She laughed a little. “That, I believe, is your favorite place to start anything, so I shall. I don’t think you’ll be surprised to learn that Ambrose took over the clan at ten-and-three.”
He winced. “I’m not surprised, but I can’t imagine the transition was an easy one for him. What happened?”
“After we last saw her, Deirdre returned to the hall, but not quietly. She brewed a very warm quarrel with Master James who convinced Tasgall to put her to the fire.”
Oliver closed his eyes briefly, then looked at her. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “She was crazy, but she didn’t deserve that. What happened to your brother?”
“I’m afraid he didn’t fare much better,” she admitted. “Apparently he got into an argument with Angus Fergusson and found his life coming to an end on the man’s sword.”
Oliver rubbed his free hand over his face, then smiled at her. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“So am I,” she said with feeling.
“So what of your uncle?” Oliver smiled. “I half expect him to show up for dinner so he can tell us of his adventures himself, but maybe not.”
She smiled. “I daresay neither of us would be surprised. But in his own time, he was a great comfort to Ambrose.” She paused. “I’m not certain how Jamie would know that, but I’m also not going to ask how many timeshetravelled to another supper table to gather those sorts of tidings.”
“I’m guessing it was more than once,” Oliver offered.
“They did seem to know each other well,” she agreed.
He looked at her hand in his for a moment or two, then looked at her seriously. “What of Master James?”
“He survived his encounter with Jamie, unfortunately, and put five more people to the fire before he had the misfortune of wandering north and attempting to ply his trade on the Camerons. Jamie claimed that young Alistair had no patience for superstitions, which led to Master James moving on to seek his victims elsewhere.”
“If you tell me he now fell into a bog and drowned, I won’t believe you.”
She looked at him archly. “He fell off a cliff and dashed himself against the rocks below.” She paused. “I think he had help with that, but that soul was never identified. It could have been just a sudden gust of wind.”
He smiled. “It’s probably best to leave it at that. What about Kenneth?”
“Jamie didn’t have much to say about him past he kept to himself and was very kind to my father to the very end.”
Oliver squeezed her hand gently. “How much longer did your father live?”
“Five years,” she said. She knew it was in the past, centuries in the past, but she still couldn’t help a twinge of sorrow over the tidings. “He passed peacefully in his sleep, surrounded byclansmen who loudly proclaimed how blessed and fortunate they’d been to have such a man as head of their clan. Songs were sung and tales told of his prowess in battle and his care of his people. Ambrose styled himself as such a man in every particular.”
Oliver studied her for a moment or two. “That’s pretty specific.”
“I’m guessing Jamie was there to witness it.”
Oliver smiled. “I would imagine so. He’s very protective of his clan members.”
“He is,” she agreed. “And in case you were curious, Fiona turned out to be a lass determined to take charge of her fate.”
“That sounds familiar.”
She smiled. “Doesn’t it, though? Jamie told me to do some digging into clan history if I wanted the details.”
“She’s just following in the footsteps of her terribly courageous aunt who didn’t let anything stop her from having what she wanted.”
“Except maybe long hair,” she muttered. She looked over at him to find he was watching her with an affectionate smile. “What?” she asked, reaching up self-consciously to tug on her hair.
He caught her hand, kissed it, then smiled again. “I think it’s adorable.”
“You just think I’m adorable,” she said. “And there’s my third time of repeating that today for your satisfaction. Where’s the box ticked in my notebook?”
He looked at her briefly, then pulled a slim volume out of his inner jacket pocket and made a production of flipping through the pages. “Let me see,” he said, tapping his chin with a pen he pulled from a different pocket. He shot her a look. “We’d best be thorough here.”
