AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Focusing his gaze on what was right in front of him, Keir lifted his head and smiled as he saw his parents standing at the top of the stairs leading up to the front doors. Their faces showed their deepest joy at seeing him, and they looked at him in a way that made Keir push all other thoughts aside, jump out of the saddle and rush toward them. He took two steps at a time, meeting his parents halfway, and then embraced them just as much as they embraced him.
His father’s hand clasped the back of Keir’s neck as his mother’s hands touched his cheeks. Both their eyes held a shimmer of tears, and the way they smiled at him reminded Keir of many wonderful moments throughout his life. Always had his parents been at his side, their words encouraging and their faith in him unshakable. “How dare ye stay away for so long?” his mother demanded, grasping his chin and meeting his eyes. “Ye made me worry I might never see ye again.” She huffed out a deep breath, and Keir could see that she was trying her utmost to collect herself. Indeed, his mother rarely showed the world this vulnerable side of her, the woman he knew was strong and proud no matter the circumstances. Still, losing Yvaine had changed them all, and Keir knew it was hard for his parents to bear any sort of distance between them and their children. The world simply was no longer the same place.
Keir took her hand, holding it tightly. “I’m sorry, Mother. I didna mean to worry ye, and there’s nothing in the world that could keep me away forever.” He winked at her, and she smiled, rolling her eyes at him. “’Tis a rather long story, and I already told Duncan that I shall answer yer questions once we’re all together.”
Glancing past his shoulder at the carriage, his mother nodded, now a curious glimmer in her watchful eyes. “I see ye’ve brought visitors,” she remarked, her voice rather innocent; however, the look in her eyes was not.
“It seems ye’ve had quite the adventure,” Keir’s father remarked with a wide grin as he stepped forward, one arm wrapping around his wife’s middle and the other clasping his son’s shoulder. “’Tis good to have ye back home, Son, and I canna wait to hear about yer journey.” A chiding look came to his face. “Ye didna add many details to the note requesting the boat.”
Keir grinned, far from unaware of how curious his parents were. “Indeed, there’s much to tell.” He looked from his father to his mother and back. “Where’s Grandmother?” For a moment, his heart tensed—perhaps an echo of Yvaine’s sudden loss—and he feared that he had stayed away for too long.
“She’s waiting for ye in the great hall,” his father said with a booming laugh that clearly proved his kinship to Duncan. “Be assured that she willna let ye slip away without providing answers.”
Keir exhaled the breath he had been holding. “I never expected her to,” he replied, then bid his parents to wait as he hastened back down the steps toward the carriage.
Duncan already stood there, the door open, and offering his arm to Sarah. With her face a scarlet red, she alighted, her fingers like claws upon Duncan’s arm. “May I remind ye that this isna yer execution, lass,” Duncan remarked with a chuckle. “Would ye be so kindly as to retract yer claws?” He winked at her, which made Sarah blush even worse, her other arm tensing upon Loki until he squirmed to get down.
In a flash, the feline bounded up the stairs, not bothering to extend any sort of greeting to their hosts and dashed past them into the great hall.
Keir laughed. “He already feels quite at home here, wouldna ye say?” He smiled at Sarah, relieved to see a smile tease her lips.
As much as Keir wanted to be the one to lead Sarah into the great hall, he stood back and allowed her to go with Duncan, knowing that Sarah always worried most for her sister. And so, he turned to Katherine, offering her his arm and assisting her out of the carriage. In contrast to Sarah, Katherine’s face seemed rather pale, her green eyes wide as she looked around, seemingly trying not to meet anyone’s gaze. “Dunna worry,” Keir whispered as he waved Augusta and Dorothea forward. “Ye’re most welcome here.”
Katherine’s eyes found his, and she smiled in gratitude.
Augusta and Dorothea poked their heads forward curiously as they stood half-hidden behind Keir and their mother. “Does a king live here?” Augusta inquired before craning her neck to look up at Keir. “Is your father a king?”
Keir chuckled. “My father is the chief of our clan,” he explained, encouraging the girls to step forward and follow them up the stairs. “That means that ’tis his duty to see to the welfare of our people.”
Dorothea’s eyes grew wide. “There are a lot of people here!”
Augusta nodded. “I’ve never seen so many in one place.” She looked at her mother. “Have you, Mother?”
With Frederica’s head resting upon her shoulder, Katherine turned a bit awkwardly to look at Augusta. “Well, truthfully, London always struck me as a rather overcrowded city.”
“More than here?”
Katherine nodded before she lifted her chin. They had reached the top of the stairs and now stood in front of Keir’s parents.
Keir could see that his parents were deeply intrigued by the two young ladies he had brought back home. Meanwhile, Sarah and Katherine looked as uncomfortable as he had ever seen them. Only Augusta and Dorothea appeared rather unfazed by their hosts, their eyes round as they tried to peek past them into the interior of the fortress.
Keir offered a quick introduction, presenting his companions in the same manner as he had before. Indeed, not unlike his brother, his parents seemed to still briefly at the mention of Katherine’s title. Yet they did not comment.
“Welcome,” Keir’s father greeted their guests, a warm smile upon his face. “We must admit we’re quite surprised to find ye here but also most intrigued.” He winked at his son.
Keir’s mother laughed. “Ye must be famished from such a long journey. Please, come inside.” Together, Keir’s parents led the way through the two large wooden doors and into the great hall. Tapestries graced the walls, and large rugs covered the floors. Orange red flames danced in the massive fireplace, sending out their warmth into the far reaches of the large chamber. Long wooden tables were set up in rows, benches alongside them, offering enough seats for a large banquet. Near the fireplace, however, cushioned chairs had been placed, one of which was currently occupied by Keir’s grandmother.
Keir smiled. Now that he had finally met the Dowager Countess of Whickerton, he saw something in his own grandmother’s gaze that made him think of Grandma Edie. It was the same shrewd expression, the same sense of certainty with which both women tackled the world, determined to get their way, determined that they had every right to meddle as they saw fit.
While his grandmother’s hair was still fairly dark, only a few gray streaks running through it, her brown eyes were as warm and welcoming as he remembered—as was the smile she bestowed upon him. “I knew the moment Edie’s letter arrived that life would never be the same,” she remarked with a chuckle before her gaze moved from Keir to the guests he had brought. “That you might not be coming home alone.”
Keir felt Katherine’s hand tense upon his arm, and he immediately looked past her at Sarah, eager to see her expression. Indeed, her gaze had dropped to the floor, her cheeks a flaming red.
“Who have you brought, dear boy?” his grandmother inquired, setting aside her blanket and pushing to her feet. Her brown eyes lingered upon Katherine for a moment before moving to Sarah. Although Katherine was the one upon Keir’s arm, he could tell that his grandmother knew better than to assume she was the one who held his heart.
Once again introducing Sarah and Katherine and the girls, Keir stepped forward and embraced his grandmother. “’Tis good to have ye back, dear lady.”
His grandmother chuckled, patting his cheek. “You were the one to leave. I’ve been here the whole time.”
