Medieval Ever After (94 page)

“Two?” Alex couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He glanced at his wee wife as she began to push again. “Another bairn, wife?”

A few minutes later, Alex held their firstborn and Maddie held their second son. “I hope I am done now, Alice,” looking at their two boys with eyes full of wonder.

After the afterbirth came out, they sent Alex out with one son in each arm so they could clean the bed and get Maddie washed up. They slipped a fresh night rail on her and allowed her to relax on the bed.

“You did beautifully,” Alice said as she kissed Maddie’s brow. “How I wish your mother could be here.”

“I think my mother
is
here, Alice. I can feel her spirit with me.”

***

Alex beamed with pride as he showed his new sons off to his brothers and Jennie. He let his wee sister hold one bairn with Brodie’s guidance.

“I think one looks like you, Alex, and the other looks like Maddie!” Jennie decided. “What are their names?”

“Maddie and I will decide when we get a moment alone. She is quite exhausted right now.”

“Amazing,” said Robbie. “What a day! I still do not understand it all, but it ended well.”

“I will worry about that another day,” Alex said. “Today is for my new family.”

A little later, Brenna came downstairs and told Alex he could return to his wife. She picked up one bairn, and Alex followed with the other lad, hardly able to take his eyes off his newborn son. He marveled at how he could almost hold the wee babe in one hand. He loved to put his finger in his son’s hand so he could squeeze it.
Strong laddie!
Brenna walked in first and gave Maddie their first born. Alex followed with the second bairn. Brenna and Alice took their leave to give the couple some time alone.

Madeline was propped up in bed looking radiant. Alex had never seen his wife look more beautiful. He sat down on the bed next to her and set their other son down between them.

“Maddie, I am so sorry. I did not protect you as I vowed I would.” Guilt washed over him as he took his wife’s face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.

“Husband, I could not be happier than I am at this moment. You did protect me. It was you who saved me from my evil stepbrother. So many things could have gone wrong, yet here we are with not one, but two healthy lads to love. I would prefer to forget all the bad things that happened today and never mention them again. This day is the day our sons were born and we should rejoice in that.”

Alex locked eyes with his wife. “I love you, Maddie. You are the Highlander of my heart. You have the strongest spirit of anyone I know. You were brilliant, love.”

Maddie touched her husband’s cheek tenderly. “And I will always love you, Alex. You are my heart.”

She glanced at the bairns in their arms. “Alex, we have to name our sons. What do you think? We need two names.”

“I don’t know, love. What do you think? You choose, I cannot.”

“What about James after my father, and John after your father?”

“I think that is a splendid idea,” he said.

Maddie kissed her husband again, but their firstborn started to fuss. “I think your son is hungry, Alex.” She untied her gown and settled her son at her breast. He latched on quickly and was quite happy suckling at his mother’s breast.

Alex studied their second son and said, “You will have to learn to share, wee one.”

He moved behind his wife again, and after much maneuvering, held his second son to Maddie’s other breast.

Maddie giggled, leaned against her husband, and sighed. Life didn’t get any better than this.

THE END

ABOUT KEIRA MONTCLAIR

Keira Montclair is the pen name for an author who lives in Florida with her husband.

Keira loves to hear from her readers. Stop by her website at
www.keiramontclair.com
to sign up for her newsletter. She also has a Facebook page at Keira Montclair, Author.

See her view of her characters and the settings for this novel at her Pinterest page.
http://www.pinterest.com/KeiraMontclair/

Feel free to contact her at
[email protected]
. She promises to respond to all emails.

HIGHLANDER’S RECKONING

EMMA PRINCE

TITLES BY

EMMA PRINCE

THE SINCLAIR BROTHERS TRILOGY

Highlander’s Ransom
(Book 1)

Highlander’s Redemption
(Book 2)

Highlander’s Return
(Bonus Novella, Book 2.5)

Highlander’s Reckoning
(Book 3)

HIGHLAND BODYGUARDS SERIES

The Lady’s Protector
(Book 1)

Book 2 coming summer 2016!

VIKING LORE SERIES

Enthralled
(Viking Lore, Book 1)

Shieldmaiden’s Revenge
(Viking Lore, Book 2)

The Bride Prize
(Viking Lore, Book 2.5)

Desire’s Hostage
(Viking Lore, Book 3)

OTHER BOOKS

Wish upon a Winter Solstice
(A Highland Holiday Novella)

HIGHLANDER’S RECKONING

CHAPTER ONE

Scottish Highlands

Late January, 1308

Daniel examined the
unbroken seal of red wax on the letter he had just been handed. The seal depicted a man on horseback, brandishing a raised sword in one hand and a shield in the other. It was a fitting seal for a warrior-King like Robert the Bruce.

Breaking the seal, Daniel tilted the letter toward the light of the fire that blazed in the hearth.

The King was done indulging Daniel’s delays. At first, the Bruce’s letters had patiently laid out his plans for Daniel, praising the youngest brother in the loyal and powerful Sinclair clan’s ruling family and emphasizing that an honor was being bestowed upon him for his family’s service to the cause for independence.

But after Daniel’s claims to already be occupied with running his uncle’s keep and training his young cousin in the ways of leadership, the Bruce’s letters took a different tack. They were filled with descriptions of Loch Doon’s beauty and strength as a stronghold in the southwest. Wouldn’t Daniel prefer to run his own castle in the Bruce’s stead rather than train another how to rule?

The Bruce was clever, Daniel would give him that. The appeal to Daniel’s desire to lead in his own right had almost been enough to halt his delay tactics and take up the task the Bruce had charged him with. But there was still one part of the Bruce’s plan that Daniel simply couldn’t abide.

Forced marriage to some Lowland chit who was probably more English than Scottish.

Even the thought of it made Daniel cringe internally.

Of course, the Bruce’s letters had expounded on the lass’s rumored beauty, but Daniel knew his King well enough to put little stock in it. He should feel honored that the Bruce even bothered to try to entice and cajole Daniel rather than simply ordering him to travel to the Lowlands, secure Loch Doon from the dubiously aligned Gilbert Kennedy, and marry Kennedy’s daughter. Doing so would ensure that the man would stay in his place and remain loyal to the Bruce.

Apparently, though, the time for ordering had arrived. There were no more angles, no more delays, no more tactics to try to avoid his fate. He supposed he could beg the King to give him a reprieve until spring—even now a fierce storm howled outside the keep’s stone walls—but he very much doubted that his complaints about the weather would sit well with a man who had been living in a mobile camp for more than a year.

Daniel let the letter flutter into the hearth. He didn’t need to read it again. He knew his duty. He would travel to the Lowlands, marry the Kennedy lass, and bring Loch Doon firmly under the Bruce’s control. But perhaps most important—and most secret—for the cause, he would prepare to lay siege to the nearby castle of Dunbraes, which was currently being held by the English bastard Raef Warren.

“What is it, Uncle Danny?”

Will stepped into the entryway of the great hall where Daniel stood alone. Daniel smiled faintly at the pet name the lad used for him. Though he was technically Will’s cousin, the lad had always looked up to him with awe and reverence, thinking of him more as an uncle than a cousin.

“The time has come for me to depart, Will,” Daniel said as the lad approached.

The boy halted halfway across the hall, a stunned look on his face. “Now? Already? Why? When?”

Despite the desire to smile at his young cousin’s outburst, Daniel forced a stern look on his face. “What have I told you about dealing with the unexpected, lad?”

Will swallowed. “Assess the situation, make a new plan, and…”

“And?”

“And never look back.”

Though the boy tried to school his features to match Daniel’s, he ended up looking more distraught than stern. He wanted to hug the lad, but he was fourteen now. If Will was to be made ready to take over running the keep—and soon, though Daniel sent up a prayer for his uncle William’s health—he could no longer be coddled.

“So, begin with assessing this new situation,” Daniel said levelly, folding his arms over his chest.

Will’s brow furrowed, considering. “You have received a letter, and from what I saw, it was written on fine parchment. Was that the royal seal on the front?”

Daniel suppressed a smile. “Aye, it was. Good, lad. Now what?”

“You have received several such letters in the last few months. The messengers deliver them no matter what, even in the worst of storms, as we have had all winter. You are receiving important information from King Robert the Bruce. But the central Highlands has been securely behind him almost from the beginning of his campaign, so he isn’t trying to convince you of his cause.”

At Daniel’s silent nod, the lad went on.

“But perhaps he wants you to do something for him. And you just said that you are leaving. Has he ordered you to join him?” Will’s eyes lit up with the excitement that only a lad who had never seen battle could have at the thought of joining the Bruce.