Gifted

Amends

Magnus Sinclair glared down at the bloodied lad cradled in his sobbing sister's arms. Mairi Sinclair lifted her face from her beloved's ginger mop and held her hand out in front of her as if warding Magnus off like the very devil she believed him to be. Jamie Campbell feebly tried to rise from Mairi's arms to continue the fight but he no longer seemed capable of coordinated movement, or coherence.

"He's had enough, ye bluidy bully! We've married and there's nothing ye can do about it! Just go home and tell da ye were too late," Mairi yelled at Magnus.

"He stole ye from us, lass," Magnus growled. "And after we welcomed him into our home. Training among our Highlanders is an honor and this is how he repays us?"

She wailed, "I won't let ye keep hurting him! Yer not taking my husband from me! I'm not going back home with ye!"

Alec, the peacemaking middle sibling, chimed in to sooth Mairi, "We'll not force ye to do anything you don't want, lille venn. Ye're right. He's probably taken enough of a beating for now. We just want the lad and his family to make right after he insulted ours."

Mairi cried out in frustration, "What insult?! We fell in love! We followed our hearts!"

"Don't be a child, Mairi," Magnus scoffed, feeling older than his six and twenty years. "Ye were both betrothed to other people. Our family will have tae make amends with the Frasers as, no doubt, the Campbell will with the Kerrs."

Laird Malcolm Campbell chose this moment to announce his presence as he strode toward the tableau on the dock.

"Actually, those Kerr women likely had something tae do with this mess and I'm not inclined tae make amends," the laird said. "I doubt Sir Christopher would demand any kind of recompense from us either. He himself broke off an engagement tae the same lady three years ago. Eloped with some other lass, too, come tae think of it."

Alec snorted, "Two broken engagements in three years? This Lady Alina must be quite the prize."

"Her lands certainly are," the laird sad flatly. "She's a slip of a lass but bonnie enough. Her interfering ways are the problem. I blame that stepmother."

"How ye deal with yer neighbors is yer problem. For later," Magnus said. "Right now, ye have tae deal with me. Yer Jamie abducted our Mairi. He must pay."

The Campbell glanced down at his badly beaten son and said blandly, "I could take issue with the state in which I currently find my son. He'd arrived back home less than two hours ago, healthy and eager tae introduce his new bride. Now look at him."

Jamie groaned. Mairi continued to fuss over him.

Magnus shrugged, unmoved, "Consider it a continuation of his training. Hand tae hand combat."

Mairi glared daggers at her brother, "Have ye no feeling left in ye? I love him! My Jamie better recover from this or I'll never forgive ye, ye cold monster."

The laird scanned the brawny Highlander. Jamie Campbell was laughably outmatched against the huge, bearded northman. In fact, all three Sinclair siblings called to mind the Vikings of old: blonde and hearty, even the woman looked like she could handle herself in a fight. Malcolm could throw five of his best soldiers against Magnus and the giant would still no doubt prevail. It wasn't just brute strength that Malcolm saw. He detected a warrior's brew of sharp intellect, instinct and intuition in those gray eyes.

The laird sighed and held up a sheaf of papers.

"I want no quarrel with yer family," the laird said. "These prove that our Jamie was manipulated intae eloping with yer sister. Letters Lady Alina wrote tae my son as he went through the rigors of your Highland training. He was pushed intae following his 'true heart's desire'."

Mairi's tawny brows drew together in consternation. She was obviously in love with her new husband but even she had to admit that the lad was the impressionable sort. Magnus took the sheaf, scanned the tiny, neat writing and stuffed the letters into his coat for later perusal. He'd read them when he'd gotten some peace from all the feelings floating around: his sister's rage, the Campbell's scheming and attempts to conceal his worry over his son, even the drunken lad's desperate attempts to orient himself.

Magnus said, "Twas yer son who took our Mairi. Twas he who wronged my family. Yer family are honor bound tae make amends. Not the woman behind these letters."

The laird spread his palms out in conciliation, "If I had a daughter tae replace the bride our Jamie took from yer family, I would happily do so. Alas, I've only been blessed with sons. Come up tae the keep. Our healer can see tae Jamie and I can offer ye and yer men food and drink and a warm place tae spend the night. We'll figure out how we can make amends when we get there."

On their way up, the Campbell pointed south toward a distant stone castle atop sheer cliffs, the high point around the loch. It was obvious to Magnus how the laird wanted to repay the Sinclair family: a bride for a bride. The only problem was, the bride within that clifftop castle wasn't the Campbell's to give away. She'd have to be taken.