Epilogue

"B rechlinn! Duncan!" Bran called, hurrying through the bailey. Duncan, standing with Lennox, turned to see three monks approaching with Bran. He frowned, wondering if they brought news for Bishop Murray, who was still with them.

A fortnight after the arrests of Menteith and De Soulis, and after Henry Keith and others had brought the men of Kincraig out of Dunbarton and up to Brechlinn, the castle was bustling and busy with riders going in and out the gates, men arriving by horse or by boat, Duncan's own men heading out on patrols. Effie had brought in neighbors from the hills to help with the greater work in the household, and Margaret was helping too in organizing beds and meals and more.

Now, Duncan noticed one of the monks carried a satchel crossed over his chest in the manner of a messenger. Bruce often used monasteries to covertly communicate. With a worried glance for Lennox, he moved toward the newcomers.

"Sir Duncan Campbell?" the monk asked.

"Aye, Brother. Welcome."

"I am Brother Gideon. I have come from Holyoak in Selkirkshire with a message for either Sir Duncan or Malcolm Lennox."

"You have us both, Brother." Duncan looked closely at the tall man with the blond tonsure. There was something familiar in the face and about the eyes.

"From the king," Gideon said, opening the satchel to withdraw a sealed parchment, which he handed to Duncan.

Accepting it, he broke the seal, read it quickly, and handed it to Lennox, who read it and nodded understanding. "So, we have our orders to bring the lass to her father, and the bishop as well. We must move quickly if we are to get them to the Firth to meet the king's birlinn tomorrow," Duncan said. Lennox nodded.

"Thank you, Brother," Duncan went on. "Will you and the others accept our hospitality and stay here? We will take you down the loch with us when we leave."

"Thank you. May I ask if Dame Agatha is here? I heard she traveled this way."

"She is. And her brother is here as well. Do you know them?"

"Very well." Gideon broke into a smile that Duncan then recognized. He had the same wide, handsome grin, good teeth and a hint of a dimple as Liam Seton and his sister Agatha shared. Gideon looked past Duncan and waved. "There they are!"

"Gideon!" Dame Agatha picked up her skirts and ran like a young girl to embrace the monk and kiss his cheek. She stepped back, her smile puckered in a deep dimple that only brightened her eyes. "Liam! Gideon is here!"

Seton hurried through the bailey to clap the monk's shoulder, grinning. Henry Keith came just behind him, greeting them as well.

"Gideon is our brother," Liam told Duncan and Lennox.

"Excellent! I did not realize. You are more than welcome. Lennox, if you will, take the good monks to the hall and ask Effie to see they are fed and refreshed. And we need to inform Liam and Henry and the rest, now that we have the king's orders."

"Aye. I will let them know and we can all discuss it later. Come this way. Good Dame Agatha, if you will," he added politely, stepping back to let her precede him as he guided them across the bailey to the keep.

Duncan turned to look for Margaret. He had come out earlier with that mission in mind but had been waylaid. Brechlinn Castle was indeed a busy place. But now he wanted to find her and let her know that they would take Lilias to meet Bruce soon.

Then he saw her hair, a bright banner, just beyond a cart filled with ale kegs brought by the brewer. She was practicing at the archery butts. He strode that way.

Just as she was readying to draw the bow, aiming at a target, she stopped and saw him. A bright smile lit her face. He savored that smile, secret and loving, and his heart warmed as he returned it. "My lady," he said, "there is some news."

"Tell me!" She set down the bow as he came near. With carts blocking part of the bailey, the practice area had become a private little corner. No wonder she had escaped here. "Someone just came in the gate, I saw. Monks to see the bishop?"

"Brothers from Holyoak, carrying a letter from Bruce. He uses that monastery often to channel messages outward. Brother Gideon and two others."

"Gideon!" She looked delighted. "Agatha and Liam's brother. There is another brother, Gideon's twin, Gilchrist. A knight. Will the monks stay here? They have come a long way."

"They will, but some of us must leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" She arranged her arrows in the quiver, and looked up. "Has Bruce decided what is to be done with Sir John and Sir William?"

"He approves what we have arranged so far. He read the charges I wrote, some serious offenses for Menteith and a tentative charge of conspiracy for De Soulis. And he approves Constantine taking them down the loch to Dunbarton to detain them in Menteith's own dungeon, guarded by Stirlingshire soldiers. It will take time, but they will face a justiciary court. Not mine, of course."

"And Menteith? What of his claim on the Lennox?"

"Bruce may forfeit him for this. Either way, it will heighten the tension over the claims on the Lennox. Malcolm has a struggle ahead of him. Menteith will keep Roskie, as that is his. And there could be a tussle of authority between Edward and Bruce over it, if Edward even has the strength. They say he is very ill again." He drew a breath. "Bruce also sent orders to be carried out immediately."

"Who will leave tomorrow?" She tipped her head, and came toward him.

"Lennox and I are ordered to accompany Lady Lilias down the loch and take her to the Firth to meet another of Bruce's ships. The bishop will go with her out to the Isles, and then Ireland. But we must leave in the morning." He reached out, drew her closer. "We must leave before first light so as not to be seen. The message took time to reach us, so we must hasten."

"Before dawn!" She set a hand to her chest. "How long will you be gone? I did not think to say farewell to Lilias so soon. Am I to go with her to Ireland, as planned before all this happened?"

He shook his head. "Bruce knows the situation here. Lennox detailed much in the letter he sent a fortnight ago. The king knows we are to be married, so he asks that Dame Agatha accompany her until the party meets two of Bruce's kinswomen who will then care for Lilias. Lennox will go with us, and Bruce's men who are here. Once the girl is off to Ireland and the bishop is seen to, I will return. Lennox will take Dame Agatha back to Lincluden. But I do not know how long we will be gone. I am sorry. I know you are planning our wedding."

She took his hands in hers. "I understand. You have a good deal of work to do for Bruce with your secret guests and covert journeys. And you have justiciary cases to tend to as well. I know that. I will wait. I have waited since I was a child, Duncan Dhu. I can wait a little longer."

With a rueful smile, he lifted her hands and kissed them. "Thank you. Everything is coming together at last for us, my love."

"Aye. I will miss Lilias though. What of Andrew?"

"He can stay here with us. Constantine and the bishop suggested it."

She brightened again. "I would like that so much! He and Owen are becoming good friends. And Bran is fond of him, says he will train him up to be a great knight. And here with us, he will have a chance to see his uncle now and then."

"Aye, love. All things in their time, coming together. One thing more." He held her hands. "With so many leaving in the morning, I thought perhaps we could marry now."

"Now," she repeated. "Here and now?"

"We may not see our friends and family for a while after this. And the bishop is here."

"True. And my brother and all." She looked away with a tiny, thoughtful frown. "Oh, aye. We will do that. It will be just a quick ceremony and a small celebration, being so sudden."

"It is up to you."

She nodded. "Then this is what I choose." Pulling him close by their joined hands, she tipped her face for a kiss, long and luscious. He was reluctant to pull away, wanting to draw her deep into his arms, hold her, love her—find some private spot. But he only smiled, waited.

"The great hall can be done in candlelight and flowers," she mused. "Effie would help, and others."

"A lot of work to be done so quickly. I suppose we could do all of this in the hall."

"Wait. I have an idea." She walked away, picked up her bow, plucked an arrow from her quiver.

"I suppose that might help you think," he said.

"You said it was my choice. Watch me decide." She gave him a mischievous smile, then nocked the arrow and pulled the string back. But she lowered the bow and touched the pendant at her throat.

"You are doing that again."

"When I dreamed of my grandfather, he said this enchanted pendant would send an arrow where I wanted it to go. I want to try that now."

"Where do you want it to go?"

She smiled, drawing back the string. "Where it needs to go, Duncan Dhu. Let us see what it will do for us now."

"What do you mean?" He laughed softly at her answering, elfin smile. She was just as whimsical and fey and beautiful in that moment as she had been years ago, when he saw her spinning happily in the bailey of his father's castle.

She drew the string, tilting slightly to rest the arrow on her gripping hand, fingers light on the fletched end. For a moment she stood, eyes closed. Then she released the shaft.

A powerful shot. Duncan watched it arc past the target and sail over the castle wall. "You missed," he said.

"Then we had best go fetch it," she said with a little laugh.

Bemused, he walked with her through the commotion in the bailey and out through the open gate. As they crossed green grass toward the woodland behind the castle, he took her hand.

"Now where did that go," Margaret said. Hearing her light tone, he stopped and caught her in his arms.

"What scheme is this? Leading your unsuspecting groom into the privacy of the forest? He is happy with that plan." He drew her to him, kissed her, felt her press against him as she looped her arms around his neck and renewed the kiss, opening her lips to him, laughing softly, sweetly, against his lips. He was lost, wanting her to feel utterly lost in the moment too.

"Come with me." She took his hand and led him between the trees, through deep ferns, into the vast spread of the wild bluebells beneath the oaks and birches. "Where did that go?"

"Over there." He pointed ahead, seeing the fletching thrusting up in a thick haze of blue-violet petals between a few birch trees.

"Ah! Just where I hoped it would go." Her green eyes, as she caught his gaze, were all sparkle and whimsy, with a touch of triumph and delight. "Look up."

He did. The arrow had landed in the center of an arch of birches in a carpet of bluebells and ferns. The sun, cutting through the forest, streamed down in translucent beams. The whole area looked like an enchanted place, a natural cathedral in the forest.

"What is this place?" he asked, setting his arm around her as he looked around.

"This is where we will be married this evening, with our friends and family surrounding us. The hounds too, and the wee terrier. And the falcons. Can we bring the falcons out here as well?"

"They are part of our family too. My forest bride," he whispered. "Your dreams start now, here." Drawing her to him, he kissed her gently, and as she returned it with sweet fervor, he felt her arch against him, his forever.

"Oh, they began when I was small, and you were my handsome, honorable knight," she whispered against his lips. "And this is our lucky place, here in the forest."

"Forever so," he whispered. He kissed her. "I never knew what luck was until the day I found you again."