Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

My mother does not smile save at my father. You got a wife yet?”
    “I do, she is Rachel and she is Anna’s sister.”
    “Oh, then you know everyone. Well, I got to go. I am six and you know what that means.”
    He didn’t know what six meant, but she was off and running before Connor ha d a chance to ask. He stood up and then realized she still didn’t tell him her name.

    Yule and Maree strolled down the path toward the drawbridge, intending to go across and walk down the road. Compared to other clans, the MacGreagor land was long rather than wide, with good hunting, ample forests, and many clearings and streams. There was only one problem with it in the eyes of most -- it bordered England to the south. Yet that was a good two days away and rarely did the MacGreagors have trouble with the English.
    The young couple crossed the courtyard and were about to cross the bridge, when Yule looked back and noticed several little children following them. He stopped, turned around, spread his legs apart and clasped his hands behind his back. Three of the little boys did the same, although they were not well practiced at the non-threatening pose, and had to adjust themselves a couple of times to get it right. Yule smiled.
    Maree was thrilled when she saw them. She knelt down and opened her arms. Yet , she had not braced herself well enough for the onslaught, and was grateful when Yule put his hand on her back to keep her from falling over. It was a good feeling. Maree had a hug and a kiss for each child, and then reminded them they were not to cross the bridge.
    Yule helped her stand and then watched the little ones turn back. “They love you very much.”
    “And I love them. Children make me feel life in a way nothing else can.” As soon as they crossed the bridge, both looked back to make sure the children obeyed.

    When Steppen saw it, she was mesmerized. She was behind the very first cottage and couldn’t take her eyes off of it. The thing had five arms, it was slowly spinning and she had never seen anything like it. The arms were made of very thin wood, connected somehow right smack dab at the end of a long stick , and the stick was planted in the ground just like a flower. She looked at her hand and then looked back. Nope, they were not arms, they were hands and each was slanted. Very carefully, she extended her first finger and touched it.
    “What the devil!” It stopped turning. She pulled her finger back and sure enough it started to spin. Again, she stopped it and again it spun, only this time faster. She was horrified -- t his was the stuff of nightmares.

    Sween returned to the great hall without Yule, and Kevin was surprised. There was no mistaking whose son Sween was. He had the same hair, the same blue-gray eyes and even his face resembled his father’s.
    The great hall was a large room and could easily hold dozens during celebrations. The ceiling was two stories high with small open air slits, but the light inside was not always good, so candles burned at intervals along the walls. More candles sat in holders on the table. Colorful tapestries hung on the walls and in a large stone hearth, a fire was lit in the mornings to keep the chill away, and not put out until night. An assortment of large and small weapons also hung on the walls.
    A small back door opened into a room where food was prepared, and the stairs near the large front door, led to a balcony on the second floor , with more doors that opened into bedchambers.
    Sween didn ’ t have to ask what his father wondered. “Yule is taking Maree for a walk.”
    “Maree, I see. I wondered which lad would win her heart. She is very pleasing.” His oldest son only shrugged. “Did you show him everything he desired to see?”
    Sween sat down at the table and laid his head flat against the cool wood. “Aye.”
    Kevin knew what was wrong with his son. The boy drank far more wine than he should have the night before, and now his head was hurting. There was no point in talking to him when he was in that condition, not that talking ever did much good where Sween was concerned.
    Kevin sat down at the head of the table and began to consider various problems that needed to be solved. He was laird over the MacGreagor Clan and had been since he was Sween’s age. He didn’t remember being a problem to his father, but then, his parents and all but one sister died in the plague. He made more than his share of youthful mistakes, and hoped not to die before