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“Very well.” Brenda nodded in understanding, then moved to stand beside Kenna, tugging her arm through hers and holding on tightly.
Standing tall, with his hands linked behind his back, Keir waited patiently until the voices in the hall had quieted down enough for him to speak. Then he lifted his chin and began his story.
Kenna had always loved listening to Keir. Yet she was certain that she would not care for the story he was about to tell.
“I know ye’ve heard the rumors,” Keir began with a wide smile that made Kenna’s heart ache. “I can see that ye’re all dying to know what happened in England and why I stayed away for so long.” He seemed to draw out his words until finally someone in the back of the hall yelled, “And dunna forget the ladies! We want to know about the English lassies!”
Joyous laughter echoed through the hall, and Kenna cringed, feeling it like a slap in the face.
Keir chuckled in amusement, and his gaze lowered to meet the eyes of the golden-haired lady seated beside him. Instantly, she blushed, embarrassment darkening her cheeks as she looked timidly around the hall. “If ye insist,” Keir gave in with a laugh, then waited until the hall quieted once more. “I assume ye’ve heard it whispered that the English fancy marrying their young daughters to old men.” His brows rose in question as his gaze swept over the assembled clan.
“Aye, men like Dougal!” Old Arthur exclaimed, grinning his toothless grin at his childhood friend.
Again, laughter swelled to the ceiling.
“I wouldna mind a young wife!” Dougal responded with a laugh, wriggling his bushy, gray eyebrows meaningfully.
“Aye, but the young wife would mind!” Keir’s brother Duncan exclaimed in his booming voice.
More laughter filled through the hall, and Kenna wished Keir would simply get on with it. She did not care to hear the English lady’s story, and yet perhaps it was wise to know what she was up against, what had made Keir look at her the way he did.
“The Dowager Countess of Whickerton,” Keir began in his familiar storyteller voice, and immediately the hall fell silent. “The same woman who long ago prevented my grandmother’s arranged marriage to an English Lord and allowed her to marry the man she loved, Cameron MacKinnear.” Wistful sighs echoed through the hall as people turned to smile at Keir’s grandmother. “Called me to England to prevent another match that was not meant to be.”
Along with everyone else, Kenna felt her own breath catch, her ears now completely tuned in to Keir’s story, her mind and heart demanding more.Oh, why can I not be furious with him?
And so, even against her will, Kenna listened as Keir spoke to them all of the match the young lady’s parents had arranged for her. A match to an old, vile man! Kenna shuddered at the thought, applauding Keir inwardly for coming to the woman’s aid. And yet could he not have done so without…?
Kenna closed her eyes, part of her wishing she could simply cover her ears and not hear more. Yet her hands would not move but clung to Brenda instead, needing her friend’s support to make it through this evening, through this moment.
“After a fortnight of hiding out in the woods and evading her fiancé’s henchmen,” Keir continued, his blue eyes once more fixed upon the golden-haired lady. “We finally returned to London where the dowager countess ensured Sarah would never be forced into another such match by making her her companion and removing her from her parents’ household.”
Applause and approving comments echoed around the hall, and Kenna saw people nodding and cheering, congratulating Keir and voicing their support.
“And what of the other lady?” someone demanded, and quickly everyone joined in, asking for the story to continue.
For the first time that night, Kenna’s gaze shifted from the golden-haired lady—Sarah!—to the other young woman. Her eyes were green instead of blue, and her hair shone in a slightly darker color. Still, Kenna could see a distinct resemblance between the two, making it obvious that they were related.
“Some years ago,” Keir began, and his gaze drifted to the other young woman, all amusement now gone from his gaze. “Katherine, Sarah’s sister, was married to the Earl of Birchwell. Though she gave him three beautiful, wee lassies.” Keir smiled at the two little girls seated beside Bonnie, their hands filled with pastries and their eyes wide as they, too, listened to the story. “He desired a son, an heir, above all else... as English lords are wont to do.”
Kenna saw the way Katherine briefly closed her eyes, a deep breath rushing from her lungs, before she turned to Eoghan, seated beside her, and her hands reached for her child. Eoghan complied instantly, gently settling the babe back into her mother’s arms.
Keir’s gaze moved to the girls beside Bonnie. He cast them a reassuring smile and then continued, “Unfortunately, in his quest for an heir, Lord Birchwell deemed it right to separate Katherine from her children, sending the girls to a remote estate.”
Without a second of delay, outrage echoed through the hall as mothers and fathers and grandparents voiced their shock, their disapproval at such behavior. Kenna, too, felt something hot simmer in her veins, and her gaze involuntarily swept to the two little girls, their eyes wide as they listened and watched. Kenna could tell that Keir had phrased his words carefully, concerned for the girls, tempering his storytelling. Yet people understood. How could they not?
And they were appalled!
As was Kenna. As much as she wanted to dislike the two English ladies, a traitorous part of her heart felt for them, for their fate. But did they have to come here? Could that dowager countess not have sent them elsewhere?
Keir straightened and looked around the hall. Then, he placed his left hand upon Sarah’s shoulder so she would meet his eyes. Her own were wide and misted with tears, her cheeks shining in a rosy glow. “I ask ye now,” Keir asked in a strong voice that easily carried around the vaulted hall, “will ye stand with me to protect them against injustice as the MacKinnears have stood against it for generations, ever since Yvaine and Calen came to these shores centuries ago?”
As one, people rose to their feet, responding with a boomingAye!
Even Brenda cheered alongside them, her face flushed with the excitement of the moment. Kenna swallowed hard, realizing that in one short evening the two English lassies had conquered the hearts of her clan, their story one that would forever be told.
Gazing across the hall, Kenna felt tears collect in her eyes as she watched Keir pull Sarah to her feet. He embraced her, his powerful arms wrapping around her shoulders as he hugged her close. And she clung to him as well, tears running down her cheeks as she laughed and cried, her hands reaching to cup Keir’s face a bare moment before Keir dipped his head and kissed her.
In front of everyone.
