Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The Future Of The Clans

" L ord Johnston, it is a pleasure to have ye in me castle. Will ye come and sit with me advisors?"

"Thank you, Laird Rottrich. I hope you do not mind if some of my men join me also. This is a delicate situation."

"Aye, of course. Please, right this way."

William shepherded the English Lord and his men into the small hall. A large oval mahogany table was in the center of the room, surrounded by hand-carved chairs. Cameron and some of the Laird's other trusted advisors were already sitting at the table, and the Laird, Lord Johnston, and the other men joined them.

"It is good to see ye again, Lord Johnston," said Cameron.

"Thank you. It is good to see you too." Lord Johnston turned to William. "You have a prudent man by your side."

"Aye, I ken that. I believe he spent some time with ye in the south."

"Yes, he took me up on my hospitality, though I might have to order more whisky. He about drunk me dry."

There was some laughter from the Scots at the table.

"Laird Rottirch," Lord Johnston continued, "I have heard what happened from Cameron, but I would like to hear it from your lips too."

"Aye, of course. The matter is complicated in many ways but simple in bein' told. Conall Miller held a grudge against me since I won some land from him and bested him in a fight. He has been plottin' his revenge for years. He might have done some things to upset the order of things north of the border, but he was buildin' to somethin' bigger. When he found out I was married, he hatched a plan to take her from me.

"When he was nae able to seduce her, he resorted to force. He attacked me near me castle, and I killed five of his men to escape with me life. When I returned to me castle, I rounded up some other clans, and we mounted an attack on Conall's castle to get me wife back. When I confronted him, I took his life."

"Yes, that is about what Cameron told me."

"If ye are thinkin' of any revenge, I must warn ye—" started one of William's advisors.

Lord Johnston raised his hand to stop the man. "I believe you have done us all a favor. Conall Miller was sent up here as punishment for his actions, and he still did not learn. If not for a powerful uncle, he would have been stripped of all titles and wealth years ago. Cameron has also presented us with evidence of Conall's thievery and bribery. It is lucky for him that you took his head, for he would have faced much worse punishment if we had caught up with him. Many are happy to see him leave, but some are also disgruntled."

"Where does this leave us?" asked William. "Ye already assured me there would be nay need for war."

"And I stand by that." Lord Johnston looked around the room. "There has to be some indication that something is being done about this—you did attack an English Viscount and killed him, along with two dozen English soldiers. I shall not say this to anyone else, but I know it could have been a lot worse, so I must thank you for not killing more nor taking prisoners."

"Aye, it was not needed," admitted William. "So, ye have come up here to placate yer Lords. What needs to happen?"

"Not a lot. The support for killing Conall is much stronger than those who supported him. I will go back south and assure everyone that there is no war. This was a one-off attack, am I right?"

"Aye, me grudge was against Conall and not any of ye. The clans have all returned home."

"Good," said the English Lord. "That is the truth, and that is what I will tell them. The castle is important from a military point of view, and to keep the peace between the two countries, we will be instilling a Baron to man the land. We will also double the number of soldiers there—that is to satisfy the Lords in the south. I know no more attacks are coming , but it will satisfy them. Are you prepared to accept this?"

"I can speak on behalf of all the clans when I say, Aye. We will work with whoever is there as long as they daenae try to take advantage of anyone. If they resort to the same tactics as Conall, we will nae hesitate to put them in their place. Does that sound fair to you?"

"Yes, it does."

"So, business as normal again," said William.

"That sounds about right," replied Lord Johnston.

"Braw! Now that we have that sorted, I would like to extend me hospitality to ye and repay ye for the whisky Cameron and his men consumed. We have a feast bein' prepared and lots of whisky and wine. Ye must also want to rest before heading back down south tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lord Rottrich." Lord Johnston rose from the table, and his men followed suit.

William and his men rose too. He held out his hand, and Lord Johnston shook it. "Adam will show ye to yer rooms, and ye can wash up before we break bread together."

Lord Johnston nodded and walked out with his men, following Adam.

"That seems fair," said Cameron.

William and his men remained in the room a moment longer to continue the discussion.

"It does," agreed William. "Is everyone happy with that?"

There were nods from around the table.

"Good," said William.

"And what about the joinin' of the clans?" asked Cameron. "They are goin' to hear about it sooner or later."

"Aye, but that doesnae concern them. They sent Conall here, and what came about was because of it. We arenae comin' together to fight the English, only to protect ourselves better from them should they try to take what is ours."

"They might see it as a show of power," noted one of the advisors.

"It is up to them how they see it," said William. "They put us under threat, and we can brin' the clans together because of it. Five of us have come together over Lady Rottrich; just think what we can do when more clans come together. Scotland is goin' to be all the much stronger for it."

"Aye, it is an excitin' time," said Cameron.

"Can I leave ye to entertain the Lords while I go and visit with Dakota? I can see her millin' around outside. She must be worried about the English Lords bein' here."

"Aye, we can take care of them until ye join us."

William nodded and left the room. He walked down the hallway toward the library and found Dakota inside. She was not reading; she was waiting for him.

"How are ye doin', me love?" Dakota asked.

"Good. And ye daenae have to worry about the Lords bein' here. They are satisfied with the outcome, and most of them are glad Conall is gone."

"So, I am safe?" asked Dakota.

"Aye, ye are safe," laughed William. "And even if ye werenae, I wouldnae let any harm come to ye. If an Englishman came into me castle and tried to take ye, they would have me to answer to."

"I daenae think they would like that," smiled Dakota.

"Nay, they wouldnae. Now, Come here and kiss me."

Dakota leaned into her husband, and they kissed each other.

"Do ye have time for more than just a kiss before ye have to go and sit with the Lords?" asked Dakota.

"I think I can manage that," said William. "And, I would like ye to come and sit with me when I do go to eat with them."

"Me?"

"Aye, I want them to see me beautiful wife, and how much I love ye. I want them to properly ken why I went out there to deal with Conall. And, really, I just like showin' ye off and spendin' time with ye. Ye're an amazing woman, Dakota."

"Och, ye are a charmer, William. I am proud to have ye as me husband. And ye are goin' to make a fine faither too. I still believe that I am with child. I ken it has only been a week, but I can feel somethin'. Yet, it wouldnae hurt to try again, just in case."

William gave another smile. He leaned in and kissed his wife once more.

He still could not believe how it had all turned out. Left at the altar by one sister, and the other forced to marry him. He had found the love of his life through chance, and they would soon have a family together.

He had not known love until he had known Dakota.

The End?