Chapter 2

Two weeks later, Kincaid Castle

"Och, see how the wee man's toddlin' about all by himself now," Maddison laughed in delight as she encourage Rónán, her baby nephew, to walk unsteadily between herself and his mother, Lillie, Lady Kincaid.

"I ken, he grows more amazin' every day," the child's proud mother said, beaming at her son and catching him, laughing, as he careened into her knees. The little boy giggled, clearly as thrilled by his own antics as the two young women.

"He surely does, Lillie," Maddison agreed, leaning forward in her chair and holding out her arms ready for Rónán's return journey. "Ye must both be so proud of the wee man, he's so strong, like his da." It was true. Little Rónán was a miniature copy of Diarmaid, big and sturdy, with a mop of dark hair and big dark eyes.

"He is that," Lillie said with clear affection for both her son and her husband. "Though it has tae be said that Diarmaid doesnae have quite such a tendency tae dribble as the wee one." Both women laughed at that. "And, ye could say Diarmaid's a bit too proud of Rónán. Ye ken, Maddison, he's only threatenin' tae put a sword in the lad's hand before his second birthday," Lillie continued, making them laugh some more.

"That doesnae surprise me one bit," she told Lillie, catching Rónán in her arms before he stumbled and fell on his face on his way to her. "Where is he, by the way? I've hardly seen him these last few days." She cuddled the child and blew raspberries on his chubby cheeks, sending him into a fresh fit of giggles. Then, she set him off on the return journey to his mother, who was seated in the armchair a few feet across the hearthrug.

"More tea?" Lillie asked. Maddison nodded as Lillie picked up the teapot from the nearby table and poured them a fresh cup each. "I havenae seen that much of him either, during the last two days. It seems he's very tied up with clan business just now."

Maddison got up and collected her tea so that Rónán could continue his wobbly journey towards his mother. However, as she sat down again, she saw the lad had been distracted by old Lona, the shaggy-haired, long-legged terrier who was asleep by the fire.

"He loves that old dog, and she seems to think he's her pup," Lillie remarked, also watching fondly as her son patted the aged hound on her head and slid down against her side, waking her from peaceful slumber. Seemingly unperturbed by the disturbance, Lona yawned widely, flashing a mouthful of teeth before patiently proceeding to lick Rónán's hands and face as if he were indeed her own.

"She's like an old grandmaither to him," Maddison observed, moved by the sweet spectacle. "That old dog has given me plenty of solace over the last few months," she added, feeling grateful to Lona for the comfort she had bestowed on her since being rescued for her terrible captivity with the Lennoxes five months ago.

"How have ye been feelin' these days, Maddy? Have ye been startin' tae feel more like yer old self at all since ye were healed by the Sword of Osheen?" Lillie asked, looking across at her sister-in-law with concern.

Maddison looked down at her hands and wondered how many times one of her family members had asked her the same question in the last few months. How best to answer it so that Lillie might understand how she was really feeling?

Lillie waited patiently, sipping her tea, allowing Maddison time to ponder her thoughts before answering. It was always tempting to just smile and say, "Much better, thank ye." But that was not entirely true. In addition, she did not yet quite know the answer herself. If she tried to explain it to her sister-in-law and friend, might she not have a better chance of at last figuring out whether the magical Sword of Osheen had helped her, especially after it had taken so much effort to obtain the enchanted object?

She allowed her mind to travel back to the time five months since, after Diarmaid and Ciarán had rescued her from her captivity by attacking the Lennox stronghold. Then, she had witnessed at close hand the death of her captor, the evil Laird Murphy Lennox, by his own son's hand. That had been a terrible shock, too, for it had happened just as his father had been holding her hostage, his arm squeezing her throat as he held a dirk to it, about to slit her throat as her brothers watched.

But by that time, she had already been in a deep state of shock, for she had only recently learned that her friend, the man who had kept her alive during her time in prison and, therefore, to whom she owed her life, was Odhrán, Murphy Lennox's own son and heir!

She well remembered the sense of betrayal and confusion that had assailed her then. And even after being freed and returning home to her family alive after staring death in the face every day for a year, things had not improved. In fact, they had worsened.

Despite all the love and comfort her family had given her, a dark cloud of despair had lingered over her head, like the stale, foul air of the dungeon. She would be the first to admit it had laid her low, preventing her from getting back to her former self and enjoying her life once more. She had tried to put a brave face on things for the sake of her loved ones. But after a while, it had become impossible to hide the fact that she was wasting away, having terrible nightmares, unable to eat, or sleep, or smile even at Rónán. The cloud of darkness would not dispel, and she knew she had been on the verge of departing from this life without caring much about it.

No healer had been able to help her, but then Diarmaid and Ciarán had tracked down the old Cailleach, Selma, who had put them on the trail of a magical healing blade, The Sword of Osheen. The healer had told them that if they made a small cut above Maddison's heart with the blade, she would be healed. But the blade was dangerous too. It was sought by many wicked men of power who craved its magic for their own ends. So, it had been hidden away by those who would safeguard the world from its dark powers, and Selma had no longer known its whereabouts.

Ciarán had set out alone to find the sword and bring it back. It was on that journey that he and Tegan had met and worked together to find it, while also falling in love. Then, they had brought it back to Kincaid castle, where Lillie had used the sword to make the cut Selma said would have the power to start Maddison's healing.

Maddison would always be very grateful to Selma and all her family for all they had done to pull her back from the brink of death. And she was grateful, if also a little fearful, of the magical powers of the blade which she sensed continued to strengthen her daily.

I wish there were simple answer I could give to Lillie, and that I could truthfully tell her I am fully healed. But alas, things arenae so straightforward.

"The magical powers of the sword have helped me a lot, there's nae doubt about that. I dae feel better. Like I'm growin' stronger every day. But as tae bein' me old sel'? Well, I dinnae think that'll ever happen," she finally said.

"Och, nae, Maddy, I'm sorry tae hear ye say so," Lillie told her, her lovely face suddenly downcast.

"Aye, I'm sorry I cannae tell ye anythin' better, Lillie. Ye've all looked after me so well, I hate tae disappoint ye," Maddison said as she groped for the right words. "But honestly, I still feel, well, I dinnae ken how tae explain it… a darkness inside me. Tae be truthful, Lillie, I'm nae sure it'll ever leave me, nae after bein' locked up for so long like that. Nae even with the healin' powers of the enchanted sword tae help me."

Even as she spoke, she felt the same knot of depression rising inside her, the same sense of hopelessness she had lived with every day in her small cell coming back to haunt her once again. "'Tis like a blight I'll never be able tae get rid of. Like the Lennoxes," she added with bitterness, as father and son had ruined her life.

"Ye ken we'll all help ye as much as we can," Lillie said. "It would maybe help if Ciarán and Tegan were back home. With Ciarán here, Diarmaid wouldnae be so busy, and Tegan is a warrior. She'd cheer ye up in nae time. But they'll be stayin' with her sister for a wee while longer, and kenning Ailis, she'll nae wantae let Tegan go so soon. So, 'tis just me tae help ye in the meantime, but I'll dae me best."

"Ye always dae yer best fer me, Lillie, 'Tis nae fer lack of love and care that I'm feelin' this way," Maddison assured her, filled with gratitude. "I suppose the worst shock tae me and what I'm findin' so hard tae get over was learnin' that the man I thought was me friend during me incarceration was actually Odhrán Lennox."

"Och, I ken. It must have been awful fer ye tae find out ye'd trusted him all that time. I cannae imagine how ye must feel."

"How could he have lied tae me like that, Lillie? That whole year, he was givin' me books, and makin' sure I was comfortable, even bringin' clean clothes and food. And all the time, it was Odhrán!" After so long, it made her shake even to think of it. But she did not know whether that was from fury at having been made a fool of all that time, or from something else, something disturbing she could not put her finger on.

"He's a funny one, all right," Lillie said, her brow creasing in puzzlement. "I mean, what could have made him act in such a strange way? And ye ken, Maddy, he killed his own faither tae save ye. I mean, what sort of a man does somethin' like that? I've nae heard of the like before. That's nae somethin' ye can go back from."

"Aye, 'tis strange enough, tae be sure. But I'm nae surprised after what I ken of them both. Odhrán's a wild man, a terrible brute, just like his faither. I never want tae lay eyes on him ever again." She shivered a she spoke. "I can still see his face at the cell door, peering in at me, lookin' so braw and speaking tae me so kindly, as though he really cared about me. It just doesnae make sense why he did it and why he killed his faither too tae save me."

Lillie seemed on the verge of saying something but appeared to think better of it. "Well, if I was him, I think I would have gladly killed me faither if he'd been anythin' like Murphy Lennox. Ye can be sure he was nae exactly a lovin' parent," Lillie replied, glancing down at her son, who had gone to sleep alongside Lona, his chubby arms around the old dog's neck.

Maddison was about to go on when there was a light knock at the door.

"Come in," Lillie called, and the door opened to admit a maid. "Och, hello, Tilly, what have ye come fer?"

"Good day, me lady, I come with a message fer Lady Maddison," Tilly said, bobbing a curtsey to them both.

"What is it, Tilly?" Maddison asked, straightening up in her chair.

"'Tis a message from the laird. He wishes tae see ye in his study at once, me lady," Tilly explained. Maddison rose with a sigh and smoothed her skirts.

"Very well, thank ye. Tell him I'll be down directly," she told the maid.

"Aye, me lady," Tilly replied, disappearing to do as bidden.

"I wonder what he wants with me," Maddison murmured. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll nae be long. I see ye in a wee while."

"Aye, all right," Lillie told her with a smile. "I hope ye're nae in any trouble!" she added in jest.

Maddison left the room, wondering what Diarmaid could want with her. It was most unusual to be summoned in such a manner. She hurried downstairs and along to Diarmaid's study door. There, she stopped and knocked.

"Come in," she heard him say. She opened the door, entering the study, and crossing the rug to his desk. He was sitting behind it with a paper in his hand, his face clouded.

"Why, whatever's the matter, Braither," Maddison asked, alarmed by his expression. "Ye look as though ye've the weight of the world on yer shoulders." She sat down in one of the chairs opposite him, on the other side of the desk, and looked at him closely.

"That's one way of puttin' it," he said, his troubled tone and expression beginning to make her feel a bit panicky. "Is it Ciarán?" she asked, immediately fearing for her twin. "Has somethin' happened tae him?"

To her relief, Diarmaid shook his head slowly. "Nae, 'tis naethin' tae dae with him at all," he said, looking again at the paper in his hand as if trying to make sense of what was written there.

"Then what? Will ye nae tell me and put me out of me misery?" she begged him.

Diarmaid hesitated before he said, "I've received a missive. From the King himself."

Maddison sat bolt upright in her chair. "The King?! But whatever would he be writin' tae ye fer?" She was completely flummoxed.

"It seems that he himself has chosen a match fer ye."

"What?! A match? Fer me? The King?" she stuttered, hardly believing her own ears. Her heart sank to her belly.

"Aye. A match he says will be beneficial fer the Highland clans involved in a troublesome clan feud."

"What's he interferin' fer? He's nae right tae dictate me life," Maddison burst out angrily, suddenly infuriated at yet another man trying to map out her life for her, king or not.

"I couldnae agree with ye more, Sister," Diarmaid told her, "and believe me, me and the Council have been tryin' tae come up with a way tae get out of it fer the last two days. But there seems tae be none. I dinnae have tae tell ye that disobeying the King comes with severe consequences," he said gravely.

Maddison felt as tense as a coiled spring about to break. How could this be happening to her? After all she had been through, now she was to be married off to some stranger to please the King? And what was all this about a clan feud? It all seemed so unfair. But she trusted Diarmaid, and if he said there was no way out, she believed him.

Knowing she had a duty to the clan as the daughter of a laird, she had always been aware that something like this could happen when she came of marriageable age. Despite her unhappiness with the situation, if the King had made a match for her, then she had no choice but to accept it. For the sake of the clan, she had to hope her husband would be someone she could at least like if not love.

Steeling herself for the answer, she sighed heavily and asked, "Who is the man I'm supposed tae wed?"

Diarmaid threw the paper on the desk and looked into her eyes.

"Odhrán Lennox."