don’t know why Lia wishes to take Thane aside, but we’ll let her have her way. We’re just glad to see you two together again,” Meg said, ruffling his dark curls.
“I am hungry,” Magni said, flying up the incline to the horses, the others following.
That left Thane with Lia. “What is it, Lia?”
She took his hand and said, “Come with me. It is difficult for me to explain, but I see the world as needing fixing in some ways that it can’t seem to fix on its own. It would be easier if I could do things myself, but I cannot. I can only lead people to certain areas, the same way I led you here through Tora. That’s where I come in. To help where I can. What I wish you to see is in the small hut. I’ll go in with you.”
Thane decided to go along with her and not pepper her with more questions. He had no idea what it was about, but if she had already been inside, whoever was within the hut had not hurt her. But then again, better to be safe. “Do I need my weapon, Lia?”
She laughed and waved her hand. “Nay, they are older. They’ll not fight you, I promise.”
Thane ducked as he followed Lia inside the door of the small thatched-roof cottage. There were two candles inside the small chamber with two windows uncovered for light. An old woman sat at the table, an old man behind her with his hand on her shoulder. They were both gray-haired and of slight frames, but he didn’t recognize either of them.
As soon as he stepped inside, the woman began to cry, her sobs as quiet as any he’d ever heard. He glanced up at the man behind her and stopped. Something familiar about him.
“Thane?” the man uttered, the one word catching on his tongue. “Is it truly you, son?”
Son?
Lia pulled him closer and did her best to push his large frame into a chair. “I think you should sit for a wee bit, Thane. This is Thane, the chieftain of Clan MacQuarie on the Isle of Mull.”
“And Brian? Mora? My wee lassie?” the woman asked, her cheeks flooded with tears.
The man said, “Give him a moment, Myra. We’ve shocked the lad.”
Myra? Then Thane’s gaze locked on the man’s face.
He stood, knocking the chair backward with a thud. “Da?”
The man nodded, dipping his head as tears misted his gaze. “It is truly you, Thane. You’ve grown into a fine man, son.”
“Da? Mama?” Standing before the man, Thane’s knees nearly buckled at all the familiar signs. The scar under the elder man’s left eye, the clarity in his gaze, the look of pride nearly undoing him.
Thane’s mother pushed away from the table and stood, his father holding her arm to make sure she was steady. “Careful, Myra. Our son is a tall man.”
“Thane, my wee laddie.” She fell against him, hugging him tight as she cried, her head just barely coming up to his shoulders.
Lia said, “You see, they were stolen away just as you were, Thane. Egan and his men knocked them out and brought them here to take care of the bairns. He brought you to Raghnall Garvie to sell you to a royal prince in the Mideast, but their ship sank on the way. You know the rest of the story with the Garvies. I’ve explained to them how you were left on Mull alone, and how you raised Mora and Brian until you met Artan and started Clan MacQuarie.”
He hugged his father and the three cried together until his mother pushed away. “Mora and Brian? They are well? We can see them? Will you bring them to meet us?”
“Nay, Mama. You are both coming with me. Home. You’re coming home to live with me in our castle.”
“Castle?” The two looked at each other, the shock on their faces clear.
