Page 30 of Highland Steel

Aidan let out a whoosh of air from his mouth and shook his head. There was no doubt he didn’t believe it. The Drummonds weren’t known to make alliances with the English. Ever.

“Continue,” said Storm in a low voice.

“We were to trade my father’s sword for the boy,” said Rhoswen. “But we were attacked on the road and never made it to the Highlands. My father’s guards were killed and he was wounded, but died later. Thankfully, my siblings and I were down at the creek when it happened and we were able to escape unharmed.”

“So, yer sister died,” said Storm.

“Aye.” Rhoswen nodded.

“Do ye ken how she died?” asked Aidan.

“Well I –” Rhoswen looked over to Logan. “I was told she died in childbirth.”

“An obvious lie,” said Ethan. “We’ve heard he brags about killin’ off his Sassenach wife.”

“Ethan,” growled Logan. “We dinna ken that for sure.”

“Why would the chieftain of the clan agree to trade away his son for a mere sword?” asked Storm. “It doesna make any sense. A son is a man’s most valued possession.”

“As well as his sword,” added Newell. “Or at least, that is what my father used to say.”

“Newell, quiet,” snapped Rhoswen. “Chieftain, the reason Ranulph Drummond didn’t want the boy is because he found out it wasn’t his.”

“It wasn’t?” asked Wren. “Well, whose was it?”

Rhoswen didn’t want to divulge all her family secrets to the clan and certainly not to the king’s chronicler, but she had to tell them. If not, they would think she was a traitor and that would never gain their trust. She needed to convince the MacKeefes to help her, especially since now the Drummonds already had the sword. If not, she would never see little Lockie. As it was, she had no idea where she and her siblings would live. They couldn’t go back to England. Not without King Richard’s sword. She was sure they wouldn’t receive a pardon, not when they were accomplices to the crime so to speak. Women and children were normally never believed, and it would only bring about their deaths in the end, and she couldn’t let that happen.

“My sister was pregnant before my father betrothed her to Drummond,” she said, holding her breath.

“Already pregnant? Oh no, that wasn’t good,” said Wren.

“Nay, it wasn’t,” she admitted. “I didn’t know it until my father told me on his deathbed. I guess . . . I am sorry to say . . . he was trying to hide the fact that my sister was pregnant with the stableboy’s baby. I suppose he thought . . . I guess he hoped having Ailsa far away would protect him from anyone knowing she was pregnant with a bastard.”

“Och, no’ a smart thing to do,” spat Aidan.

“I agree,” said Rhoswen. “But as of recently, I didn’t know that my father made some bad decisions.”

“None of us knew,” Blaine spoke up for the first time.

“Well, I’m sure the stableboy would like to know that he has a son,” said Wren.

“He’s dead,” said Rhoswen, not telling him that her father killed him.

“What about your mother?” asked Wren. “I’m sure she’s worried about you being in the Highlands.”

“My mother passed away as well,” she told them.

“Is that why yer faither brought ye with him to the Highlands?” asked Storm. “It wasna a smart thing to do.”

“As I said,” she told them, letting out a deep breath. “It seems my father didn’t always think things through before he took action.”

“Excuse me,” said Bridget, raising her hand slightly. “Did I miss the part of why your father’s sword is so valuable to the Drummonds?”

“Och, lass, tell me yer faither isna goin’ to put this in the king’s chronicles,” Logan said to Bridget.

“I collect information and will decide later what goes into the book,” Brigham told them.

“Well, I dinna think any of this is material that should be in the king’s book,” said Logan, obviously sticking up for Rhoswen. She appreciated it, but knew the MacKeefes needed an answer.