“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. If Colin didn’t want to leave Lochlen, then he wouldn’t. And if Colin’s plan allows for leaving the Lowlands, then he is not upset at the loss. My guess is that he has found something far greater than being laird of a clan.”

Makenna turned and gave Laurel a doubtful look. “Did you say Colin’s plan? I don’t think he has one. He has more hope than a plan.”

Laurel chuckled and walked toward their horses, grabbing the reins to Makenna’s mare as she retrieved Borrail’s. “I forget you have only been married to Colin for a few months. In a couple of years, I’ll remind you about this conversation.”

“Aye, we have been married only a short time, but I have known him for over two years,” Makenna countered.

Laurel swung onto Borrail’s back and watched in curiosity as Makenna carefully mounted. “And how much time did you actually spend getting to know him?”

Makenna adjusted her skirts and gave Laurel a semi-scathing look. “So I avoided him most of the time. Still, there were two very aggravating years in which I saw very little of this great ability to strategize.”

“Get ready,” Laurel said, smiling as if she were just about to divulge a juicy secret. “You married a McTiernay, Makenna, and they are the masters of strategy. And to them, the very best plans are ones that don’t reveal themselves until they want them to be seen. Trust me, Colin is about to teach your people a hard lesson, and it will be your responsibility to help him when the time comes.”

Makenna scowled at Laurel. “But if he doesn’t tell me anything, how can I help?”

Laurel lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “All he needs is your trust and your love. To know that regardless of the situation, you will support him…even if it means turning against your clan.”

Makenna grimaced and kicked her brown mare into a canter. She hoped it would not come to that, but if Colin were to leave, she would go with him.

Laurel watched in astonishment as Makenna rode proudly by her. Tears were springing up in her green eyes. Laurel suspected Colin had never told his wife how deep his feelings ran for her. She rode up and grabbed Makenna’s hand to get her attention. “Does he know you love him?”

Makenna nodded. “Aye, I told him.”

Laurel squeezed Makenna’s fingers and let go. “Makenna, we have not known each other very long, but I need you to trust that what I am saying is not just for your benefit, but because it is true. Colin loves you very much.”

“I know he cares for me, and sometimes when we are alone, I can see the love in his eyes, but then it is gone. He doesn’t want to love again after Deirdre. I can understand that.”

“He may not want to love you, but he does, even if he doesn’t say so aloud. A man protects what he cherishes, and by the number and size of the soldiers watching over you…”

Makenna glanced at Brodie, Gorten, and the rest of the soldiers keeping just out of earshot. “That’s not evidence of love, that’s just…annoying.”

Laurel shrugged. “Just wait until he learns that you are pregnant. You have only begun to see how annoying his hovering can be.”

Makenna’s hand jerked slightly at the comment. It was enough to confirm Laurel’s suspicions. Makenna was with child, and Colin had no idea.


As Makenna and Laurel neared Lochlen the majority of soldiers following them swung back toward the training fields, leaving Gorten and Brodie and Laurel’s two guards to see them safely back inside. Cresting the hill leading to the town gate, Makenna could see several figures hunched outside. One was unmistakably Colin.

Makenna pointed. Laurel nodded, seeing Conor crouched down on the other side. Makenna slid off her horse and moved quietly toward the group. Laurel followed.

Hearing someone approach, Colin turned and gave Makenna a quizzical look. He motioned for her and Laurel to come closer but remain silent. Then he made a strange gesture that Brodie and Gorten must have understood, for they immediately moved to the opposite side of the gate.

The second she was in arm’s length, Colin grabbed Makenna and placed her behind him. A second later Laurel was behind Conor.

“Whatever are you doing out here? We thought you were inside,” Colin growled.

“It was my fault. I wanted to see the countryside. No one told us that we were to remain confined,” Laurel shot back.

Conor rolled his eyes, and Laurel knew that he was praying for patience.

Laurel ignored him. “What’s happening, Conor? Is something wrong?”

“Not a thing,” Conor answered. “It’s all going exactly to Colin’s plan.”

Makenna’s eyes widened in surprise. Laurel had been right. “Why do we have to remain hidden?”

Colin grinned and then leaned forward eagerly. “Because, it would interrupt the show Lela is giving. And it is quite an interesting one. Come here,” he said, moving just enough for her to see.

Makenna looked through the small opening in the wood planks and saw Lela pacing around the Commune Tree shouting something.

Laurel whispered, “What’s that woman saying?”

“She’s challenging everyone to turn against Colin and join MacCuaig, the laird of a neighboring clan,” Conor whispered in explanation.

“Striopach,” Makenna murmured, unaware she had just called Lela a harlot out loud.

“I actually think you might be right,” Colin affirmed softly. “She’s been meeting with MacCuaig regularly.”

“How much longer are you going to stand by and watch as McTiernay destroys our way of life?” Lela shouted loud enough for all to hear.

“The only destruction and filth I’ve heard is from your own mouth, Lela Fraser. We might not like the Highlander, but MacCuaig is no better. We’ve heard rumors about how he mistreats his own people. Not a man I want to be shifting my allegiance to,” said an older man with short scrubby hair and a wrinkled face.

Lela scoffed and gave him a placating smile. “Make your choice, then, but I would rather be led by a strong Lowland laird with an army who could protect me and my clan than a weak Highlander with a handful of untrained recruits and a vulnerable wall.”

The small crowd became smaller as more turned away and resumed their duties. Still, Lela kept on. Only a few Makenna knew to be adamantly against Colin as their laird remained behind for a while before they, too, decided to leave.

Colin stood up and pulled Makenna up beside him. Conor assisted Laurel and said one word, “Interesting.”

“Aye, ’tis that. It shouldn’t be long now. As soon as Dunlop returns with Drake we’ll be ready,” Colin replied.

Makenna spun around in Colin’s arm. “Returning? I thought you said Drake was out training the men.”

“Aye, I did. I just didn’t tell you where,” Colin pointed out with a touch of self-satisfaction.

“The question you should be asking, Makenna, is what your husband is getting ready for,” Laurel advised.

Makenna crossed her arms and looked directly into her giant’s sparkling blue eyes. “I’ve no need to ask. I already know. He’s about to teach my obstinate, shortsighted clan a well-deserved lesson.”

Colin favored her with a blindingly bright smile. “Aye, wife, and I hope they are quick learners.”

Colin opened his arms, and Makenna stepped into them and held him close. “I hope they are, too,” she whispered against his chest. “For I am ready for this to be over.”

Colin leaned down and kissed her hair. “And if things go wrong, and we leave?”

“Then we leave,” she whispered back.

“Don’t worry. I don’t know if I ever told you this before, but we McTiernays are great planners. Things rarely go wrong.”

Makenna hugged Colin tightly to her. Twice in one day, she was told about the McTiernays’ ability to strategize and plan. Makenna didn’t know if that was a good sign or an omen of bad things to come.





Chapter Fifteen





“Normally, I would agree. But tonight, we want to be late. Let the festivities be well along before we arrive,” Laurel said to Makenna as she plucked furiously at Ceridwin’s dark gold hair. The intricate weave had taken almost an hour to complete, but the end effect was worth the effort. The past two weeks had been extremely illuminating, and Laurel was just starting to feel like she was making real progress.

Her hardest goal had been easily achieved upon meeting Ceridwin. The young woman had come running into the courtyard the day Drake returned, throwing herself quite unladylike into his arms.

She had a heart-shaped face, a sweet disposition, and a mischievous twinkle in her hazel eyes. She openly kissed Drake full on the mouth and cared very little if anyone admonished her for it. She was just as open with her displeasure when she found out Drake had been ordered to continue overseeing the soldiers in the fields. Ceridwin calmed only after he promised to come back and see her every few days.

When Makenna asked Ceridwin to participate in the planning of a semilarge feast celebrating Drake’s return and Conor’s visit, Laurel knew her new sister was going to be fine. Aileen’s friendship gave her a safe, honest place to turn to for questions and support, and she wanted Makenna to have the same.

The two women were like halves of the same loaf, destined to be friends. Ceridwin’s father had raised her alone, and she had often felt out of place knowing more about how to be a man and planting crops than she did about being a lady. A few months ago, her father had passed, and Ceridwin’s aunts had offered her shelter within the village. There she had met Drake, but everyone else she encountered thought her odd and uncultured for a woman of her age. As Makenna shared similar situations and feelings, the two had become fast confidantes.