horses and they were off. Anne snuggled against him, loving the wild freedom of the North Sea and the rugged country that was becoming a part of her soul.
Before they caught sight of Kelwin’s turret tower, Fang’s son Thomas hailed them from his guard post. He slid down the knoll to the road. “’Tis good to see you, laird. We’ve been watching and waiting.”
“Come along,” Aidan told him.
Thomas clambered up to the top of the coach and they drove him the rest of the way down to the castle. As they approached the gates, Thomas started shouting, “The laird is back!”
Hugh, his mother, Kathleen, Fang, and Bonnie Mowat were all waiting in the courtyard when they arrived. Soon others came from all corners of the estate to welcome home the laird.
Aidan halted the horses and jumped down. He was immediately surrounded by his people. They clapped him on the back and begged for news of his adventures. The dogs came running up, barking and adding to the general welcoming confusion.
“Wait.” Aidan held up his hands for quiet. “Let me help my wife down.”
“Your wife?” Kathleen Keith challenged in a carrying voice.
Aidan faced her. “Yes, my wife!” he said, in a tone loud enough to rival hers. He put his hands around Anne’s waist and swung her to the ground. “My beautiful, valiant wife.”
Everyone began cheering. Anne’s glance went from one happy face to another. She blinked back tears. This was her family.
“Thomas,” Aidan said, “take the coach up to the stables. Fang and Hugh, I must talk to you. Where’s Deacon?”
“Where he should be,” Fang said.
“Safe?”
“Aye.”
Aidan nodded. “Let us go inside. The rest of you, go about your business. All is safe. You need have no fears.” Clasping Anne’s hand, he took a step toward the house when a shout went up.
Davey and his friends had been on the tower wall, waiting for Aidan. They now shouted there was another rider approaching. An English soldier.
A hush fell over the crowd. Aidan strode to the front so he would be the first to confront this uninvited visitor. His clansmen took their places behind him, the men first, the women behind them, the children shushed and ordered into the castle. Anne worked her way to the front to stand beside her husband.
Seconds later, Major Lambert tore into the courtyard. He sharply reined his mount, causing the horse to skid on the smooth, aged stones. He jumped off.
He was hatless and wigless. His eyes burned with anger. “Tiebauld.” He spat on the ground toward Aidan.
Aidan didn’t move. “What is it you want, Lambert?”
“Do you mean what is it I want besides your head up on a pike beside Deacon Gunn’s?”
A murmur ran among the women. The men stood stoic and proud, but jaws tightened and their fists clenched in preparation for a fight.
“I had Gunn,” Lambert continued, “but you did something. I know you did.”
Aidan said, “Give it up, man. It is done between us.”
“Not yet,” Lambert denied. “It is not done yet. I demand satisfaction.” He began to unbutton his uniform. “Are you gentleman enough to give it to me?”
“I’m the one with the title,” Aidan said quietly.
They were the right words to inflame Lambert’s outrage.
For a moment, Anne could have sworn the major had gone mad. He hissed through his teeth, he was so furious. Fang’s two oldest sons, standing close to her, laughed nervously.
The laughter died when Lambert grasped the hilt of his sword and pulled it from its scabbard, the sound of metal razoring metal omniously cutting the air. He held the sword in front of him. “You’ve ruined me, Tiebauld. You, an unimportant Scottish nobody whose family boasts one of the greatest traitors to the Crown in the last hundred years.”
Hugh and Fang started toward Lambert, but Aidan held up a hand, staying them. “This is between the two of us. You’ll not harm him.” He confronted the former officer. “What is it you want, Lambert?”
“Satisfaction, Tiebauld. I demand satisfaction.”
“And you will have it.” Aidan looked to Hugh. “Go fetch my sword from its case in the great hall. The rest of you, move back.” The others did as he’d commanded—save for Anne.
“Aidan, don’t do this,” she pleaded. “He is not sane.”
He ran his thumb lightly across her bottom lip. “Would you have me run? Now, here, it will be all right. Help me remove my jacket.”
She was tempted to tell him no. But she couldn’t. She reached up and helped him pull one arm out—
Fang shouted a