Chapter Twenty-Nine

Eli

Thanks to fine weather, Eli, Alaric, and Maitland returned to Duart Castle the next day. There was still much to do to get their castle functioning the way it should if they wished to attract members to join Clan Grantham.

Mora had been sad to see them leave, but she'd become quite fond of Lia and Magni. True to her nature, her parting words had been, "Many thanks for allowing me to visit with Astra. Do you think she will stay for a while? Could I visit again? Mayhap around Yuletide? Will you tell the bairns I miss them?"

Eli hugged her tightly and said, "Aye to all. We will see you often. Do not despair, lass. You are part of our extended family now." That brought tears to Mora's eyes.

And now she understood Mora better. When they'd relaxed around the hearth after the evening meal, Thane had told them how the three had been raised, and how their mother had left them on the beach when Mora had been seven. He had explained how they'd repaired the castle from fire damage and had grown in numbers also.

Maitland had quietly stated, "If you ever find the woman again, I'd be pleased to meet her. Tell her my thoughts of how she treated her own bairns."

The look in Maitland's eyes told all, but Maitland had explained, "My first wife and I lost a bairn, so apparently, she doesn't understand their value. I'd like to explain it to her."

As Eli's father once told her, there were often reasons for things that you'll never know until afterward. Mora had needed to be around more females, and they had needed to help Clan MacQuarie.

When they came down the main path from Craignure, Eli had been surprised to see more of the cottages in the village now occupied. They'd been deserted when they'd arrived, but now half of them were full. People came out to greet them, and Maitland stopped to introduce himself. Alaric invited several men to join the guards, if they were interested.

Once they arrived back at Duart Castle, they were pleased to see that Derric had found a goat herder nearby who he'd contracted with for a daily delivery of milk, a smithy who was looking for work, and a woman from the village who agreed to come in the morning and set their food for the midday meal.

Life was returning to Duart Castle.

Most surprising was to find Dyna working with Tamsin in the archery field. Eli applauded but then headed inside the castle.

Once they'd had a small repast, Maitland said, "I'm going back to the village to recruit more guards. I wish to see how many are there, who wishes to plant, and anything else I can learn. With all these new tenants, we could use a nice deer to have a feast in a couple of days. Feel like hunting, you two?" He grinned and took his leave.

Alaric said, "He makes a solid point. We could use the meat. We have the ability to smoke whatever we don't eat, and I look forward to a feast for the new villagers."

"I must find someone who can bake. But meat comes first, so I'll go."

"I challenge you. Who can bring back the largest prey, bird or animal. Though I do not mind losing to my beautiful wife, I must be able to hit a rabbit, at the very least."

Eli laughed and grabbed his arm, tugging him along. "I say we go now. I could change my tunic, but I'll change after we hunt."

The two rode together to leave the horses for the others.

"I'm enjoying the fish, Eli. We could go to the loch, if you'd prefer." Alaric flicked the reins toward the forest.

Eli was accustomed to Alaric's teasing. She never tried to hide that she preferred meat to fish, though a nice salmon was sweet at times. "Meat, husband. You know how much I love meat."

He snorted. "And I'm glad of it."

She threw her head back and laughed. But then she became serious. "I've had enough trout. The fishing is fine here, but the deer meat we had at Thane's was delicious. Could the red stag be tastier than the typical Highland deer meat? Either way, it was a tease to my taste buds. I need a big stag of our own, Alaric. But what am I looking for exactly? What else besides deer? I didn't see any boar on our journey."

"Maitland said mostly red deer. He did mention pheasant. Eagles, osprey, rabbit, duck, mayhap geese."

"No boar?"

"He didn't mention it, and we have not seen any yet. Mayhap you'll see one."

"I'm hoping for a big fat pheasant or a deer."

"Duck, straight ahead," he whispered.

She fired but missed. "Bloody hell and a hedgehog."

Several moments later, Alaric slowed his horse. "Deer ahead. A big stag."

"I see it," she whispered. Eli climbed off the horse, Alaric helping her to drop silently as she held her bow with one hand, her quiver across her back. She would not lose sight of the beast. They needed that meat.

She fired one arrow but missed, the deer only moving slightly, turning its head toward her.

"Come on," she whispered. "Give me the broad side, big lad. Easier to hit." She waited, holding her breath, for just the right shot. Before she loosed her shot, another arrow crossed her path. She ignored it, doing what she had to do. She let hers go and caught the stag, dropping him.

But she couldn't forget what she'd seen. A moment later, another arrow passed in front of her eyes, not close, but close enough.

She dropped her bow. "What the hell?"

"Eli, someone is shooting at us. Get back here!"

But something caught her. She was close enough to the arrow to know she recognized that fletching. She followed the path of the arrow until she found it lying in a bush.

"You witchin' bitch! I know who you are!" She took off running straight at the source of the arrow, in the opposite direction of Alaric and their horse. Two more came at her and went wide.

"Eli, wait!"

She ignored him, too focused on her prey at the moment, and they would not escape her this time.

"Eli, arms up. I'm coming for you." Alaric's voice came from a distance behind her.

She heard him, but didn't stop, instead running as fast as she could. She'd not lose them this time. The pounding of the hooves behind her shook the ground and when he was nearly upon her, she stopped and held her arms over her head moments before Alaric bent down to grasp her waist and sweep her onto the horse in front of him.

Eli landed with an oof, but she was still furious. Furious and elated—but which emotion was more powerful? "It's her, Alaric. I'd know her fletching anywhere."

"Your grandmother? Are you sure?"

Two more arrows came toward them from a copse of trees ahead, but both went wide.

"Eli, whoever it is has a different intent than you think. Are you daft? They're trying to kill us. I'm turning around."

Eli nearly grabbed the reins but instead she said, "Nay, husband. She's missing on purpose. Those arrows are so far away from us, the person should be ashamed, but it is intentional. I know her. She'd not shoot at us. It was Grandpapa I saw the other day. They're here. I swear it. And I want to know why!"

Nearly on top of their target, two more arrows went wider than before.

"Stop shooting, Grandmama! Logan Ramsay, stop her from shooting!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, making sure they heard her. She would not turn around.

The arrows stopped, and they neared the trees, so she hopped down and ran straight into them.

Her grandfather stood to the side of a boulder where her grandmother sat with a large blanket on her lap.

"You were shooting at us! You were! I saw you. Are you trying to kill your own granddaughter? What the hell?" She ran straight for her grandfather and shoved him in the chest.

He didn't try to stop her, the look of admiration nearly dropping her to the ground. Then that wee smirk of his.

Then she turned to her grandmother. "How could you? I've thought you dead all this time and here you are, better than ever." She moved to grab the bow out of her grandmother's hand. "Give me that. How dare you shoot at us? What the hell is wrong with you? Have you gone daft?"

When she yanked the bow away, the blanket came with it.

First Eli gasped at what was revealed underneath, then she fell on her grandmother, sobbing her eyes out. "Grandmama, I've missed you so much."