Free Medieval Highlands 01 - Highland Vengeance by K. E. Saxon Page A

He offered Angus recompense for his purloined cache, but Angus declined, saying the bairn’s confession of remorse was sufficient reparation. They spent the remainder of the day in conference, each speaking of general clan business and sharing ideas and innovations they had discovered in fortifying their keeps and in enhancing their defense techniques.
    *
    As Daniel walked towards the stables the next morn he heard a commotion coming from just inside the walls of the fortress indicating that his grandmother had arrived. He changed course and walked in the direction of the gatehouse instead. His grandfather and Laird Donald were already in attendance, he noticed as he made his way over to the new arrivals. They were standing to the side as a rather round lady was being helped to dismount.
    She had thick black hair with streaks of gray running through it and the rosiest cheeks Daniel had ever seen. And she was taller than her husband, he saw, as his grandfather took his wife in his arms, resting his cheek above her generous bosom for a moment.
    When his grandfather released the lady at last, she lifted her gaze to Daniel’s. With a jolt, he saw that one eye was blue and the other green. Some thought ‘twas the mark of a witch, but he would not believe such. Nay, he would not. For, in those unusual orbs, only warmth and, surprisingly, love, were reflected.
    He walked over to her and bowed his head in deference to her position and age. She was even taller than she looked from a distance, he was astonished to discover, the top of her head mere inches below his own.
    She reached out and stroked Daniel’s hair away from his forehead and then lifted his face for her inspection with her soft hand under his chin. With a robust voice full of merriment and eyes that sparkled with mirth, she said, “I have been waiting lo these many years to at last meet you, grandson. You are as handsomely made as your mother, I see. But you have my dear husband’s coloring, and that pleases me greatly.” Placing her hand at his elbow, she continued, “Come, let us go inside and sit by the fire as we get to know each other. My old bones are weary and the chill has gone right through them.”
    Unnerved by her gentle nature, Daniel blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You remind me of her—my mother, I mean. She was as lively and delighted by life as you seem to be.” A hot flush traveled up his neck and over his cheeks.
    Lady Maclean patted his arm. “I take that as the highest praise, lad. I loved your mother dearly. As I love you.”
    A bright feeling of joy spread through Daniel and he smiled. For the loneliness he had been feeling since the deaths of his mother and grandfather had fallen away with the irresistible pull of his grandmother’s affection. ‘Twas truth, even his burdens felt lighter now.
    *
    She came, she saw, she conquered. ‘Twas over in the blink of an eye and Daniel had not been this happy about the future in much too long a time. He and his grandmother had settled by the fire and spoken for hours this day past. His grandfather had left them to themselves for much of the day, allowing his wife to have their grandson’s undivided attention. Late in the eve he had at last joined them and it had been almost like the old days for Daniel, when he, his mother and her father would gather ‘round the hearth and speak of the day’s happenings. Angus and Laird Donald were invited into the circle later that night and ‘twas the wee hours of the morn before any of them found their beds.
    Now, as Daniel prepared to leave the Donald holding. He said his goodbyes to his newly acknowledged grandparents and promised to send tidings through Laird Donald or through their mutual allies, the MacGregors. Because the MacLaurin clan elders were against an alliance with the Macleans, he would not be seeing his grandparents again, he knew, for many years. If at all.
    Lady Maclean enveloped her grandson in her arms, pressing him