Highlander's Virgin Bride

Chapter 10

The bangingon the door had started off softly, but it soon escalated to a loud thump, making Ryder groan and pull the pillow over his head. It was far too early for such a racket — and he had a good idea who was making it, too.

“Go away, Melissa!” Meredith called, her tousled black hair emerging from underneath the bedclothes. “Yer banging that door fit to wake the dead!”

“It’s nae fit to wake ye, though, is it?” Melissa called petulantly through the door as she started banging again. “Come on, Meredith, come and keep me company!”

“Sorry.” Meredith raised the corner of Ryder’s pillow and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “I better get up, or she’ll never stop!”

By way of response, Ryder simply hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her close as he kissed her back sleepily.

“Go then, wife,” he said, letting her go at last. “Before I start to regret ever agreeing to let yer sister stay on after the rest of yer family left!”

Meredith kissed him again before climbing reluctantly out of the warm bed. He was pretending to be grumpy, but she knew him well enough by now to know it was just an act. Ryder made a big show of only just tolerating Melissa’s presence in his home, but she knew he was secretly enjoying being part of a close-knit family — for what was clearly the first time in his life.

Well, maybe not the part where Melissa woke him up at the crack of dawn, wanting to go out for a ride, of course. Meredith wasn’t sure anyone would enjoy that. But as she hurriedly dressed, before joining her sister on the other side of the chamber door, laughing as the younger woman immediately grabbed her by the hand and hauled her off down the hallway in search of breakfast, she felt a wave of happiness flood her body.

This is perfect, she thought, smiling to herself as she followed Melissa down the stairs. I have a husband who loves me, a sister excited to be away from home for the first time in her life, and a family finally free of the financial worries that have plagued them so. What could possibly be better?

* * *

A few hours later, Meredith pulled her horse to a stop on the crest of the hill and waited for Melissa to catch up with her.

“Hurry up, slowpoke,” she called back in the direction she’d come, enjoying the feel of the wind whipping through her long hair, which had come loose as she’d galloped along the shores of the loch and then up into the nearby hills.

It was exhilarating being out here, seeing the seasons change, and not having a care in the world. But, as she turned to call again for Melissa, she suddenly realized that the sound of approaching hooves was too loud to come from only one horse. Who on earth could Melissa have bumped into, all the way out here in the wilds?

Suddenly uneasy, Meredith turned her horse in the direction she’d just come from but had only traveled a few paces when two riders suddenly appeared from the tree line. Melissa, plus another, smaller figure, who, after a second’s hesitation, Meredith recognized as John, one of the young servant boys from her parents’ castle.

Her heart beating faster, Meredith pulled her horse to a stop and waited as they approached. She wasn’t sure why John was here — her parents and Felix could only have reached home a day ago, if that — but, if the look on the boy’s face was anything to go by, she feared it could not be anything good.

“Meredith! Oh, Meredith, I cannae believe it!”

Sobbing loudly, Melissa threw herself from her horse and came running towards her sister, who quickly dismounted, just in time for Melissa to throw herself into her arms.

“What is it? What’s happened? Melissa, tell me!” Meredith demanded. Melissa, however, was so overcome with emotion that it was left to John, arriving just behind her, and with a face every bit as pale and solemn as Melissa’s, to break the news.

“A fire, Me Lady,” he said, in response to Meredith’s questioning look. “A fire at yer parents’ castle. A bad one.”

“Are they… Are they alright?” Meredith stared at the boy in horror, her arms still wrapped around her sobbing sister.

“Aye, Me Lady,” John reassured her quickly. “Aye, everyone is fine. It happened while they were here, at the wedding. By the time they returned home, it was over — everything was gone.”

“Everything? What do ye mean, John?” Meredith could hardly believe what she was hearing. Surely the castle she’d grown up in could not have been totally destroyed. She thought of the thick stone walls that were so familiar to her. Walls that had stood firm, not just throughout her own life but for many generations before. Walls that could not possibly no longer be there. It was just unthinkable, and she would not even entertain the idea.

“Nay,” she said firmly before John could answer her question. “Nay, I daenae believe it. I willnae believe it. What d’ye mean, John, coming here and scaring us wi’ such nonsense?”

Her eyes blazed, but even as she spoke, she knew what he’d told her was the truth. She could see it in his downcast eyes and the defeated slump of his thin shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Me Lady,” he said, at last, raising his eyes to her. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. The fire must have blazed all night. It would’ve been impossible to bring under control, especially wi’ everyone from home, and naebody there to raise the alarm.”

He paused for a second to allow the news to sink in.

“Some o’ the walls still stand,” he offered, trying in vain to find some good news. “But the rest… the rest is gone. Burnt to the ground. I cannae tell ye any more than that. Yer father, he sent me back here as soon as he saw it - to tell ye, and to ask ye what they should do.”

For a second, Meredith thought her legs might give way, allowing her to fall to the grass in shock. Then, taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders, determinedly choking back the tears that threatened to come at any second. There would be time for tears later. For now, she had to take charge. Her parents were no longer young, and now they were homeless. It was up to her, as their eldest daughter and the Lady of Millar, to help them — and help them she would.

“Why they must come here,” she said firmly, pushing Melissa away as she prepared to get back on her horse. “They must come here and stay wi’ Ryder and me. It’s the only thing to do. John, ye must follow me back to the castle. We’ll give ye a hot meal and a fresh horse, and then ye must be on yer way back to them, to bring them here, to us. D’ye understand?”

John nodded, happy to be relieved of the burden of breaking the news to the daughters of the house, and given a practical task instead.

“Come on, Melissa,” Meredith said briskly, giving her distraught sister a quick shake, followed by a kiss on the cheek, to soften her words. “This is nae time for tears. We must be strong if we’re to help Ma and Pa. Now, come, let’s get back to the castle as quickly as we can, so I can find Ryder, and tell him what’s happened. Ryder will know what to do.

* * *