Page 2 of Enchanted

Chapter One

Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Saturday, April 20th, 1743

As the sun set in the window behind him, Keiran MacLeod moved to the door of his chamber, hesitating for a moment. This evening marked that it had been a fortnight since he’d returned to Dunvegan Castle and his clan. He drew a tight breath. And every day since, his marriage-minded sisters and sisters-in-law had been parading at least one local lady before him with the hopes that she would catch his eye.

Tonight, he was certain they would bring forth Arabella, Gwendolyn’s sixteen-year-old sister, as a potential mate. At least that was what Gwendolyn, his brother Alastair’s wife, had intimated early in the day. Drawing a fortifying breath, he stepped from the chamber and was met by his sister Rowena.

“There you are. I was just coming up to look for you,” Rowena said. The fact that she had been leaning against the wall belied her statement. She’d been waiting for him to emerge. “What took you so long?” Her dark eyes narrowed.

It gave him a start every time how much Rowena looked like their mother. Dark hair, dark eyes, but with a kindness that seemed to shine from within. “I had a little trouble with my tartan.” It was a partial truth and as good an excuse as any for why he had lingered in his chamber so long.

“Come.” Rowena looped her arm through his, trying to pull him forward. “Arabella waits in the great hall for you.”

Keiran remained where he stood, resisting. Stolen by the fairies as a child, he’d been magically aged from only a month old to three and twenty by the fairy king who had no liking for infants. Oberon had aged him maturity-wise as well, though at times he still felt childlike in that he wanted to rage sometimes against all that had happened to him. He was a fairy, yet he was human. He belonged to two different families, two different worlds. His human family wanted so much for him to be like them, to pretend he’d never left them. But he had. He’d been a fairy for a while. Could he ever fully leave that part of himself behind and be the MacLeod they wanted?

Every day he tried to adjust to his new life among not only his kin, but also humans and their strange ways, such as why all the women of the castle seemed to want him to marry before he even figured out who he truly was in this realm. “Why are all of you so eager to see me wed?”

Rowena’s features fell. “We simply want you to be happy.”

“Wouldn’t I be happier if I was allowed to choose a bride myself? And in my own time?” he asked.

“It is just that since you’ve returned you have been so aloof, so sullen. I know all of us and this castle are unfamiliar to you, but we . . .” Rowena’s features pinched. “I want to see you settled or at least happy before Marcus and I leave on the morrow.”

There was a long silence before Keiran spoke. “I have been away a long time. I need more than another evening to readjust to my new life. Please give me the freedom of discovery at my own pace without rushing me into marriage.”

A pink tinge stained her cheeks. “But—”

“Sail off with Marcus to follow your dreams, Rowena. Mine will be found elsewhere and on my own time.”

She nodded. “You cannot blame a sister for trying.”

“I am more than certain Gwendolyn, Fiona, Isolde, and Aria will continue in your absence,” he said with a hint of humour.

She smiled as she shrugged. “You are on your own there, for I will be gone soon.” Her smile faded. “You may have been absent from Dunvegan Castle for nine years, but we all love you and only want what is best for you.”

“I can appreciate that, but I am still trying to reconcile my present with my past and learn how to be a human among humans.”

Rowena placed her hand against Keiran’s chest. “No matter where you have been or what has happened in the past, you are a MacLeod and not so different from the rest of your family.”

A jab of pain pierced his heart. If she only knew how different he was from everyone. “They accept me because they must, but I doubt any of you will ever truly understand me.”

“Give it time, Keiran. It was hard for the MacLeods to accept Marcus and even Aria at first, but they finally did.” Rowena offered him an encouraging smile. “Come along, we really must go to supper before the entire family comes looking for you.”

He remained rooted to the floor. “Only if you promise there will be no more matchmaking tonight.”

“I promise.” Without waiting for a response, she took his hand and dragged him down the stairs to the great hall. As expected, he had barely set foot in the chamber before Arabella was paraded before him.

“Good evening, Keiran,” Gwendolyn greeted at the doorway with one of her twin infants in her arms and Arabella at her side. “Might you sit with us tonight?”

Keiran offered the young girl a bow before tossing Gwendolyn an irritated scowl.

Rowena shook her head. “I promised Keiran a night free of entanglements,” she said as she continued escorting him past the pink-cheeked young woman. “Perhaps after a night spent talking about books with Orrick, battle techniques with Tormod, or the affairs of the estate with Alastair, he will be receptive of feminine companionship once again.”

Rowena finally released his arm as she approached the head table where his three eldest brothers—along with Graeme and Marcus—were seated. A large hand-drawn map was spread across the table before them. “I will leave you to your fate.” With a wink, she turned to rejoin Gwendolyn and Arabella.

“What was that all about?” Orrick asked, patting an open space on the bench beside him.