Julianne MacLean - Claimed by the Highlander

He was banished, and in his absence all was lost. But soon, his time will come. The sleeping lion will wake, and when he does, the MacEwens will hear his roar.

The Oracle, March 3, 1718

The Western Isles of Scotland

Contents

Chapter One

Kinloch Castle

Scottish Highlands, July 1718

The dream startled her awake mere minutes before the siege began.

Gwendolen MacEwen sat up with a gasp and turned her eyes to the window. It was only a dream, she told herself as she struggled to calm her breathing. Later she would call it a premonition, but for now, she was certain it was just the trickeries of sleep causing this terror in her heart.

Giving up any notion of slumber, she tossed the covers aside, sat up on the edge of the bed, and reached for her robe. She slipped it on for warmth against the predawn chill as she rose to her feet and padded to the window, lured to the leaded glass by a faint glow of light on the horizon.

A new day had begun. At last. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that it would bring her brother, Murdoch, home from his travels. The MacEwens needed their chief, and if he did not soon return and claim his birthright, she feared someone else wouldfor there had been some talk of discontent in the village. Shed heard it from her maid, whose sister was married to the alehouse keeper. And after the dream shed just had

The horn blew suddenly in the bailey.

Unaccustomed to hearing such a clamor while the castle still slept, Gwendolen turned from the window. What in Gods name?

It blew again, a second time. Then a third.

A spark of alarm fired her blood, for she knew the meaning of that signal. It was coming from the rooftop, and it spoke of danger.

Gwendolen rushed to the door, flung it open, and hurried up the tower stairs.

Whats happening? she asked the guard, who was pacing back and forth through the early morning chill. She could see his ragged breath upon the air.

He pointed. Look there, Miss MacEwen!

She rose up on her toes and leaned out over the battlements, squinting through the dim morning light at the moving shadows in the field. It was an advancing army, approaching quickly from the edge of the forest. Some were on foot, others mounted.

How many men? she asked.

Two hundred, at least, he replied. Maybe more.

She stepped away from the wall and regarded him soberly. How much time do we have?

Five minutes at best.

She turned and locked eyes with another clansman, who exploded out of the tower staircase with a musket in his hands. He halted, panic-stricken, when he spotted her.

They came out of nowhere, he explained. Were doomed for sure. Ye should escape, Miss MacEwen, before its too late.

Immediately incensed, Gwendolen strode forward, grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt, and shook him roughly. Repeat those words again, sir, and I will have your head! She swung around to face the other clansman. Go and alert the steward.

But

Just do it!

They had no leader. Her father was dead, and their current laird of war was a drunkard who was not even within the castle walls, for hed been spending his nights in the village since her fathers passing. Her brother had not yet returned from the Continent. They had only their steward, Gordon MacEwenwho was a brilliant manager of books and numbers, but no warrior.

Is your weapon loaded? she asked the flustered clansman. Do you have enough powder?

Aye.

Then take aim and defend the gate!

He hurried into position, while she looked out over the bailey below, where her clansmen were finally assembling in answer to the call. Torches had been lit, but everyone was shouting in confusion, asking too many questions.

MacEwens, hear me now! she shouted. An army is approaching from the east! We will soon be under attack! Arm yourselves and man the battlements!

Only in the hush of that moment, as all eyes turned toward her, did she realize that she was still wearing her dressing gown.

You there! She pointed at a boy. Arm yourself with a sword! Assemble all the women and children. Take them to the chapel, bar the doors, and stay with them until the battle is ended.

The boy nodded bravely and dashed off to the armory.

They are MacDonalds! a guard shouted from the opposite corner tower. It was Douglas MacEwen, a good friend and able swordsman.

Gwendolen gathered her shift in her hands and ran to meet him. Are you certain?

Aye, look there. He pointed across the field, now shimmering with mist and morning dew. They carry the banner of Angus the Lion.

Gwendolen had heard tales of Angus MacDonald, forsaken son of the fallen MacDonald chief, who had once been Laird of Kinloch. He had been a Jacobite traitor, however, which was why the King granted her father Letters of Fire and Sword, which had awarded him the right to take the castle in service to the Crown.

There were whispers that Angus was the infamous Butcher of the Highlandsa renegade Jacobite who hacked entire English armies to pieces with his legendary death axe.

Others said he was nothing but a treacherous villain, who was banished to the north by his own father for some secret, unspeakable crime.

Either way, he was reputed to be a fierce and ruthless warrior, faster and more ferocious than a phantom beast on the battlefield. Some even said he was invincible.

This much was true at least: he was an expert swordsman, who showed no mercy to warriors and women alike.

What in Gods name is that? She leaned forward and squinted, as a terrible sense of foreboding poured through her.

Douglas strained to see clearly through the mist, then his face went pale. Its a catapult, and their horses are pulling a battering ram.

She could hear the heavy, muted thunder of their approach, and her heart turned over in her chest.

You are in charge here until I return, she told him. You must defend the gate, Douglas. At all costs.

He nodded silently. She patted him on the arm with encouragement, then hurried back to the tower stairs. Seconds later, she was pushing through the door to her bedchamber. Her maid was waiting uneasily by the bed.

Gwendolen spoke without flinching. We are under attack, she said. There isnt much time. You must help gather the women and children, go straight to the chapel, and stay there until it is over.

Aye, Miss McEwen! The maid hastened from the room.

Closing the door behind her, Gwendolen quickly tore off her robe and dropped it, without a care, onto the braided rug. She hurried to the wardrobe to find clothes.

Just then, a sudden, violent pounding began at her door, as if an animal were bucking up against it.

Gwendolen! Gwendolen! Are you awake?

She halted in her tracks. Oh, if only she were asleep, and this was still the dream, playing tricks on her mind. But the sound of alarm in her mothers voice quashed that possibility. She hurried to answer the door.

Come inside, Mother. We are under attack.

Are you certain? Onora looked as if she had already taken the time to dress for the event. Her long curly hair was combed into a hasty but elegant twist, and she was wearing a crisp new gown of blue and white silk. I heard the horn, but thought surely it must be a false alarm.

It isnt. Gwendolen returned to the wardrobe and pulled a skirt on over her shift. The MacDonalds are storming the gates as we speak. There isnt much time. They have brought a catapult and battering ram.

Onora swept into the room and shut the door behind her. How utterly medieval!

Indeed. They are led by Angus the Lion. Glancing briefly at her mother with concern, Gwendolen hunted around for her shoes.