Fingal glanced at Niall. “Didn’t ye tell her?”
“Aye, I told her.”
“Then, my lady, ye know I am not Niall’s brother.”
“Fingal, I would have thought by now ye would know blood ties mean very little to me. Given enough time, my father’s brother would probably have beaten me to death.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it? Do ye think I could possibly love Tomas any more if I had given birth to him?”
Fingal didn’t answer.
“Regardless of who your parents were, Fingal, ye have been a better brother to Niall and to me than anyone could hope for. Ye are Fingal MacIan because Alastair MacIan was your father in the truest sense of the word.” Then taking his hands in hers, she said earnestly, “Ye will always be my brother, and ye have my eternal gratitude for saving my home.”
With that she kissed him on the cheek. Then breaking the silence in the room, clearly trying to imitate Niall’s commanding voice, she said, “This discussion is over. I will hear no more of this nonsense.”
Niall laughed until tears ran down his face to see his little wife render his brother speechless. “No more arguments, brother, I couldn’t allow ye to return to Laird Chisholm now if I wanted to, and I don’t.”
Fingal grinned.
Tadhg also appeared to have trouble containing his amusement. He crossed the room to greet Niall and said with a smirk, “Ye deserve her, Niall. I, for one, intend on having a quiet life married to a sweet, biddable lass.”
“Don’t tempt fate, my friend,” responded Niall, gripping his forearm “I swore never to marry at all, but I will be eternally grateful to our king for this match. Join us for our evening meal, I will hear of your travels later.” As much as Niall wanted to know what had happened with Malcolm, he did not want to risk upsetting Katherine before the meal. Tadhg took the hint.
There was a festive feel to dinner that evening and Niall did not want to spoil it. However, after the meal was finished and they moved to sit by the hearth, he could delay no longer and finally asked, “What did ye find when ye searched for Malcolm?”
“Initially we found nothing. It was snowing heavily by then and we thought it must have covered his tracks completely. We took shelter in the caves until the storm blew out, assuming he did the same thing. Then we searched for several days but found no sign of him. We finally found him after we turned back. It looked as if his horse lost its footing and stumbled where the track skirted the edge of a deep gulley, not far beyond the place where we thought we lost his trail in the heavy snow. Both he and the horse were dead at the bottom of the gulley.”
All was quiet for a moment, and finally Father Colm said, “Malcolm was responsible for his own destruction. I hope the poor horse didn’t suffer.”
Epilogue
It had been an unusually hot summer, or so Katherine thought. Perhaps she only felt it more keenly because she was heavy with child, but this August morning felt particularly stifling. Hot and edgy, she hadn’t slept well that night, waking up often with her back aching. She must have worked too hard the previous day, she reasoned. After the fitful night, she woke earlier than usual, tired and with her back still aching. She tried to do the things she normally did, but had trouble focusing on even the simplest task. Finally, she gave up and walked out of the keep and across the courtyard. She reached the wall circling the steep crag and looked out across Loch Craos. The water glittered in the bright morning sun. It looked cool and refreshing, and right then she wanted nothing more than to take a swim in it, or at least to wade at its edge.
She decided she would find Niall and ask him to go with her when a pain gripped her, taking her breath away. She braced herself against the wall with one hand and put the other hand on her swollen belly, it felt rock hard. After a minute or so the pain receded. Maybe she wouldn’t go swimming. Instead, she would walk down to the village and find Effie. She hadn’t walked very far when another pain gripped her, forcing her to stop once again and hold onto the wall of a nearby cottage.
After the second pain had receded, she decided it might be better to return to the keep and send someone for Effie. Before she made it all the way back, yet another pain struck. She bent over, clutching her abdomen. Sweat beaded her face. She saw Father Colm step out of the chapel. He was at her side in an instant. He lifted her into his arms, carried her into the keep, and began shouting orders. Katherine smiled briefly, thinking the old priest sounded much like Niall at that moment. Her smile disappeared when yet another pain gripped her.
Within minutes, Edna had Katherine settled in bed and someone had gone to fetch Effie. When she arrived, Effie asked, “Why did ye not call me sooner, my lady?”