Highlanders Collection. Ann Lethbridge

is Bram?’ Alex demanded. ‘Didn’t he come with you?’

      ‘He was finishing up some of the work on our house,’ she explained. And though she knew Bram didn’t want a feast in his honour, she supposed he would come eventually. ‘He’ll be here soon enough.’

      Laren nodded, but said nothing. She looked painfully uncomfortable beside her husband, as if she wanted to be anywhere but here. At Alex’s suggestion, Nairna came and sat beside the Lady of Glen Arrin.

      It was then that she noticed Laren was wearing gloves at the table. It struck her as odd, but no one else made any comment about it. Perhaps that was simply her habit.

      ‘I am glad to meet you,’ Nairna said. ‘It’s good to see another woman here.’

      She’d hoped Laren would start a conversation, but the woman’s cheeks flushed and again she only nodded.

      It was as if she were too afraid to speak in front of her husband.

      One of the men brought out baked trout, served on a wooden plank. Nairna tried a little of the fish, wondering where Bram was. She stared into the crowd of men, searching for any sign of him.

      Over an hour had passed since she’d left his side and she worried about him being alone. He didn’t appear comfortable around so many people, even when they’d first arrived. She needed to find him, to understand what was going on.

      She excused herself from the table. ‘I’m going to find Bram,’ she told Alex.

      ‘I’ll come with you.’

      He stood up, but Nairna shook her head. ‘No, let me do this alone. I promise I’ll return with him.’

      She skirted her way through the crowd until she reached the entrance to the keep. Torches flared against the darkness and the faint reflection of the loch lay silver against the moonlight. Nairna clutched her wrap around her shoulders, her eyes searching.

      Outside the gates, she had started along the path leading to their house when she saw a shadowed figure sitting against the hillside.

      Her heart steadied when she realised it was Bram. He was reclining against the hill, his arms propped up beneath his head. Unrest brewed in his eyes and she sat beside him.

      He didn’t speak, made no excuses for his absence. She didn’t push for answers, for she suspected that he had his reasons for not entering the fortress.

      Instead, she stretched out beside him. Several stars dotted the sky and she reached out to take his hand. ‘It’s a nice night.’

      He didn’t respond. Had he not laced his fingers with hers, she’d have thought he hadn’t heard her. In the cool air, her breath formed clouds. As time drew on, at last he asked, ‘Did you eat with them?’

      ‘A little. I wanted to wait for you.’

      He sat up then, resting his hands upon his knees. ‘Nairna, you should go back without me.’

      She didn’t know if it was his aversion to crowds or another reason that kept him away. ‘What is it, Bram? Why can’t you join them?’

      He shook his head. ‘There is no reason at all they should be glad of my return. I should have died in prison.’ His eyes glittered in the darkness. ‘Sometimes I wish I had.’

      She reached up and touched the scar upon his throat, not knowing what to say to him.

      His hand covered hers and he answered her unspoken question. ‘They took a knife and slashed my throat, when I was seventeen. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to make me afraid.’

      His expression grew distant. ‘Some of the others did die. I didn’t know then that they kept the strongest of us to be used as slaves. They kept Callum alive because I worked twice as hard to fight for his life.’

      His voice roughened as he relived the nightmares. ‘I did everything they asked me to do—sometimes the work of several men. If I failed in my task, they punished Callum. Then me.’

      He pushed her hands away from his throat, rising to his feet. ‘Can you imagine what they did to him, when I took my freedom?’ Guilt radiated through his posture, even though he began walking towards the fortress. ‘If he’s still alive, I have to get him out.’ When he reached the entrance to the keep, she saw the raw pain in his eyes. ‘There’s nothing at all for me to celebrate.’

      ‘It’s not only for you,’ she whispered. ‘It’s for the men, too.’ She touched his face, needing him to understand the truth. ‘They’re lost, Bram. Their wives and children are gone. They need the distraction, even if it’s only for a single night.’

      He hesitated, but she could see that she was starting to break through to him. ‘You should go for their sake. Not for yourself.’

      The weariness in his expression broke her heart, but she took his hand, leading him forwards. ‘Joining your family can’t be any worse than what you’ve already endured.’

      He didn’t look pleased about it, but he relented at last. Nairna took his hand and he escorted her inside.

      A breath of relief filled her up and she remained at his side while his clansmen welcomed him, raising their cups. Bram’s expression remained sombre, but he nodded to them, accepting a cup of mead as he passed.

      ‘What took you so long, Bram?’ his kinsman Brodie teased.

      Though her cheeks were furiously red, Nairna knew that the jesting would only get worse if Bram said nothing. Already she could see the grim cast to his face and the desire to be anywhere but here.

      ‘He was hard at work,’ she said, lifting her own cup in a silent toast.

      The others roared with good-natured humour, several of the men raising their own cups in response. Her remark had the intended effect—it softened the banter and after a few minutes more, the men turned back to the feasting. But although it was meant to be a celebration, the atmosphere was fraught with tension. More than a few eyed Bram with envy when his arm came around her waist, as if they were missing their own wives.

      When she stole a glance at her husband, Bram moved in, his breath warm against her cheek. ‘Hard at work, was I?’

      ‘It seemed that way to me.’ She was finding it difficult to concentrate with his body so near.

      To distract herself, she took another sip of mead. Bram pulled the cup away and drank from the same place where her mouth had rested. The look in his eyes had transformed into something more alive. She’d managed to take his mind off his sorrows, and now, he was eyeing her as though he had every intention of seducing her.

      When they sat down with Alex and Laren, she noticed that the Lady of Glen Arrin had hardly touched her food. If it were possible, Laren looked even more uncomfortable than Bram.

      Though Alex talked with his kinsmen, seeming to enjoy the food and drink, he hardly spoke to his wife.

      But as Nairna watched them a little longer, she saw the way Alex stole glances at Laren from time to time. He was looking at her with a blend of longing and frustration, as though he didn’t know how to make things right between them.

      ‘Thank you for such wonderful food,’ Nairna said to Laren. With a chagrined smile, she added, ‘Next time, I’ll help you. I feel terrible that you had to do this alone.’

      ‘It was good,’ Alex said softly.

      Laren’s attention jerked to her husband and she dropped her gaze, looking embarrassed. She toyed with her food for a few moments longer, then said to Alex, ‘I’m going to go and make sure the girls have gone to bed.’

      The chief didn’t reply as she slipped away silently, but Nairna saw the way he never took his eyes off Laren.

      Nairna leaned closer to Bram. ‘Why wouldn’t their children have eaten with us?’

      ‘I don’t know.