Page 52 of Never Kiss a Highlander

That was the last they spoke until the next morning.

Finn arose, washed and dressed and studied his sleeping wife. The soon-to-be mother of his bairn.

He left his bedchamber and, as soon as he hit the bottom of the staircase, one of the maids approached him. “My laird, The Mackay wishes to speak with ye. I was sent to find ye.”

“Thank ye.” He took the stairs two at a time to return to the bedchamber floor.

The room smelled like death. Ever since the laird had turned over the lairdship to him, the man had rapidly deteriorated. ‘Twas almost as if he had completely given up on life.

“Ye wished to see me, my laird?”

He waved Finn over. “Aye, pull up that chair.” He nodded at the wooden chair against the wall.

“There is something I need to show ye before I die.” He held up his hand as Finn opened his mouth to dispute him.

“Nay. I ken my time grows near.” He stopped for a minute seeming to catch his breath. “My daughter is well taken care of as well as my clan. The council tells me ye are doing a wonderful job.”

Uncomfortable with the praise, since he knew how many mistakes he’d made and all the times he almost messed up, he nodded.

The laird reached over to his side and pulled out the document that Laird Sinclair had shown to him the last time they all sat together.

Without saying a word, he handed it to Finn. “Read it.”

Finn ran his eyes over the parchment, his mouth growing dry as he continued on. When he finished, he looked up at the laird. “Yer sons were about to lead an insurrection against the king.”

“Aye. I canno’ believe they would have been so foolish. If they’d been caught, and if anyone found this letter between them and other members of the group, they would have been hanged for treason.”

He looked out the window at the rare sunny weather. “We also would have had our lands, coin, and resources taken from us. The clan would have eventually been absorbed by other clans. This king, and his followers, are too strong.”

“I wonder how the Sinclair got this,” Finn said, nodding to the paper.

“Blackmail I’m sure. He’s known for having many sources to gather information for him. He, obviously, did no’ have this at the time of the original betrothal agreement or he would have asked for much more.”

There wasn’t much for Finn to say. William and Bryan had made a terrible choice. The restored king had been on the throne for two years already.

The laird continued. “I’ve wondered since I saw this if my sons were not killed in battle by our own men if they were aware of their involvement in this potential disaster. I always wondered why both of them, excellent warriors, would be brought down in battle.”

The laird took a deep breath and turned to him. “I ask a favor of ye, Finn.”

Finn nodded.

“Doona tell my daughter about this.”

Finn ran his hand down his face. “We doona have secrets from each other.”

“Good. Good,” the laird said. “I agree, but there is no reason for their sister to ken how close they came to bringing us alldown. She admired them so much. It would be devastating for her.”

He thought of the bairn she was carrying and how this information might harm her. “Aye, in this instance, I will no’ tell her about this.”

“I have one more request. As soon as ye leave this room, burn that document.”

Finn nodded as The Mackay drifted off to sleep. Finn left the room, burned the document and headed to his bedchamber to see if his wife was awake.

She was just opening her eyes as he approached the bed. “Good morn, wife.”

She smiled at him and his heart almost burst with love. “Good morn, husband.”

He sat alongside her on the bed. “The sun is shining, my love. Do ye wish to take a ride?”