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  Jamie dinna have any friends there, not anyone that would travel all this way to see him. Had he failed in some way when he went there to conduct business on Alex’s behalf? That would mean he had failed his cousin twice. Twould do no good to stand about wondering. “I must go,” he said to Helen. “Forgive the abruptness of my departure. Petro, stay with the women.”

  “With pleasure.” Petro bowed.

  Jamie jogged up the footpath and strode through the gates with purpose. A retinue of men on horseback wearing Ottoman armor and carrying the empire’s red banner waited in the bailey, surrounded by Laird Alex’s captains.

  Jamie’s heart thundered as he walked up to Keith MacKay to find out what was going on. “Where is Alex?”

  “In the great hall,” Keith said, focused on the foreigners.

  “Why are they here?”

  “I doona know much. An old woman with a babe escorted by two men went inside with Mathe. These are hired escorts, not enemy soldiers.”

  Jamie eyed the scimitars at the hip of every soldier and the bows and arrows on their backs. If not enemies, why were they heavily armed?

  “Where is Kuresh?”

  “Inside,” Keith said.

  “Thank ye,” Jamie said, then departed for the great hall.

  He climbed the stairs to the main doors, his instincts on high alert. Somehow, he knew what to expect. That old woman must be the soothsayer who foretold his future—she had come all this way to make sure her prophecy came true. As he entered the hall, everyone turned and stared at him. And that’s when Jamie saw her—Nudar—the witch. But his gaze quickly left her and focused on the bundle in her arms. A child with flame-red hair like his. His babe. His son. He could feel it in his bones. But his certainty did not destroy the shock.

  “Jamie,” Alex motioned for him to step forward. “Are ye acquainted with this woman?”

  Jamie joined his cousin on the dais.

  “Master Jamie.” Nudar bowed her head. “I have come a long way to see you.”

  “Are ye here to play a trick on me?” he asked. “To use yer magic against me?”

  The old woman grinned, showing her perfect teeth. “I have brought yer son—my grandson.”

  “Jamie?” Alex glanced at the child in her arms, then back at him. “Is this the woman…”

  “Aye. Her name is Nudar, and she is a famous prophetess, according to Kuresh. How did ye come by this bairn?” Alex asked her, part of him unwilling to believe her.

  “My daughter was Hana.”

  Jamie felt lightheaded and leaned on the high table for support. “Hana is the lad’s mother?”

  “She is dead.” Nudar said with sadness. “But she left us both a precious gift. It was her dying wish for me to bring Ramsey to you.”

  Jamie studied the sleeping babe in her arms. The child had golden-colored skin and a thick head of red curls, which made the lad undeniably his. Even if he wanted to deny the child’s birthright, he couldna.

  “Why did Hana give him a Scottish name?” Jamie asked.

  “She called him the bridge between the old and new worlds—Istanbul and Alba. She believed he should know his father. His name is Ramsey Jaleel MacKay.”

  “Ye knew Hana was pregnant when ye visited me at the harbor.”

  “Yes,” Nudar said. “I wanted to meet the man who cared for my daughter and gave her a child.”

  “Why dinna ye tell me then?” If she had, Jamie would have stayed with Hana.

  “Hana knew you didn’t love her. And I sensed your restlessness. Just as with your cousin, Laird Alex, the desert wasn’t the right home for you. You both left pieces of your souls behind. Nothing can change the past, but the future…”

  “Do ye have proof my cousin is his sire?” Alex asked.

  “Alex.” Jamie raised his eyebrows. “Have ye not looked closely at the lad?”

  “What if she dyed his hair?” Alex asked critically. “Such deceptions are possible.”

  “To a flame-red?” Jamie straightened and walked slowly down the two steps of the dais, stopping feet away from his son. “What did Hana die from?”

  “Fever. She didn’t suffer, though, simply faded in her sleep.”

  “I am deeply sorry.”

  “Life and death are one in the same to me,” Nudar said. “My concern is for Ramsey. What you will do with him.”

  Jamie reached for the child’s head, wanting to touch his hair, wanting to confirm the child wasn’t a dream. But he lowered his hand, unsure what to do.

  “Jamie.” Kuresh came forward. “This is a common trick to entrap men, to gain financial support for a family. Let me interrogate the old woman and her escorts.”

  “I doona want the woman and child turned out or harmed.”

  “There are ways to get answers without breaking bones,” Kuresh assured him. “I know this woman well. She visited my home on many occasions, a respected adviser to the women in my father’s harem.”

  “You are the son of Emine Hatun bint Mehmed. A rare beauty and favored wife to your father.”

  “That life is long over,” Kuresh told her bitterly. “Why are you here, woman? What is it you seek?”

  “Prince Kuresh,” she said. “The reason for my long trip is in my arms. Look upon him, he is awake.” She freed his tiny body from the confines of his fur. “Seek the truth in your son’s eyes, Master Jamie.”

  The child cried out, fisting his tiny hands, and opening his blue eyes. The final proof Jamie needed to acknowledge him as his son. “Give him to me.”

  Nudar handed him over, and Jamie lifted the lad so he could see his face. Aye, the golden-colored skin of his mother, with his eyes and hair. “Ramsey,” he said. “If ye could speak, what would ye say, wee one?” He kissed his head.

  “Jamie?”

  Jamie cringed upon hearing Helen’s sweet voice. This wasna the right time for her to find out about his illegitimate child. He had hoped Miran and Petro would keep her busy for a while. But that hope faded when he met her curious gaze.

  “What child do ye hold?” she asked.

  “Is treun te an eolais,” Nudar whispered to him. The woman that knows is powerful. “And she is the one who rules your heart.”

  “Take him,” Jamie growled at the old woman. “Say nothing.”

  Kuresh escorted Nudar to the far side of the hall, giving Jamie a chance to explain everything to Helen.

  “Sit with me,” Jamie said, leading Helen to one of the trestle tables. “I doona know how to tell ye this…”

  “Who is that woman? And the wee one?”

  “We’ve spoken before about my time in Constantinople. I kept a màthair. Hana.”

  “Did ye love her?”

  “Nay, but we understood each other, respected each other.”

  “I dinna know ye then, Jamie. That time in yer life is over.” Though her voice was steady, her face betrayed a hint of hurt and sadness.

  Helen was too selfless to judge him, to hold anything from his past against him. “Before I left, I gifted her with a house and enough coin to keep her comfortable for the rest of her life. I dinna want her to have to take another lover to eat and clothe herself. Women are treated differently across the ocean, Helen. In ways I doona approve of, that I have grown to despise since I’ve returned home. And after meeting ye…”

  “The babe is yer own?” she asked calmly.

  “Aye,” he admitted. “I dinna know. I swear it.”

  Helen rested her hand over his on the table. “I willna judge ye. All children are gifts from God.”

  Amazed by her unselfish nature, he placed his free hand over hers, then quickly thought better of it, for their feelings for each other were not publicly known yet. “We shouldna act so boldly in front of anyone.”

  Helen withdrew her hands. “Sometimes I forget myself.”

  “As do I. So much has happened over the last few weeks. I feel as if I am living in a dream world, that I will wake up tomorrow and ye will be gone.”

  She smiled so
sweetly. “Go to the child. I will be here when ye need me, Jamie.”

  If only he could take Helen and his new son home and banish the rest of the world from his life. He wanted something to call his own. And now—Jamie gazed in the direction of Ramsey—he had a child. One he must immediately claim in front of Father Michael, for Ramsey wouldna be raised in shame, as a nameless bastard. He was a MacKay and deserved all the honors that went with the title.

  “Meet me in the storage room tonight,” Jamie said.

  Helen blushed. “Ye are a man who likes to take chances.”

  “No,” he said. “I am a man slowly starving to death because I havena kissed ye in three days.”

  She nodded. “All right, I’ll be there. I feel confident enough to finish the missive to my sire today.”

  “I am proud of ye, Helen. Maybe the earl will see the error in his judgement once he reads that missive. Speak from yer heart.” Jamie stood. “I will carry yer sweet smile with me for the rest of the day.”

  *

  Once Helen, Miran, and Petro left the great hall, tears stung Helen’s eyes.

  “Milady? Why are ye crying?” Miran asked. “Is it about the babe?”

  “Partly,” she admitted. “I had hoped…” She sniffed and wiped the tears away.

  “Lady Helen,” Petro said quietly, “are you in love with Jamie MacKay?”

  Shocked and embarrassed the scholar would ask such a question, she stared at him, not knowing what to say.

  “Petro!” Miran said. “Tis not an appropriate thing to ask a lady.”

  “No?” Petro clasped his hands behind his back. “In Rome…”

  “We’re in the Highlands,” Miran reminded him.

  “Yes. Is a Highland woman’s heart any different than an Italian maiden’s?”

  Helen shook her head. “I am sure ye will say love is the same everywhere.” She had grown to like the scholar very much and trusted his opinion.

  “Love is love, milady. What matters the most are the two hearts in question.”

  Miran frowned and folded her arms over her chest. “Will ye play matchmaker now?”

  “I will speak with Jamie when the time is right.”

  “Leave that to Laird Alex,” Miran said.

  “I believe your mistress wishes me to speak with her Highlander.”

  Helen couldna hide the hope inside her heart. She needed to know what Jamie planned to do. It mattered greatly, for if she had someone to love, something to truly believe in, she’d fight harder for her independence. “Aye,” she said. “If ye think it will help.”

  “Consider it done. Now shall we go to the solar and finish the missive? I am sure your father would like to know how his daughter fares.”

  Seated at the table with Petro, she began to write out her thoughts. Though her lettering was legible, Petro had a practiced hand and would produce the final copy. Slowly, the words came to her, everything she’d kept locked up in her heart over the years. But it proved to be too much for her, and she set the writing implement down, her hand shaking.

  “I will write for you, Lady Helen.”

  Within a few hours, the missive was complete, and Helen read it a last time, hoping it would help her father understand her better and possibly forgive her for running away. She read the last lines aloud, “I implore ye to think about my mother, how she suffered in the end because ye dinna go to her sickbed. I carried that pain, Father. I feared what my life would be like. If ye’d treat me the same way, if I’d be forced to suffer the same, lonely fate. I beg ye to reconsider the marriage to Laird Munroe. He isna a good man, and I would rather commit myself in service to the Almighty, casting aside the ways of this world and live in poverty, than take this man as my husband. I beseech ye to think of my future happiness and of my love for ye, sir.”

  “Tis a wonderful missive,” Miran said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “If yer sire doesna free ye from the bonds of marriage with that murdering Munroe laird, then he is not worthy of having ye as his child.”

  “Thank ye, Miran.” Helen gave the parchment to Petro. “I am forever in yer debt.”

  Petro bowed, then carefully folded the parchment and sealed it with the MacKay mark. “You are the poet, milady, I am only the vessel by which you were able to put your thoughts on parchment. Now if you will excuse me, I will let Laird Alex know it is ready to be delivered to Dunrobin Castle.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Three weeks later…

  “The likeness to ye is unbelievable,” Keely said, hugging Ramsey to her chest. “He has been through so much for such a wee one.”

  “Aye,” Jamie said, happy Keeley had taken to the babe so quickly.

  “He isna two seasons old yet,” Alex observed. “He will grow up with his cousins.”

  They had retreated to the women’s solar for privacy, to discuss Jamie’s future and his son’s.

  “If Jamie wishes him to live here with us.”

  “Aye, tis his choice. But where else would he live, Keely?”

  “In Jamie’s home.”

  Alex frowned. “I havena forgotten the conversation we started. Remember, hearing such news from one of my captains made me question everything about ye.”

  Aye, Jamie had felt guilty ever since. “I dinna lie to ye, Alex. I wanted to wait until the right time, until I was sure tis what I wanted to do.”

  Alex reclined on one of the padded chairs. “The MacKays are stronger than we’ve ever been.”

  “Aye.”

  “Our army is growing.”

  “Aye.”

  “I require strong captains, men of integrity. Men willing to fight for me.”

  “Ye have ten captains who would die for ye without question.”

  “Eleven,” Alex corrected.

  “If ye include me.”

  “I do.”

  “The northern region of our lands is sparsely populated and in dire need of protection. Pirates patrol the coast in search of easy targets. The sheep herders are vulnerable and live in fear during the grazing season.” The MacKays owned some of the best flocks in all of Scotland, their quality wool in high demand. “The ship Nudar sailed on went unnoticed, Alex. What if a whole army had landed? What defenses do we have?”

  “Patrols make regular rounds.”

  “Between us, the Oliphants, and the Sinclairs, we doona have enough men to spare to guard the coastline properly. We need more ships, Alex. More men. More outposts.”

  “Is that what ye consider Sands Airgid? A mere outpost?”

  “Nay. I want it to be more. But it is an important start to what ye need to do to make yer legacy last for young John and Rebecca.”

  “Alex?” Keely said.

  “Aye?”

  “Jamie speaks wisely.”

  Alex sat forward and rubbed the back of his neck. “I know, sweet wife. The already existing branches of MacKays occupy the southern regions. We are blessed and cursed with the largest holdings, with the wildest and most inhospitable land.”

  “Our gardens have a high yield, Alex,” she said, shifting Ramsey to her other knee. “Think what Jamie could do as a chieftain. Expand the crops, the herds, and build new ships. Together, the two of ye make an indomitable pair.”

  “If I consider it…” Alex began.

  Jamie quickly went to his cousin and knelt before him. “I will safeguard ye and yer family forever.”

  “And what of yer son?”

  “I am Ramsey’s father. His place is with me.”

  “He needs a mother. And ye need a wife and heir.”

  “Ramsey is my firstborn.”

  “He will never inherit the laird’s chair, Jamie. He can’t. Though he is a Highlander by birth, half of his blood comes from…”

  “Doona say it,” Jamie warned.

  “I willna. But if I allow this, make ye a laird, ye will sign a contract with me. One of the conditions will be that Ramsey will never be permitted to become laird, even if ye fail to sire more sons.”

  Jamie ros
e to his feet with mixed emotions. Did Alex have the right to set such conditions? To target his son because his mother came from another country? “Will ye pick my wife for me, too?”

  “Do ye think it is easy for me to look upon the child in such a way, my own flesh and blood?” Alex asked.

  “I think ye should answer my question.”

  “Nay, take what wife ye choose. But she must be from the Highlands.”

  “What other stipulations do ye plan?”

  “A tax.”

  “Tax?”

  “Aye,” Alex said. “A third of yer annual profits on the wool I know ye will sell in foreign markets.”

  “All right. Does this mean…”

  “Doona jump ahead of things yet, Jamie. I promised to seriously consider it. I will let ye know what I decide.”

  Jamie gazed at Keely. His son was fast asleep in her arms, his round, cherub face a precious reminder of how important starting a family was to Jamie. Especially now that he knew Alex would likely rule in his favor.

  “What of a wife?” Alex asked. “Do ye have a lass in mind?”

  “Helen Sutherland.”

  Alex’s face remained stone cold. “Have ye taken her innocence?”

  Jamie fisted his hands. “Believe me when I say I wanted to—every moment of every day, she is nearly all I can think about.”

  “What stopped ye?” Alex asked.

  “Alex…” Keely shook her head. “Some things are not meant to be said aloud.”

  “I have every right to question Jamie. Lady Helen is under my protection. What would her sire say, what would our people think if Jamie bedded her without a promise of marriage?”

  “Ye think so little of me?”

  “Nay! I’ve seen the way the two of ye gaze at each other. Can ye conceal the light of the sun or moon?”

  Jamie smiled then. “’S ceart-leth m’ anama i.” She is the very half of my soul.

  “Then go to the lady,” Alex encouraged. “Ask for her hand in marriage. I am feeling generous. I also fear once her sire receives that missive, he will come for her. If ye marry her, she has another layer of protection.”

  Stunned silent, Jamie stared at his kinsman. “Weeks ago, ye told me to stay away from the lass. What has changed?”