Celeste Barclay's The Clan Sinclair Legacy

Highland Jewel

Magnus Mackenzie breathed a sigh of relief as Castle Dunbeath came into view. His second home during the years he fostered with Clan Sinclair, seeing the brick structure on the cliffside felt like slipping on his favorite leine. Three years had passed since he last visited, but it felt like a lifetime. He was eager to see his half-sister, Siùsan, and to visit with the rest of the extended family.

As his gaze swept the surrounding land, a head with white-blonde hair popped out of a heather patch. The hue and waves made him assume it was Brighde, his half-sister’s sister-by-marriage. But as he drew closer to the woman picking flowers, he realized it was Saoirse, Brighde and Alexander’s daughter. The last time he’d seen her, she was emerging as a young woman, still a bit more gangly than curvy. But the lady who stood before him was breathtaking.

“Magnus?” Her melodic voice carried on the sea breeze, sending a heated shiver along his spine. She shielded her brown eyes and waved as she recognized him. She said something to her guard, who stood ten feet from her. She lifted her skirts and made her way back to the path. She waited for him with a basket over her bent arm.

“Lady Saoirse, hello.”

“We’ve been expecting ye, but nae until this evening.”

“I was impatient to arrive. I’m certain ma men wished I’d developed that virtue.”
Magnus glanced back at the three Mackenzie warriors who rode with him and would remain during his visit. The journey forced Magnus to travel across Clan Gunn territory. His family’s complicated history with that clan, paired with the ongoing strife between the Sinclairs and them, necessitated him traveling with guards.

Saoirse’s tinkling laughter made Magnus want to shift in his saddle. It was doing things to him that hadn’t happened since he was a green lad. It had been years since a woman’s laughter aroused him so instantaneously.

Control yerself, mon. She’s nae more than a lass. A lass ye used to watch over when ye took her and the other weans fishing and swimming. Aye, but she didna look like that. Ye’re closer to her da’s age than hers, even if ye’re more than a decade younger than him.

“What’re ye doing outside the gates, ma lady?”

“Ma lady? I’m Saoirse to ye, Magnus.”

Something in her tone pricked at Magnus. Was she insulted by his formality? No. She looked hurt. That made his mind spin as he wondered why it affected her so.