Branded By a Warrior (43 page)

September 1209

The Highlands, Scotland

Sighing contently Elisabeth lay on her back in the beautiful purple heather
field
. Eyes closed
,
she listened to the sounds in the glen. Children laughed, puppies barked and the deep vibrato of men’s voices could be heard
in the breeze
. The Scottish summer was coming to a close and the weather had never been more perfect. The warm Highland sun beat down upon her face, warming her as the breeze blew through the valley. High in the air she could hear the sweet song of birds as they flew past, smiling to herself she soaked up these perfect little moments, they were some of her most treasured times.

Grinning
,
she opened her eyes
and leaned up
on her elbow as she heard someone approach, before her, her husband smiled de
eply as he struggled to keep the
precious cargo in his arms from falling
as they squirmed
.

In his arms he held two laughing, green-eyed
,
one-year-old babes. Seamus Duncan
MacMillan and his twin sister Jocelyn Grace
, the most beautiful things she had ever seen
.
Twins, she had two beautiful, headstrong children who melted her heart with one smile.
They were the spitting image of their handsome father, with her light green eyes.

Watching Broderick carry both of the giggling babes over to her
, her
heart filled with joy. Their birth had been difficult, but she would do it all over again.
She
reminisced
about
how overprotective Broderick had become at the end of her pregnancy with the twins
; he had been a nervous wreck.
The twins had just celebrated their first birthday this
summer. A large festival was thrown at Castle MacMillan to celebrate the twins’ first birthday. It had been a weeklong celebration with contests and entertainment galore, dancing and merriment livened up the entire Highlands as people came near and far to participate in the joyous occasion. The King of England even came with
a beautiful gold crown
for each child.

Hearing Broderick curse, she snapped out of her daydream and saw the litter of wolfhound pups entangle themselves in between Broderick’s legs as he continued walking
towards her
.

Smiling up at her handsome husband she had witnessed Broderick
turn into a loving father right before her eyes
this past year
.
The moment the twins were born he held them tight and promised them the world. He had been so loving and careful with the children, his protectiveness and pride in his children made her heart burst with love.
Just when she thought she couldn’t love him anymore, he proved her wrong.

Behind Broderick, Elisabeth heard the sweet laugh of
Isobel. Running past her Uncle
and baby cousins, she
swung a handful of
flowers as she ran towards Elisabeth,
all smiles and long blonde hair. The young lass was fast growing up, she was quick becoming
known for her archery
. Following behind
Isobel was her father, Kendrix who attempted to corral the barking wolfhounds as Conn and Isla, the proud parents
,
lumbered behind. Laughing at the scene ahead of her, her heart was light with joy; these were the moments she lived
for, and t
oday was a special day.

“Aunt Elisabeth, when do we have to go back to the castle to get ready?” Isobel question as she ran up to the blanket where Elisabeth sat, flopping down beside her.

“Soon my love, ye know how long weddings take to prepare for
.” S
he winked at Isobel
and looked back at Broderick as he leaned down and handed her Jocelyn before sitting down on the blanket next to them.

Kendrix walked up and held out his hand for Isobel, “Come my love, we need to get back to the castle, allow your Uncle and Aunt some family time my dear. I’m sure Molly will be waiting for you
.
”

“Alright Da,” she sighed, clearly sad to be leaving her cousins, “I’ll go becau
se I’m
excited she is to be my new mum,
not
because I have to wear another fancy dress
.” S
he pointed out.

Chuckling Broderick took pity on his young niece, “We will be heading home soon Isobel, you’ll have plenty of time to play with your cousins tonight. We shall see you at the wedding dear
, if you’d like, you can take the pups back to the stables
.
”

Clapping, Isobel quickly got up and picked up as many puppies as she could fit in her arms and charged her father with the rest.

Waving goodbye, Elisabeth and Broderick watched as Kendrix and Isobel walked back to the castle together
, along with the family of wolfhounds
.

“I still cannae believe he’s finally getting married again, I wasn’t sure if he’d ever find love again
.
” Broderick mused as
he nestled his sleepy
son in the crook of his arm.

Running her hand over Jocelyn’s cherub like face, she tucked her in closer and leaned against Broderick, “Molly is a wonderful woman, I am happy to see Kendrix in love, and
our little niece happens to love Molly like a mother already.
It’ll be a wonderful start to their family. I hope Rhona didn’t need my help this afternoon
.” S
he yawned as the summer sun shined down upon them.

“
Rhona has been planning this wedding for weeks, she
has her own well trained castle staff to see to the duties today. In fact, you know she specifically told you to take us all on a picnic, I think she wanted you out of her hair for the afternoon
.” H
e chuckled.

Playfully swatting his arm she grinned, “She dinnae Broderick!” The two of them sat in the field of heather
outside the castle and enjoyed the lovely weather. Soon enough
the coldness and snow would descend down upon them and long gone would be days like this.

Since the children were born, Broderick had made a considerable effort in making sure he had plenty of time on his hands for his family. He delegated when he could and always wanted the twins close by. Leaning her head against his strong shoulder she sighed with happiness at how
blessed
she was.

In
one arm she held little Jocelyn who
dozed
off
in
to dream world with her brother
who was lightly snoring in his father’s arm. Using her free hand
,
she pulled her gorgeous husband closer
by his shirt
and kissed him as the world buzzed around them.
Her attraction to him never waned; it only grew
stronger
the longer they were married. Stolen moments lik
e this had to suffice until the
nights when they would get lost in each other.

“Ouch
!” F
eeling her hair pulled, she broke the kiss
and looked down into their arms.
Seamus was bright eyed and smiling, holding a fistful of her hair
in his sweet little hand
.

Chuckling, Broderick reached down and untangled
the
shiny
red lock out of his son’
s hand, “Seamus, be nice to ye M
um lad
.” R
uffling the wee
babe’s
chestnut hair.

Sighing, Elisabeth sighed with complete happiness, sitting with her family in the fields of vibrant purple heather, she reflected on their journey to each other up till today. Death and sadness had slowly transformed her path in life into her destiny. Fate had led her to Broderick; fate had seen them through b
attles and meetings with their k
ing. Fate had brought them together,
combined they
now owed
over
three quarters of the Scottish Highlands.

King Richard
had blessed them with the Douglas lands, adding considerabl
y to their combined lands. The k
ing had even graced them with his presence soon after the twins were
born;
he was
also
present for their christening
and of course their first birthday festival
. Elisabeth’s cousin was most pleased with seeing her again, yet they continued to keep their blood ties secret.
King Richard
had expressed must content with knowing the vast majority of the Highlands were under their direct eye. He had also let Elisabeth know he was planning to marry and produce his own heir, he knew how little she wanted the crown, it was the reason he liked her so much.

She had been most pleased
to hear he was marrying, although she would always see to her duty,
but
she wanted nothing to do with England. Scotland was her home, these Highlands were home, and Castle MacMillan was where she belonged. It was her eternal destiny, all roads led to where she was now.
One day her children would inherit their lands, and so would her grandchildren. Between Broderick and Elisabeth, they now possessed the majority of the Highlands. Their legacy was secure.

Feeling Broderick rub her back, he kissed her temple and whispered into her ear, “Lets get the children home my love, you and I have a wedding to prepare for, our nursemaid is most excited to watch the children tonight” nibbling her ear, “and I am most excited for a night alone with my stunning wife, she owes me a few dances…and maybe a few under the sheets
.
”

Nudging her shoulder into him she kissed his jaw, “Oh
,
I very much look forward to it, to the castle my dear
.” W
inking.

Broderick stood up and helped
her
with his free arm, handing Jocelyn over to her father she bent down and picked up the sheet from the green grass and shook it out, tossing it over her shoulder.

Beside her Broderick had each of the children tucked in each arm, Seamus awake fumbling with his own hands and little Jocelyn, asleep and peaceful as could be.
Both children looked exactly like their father, dark chestnut hair with beautiful green eyes like both of their parents.

Walking back to the castle she wrapped her arm around Broderick and
soaked in the last bit of sunlight the day had. The familiar path to the castle gate was well worn and picturesque. The closer they got to the castle; the more voices could be heard
as well as lilting Scottish music
.

Rhona had arranged fun games for the children to pl
ay in the bailey, as well as archery contests for the older children and wives, the men were tossing logs and drinking their fair share of mead
. Today was another joyous celebration for their clan. Games and music, fresh food and mead were abundant from the bailey to the stable, the keep to the kitchens.

Entering through the gates they were greeted by the cheers of people who were enjoying the entertainment in the bailey. Waving to their friends and fellow warriors, Elisabeth walked next t
o her tall husband with pride. Broderick had a
bairn in each arm and not a care in the
world;
he wanted to spend as much time with the twins as possible. He wasn’t a father who pushed his children off on their mother or nursemaids or help, he was an active roll in their everyday life, just like she knew he would be.
He nodded to his friends as they walked across the courtyard to the castle, ladies fawned over the children as they stopped and talked to a few groups along the way.
It was clear e
veryone was excited for the wedding tonight.

At the top of the castle stairs they could see old Rhona searching for them, she loved the
twins
like
they were her own grandbabies, and it appeared they were a tad late returning from their picnic.

“Think we are in trouble?” Broderick chuckled as he saw the inpatient look on Rhona’s wrinkled face.

“Oh she’ll forget about how late we are
as soon as you place the children in her arms, she turns to mush around them, ye know that
.” S
he joked, softly elbowing him as she reached down to pull up her skirts as they walked up the stairs.
Doing as she said, Broderick smiled at his old nursemaid and gently placed both children into her steady arms and kissed the elder lady on her cheek, “We shall see you later Rhona, enjoy them!”

Clasping hands with her husband, they quickly kissed the younglings on their chubby cheeks and waved as they walked up towards their room.
They had few chances of alone time, and when they did, they took advantage. Running to their room like youngsters, they didn’t look back.