Page 76 of Highland Steel

“What are ye talkin’ about?” asked Logan, putting on his shoes and grabbing his plaid from the ground.

“See for yerself.” Caleb tossed something to him from atop his horse. Logan dropped his plaid and caught his sporran in two hands.

“My pouch,” said Logan, opening it to find the ring inside that he wanted to give to Rhoswen. He shined it against his tunic and held it up to sparkle in the sun. “Mayhap that weasel of yers is no’ as worthless as I thought. It’s finally bein’ helpful and findin’ weddin’ rings for a change instead of stealin’ them.”

“Slink isna a weasel and ye ken it,” scoffed Caleb.

“That’s right,” piped up Ethan. “Everyone kens it’s a stout.”

“Nay, it’s a mink,” said Hawke, as Caleb’s friends continued to tease him on his choice of a pet.

“I’ll meet ye back at camp,” said Caleb, urging his horse into a gallop.

“Hold on, Caleb, I’ll come with ye,” said Hawke. “Phoebe told me she wants me to help put up the arches of flowers. She’ll have my head if I dinna do it.”

Jack took off in the opposite direction and Trapper followed, thinking the wolf wanted to play.

Logan finished dressing, looking up at Ethan. “Why are ye still here?” he asked, thinking he’d leave, too.

“I just wanted ye to ken that I’m happy for ye, Logan. Ye no’ only managed to snag a bonnie bride, but ye brought back the Sword of Triumph, too. I bet that makes ye feel guid.”

“We both ken that Rhoswen was the one who saved the sword. The entire clan kens it as well.”

“That’s no’ what the chronicler wrote in the king’s book.”

“What?” Logan looked up in question as he donned his weapon belt next. “What do ye mean? I ken they werena at the Drummonds, but surely someone told them what happened.”

“Rhoswen made sure to tell them that ye no’ only saved her sister and nephew, but ye rescued her and also the Sword of Triumph.”

“Hmmph,” said Logan. “Well, it’s no’ true.”

“Ye did rescue them and keep them from dyin’,” said Ethan. “And ye were the one to teach Rhoswen how to disarm a man, and then ye helped to distract Drummond so she could do it.”

“My bride said those things about me?” he asked, having felt guilty that he wasn’t able to do even more.

“She did. She loves ye, Logan, even if I think she could have done so much better.”

“Haud yer wheesht, Ethan, or I’m goin’ to renege yer right of bein’ my best man at the weddin’.”

“I didna ken I was.” Ethan seemed pleased.

“Will ye do it?” he asked.

“I will. But what are ye goin’ to do about what Brigham wrote in the Highland Chronicles?”

“Well, I suppose there are always two ways of lookin’ at things,” said Logan. “And who am I to dispute what is written by the chronicler of the king?” He flashed him a smile. “I’ll bet Caleb’s fumin’ that he’s the only one of the four of us that hasna been mentioned in the book yet.”

“Ye have no idea,” said Ethan with a chuckle.

“Let’s go, Jack,” Logan called to his wolf, and whistled. He walked over and mounted his horse. “I have a weddin’ to go to, and I wouldna miss this one for anythin’ in the world.”

* * *

“Hurry, Rhoswen, everyone’s waitin’,” called out Rhoswen’s brother, Newell, as Rhoswen looked at her reflection in the back of a silver platter, feeling nervous about the wedding.

“I’m coming,” Rhoswen called back out the window of the hospice where her sister, Blaine, as well as Hawke’s wife, Phoebe, and Ethan’s wife, Alana, helped her dress.

“Ye look so bonnie wearin’ the MacKeefe plaid,” said Blaine with a shy smile, talking with a Scottish bur. Rhoswen’s head snapped up and she looked at her sister in surprise.