Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

F inally, Raven gave up and went to sit next to Arne, shivering from the cold. He put his arms around her. "Why will they nae believe me enough tae go and tell me braithers I'm here?" she asked with frustration.

"Dinnae worry. Any hint of a spy about the place and yer braithers will be told about it right away," Arne said.

"So why does Everard nae come then?"

"Because they think we're spies for their enemy. They want tae make us stew in this stinkin' hole fer a while tae soften us up fer when they interrogate us."

"So, how long d'ye ye think they'll leave us down here?" she asked uneasily.

He shrugged. "I dunno. A few hours? A night or two, maybe."

She reared away from him, horrified. "A night or two? Are ye jokin' me?!"

"Nae. But if they suspect we're MacDonald spies, I'm guessin' it'll be sooner rather than later because they'll want tae interrogate us as soon as possible. And also, they will catch wind that ye said ye were their sister and they'll be curious."

"Och, dear God," she sighed, collapsing back against him, deflated and shivering.

"But remember," Arne went on, "we dinnae even ken if yer braithers are here. They could be out somewhere, scoutin' or somethin'. We might be here fer days or even weeks."

"Weeks!" she shrieked. "I'll die of cold by then."

"Well, let's just hope 'tis the former rather than the latter," he said, pulling her onto his lap, holding her close. Grateful, she snuggled into his warmth.

"Well, however long it turns out tae be, I'm glad we're together," she told him.

"Aye, so am I."

They had dozed off, with Raven still in Arne's arms, when they were suddenly startled awake by the cell door opening. Raven clung to Arne as two men entered the cell. One was holding a lantern up high. After the darkness of the cell, the bright light blinded Raven, and she shielded her eyes with her arm. Arne did as well, so she guessed he was having the same trouble.

However, after a few moments, she got used to the light and removed her arm. In front of them, seemingly examining them in the lantern light, stood two men. Both were tall and well-built, though the one with the lantern was slightly shorter than the other. Both wore padded leather coats, trews, high boots, and had sword belts at their hips.

And both had hair as black as a raven's wing.

Hope and joy burst within Raven's chest, and she cried out as she leapt to her feet and rushed to greet her brothers.

"Stay back!" the one with the lantern ordered in a deep voice, unsheathing his sword in a flash and pointing it at her. Raven halted mid-step, staring at the gleaming tip in confusion.

"Who are ye?" the taller one demanded roughly. She saw the flash of silver at his lapel and knew it was Everard, for he was wearing the clan insignia that marked him out as the laird.

"D'ye nae recognize me?" she asked, hearing a plaintive note in her voice. "'Tis me, Raven."

"Step forward, slowly," Maxwell, who was still pointing his sword at her, commanded. He held the lantern higher. She obeyed.

Everard inhaled sharply. "'Tis her, Max, 'tis really Raven!" he cried, breaking into a delighted laugh. He grinned as he opened his arms to her. "Come and give yer braither a hug!"

Needing no second bidding, an elated Raven rushed into his arms and threw herself upon him, hugging him with all her might, sobs of joy surging up from within her and bursting from her lips. Everard embraced her tightly, lifting her off her feet and swinging her to and fro. His laughter vibrated deep in his chest and traveled through Raven's bones.

"Is it really her? Is it ye, Raven?" Maxwell exclaimed, a grin breaking out on his face. Hurriedly, he placed the lantern on the floor and turned to her and Everard. "Well, dinnae keep her all tae yersel', Everard, she's me sister as well, ye ken," he protested laughingly. "I wantae a hug too!"

Everard let her go, and she rushed to embrace Maxwell joyfully.

"We didnae believe it when we got back from scoutin', and the guards told us they'd caught a lassie who was insistin' she was our sister," Everard explained, beaming at her. "I can hardly believe it mesel'."

Maxwell finally let her go. "Aye, at first we feared ye were dead, that MacDonald had killed ye and was just pretendin' tae look fer ye. But thank thee Wee Man, we got the letter from the MacLeods and here ye are safe and in one piece. Nonetheless, we still thought that passing a lassie off as our sister was a ploy of yer mad husband's. We didnae dare believe it could actually be ye."

"Aye, 'tis a miracle!" Everard said, his eyes turning to Arne, who was now standing behind Raven, watching the scene before him with a half-smile on his face. "Who's ye friend?" her brother asked.

Raven grabbed Arne's arm and pulled him forward. "This is Arne MacLeod, braither of Haldor MacLeod, me protector, the love of me life, and the faither of me son," she told her brothers, beaming at Arne, who grinned, clearly delighted by her introduction. "I cannae tell ye how many times he's saved me life."

The two brothers looked Arne up and down with great curiosity.

"Is that so? Then we owe him a great debt. Welcome indeed, Arne MacLeod, 'tis a pleasure and an honor tae meet ye," Everard declared, seizing Arne and enfolding him in a brotherly embrace. Maxwell greeted him with equal enthusiasm, and for the next few minutes, Raven watched happily while her brothers almost fell over themselves to give Arne the warm welcome she knew he deserved, pumping his hand in theirs and slapping his back heartily until he started coughing.

At that point, Everard said, "Let's get the both of ye out of this stinkin' dump. Ye look like ye need warmin' up and somethin' tae eat. Come on, Max, we need tae celebrate this happy day, our sister's safe return tae her rightful home!"

Once out of the dungeon, Raven breathed a sigh of relief. She walked with Arne at her side up many stairs as they followed her brothers, until they got to the great vestibule of the castle keep.

"Tis very strange tae be back," she murmured, looking about. "Everythin' looks so familiar but so different at the same time."

"Aye, that's what I used tae think when faither would send me away fer me trainin'. Things always looked strange when I got home again. But ye soon get used tae again." Maxwell confided, putting an arm around her shoulder.

Arne stood looking at the brothers and scratched his head. "Am I seein' double?" he asked with a crooked grin. "Now we're in the light, I can see ye both better, it looks like the two of ye are almost exactly the same."

The MacNeil siblings laughed. Raven looked at her brothers too. "Ye ken, even though 'tis six years since I've seen ye, ye look more alike than ever," she said before turning to Arne. "Everard is the eldest by two years, but they look so alike folks often used tae mistake them fer twins," she explained.

"Thank the Wee Man fer that," Arne joked, "I thought I was going mad."

After they had finished chuckling over that, Everard summoned servants to arrange chambers for the new arrivals.

"Ye can have yer old chambers, Raven," he said. "I think ye'll find nae much has changed in all the time ye've been away. I think ye even have some old clothes in the wardrobe. Meanwhile, Maxwell can go and see the cooks and make sure we have a feast fer our dinner. That'll give ye both a couple of hours tae clean up and rest afore ye come down and join us at the laird's table. I cannae wait tae hear all ye've got tae tell us about how ye got here."

"Grand, I've nae a stitch tae wear save this lad's outfit," she told him, pleased at the idea of having fresh things to change into. Then, she thought of Arne and quickly explained, "Arne needs some clothes too, Everard. We lost all we owned gettin' here." Her brothers looked at her with frank interest. She smiled and said, "We'll tell ye all about it later, after we've bathed and changed. But would ye mind lendin' him some of yer clothes fer a while?"

"Nay problem, I'd be happy too," Everard replied, clapping Arne on the shoulder. "And we'll find him a nice comfortable room nae too far from yers, eh, sister?" He shot her a cheeky grin that made her smile and blush at the same time, though she was thrilled to see how easily her brothers had accepted Arne as her man.

Servants were duly summoned, orders issued, and Raven and Arne were shown upstairs. "I wish we could have shared me chambers," she whispered in Arne's ear when they reached their separate doors. "Will ye come and knock fer me when ye're ready, so we can go down tae dinner together? That's me chambers, just there," she added, pointing to a door a little way down the tapestry-lined hallway.

He nodded. "Aye, I'll see ye later, lass, but before ye go, I must tell how much I like yer braithers," Arne replied, planning a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"It warms me heart tae see it," she told him, squeezing his arm before they parted and entered their respective chambers. "In the past, I never dared hope ye would meet." She smiled sadly and he caressed her cheek.

About two hours later, Raven put a shawl around her shoulders and looked in the looking-glass to check her appearance. She thought the shawls' purple-heather shade went rather well with the old willow-green, woolen gown she had found in her wardrobe and had put on after bathing. The clothing was hers, but did not seem familiar at all.

When she had found the dresses hanging there, she realized she must have left them to wear when visiting her family after marrying Struan. But there had been no such visits. Struan had always found some excuse for her to stay on Barra, however much she told him she missed her brothers.

A loud knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She smiled to herself as she turned to the door and said, "Come in!" The door opened, and Arne stepped into the room. She looked him up and down admiringly. "My, my, ye look a wee bit different," she told him playfully, thinking how outrageously gorgeous he looked in his white shirt, dark coat, clean leather trews, and high boots. She went up to him and stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his grinning lips. "Ye look very dashing!"

Arne was taking her in as well, his eyes twinkling. "Well now, ye scrub up very nicely," he joked, suddenly grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a proper kiss, clearly not content with just a peck on the cheek. "Ye look… edible," he added with a wolfish look.

"Edible? Well, I suppose that's a sort of compliment." She laughed as she slipped her feet into a pair of pretty house slippers she had forgotten she owned and took his outstretched hand. They went out into the hallway, and she led the way down the staircase and through the hallways of the castle, to the great hall.

She enjoyed being on Arne's arm, walking the halls where she had grown up. She felt absurdly proud when she caught many an admiring glance at him from the female servants as they as they passed. It felt good to know he was hers, and that she no longer had to pretend that she did not love him.

They entered at the rear, near to the laird's table, where they found a reception committee waiting for them. It took some time for Raven and Arne to be introduced to the other guests, mostly members of Everard's council of advisors and his military leaders, as well as their wives and families. Some of them remembered her well and greeted her warmly, glad to see her returned safely to her former home.

When the dishes of food were laid out and the wine and ale poured, she and Arne and her brothers soon settled in to eat and began to catch up in earnest.