Quest of the Highlander (Crowns & Kilts #5) - Cynthia Wright Page 0,113

added to Dunvegan Castle decades ago.

“I want ye to see the world from up here,” he explained when they reached the top step. “’Tis a magnificent view.”

In the days since they had come to Skye, Nora had gained a new understanding of her husband. It was one thing to hear tales of this western isle where he had been raised but quite another to be there herself. The Isle of Skye was tinged with magic, legends, and accounts of faeries that everyone seemed to accept as truth. The gloriously windswept land boasted virtually no roads or other signs of civilization, yet the people Nora had met all seemed to be part of one big family.

Lennox caught her hand, drawing her forward to an arrow-slit window. “Look!” His voice was hushed with wonder.

She did as he bade, leaning against him to gaze out over the rooftops and parapets of Dunvegan Castle. The clan MacLeod stronghold crowned a rocky pedestal surrounded by Loch Dunvegan and was only accessible by water. On the far bank of the loch, Nora recognized Ciaran and Violette’s tower house, where they lived with their year-old baby, bold little Niall. Looking westward, Nora drew in her breath at the sight of the azure loch gradually widening until it reached the wilder waters of the Minch.

“I can only imagine how stirring it must have been to grow up in such a place,” she murmured.

“Aye. Because my grandfather was also our clan chief, this was where we came to visit him and so many of our people. But I was raised at Duntulm Castle, on the tip of Skye’s Trotternish peninsula.” His voice caught for a moment. “I know I have told ye how we lost Duntulm to the evil MacDonalds, but I confess that it hurts even more now that I have come back to Skye.” Pausing, he wrapped his arms around her. “For too long, I didn’t want to feel the deep bond I have with the Highlands, but it is all different now that I have my own family with me. Thank God I could be here today, with my clan, as Grandfather makes my uncle William our new chief and then sails away to that monastery on the Isle of Harris.”

“I’m so glad we were able to come and that I could meet Alasdair Crotach before he retires to the Isle of Harris.” Even as she spoke, Nora wondered where they might settle and make their own home. Would Lennox want to remain on the Isle of Skye? Uncertainty squeezed at her heart. Perhaps, with time, she too might feel more connected to this wild, beautiful place.

“I know tiny Brienne won’t remember what happens today,” Lennox said, “but it will be part of her all the same.”

She knew he was right. Every person and event that touched them was woven into the fabric of their souls…even a force for evil, like Sir Raymond Slater. Nora would never be able to banish him from her memory, but at least he could never bother them again. Before she and Lennox had left London, Slater finally went to trial. Sandhurst, who had known King Henry for years, spoke to the monarch, and in the end Slater had been beheaded, just as Barnaby foretold.

Slowly, day by day, Nora was teaching herself not to think of him. She reminded herself that justice had been served in the end, and that she’d grown stronger through the entire ordeal.

Now, Nora went into Lennox’s arms and they shared a slow kiss that soon caught fire. “People are gathering outside to witness your grandfather’s leavetaking,” she murmured when they paused for breath. “And Violette has her hands full, watching both Brienne and Niall. I suggest we go down to join them.”

He kissed her again before raising his head with an air of regret. “Have I mentioned that ye are looking especially bonny, wife?”

“Thank you, but I’d say that you are the bonny one today, husband.” Beaming, Nora thought how true that was. She swept her gaze over his tall, splendid form, from his windblown, tawny-gold hair to his powerful torso to the length of MacLeod tartan wrapped and belted round his hard waist. “Let me straighten your sash.” Reaching up, she fussed with the long end of his plaid so it was draped perfectly over one shoulder.

As they descended the treacherously narrow steps, the aromas of food and cooking smoke drifted up to them from the hall, lingering after the final feast shared by Alasdair