want a father-in-law who is half mad and threw us in his dungeon," Alex said. "Besides, we already have his boat."
"Shaggy is mad and dangerous, which is precisely the reason I'd prefer to have him fighting on our side," Connor said, taking the suggestion seriously. It made him uneasy that the Maclean chieftain had joined forces with Alastair MacLeod as of late. "If Shaggy had not gotten himself on the wrong side of the Campbells, his clan would be a good choice for the alliance."
"Ye ought to consider the qualities of the lass as well as her clan," Duncan said. "She'll be the mother of your children."
"We're proof that ye can both please yourself and serve the clan with your marriage," Ian said.
Connor had seen these three, his closest companions, find happiness beyond all reason in their marriages. Despite their jesting, he knew they wanted him to have a love match as well.
But Connor neither hoped for nor wanted that for himself. He had seen the consequences of an unruly, all-consuming passion and would never trust it. Instead, he intended to have a smooth, cordial partnership with a lass whose father had enough warriors to defeat the MacLeods.
"Pick a pretty lass who's no afraid to argue with ye," Alex said and winked. "A man needs a wife who stirs his blood."
Any lass who was breathing could stir Connor's blood. After so long without, there was not a single one he did not find overwhelmingly appealing. He was like a man dying of thirst at sea, surrounded by water he could not drink.
"Frankly, lads, ye haven't been much help," Connor said, getting to his feet.
"Ask Tearlag," Alex said, referring to the old seer as he and Ian drifted toward the door. "She'll give ye good advice, even if it makes no sense at the time."
Connor needed to get out of this room, but he stayed behind because he sensed that Duncan wished to speak with him. His head had begun pounding the moment he entered it. Like his father and grandfather before him, Connor had used this room as his private chamber. Even after he had stripped it of its ornate furnishings, he had felt his father's presence too keenly - stifling and choking him.
At his sister's insistence, the ornate furniture was back. The chamber was hers and Duncan's now that the two were wed and Connor had made Duncan keeper of this castle.
Connor hobbled over to look out the arrow-slit window. As his gaze traveled along the shore, he paused at the place where the warrior had carried his mother's body ashore all those years ago. Whenever he remembered that bleak day of his childhood, he thought of his brother Ragnall, who would have made a better chieftain.
But Ragnall, like his father, was dead, so the task fell to him.
"I'm honored that you've entrusted Dunscaith Castle to me," Duncan said.
"There are too many ghosts for me here," Connor said, though his personal reasons played no part in his decision. "I know ye will keep this castle and the surrounding lands safe for our clan."
"Have ye decided who will replace me as captain of your guard?" Duncan asked.
"I'll never find a captain who is as loyal or as fierce a warrior as you," Connor said, turning to grip his friend's shoulder. "But I'll pick a man from among our warriors once I reach Trotternish Castle."
"Choosing the wrong wife could make things unpleasant for ye." Duncan paused. "But choosing the wrong captain could get ye killed."
Chapter 2
A sense of freedom washed over Connor as he sailed away from Dunscaith Castle. He would have lived the rest of his life there if that met the needs of the clan, but praise God it did not. Every day at Dunscaith he lived in the shadow of two men - his father, whom he had never been able to please, and his older brother, whose place he had taken.
Before heading north to the far end of the island, he directed his men to pull onto the beach below Tearlag's cottage, which was perched high on a cliff overlooking the sea. The questions he meant to put to the clan's ancient seer were private, so he left his guard in the galley. The steps cut into the stone cliff were black and slippery with rain, and his injured leg gave him some trouble.
He forgot Ilysa was behind him until he heard her cough.
"Careful," he said, turning to offer his hand to her.