Blessing The Highlander (22 page)

 
           Alred stared at the woman he treasured.
Twas too much! She asked him to deny his own flesh!
He could not believe that she requested him to do this. His heart ripped in two as he resolutely agreed to her entreaty. “Will you grant me one appeal since I have had all joy taken from me?”

 
           “If I can,” she choked.

 
           “Tis not much,” he replied bitterly. “I ask that you name her Seonaid,” he paused until she nodded agreement. “And I want to visit her during her first year of life. There can be no harm in that.” He choked on a sob. “She will not remember me from that age.”

 
           “Aye, my love, that I will grant ye.” She reached up to stroke his strong jaw. He jerked back from her caress. Corinne sighed. Accepting his rejection, she turned and disappeared into the thicket.

 
           Seonaid watched, stunned, as she saw her true father crumple to his knees on the mossy forest floor. His face was buried in his hands as heart-rending sobs escaped him. Tears streamed down her face as she stepped toward him, forgetting that she was only an observer of times past. She reached out… touching his shoulder consolingly. “Father?”

 
           He looked up, not seeing her… but he felt her presence, heard her voice on the soft breeze, like a promise. He smiled through his pain. “Aye, daughter, she will not keep us apart forever.” His form dissolved before her eyes and she was alone.

 
           “What did ye do ta her, auld woman?”

 
           “I did naught! Twas the locket! I saw nae harm in it.”

 
           “Nae harm? Look at her! She lay insensible for more than an hour! And she weeps! She is grieving, auld woman. What did she see?” Garrick thrust his fingers through his hair frustrated with his powerlessness. He could feel her pain and it was tearing him apart.

 
           Hagar turned a sly look at him and said, “Why do nae ye hold her and see for yourself?”

 
           He turned deliberately. Why not? Twas a good time to test their bond. He sat on the edge of the straw-filled pallet and held Seonaid in his arms. He emptied his mind of all thought… focusing on reaching Seonaid, probing at the images that flashed through until he found her.

 
           She was standing alone, weeping quietly in a forest glen. “Seonaid? Mo cridhe, why are ye so sad?”

 
           His deep voice rumbled through her. She glanced around frantically until she saw him a few yards away and ran into his open arms. “I do nae ken how to get back to you,” she sniffled into his tunic as she clutched him to her. “I thought I had lost you.”

 
           “Nay, me love. Ye will never be unable ta find me. We are one...two halves of a whole. We will always be together. Now, I want ye ta focus on Hagar’s cottage. Block out all that surrounds ye here except for me and Hagar’s home. Can ye see the room, lass?”

 
           “Nay!”

 
           Garrick thought for a moment. “Try ta focus on me holding ye in me arms then. Can ye feel the warmth?”

 
           “I can feel a tingling...like I always do when you embrace me.”

 
           That is when he grasped that there was only one way to make her mind go blank. He tipped up her chin giving her little butterfly kisses on her quivering lips. She moaned. He curled his hand at the nape of her neck as he engaged a more forceful, arduous kiss on her soft lips. Garrick sensed her surrender as she melted into him, leaving her mind blank but for the sensations. When their lips parted they heard Hagar cackling on the far side of the room.

 
           “We are back!” Seonaid exclaimed. She looked at her husband in awe. “There is much power between us! I shall remember this lesson.” Her green eyes sparkled with little specks of gold as she turned her enamored gaze to meet her husband’s. “What happened? Was I having another vision? Twas not like the one I had before.”

 
           Garrick turned his eyes to Hagar raising a brow in question. “Aye, auld woman, why do nae ye tell us both what just occurred?

 
           Hagar shrugged her boney shoulders looking nonchalant. “Twas nothing. Just a moment in time that was imprinted on the locket. It should nae have guided her there...twas supposed ta merely flash a glance of her maither.”

 
           Seonaid shook her head as she remembered what she experienced. “Nay. I was drawn into it with a fierce power! One instant I was here and the next...there.”

 
           “It should nae be so. He told me...” She hastily shielded her mouth, looking away.

 
           Garrick had heard her though. He jumped up and stood before her irately growling, “Who told ye, auld woman? Where, precisely did ye acquire that locket?”

 
           Looking bewildered, Hagar shrugged again. “I can nae tell ye until I ken your lass’s revelation.”

 
           Garrick’s anger rose as he glowered at his old nursemaid. She was being difficult yet again. She returned his glare with a defiant glance of her own. He took a deep breath to unleash his ire against her when he heard Seonaid whisper, “I saw my father.”

 
           “Ye saw Seamus?”

 
           “Nay, twas nae Seamus. This man was King of the Fae.” Her eyes darted to Garrick, apprehension written all over her face. “I will understand if you wish to put me aside, husband. You will nae desire a Fae for a consort.” He looked so angry! She had always thought that love could withstand anything… but apparently not this. She hung her head in humiliation. This memory loss was beginning to drain her strength… her emotions soaring from one extreme to another. After a moment of silence, she felt his warm hands on her shoulders as he lifted her to her feet, drawing her into his arms.

 
           “Do ye think so little of me, wife, that I would let ye go for any reason...let alone something as wee as your ancestry?”

 
           She inhaled deeply of his scent, leather and pine...and him. “But you appeared so angry.”

 
           He clasped her nearer to him. “Nae at ye, mo gradh. Never at ye,” he murmured breathlessly. “Ye must learn ta trust in me affection for ye. It will nae fail.” He turned his gaze to Hagar, “Well, auld woman?”

 
           She gave a brusque nod, satisfied. “The King paid me a visit a few days back. Twas afore ye brought your lass home. He brought the locket and asked me ta give it ta her, explaining that she may possibly see her maither with it. He said nothing about it revealing her da! It has Fae magic but I did nae think it was so strong.” She paused. “I do nae understand why he would do such a thing after staying away all these years. He stopped visiting ye when ye reached your first year.”

 
           Seonaid spoke up then. “I ken why. Twas in the reminiscence he presented me.” She glanced from Garrick to Hagar. “She was so cruel to him! He loved her and she turned her back on him and all that he offered. Then as a final blow, she had him vow to give me up! To never be a part of my life! How could she request such a thing?” She turned her eyes to Garrick awash with fresh tears. “Ye should have seen his agony after she left! Twas wrong of her to punish him so just because he loved her. He was on his knees...sobbing. I have never seen such anguish!”

 
           Garrick thought about his meeting with her father and his vow of silence to him. Why would he ask for such then give Hagar the means to reveal himself?

 
           “I wished her to see what had happened...not be told,” King Alred replied quietly as he strode to the center of the room.

 
           Garrick’s head jerked up.
Damn, I wish he would nae do that! Tis hard on one’s heart, it was!
Her father smiled at him, discerning his thoughts.

 
           Seonaid spun around when she heard his melodic voice. She remembered that voice from long ago. As she clutched Garrick’s arm, she drank in the sight of her true father. He was wearing comparable clothing to what he had in the vision and draped over his shoulders was a deep blue cloak that reached to his ankles. His hair was a paler blonde shade than in the vision, reaching his waist. His face revealed no wrinkles since Fae age differently than mortals. It was his eyes that fascinated her the most, though. They were almond shaped, like hers, and tipped upwards exotically at the ends. There was no mistaking the resemblance. The color was different. Hers being a variable green, depending on her mood, while his was a myriad of swirling colors. Changing on his whim.

 
           She did not know what to say to him. He looked warmly at her as he listened to her scattered thoughts.

 
           “I remember your voice. I do nae ken how, but I do.”

 
           Alred’s smile widened. “And I remember yours, daughter.”

 
           “You heard me?” How was that possible?

 
           “Yes Seonaid. The Fae are very sensitive to such things. I felt you comfort my grief, as well. That is how I was able to continue on from that day. Knowing that we would eventually become a family. When I sensed you were there with me, I knew that I must have made it possible in some future time.” He looked at Garrick. “Another reason that she had to see for herself.”

 
           Garrick nodded brusquely in response.

 
           “She was so cruel to you. Why did you allow it? You could have taken me away. She could nae stop you.”

 
           He mulled over her inquiries before he answered. He did not wish for her to think poorly of Corinne.

 
           “When I met your mother I did not treat her kindly at first. Mixing with mortals is forbidden to the Fae, even the king, so I tried to dissuade her affections toward me. But as time passed, her charm won out against my resistance and I took her. In return, she stole my heart.

 
           I asked her to wed me but she refused. She was frightened, I think, of the unknown. When she discovered she was carrying you in her womb she begged me not to let her be shamed.” He paused as he remembered that day.

 
           “I pleaded with her to wed me and be my queen but she was certain that the Fae would never accept her. She may have been right...but I do not believe it is true. I relented as long as she let me pick her husband. I wanted to be sure that neither of you were mistreated. I found Seamus.” He sighed. “When you were born, I had arrived too late to save your mother. I barely saved you.”

 
           “You could have taken me with you then!” she cried out.

 
           The king looked at her sadly shaking his head. “No, Seonaid, I could not. I had promised Corinne that I would not. I would not break that vow. She wished you to have a normal life. I could not take that away. Besides, to do so would have altered history. You would not have been there to give me solace...and you almost certainly would never have met your husband. Would you have me change that?”

 
           “Nay!” she cried out in alarm. Then her mind raced to her vision allowing Alred to see it.

 
           “What is this? I would never cross swords with your husband! That cannot be me. It must be an imposter.” Her vision had shocked him. Something that was not easily accomplished. He glanced at Garrick. “You knew of this?”

 
           Garrick shook his head. “I realized it yesterday when she described ye ta me...but nae before.”

 
           Alred rubbed his chin idly as he contemplated the vision. Who had the power to impersonate him and, even more so, why? He knew of no enemies...that still existed anyway. His cousin, Athor had coveted the throne but he was not in line for it and he had been unworthy. How he had sired such a noble son as Lokai was beyond his understanding. But Athor had faded away to spirit form as the Fae often do when they tire of a physical presence. He could not return from that. None ever had. He would speak to Lokai about it.

 
           “What do you know of this, Hagar?” His eyes narrowed on her. “Do you know any reason someone would wish your laird dead?”

 
           “Mayhap. But wishing it and making it so are two different issues, is nae that so?”

 
           “I suppose it is. But you possess something that only a Fae would have any genuine interest in and only Laird Brodie can possess it. It must be a piece of this puzzle.”

 
           Hagar nodded. “Aye, I ken it. I just do nae ken who would be foolish enough ta believe they would get it from your deaths.” She jerked up her head as a realization crossed her mind. “This puts Seonaid’s life at risk, too! She carries the heir!”

 
           Seonaid trembled in her husband’s arms. Garrick glanced down at his petite wife and realized she was exhausted. This was draining her strength. He gave King Alred a meaningful look… frowning at the toll it was taking on Seonaid.