Chapter Five
That afternoon was rather fun, with Beth, Heather, and Holli showing Alyssa the proper way to make clothing for Scottish bairns. “We’re sewing for all the beautiful grandbabies Holli is going to give me,” Heather said with a smile.
Holli laughed and patted her still nonexistent baby bump.
“You can’t pretend you’re showing yet, Holli,” Alyssa said, shaking her head.
“I don’t know why not!” Holli frowned at her friend.
“Because no one can tell you’re pregnant.”
Beth shook her head. “I can argue against that. My husband knew immediately.”
“His powers sound almost scary. I knew a kid once who ran around saying everything was OP! He meant that it was overpowered. Is Gavin overpowered?” Alyssa asked.
“Not at all. If he used his powers for evil, maybe I would think so, but he uses them for good and only good.” Beth shrugged. “There’s a tale in the family about the three sisters who weren’t McClains, but one’s daughter married into the McClains. The youngest of the three, who is an ancestress of the McClains had the power to heal. At least according to stories, and seeing what my husband can do, I’m not going to quibble. Well, she put her hand on someone who was well, and shriveled them up and they died. Now story passed down from generation to generation, but I could see it happening.”
Alyssa felt a shiver run up her spine. “That’s creepy!”
Heather looked at Beth. “I hadn’t heard that one!”
“I think Gavin is the only one who tells it, and I think he may have stopped telling it to people after my reaction to it.” Beth shrugged. “He’s never tried it, and never intends to try it, but I think he could do it. His power can be used for good as well as evil. I’m sure of it.”
“Have any of the McClains ever used their powers for evil?” Alyssa asked, looking between the other three women.
“Not really,” Beth said. “I’ve heard of some mischief they’d get into and even some practical jokes, but no real evil.” She smiled. “My mother-in-law used to tell me a story about how she’d fallen in love with her husband as a little girl, and they were kept apart because her father didn’t want her marrying a boy with strange powers. She told them of how he’d saved her life by sticking his hand into the chest of a wolf and removing its heart. Nonsurgically.”
“Wow. But that wasn’t mischief, was it?”
“No, but she thought it was at the time by the way her family reacted. She was a Campbell, daughter of the laird of our neighboring clan. The sweetest woman you’ll ever meet. She didn’t come for the wedding. She and her husband are both well over a hundred now, and they stay in more often than not. But Gavin does the job of keeping his parents healthy.”
“She’s really sweet!” Holli said.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Alyssa said.
“What’s she like?” Alyssa asked.
“So kind. So loving. Her children come first in everything, and she loves them with all her heart. She didn’t care if she was married to a laird or a pauper. She would do what was best for her family,” Beth said.
Heather nodded. “She was the most welcoming woman. She still is. She just isn’t moving quite as well as she used to.”
“Can Gavin keep people alive indefinitely?” Alyssa asked.
“I believe he can,” Beth said. “He kept his grandparents alive until they were over one hundred and twenty. No one lives that long, especially not in medieval Scotland. Come to think of it, Gillian has to be older than that. Kennan as well, of course.”
“I hope he survives long enough to help out with the plague,” Heather said, shuddering. “I don’t even want to think about how bad that’s going to be.”
“It’s so weird knowing the future,” Alyssa said.
Bryson and Kendrick strode into the keep then, walking straight to the parlor. Bryson put his hand on Holli’s shoulder. “Are you feeling well, my love?”
Holli’s eyes lit up when she looked up at Bryson. “I’m doing well today. Your father has been healing me at night, so I don’t have the terrible morning sickness I did at first.”
“Good. I hate to think of you suffering.”
Kendrick wasn’t nearly as sweet. He took Alyssa’s hand and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her, right there in front of everyone. “I hope you’re enjoying your day, lass.”
Alyssa nodded, still a little embarrassed, but getting over it quickly. “I am. What have you done today?”
