Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes (21 page)

Bram stepped off the boat followed by Ian and the guardsmen who had accompanied them. A cool evening breeze blew away the heat of the day. Over the last few days Bram hadn’t done anything more strenuous than lift a full tankard but he felt weary to the bone. His time away had done little to exorcise Grace from his thoughts. Of course, this was only made worse by seeing Eoin and Fiona MacKay at the funeral. They were blissfully happy and the envy he felt nearly bore a hole in him.

Ian, on the other hand, was energy personified. Oh the wonders of a happy heart. For Ian, Saundra Ross had turned out to be a light in what was otherwise a sorrowful event. Lovely, gentle and soft spoken, he had been instantly smitten with her. She too seemed equally as taken with Ian. She blushed sweetly whenever he spoke to her, which was as often as he could maneuver to her side.

They could have returned the day after the funeral but instead, Ian had convinced Bram to linger for another day. He wanted a little more time with Saundra. In truth there was nothing for Bram to race back to. Still, after the days of tedium, he pried Ian away by telling him the faster they returned home, the faster Da could open negotiations with Saundra’s father, the new Earl of Ross. That was a wee stretch of the truth. He knew, out of respect, Da wouldn’t raise the issue until a suitable mourning period had passed.

On their way to Clan Ross, they had stabled their horses at the small inn in the port village. Returning there now, Bram paid the inn keeper and they saddled their mounts, setting out for home immediately. It was less than an hour’s ride to Sutherland castle. Ian and the other men exchanged friendly banter. Bram soon grew tired of it and fell back a bit, riding in brooding silence. Soon Ian slowed his mount to ride next to Bram.

“What has ye bothered, Bram?”

“Ye.”

Ian snorted. “Well, that’s good to know. I thought it might be thoughts of a certain widow.”

Bram clenched his jaw, angry that Ian had read him so well.

They rode in silence for a few moments before Ian said, “Ye may not want to hear what I’m about to say.”

“Any conversation that begins with those words is probably best avoided.”

Ian chuckled. “Nevertheless, I will tell ye. I have given this a lot of thought over the last few days and I think ye are making a mistake.”

“Do ye? That’s a pretty fair guess. I’ve made so many recently. To which one do ye refer?”

“Ye believed Grace when she told ye she loved someone else.”

“Ian this isn’t any of yer concern.”

His brother continued to push. “Bram, ye loved her.”

Bram snorted. “I don’t think it was love after all. I enjoyed her company. Nothing more. Evidently she didn’t enjoy mine. Michael is more enticing these days.”

It was Ian’s turn to snort. “Ye enjoyed her company? Bram, ye loved her and ye still do, which is going to irritate Da beyond all understanding.”

“What does Da have to do with it?”

“He wants ye married to Annice Sinclair.”

“And I’ll marry her, damn it all. I’ve agreed to that. I gave Da the month that he asked for and I’m glad I did.”

“Nay, brother. I don’t think this has ever really been about whether or not ye would marry Grace. Looking back on it, Da could have made sure that didn’t happen in any number of ways. At the moment ye told him ye wanted to marry her, he could have thrown ye in the dungeon and taken steps to ensure that didn’t happen.”

“If he had done that, I would have left anyway.”

“And Da had to know that. I think he bought time with his offer of a month. He was hoping to change yer mind or figure out a way to get rid of her that wouldn’t push ye to leave too. Laird Sinclair added a particularly troublesome wrinkle to the problem.”

“How so?”

“Perhaps Grace had yer head too muddled, but have ye forgotten? Laird Sinclair will only agree to a betrothal for Annice if she is willing. How willing do ye think she’d be if she heard whispers about ye and Grace and ye clearly loved another woman? Da is canny enough to know this. He needed to get Grace out of yer sights and for yer only focus to be on winning Annice’s hand.”

“Well, he got his wish. Grace doesn’t love me.”

“Bram, would ye put yer damn pride aside and think? Until Friday did she ever give ye that idea?”

“There were rumors.”

“That ye knew were false.”

“Ian, drop it.”

“By all that’s holy, Bram, Da started working to separate the two of ye at the first whisper that ye were attracted to her. He sent ye out for three days to review crops,
in June
when things are barely started. Mother had her make that blasted ribbon and then Da doubled the order. Looking back that was pure genius. Grace must have spent ten hours or more a day bent over her loom, knowing it was for the lass ye would marry. After ye told Da about Grace, it only got worse. He retired Innes, moving her from her home to the farthest edge of the village. Then the rumors started and the clan began to turn on Grace.”

“Da wouldn’t have done that.”

Ian shook his head. “I would have thought not, but now I’m not sure. Someone had to have started the rumors and Da had the most to gain.

Bram said nothing. He had no rebuttal. Da had made it clear for weeks that he wanted Bram to stay away from Grace but Bram hadn’t listened.

“Something Da said to me on Saturday makes me think he was growing desperate to end the relationship.”

“What did he say?”

“Ye had been an ogre all day. I had only heard rumors and I asked if he knew what happened. He told me the rumor version but he also said, ‘thankfully it happened well before the Sinclairs are due to arrive.’ He thought ye’d have time to get over it.”

Bram was stunned. “He thought I’d get over this in a week?”

Ian grinned. “That’s what I told him. But clearly his focus was much more on ye being ready to win Annice’s hand than anything else.”

“This doesn’t change the fact that Grace admitted to loving someone else.”

“Bram, time was running out. If ye still hoped to marry Grace when the Sinclairs arrived, the chance of an alliance was over. Da knew threatening ye wouldn’t work. What is the only other thing he could do?”

“He wouldn’t threaten Grace? How could he? What did he have over her? If he had banished her, I would have gone with her. She knew that.”

“I don’t know what he threatened her with. Maybe it was something to do with Kristen or Innes. Whatever it was, I’m not even sure he would have made good on it, he’s not heartless. But Grace wouldn’t know that.

“Nay I can’t believe he would threaten a young widow. He wouldn’t.”

“Desperate men do desperate things and if he thought it was for the good of the clan, he might. Ye know full well Grace wouldn’t risk getting Innes or Kristen hurt. Better to set her own heart aside…and hurt someone stronger and better able to handle it…ye.”

Bram stopped his horse and stared at Ian. If Ian was right and Da had threatened her, Bram had no doubt Grace would see it this way. She would do everything in her power to protect Innes and Kristen. “Do ye really believe Da might have done this? And what about Michael? She didn’t deny that.”

“Bram, it was obvious to everyone that Grace loves ye as much as ye love her. And Da had too much riding on this alliance with the Sinclairs. Ye needed to believe whatever Grace felt for ye was gone. I don’t know what Michael’s role was in all of this, but it certainly helped convince ye.”

Realization flooded him. “Damnation!” Bram clicked to Goliath, preparing to urge him into a gallop.

“Wait, Bram. Where are ye going?”

Bram spun Goliath around. “I need to see Grace. I need to know if Da did threaten her.”

“And completely destroy the sacrifice she made for ye and this clan?”

“God’s breath, Ian. I will stay away from her if I must, but I can’t bear the thought of her fearing some retribution from Da.” Bram turned Goliath toward home. They weren’t far now so he gave the horse his head. Ian and the guardsmen followed suit, tearing down the road after him toward Castle Sutherland.

They reached the outskirts of the village in a few minutes. Bram stopped before he reached Innes’ cottage. He dismounted, handing Goliath’s reins to Ian. “See to him for me, please.”

The guardsmen wouldn’t question him but his brother was not as circumspect. “Bram—”

“Please, Ian. Grant me this.”

Ian shook his head in frustration. “Aye, I will.” He clicked his tongue at Goliath. “C’mon, lad.”

Bram waited until the men were well down the lane before walking to the little cottage. It was early evening. Grace would be putting Kristen to bed. He thought back to the night they met, and so many since then, when he heard her sweet lullabies. He had longed to hear her singing to their children. He sighed heavily. It would never be. As he drew closer he didn’t hear the melody he expected. Instead he was met with the sound of Innes trying to quiet Kristen’s distressed cries.

Something was wrong. He ran the last few steps and knocked at the door. Innes opened it, looking as distraught as the child she held. “Dear God, Innes, what has happened? Where is Grace?”

“Gone.” She trembled and began to sob too.

“What do ye mean?” But even as he asked it, he knew he needed to calm them both before he would get any answers. He took Kristen from Innes and guided the old woman to the chair. Kristen clutched at him, burying her face in his léine, continuing to sob. “Wheesht, my sweet wee lassie. Wheest now, it will be all right.” He bounced her gently, rubbing her back as he had seen Grace do. “Innes, ye need to calm down and tell me what has happened.”

“It was all a lie. She wasn’t Tristan’s daughter. She isn’t Kristen’s mother. Her name is Nina and she’s married.” Innes burst into a fresh wave of tears.

What? Where did this nonsense come from? Of course she was Kristen’s mother. Bram tried again to calm them both. The wee lass finally had exhausted herself with tears. She was falling asleep in his arms, her little body still jerking occasionally with a sob.

Innes still wept, so he turned his attention to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Innes, please calm down and tell me what has happened.”

With great effort, Innes too managed to stop crying. She put her hand over his where it rested on her shoulder. “Thank ye for calming the babe, Bram. Put her on her pallet and then sit here with me. I’ll tell ye what I know.”

Bram stepped through the door into the little room where they slept. He gently laid the sleeping child on the pallet, patted her back until he knew she was asleep, and kissed her forehead before returning to Innes.

“Now, what is this about Grace not being Kristen’s mother?”

“Did she ever tell ye where she came from?”

“Not specifically. I knew she was raised on the Isle of Lewis. Why?”

“Aye, she was raised on Lewis. I guess yer da was worried about me—that she might be hiding something. He sent a messenger to Lewis, to the heads of all the clans to see if he could find out more about her. The messenger learned she had lived among the Morrisons. I knew that and ’twas no secret. I would have told yer da if he’d asked.”

Bram was impatient and he wanted Innes to get to the point, but he held his irritation in check. “So, Da found out she was a Morrison. What else?”

“He found out she isn’t Grace Breive.” Innes launched into the story, telling him everything that the Morrison men had revealed.

Bram tried to remain calm. On its surface, the story sickened him but he forced himself to listen. He needed to hear it all to understand what had happened. As he listened, he realized all of the pieces didn’t add up. The Morrisons alleged that Tristan and his family, including Grace, died of an illness. But Kristen had memories of her father and grandparents dying. She had told Bram,
There was a storm. Da and Gwandda didn’t come home.
Gwamma was sick. She died too. Me and Mama were awone.
Surely if her real mother had died, she would remember that.

Furthermore, if “Nina” had stolen the child from another family just before leaving Lewis, Kristen wouldn’t have memories of things they had done together on Lewis.
It is wike the hiww we cwimbed at home. We don’t go neaw the edge…We awways ate wif Da on the gwass
. Kristen couldn’t have these memories with a woman who had stolen her, even if “Nina” was supposedly a close friend of the family.

“Innes, I don’t believe the Morrisons. I can’t understand why Laird Morrison would have written such a damning letter, but I don’t have a single doubt that Grace is Kristen’s mother. Besides, she proved herself to us. She had Tristan’s brooch and she throws a knife as expertly as he did.”

“That’s what Michael said.”

“What does Michael have to do with this?”

“Michael tried to help her when this was happening. He said she had friends in Durness who knew her and he had met them. He also said ye only had to look at Grace and Kristen together to know Grace was her mother. The laird wouldn’t listen to him. Besides, the Morrisons said Nina and Grace were friends and Tristan taught them both to use knives. They also said she stole the brooch and Tristan’s letter from the real Grace’s cottage.”