Chapter Eighteen

Thane

Thane rode with Mora, Brian, Artan, and two other guards to Duart Castle. Mora was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Thank the lord above for his sister. Her enthusiasm and outlook on life always made him smile.

He hated to admit to anyone why she was the only female who lived inside the walls of his castle, but he also couldn't change it. The belief lived inside him with a force he still couldn't fight.

His own mother had treated them so poorly that he didn't trust any female. Only his sister. And when those evil memories forced their way into his mind, he had to fight to quash them back where he'd never think on them again.

The memories were too painful.

This trip often brought past memories to the forefront of his mind, though he had no idea why. They had to go around the mountain, through the forests, to a high point that was a favorite of anyone who traveled across the isle because the view was unbelievable. He always stopped to look in all four directions, toward the Firth of Lorne, Loch Linnhe, the Sound of Mull. One could see forever.

He held his hand up to stop their progression, making a motion to his brother to occupy Mora while he dismounted and wandered off the path a bit. "I'll return in a few moments, Mora." They were accustomed to his penchant for stopping at this point.

He faced the Sound of Mull, memories of times as a child racing though his mind. If he could only stop them so he could study each one. Visions of sitting a horse with his father, a time of happiness and safety. He could almost hear the rumble of his sire's voice as he instructed another man with them, though Thane ignored the man, so excited for their journey that he could barely keep still. His father's hand would often rub his arm or pat his leg, those small motions of affection something he treasured. He'd taken Thane to a cave that day, one they'd explored for a long while. His father searched for something, but he never knew what it was he'd hoped to find.

The vision bothered him because it didn't fit with the image of a man who would have deserted three bairns and their mother, something their mother reminded them of often.

The second memory was the one that haunted him more. It was of a woman he didn't know grabbing Mora while his father bellowed at him. "Run, Thane. Take Brian with you into the forest!" A rainstorm pelted them, but he took Brian's hand and ran, looking back to see where Mora and his father was. When he turned around, he stared at the rivers of blood running by his feet. In the distance, the sea was visible in every direction. That was all he recalled.

But from each memory, he attempted to retrieve another bit of information that could prove important. Who was the woman? It was not their mother because this person was too pleasant. He'd decided it must have been an aunt, possibly a sister to his father.

But where had the blood come from?

And the last words he'd heard, he would never forget. "Thane, take care of Brian and Mora!"

He had no other memory than that. His age must have been around five summers, while Brian would have been three and Mora just a year. They had no memories at all from those times, so he had no help in the matter.

But the memories haunted him whenever he crossed the isle and sometimes in his dreams. He would awaken in a cold sweat. "Thane, are you hale?"

His sister's voice often took him from his memories, but he was glad of it this time. "I'm fine, Mora. Just admiring the view. We can move on."

"It is the best view of all. Even better than the view from our battlements. Do you not agree? What do you think, Brian? Do you think they'll allow me to look out over the battlements at Duart Castle? Do you think they will like me, Thane?"

He smiled; the memories gone for now. "I think Lady Ramsay and Lady Grant will both love you, Mora. Who wouldn't love my sister?" He meant that statement with every beat of his heart. She was a blessing to all of them. "All you need to do is ask, and I think they'll honor your request to look over the battlements. I'd like to join you as I'm sure it is quite a view."

"May I visit the warhorses with you? Could I visit their kitchens too? Will you ask if she will teach me how to shoot an arrow?"

"Aye, aye, and we'll see about the archery. Mora, do not expect too much. I will probably visit with the men more than the women on this trip."

"But surely the mistress will allow me to visit inside the great hall. I would love to see how they have decorated it. Do they have tapestries? Or plaids? Or do they use flora and pines to decorate? What do they cook the most? How many cooks do they have? I have so many questions."

Thane nearly rolled his eyes at his sister's curiosity, but he was used to it by now. It was part of who she was, and he accepted it. "I promise to introduce you to Eli, and you may ask her whatever you wish, but will you promise to ask her only one question at a time?"

"I promise." Mora scowled before she gave him the most honest answer she could. "I'll try my best."

"That's all I can ask." He treasured her honesty, something he could always count on. Those small treasures were few and far between.

They noticed the change in the air, the proximity to the sea always the first sign of the nearby coastline. In the distance, the castle sat high near Duart Point. It was an imposing structure, quite solid with a thick curtain wall to protect it from not just invaders but also the elements. Thane had as many questions as Mora.

Along the way, he thought again about Artan's ideas surrounding Ulva and Raghnall Garvie. Their next visit would be to the isle. There was a narrow area where one could use a small boat to traverse the loch. Many crossed at that point, and he thought there might be a boat for hire to take beyond, a vessel that would carry more people. He thought to check into that.

He could take their ship or a small boat, but since he didn't trust Garvie and his men, he had a fear that the ship would be missing when they returned. The man was a thief through and through. Thief and a liar, if Thane were to wager.

When they approached the castle, he made his way to the gates, surprised to see a group of villagers waiting outside for admittance.

Brian glanced over at him. "What do we do?"

Thane approached, making his way through the villagers, taking the reins of Mora's horse and leading her straight to the gatehouse. "Thane MacQuarie to see Eli and Alaric Grant, if you please."

"Just one moment," the guard said, leaving and returning quickly. "You may enter. My lady Elisant will meet you on the steps to the keep."

"Many thanks to you," he said, waving to his guards and the others to follow him in once the gate opened.

Inside, a tall, bearded man stood and directed them to the stables, taking Mora's horse first. "The name is Maitland Menzie. We're hiring some local villagers. Looking for another ten guards to train and two women to work inside. I recognize your name, so I'm assuming you are not looking for work. You brought the injured lass to Eli?"

"Aye, I came for a short visit to see how Tamsin fared and, if I may, to chat with you about your horses."

A lad came out for the horses along with another man who looked to be a villager. "We'll take care of the animals, my lord."

Thane helped Mora down, then said, "Many thanks. Our guards will brush our horses down. If you have any oats for them, we'd be appreciative."

Once the horses were taken to the stables, two females approached. Thane nodded a greeting. "Lady Grant, or should I be addressing you as Lady Grantham?" Then he turned to the other woman and said, "Greetings to you, Lady Chieftain." He wasn't quite sure how to address a female chieftain, so he hoped he was close.

Eli laughed and said, "I have not decided yet. Grant for now. That may change, though. This is Dyna, Alaric's cousin. As you already know, she and Maitland are chieftains of Clan Grantham."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Chief," he said to Maitland. "This is my sister, Mora, and my brother, Brian. We brought a few guards, but they will handle the horses. This is a neighborly visit. Mora would love to see the great hall, if you don't mind. She has some questions."

Mora's face was full of excitement, her look of awe at Dyna Grant saying it all. "You are truly a laird? A female chieftain? How did that happen? And do you like it? What is your favorite task …"

"Mora," he said, taking her hand in his. She stopped speaking, then blushed.

"Forgive me, my lady. I am excited to meet you."

"Your purpose for the visit, MacQuarie?" Maitland asked.

"I'd like to see about purchasing stud service from your warhorse, among other things. And I thought I would pass on to you that Tamsin made it to my castle just before her husband came to retrieve her. Said he was told she would be at my castle."

"And she went with him?" The look of shock on Eli's face was close to how Thane had felt the day Tamsin walked of her own volition onto her husband's ship.

"She did. She missed their daughter."

Maitland said, "Come inside for a light repast and we'll chat. I think Mora will enjoy talking with Astra, Dyna's sister, who is close to your age. She's five and ten."

"I am five and ten. I would love to meet her," Mora said, her eyes misting.

That sight alone actually sat in Thane's belly like someone had thrown a fist at him. He needed to find her friends. And he also wished to see her train in archery.

"We would enjoy visiting with you," Thane said. They moved into the great hall, surprised to see three bairns finishing up their midday meal. They greeted the wee ones, and the three picked up their miniature bows, each retrieving an arrow out just in case, he was guessing. He chuckled at the expressions on their faces.

The oldest girl approached him and said, "State your purpose." She aimed her bow directly at his belly.

Dyna, he guessed their mother, said, "Put the bows away. They are friends, Sylvi. Take your brother and sister over to play with the blocks. I need Astra for a wee bit."

Sylvi put her bow in a basket near the hearth, then ran over to the blocks and her siblings followed.

Dyna took Astra's hand and said, "This is my sister Astra. She is staying with us for a while to help. She loves to make new friends."

Mora said, "I am forever grateful to meet you, and I do hope we can be friends. Do you use a bow? I'd love to learn, if you would be willing to train me."

Dyna said, "And we would love to teach you. Come with us, and I'll find you a bow to get started with. Come along, you three," she said to her bairns. "We'll leave Eli and Maitland with the chieftain."

Mora squealed and looked at him. "May I go with them, Thane?"

"Of course. Listen well, lass," he said, pleased they were so quick to take her on. The three bairns scurried along, humming as they went.

"There is no better sound in the world than happy bairns, is there?" Eli asked, fondly watching the three depart.

Thane had no idea how to respond to her question because it was the first time he'd ever heard bairns humming. There were no bairns inside his castle. No women, no bairns. He was beginning to realize how important this was, something he could no longer ignore.

Maitland pointed to a chair by the hearth. A woman came out and Eli said, "Four ales and two meat pies, Murreal, if you please."

Once they were settled, Maitland said, "Alaric is interviewing prospective guardsmen, so he is busy. We can check with him on the way out. Before we discuss horses, please fill me in on Garvie. I need to know everyone who could be a threat to our safety. We would be in your debt if you could give us a brief review of the clans on the island—who you trust most and who not to trust."

Thane would tell them all he knew, hoping they would do a favor or two in return. "I'd be pleased to tell you what I know. Clan MacVey is the closest to you, halfway to the northernmost point where Clan Rankin sits. Both are considered allies, though their strongest alliance is to each other because of their proximity. Clan MacQuarie sits on the western part of the isle, close to Ulva. There are MacClanes on the isle, but they are busy choosing a place to build a castle, mostly west of you. I do not speak with them much. The MacVeys have the only healer, prior to your arrival, so they see the inhabitants the most.

"Off the isle, the worst to my knowledge are the Garvies on Ulva. I know of no other clan on Ulva. Iona holds the beautiful Iona Abbey from years ago. There are some unusual features on the isle. There are two brochs, one at Dun Nan Gall and one at An Sean Chaisteal. The main mountain is Ben More in the center, and we have many caves. Our clan is the youngest as we took it over after it was ruined by fire of an unknown origin four years ago. We have restored it and have built it to a clan of five and twenty. We are always looking for more."

"What kind of a force does Garvie have?" Eli asked. "Swordsmen, archers? What do they prefer?"

"Garvie's guards carried minuscule swords when they came to retrieve Tamsin, and they were slow as a line of snails in dry dirt. It would not be difficult to take over his land if you could get your men on Ulva. I wish to visit to assess, but we only have one small ship, and I fear to lose it to Garvie's men. I don't care to be left on Ulva with no way to come across, meaning we would be at his mercy. Now that I've met him, I can tell you with complete confidence that he has no morals. He'll steal your ship and tell you he has no idea of what you speak. Do not trust him or his men."

"I don't understand why Tamsin returned to him," Eli said. "I know she wants her daughter back, and once we have the force to support her, we would go with her to assist in finding the lass."

Brian appeared stunned. "You would go into an unknown situation, put yourself and your men at risk on an island without worry?"

Eli gave a small snort. "I would if I had the right men with me. I've been in battle against the English. My archery skills are good. I believe in doing what is right, and beating a woman is wrong. He beat her because she burned his dinner, so she said."

Brian confirmed, "That is exactly what Garvie said her crime was. Said she was far from innocent. He demands a son."

"One cannot choose the gender of a bairn in your belly."

"He believes you can," Thane stated.

"Does he have archers?" Eli asked.

"I've not seen many archers on the isle. Only a few for hunting, so I doubt Garvie has any either. We have one archer, that's it."

Maitland said, "I'm going to redirect the conversation to something more useful. Tell me about the animals you hunt most. How do you feed your clan, MacQuarie?"

Thane answered, "Most on the isle depend on freshwater fishing to feed their clans, though some do sea fishing. Loch Ba, west of here a short distance, carries beautiful salmon and trout. Huge fish that will feed many. I'd be happy to take you there on another day."

"What about hunting? Boar meat the most?" Eli asked. "I love to hunt."

Brian looked surprised but said nothing, allowing his brother to answer. "We hunt red deer mostly. Especially in winter, you'll find them foraging for seaweed on the coastline. There are plenty of rodents, hares, rabbits, ferrets. We've seen some pheasant, but we've never been able to catch one. We've found some wild goats, and the clans keep many for milk. Clan Rankin had some Highland cows brought over. There has been some cattle-stealing, which had the Rankins and MacVeys in an uproar. We are still unsure who the guilty party was. They only got a couple, but they don't have a large herd yet. I'm hoping to get two of our own someday, start our own herd, but we don't have any yet."

Maitland looked at Eli and asked, "Anything else, Eli?" Then he turned to the visitors and explained, "Dyna and I are chieftains, Eli and Alaric are in charge of our guards. Swordsmen and archers."

Thane was highly impressed. A woman in charge of the guards. He'd never envisioned such a situation and hoped to see Eli in action someday. Mayhap he could hire her to train some of their guards in archery.

Eli said, "Just one question. When the hell do we go after Garvie? Seems to be the most pressing issue, Maitland."

Maitland stood and said, "Not yet, Eli. We need to train more guards before we attack anyone. And we need to become more skilled in a ship. Then we'll talk. We need protection and food, then we consider attacking. First things first."

"Oh, spit and slime. I'll agree, Maitland, but someday I'm going after that ugly troll. Hellfire and hedgehogs."

Maitland chuckled and said, "Eli likes to curse, but trust me that she will do whatever she promises."

Thane stood and said, "Many thanks for your hospitality. Mayhap we should take our leave. If you lead me to my sister, I'll retrieve her."

Eli said, "Absolutely not. I insist that you spend the night after your journey. We have plenty of open chambers. Allow your sister to sleep in a chamber full of lasses. She'll love it. Come along. Maitland is going out to our lists, newly established and something we are excited about. You must at least agree to staying for one meal. It is the Highland way."

"I accept your hospitality and many thanks. May I follow along, Maitland?" Thane asked.

"Aye, as you wish."

Eli said, "I'll find Mora."

Thane was trying to come up with a good way to ask about paying for stud services of his warhorse when Maitland said, "We're not ready to send any horses out to use as studs yet. They need to adjust to their new home and each other first."

"When you decide you are ready, I'd be happy to bring a mare or two here."

"I'll keep that in mind. We have one more shipment of horses coming soon. Once they are all settled, I'll consider your request. Of course, our finest warhorse belongs to Alaric, so you'll have to talk with him. We have many other fine ones, but Alaric's is the best."

They arrived at the lists and Thane was stunned. He'd never seen any such thing before in his life. He let out a whistle, and Artan exited the stables. He waved him over. "Please observe with me."

He watched the men practicing their sword skills in the field in front of him, Alaric presently demonstrating by sparring with another. Thane had never seen such a demonstration of sheer physical power in his life. He had a new goal—to make himself that strong and skilled.

"Alaric's cousin Broc is sparring with him. He just arrived, and the two can spar for hours because they love it so much. They demonstrate and the new guards spend their day training."

Artan asked, "All day?"

"Most of it. We do have other work we need help with. They'll be useful in repairing some of the cottages once we can fill them. Come, I'll take you to the archery field."

They made their way to the back of the castle and their stood Mora, a bow and arrow in her hand, Dyna standing behind her, arranging her stance before she stepped back and said, "Aim and fire."

Mora shot and just missed the target. He applauded and Mora spun around, smiling. Astra shouted, "Terrific, Mora!"

Dyna approached him and said, "If you don't mind, we'd love to have Mora stay for a sennight or two. Astra would love to have a friend, and we'd be pleased to work with her in the archery field."

Mora waited expectantly until he nodded his approval. She squealed and launched herself at him, giving him a big hug.

Thane reminded her of her manners. "We'll stay the night and leave on the morrow. Aye, you may stay. You'll help wherever you can, Mora. They need help getting the castle established."

"Of course! But I brought only enough clothing for one night."

Dyna said, "Astra has more than she needs, and you are close in size. Plus, I insist on fitting you with your first pair of leggings and matching tunic, the only clothing a female archer should wear."

Mora giggled with more excitement than he'd ever seen. Thane had a sudden odd thought as he watched Dyna with his sister.

Had he been wrong all these years about women?