Page 3 of Highland Spirit

“Release me. And let my family go.” Alana’s father pulled at the ropes so hard his wrists began to bleed.

“Ye’re no’ goin’ anywhere, Chisholm,” growled Diarmad. “I’ve set ye up so that no clan will ever want ye near them again. They all want to kill ye because of things ye’ve done. Ye have nowhere to go now and neither does yer family. Ye’ll stay with me. Ye’ll all be my family now.”

“Nay! Never. I never should have listened to ye,” yelled her father.

“Nay, ye shouldna. That was yer first mistake.” Diarmad chuckled. “Ye were an easy mark, but I never expected yer brother-by-marriage to die, nor yer wife to put up a fight. This treasure must be worth more than I thought. I will no’ set any of ye free until ye hand it over.”

“We dinna ken about any treasure,” shouted Alana. “Let us go.”

“Och, that’s a lie, lassie,” snarled Diarmad. “After all, yer faither was the one to tell me about it in the first place or I’d never have kent about it at all. Isna that so, Chisholm?”

“Faither?” whispered Alana, shaking her head as her father’s face turned sullen and he looked to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Alana. I didna mean to do it. But Diarmad made me believe we’d all be rich from it and that I could use it to pay off my debts.”

“Yer faither is weak, but I see ye are strong like yer mathair.” Diarmad reached out and ran a finger along Alana’s cheek, making her cringe. “To make certain none of ye will try to leave me, I’m goin’ to take ye as my wife.”

“What? Nay!” she cried, panicked to think she’d be marrying him today instead of Ethan. “I canna marry ye and I would never! I am Ethan MacKeefe’s betrothed and I am carryin’ his bairn. He’ll hunt ye down like a dog to find me and then he’ll skin ye alive.”

Diarmad made a tisking sound with his tongue. “No’ true,” he said. “Ye see, yer betrothed’s clan thinks ye betrayed them now. Besides, my man, Fergus, killed Ethan just before we boarded the boat. Of course, it was in self-defense.”

“Nay!” she cried, not wanting to believe it. Emotions swept through her. “I dinna believe ye. Ye lie!”

“Fergus, tell her it’s the truth,” said Diarmad.

“Diarmad, I need to talk with ye,” said the man, calling Diarmad over to him. They conversed in secret for a minute and then Alana saw Fergus hand something to his leader. Diarmad looked angry at first, but then he smiled and headed back to Alana as the ship continued to sail and Scotland got further and further away.

“Here’s all the proof ye need.” Diarmad held out his open palm. Alana looked down to see a bloodied piece of the MacKeefe plaid. Atop it sat the wedding ring that Ethan was going to put on her finger at the ceremony.

“Nay, that’s no’ my ring,” she said in denial, shaking her head.

“Take it, lass. Look at it closely and ye’ll see that it is.”

With two fingers Alana picked up the ring and inspected it. Inside the gold circle were engraved their names – Alana and Ethan. She clutched the ring, holding it to her chest, feeling her heart breaking when she realized Ethan was dead. Too angry to cry, too shaken to try to fight the man, a lone tear dripped down her cheek.

“No need to keep that, since ye willna be marryin’ him after all,” said Diarmad, ripping the ring from her hand.

“Nay! My ring!” she cried, not wanting to lose one of the last remembrances she had of Ethan. “Isna it enough ye’ve already killed Ethan, my mathair and my uncle? Please, at least let me keep the ring. Ye’ve taken everythin’ else.”

Diarmad looked at the ring in his hand, his eyes slowly lifting to meet hers. “I told ye – I didna kill any of them. Keep the blamed thing, I dinna care!” He threw it to the ground at her feet. Alana dropped to her knees and scooped it up, bringing it to her mouth in a kiss.

“I think I changed my mind about ye,” said Diarmad, thumping his fingers against his cheek in thought. “Ye are too much trouble. Besides, I dinna want a wench who is already deflowered and carryin’ a dead man’s bastard as my wife.”

Alana felt relief push through her pain, until she heard what Diarmad said next.

“I’ll marry yer sister, instead. Kirstine, is it? She’ll give me bairns and ye’ll all be part of my family now so there will be no need to ever try to leave.”

“Nay!” screamed Alana, fearing for her sister. “Do no’ touch Kirstine.”

“Bring the girl to me,” Diarmad instructed his men.

“Alana, help me!” cried Kirstine as the guard pulled her and Finn apart. She was young and innocent, and very frightened.

“Leave her be!” Alana ran to her sister, gathering her into her arms in a protective hold.

“Tell me where the treasure is, and mayhap I’ll no’ marry yer sister after all,” Diarmad tried to bargain.

“I dinna ken,” cried Alana, really not knowing. “Honest, I dinna ken at all.”