Chapter 1

When the bells began to sound, Padraig MacInnis was already on his horse. He and half a dozen of his men rode through the gates before the tolling stopped. Being the first to rise regularly had benefits. He was the first to eat. The first to hunt. And today there was no brother had been nearby to stop him from heading out to greet their visitors.

He spurred his steed on, the animal’s hooves pounding the dirt road faster than was necessary for a welcoming party, but Padraig wanted to be sure neither of his brothers could overtake them. They always tried to keep him from speaking with people from outside the clan and he was sick of it. The way they had divided the tasks made the days monotonous and was proving to make it difficult to run the clan’s affairs smoothly. Someone needed to be in charge. One ruling brother and the others supporting him. That was the way a clan was supposed to be run. His father's will had decreed differently though, and his brothers would not concede to put him in charge. Since there was no proof that he was the first born, he could not simply claim his rightful place.

His jaw set when they got close enough to identify that it was the king’s standard at the front of the troop. They were coming from the road that went to the MacDonald land, which both excited and concerned him. Had King Charles finally thought to grant his petition after all this time? He had sent the first petition nearly two years ago. Or were coming to tell him that the king had wed his wife to someone else and order him to stop pestering the king about her?

The King’s guards appeared to be growing concerned with the speed of his approach. His man at arms caught his eye and shook his head. Padraig sighed and slowed his horse. Of course, the man was right. It would do no good to appear threatening to guests, especially royal ones. Even if the news they brought could hurt.

He pulled his horse to a stop and let the group approach them.

“Who goes there?” He asked when the guard stopped two horse lengths in front of him. The ragtag group travelling with them took a little more space to come to a halt and the guard's horse snorted, apparently in distaste for the nearness of the other animals as they jostled each other to a standstill. Another horse stepped forward and the aging man looked Padraig in the eye.

“I am the king's emissary. I have business with the brothers who lead MacInnis clan.”

The sound of distant hoofbeats had everyone looking behind Padraig so he glanced back as well and cursed under his breath as he turned back towards the emissary. Of course, this would be the day one of his brothers rose with the sun. Perhaps he could get to the bottom of this on his own before they interfered, though with the speed of the horse it wasn't likely.

“I am one of the Lairds MacInnis. What business brings you here.”

“Take us to the castle. I will tell you all there.”

“Tell me now.” Padraig insisted. His brother was approaching far too quickly and the emissary was far too reluctant to talk.

“I will relay the missive to all three brothers at once. That was the king’s command,” insisted the emissary.

“Then that is the way it shall be,” Griogair said, drawing his horse alongside Padraig’s. “Come, brother, let’s see this group through the gates. They’ll likely need to break their fast, travelling this early in the day.”

“That we do,” the emissary agreed, resting a hand on his rounded belly. “I have had enough eggs and that is all Donald has offered in the morning for a fortnight now.” Padraig stiffened and scanned the group of travellers. They had indeed stopped to visit at MacDonald. Even spent a fortnight! When his gaze found the familiar form of a petite woman in a dark blue robe he clenched his jaw. The woman’s hood was pulled up tightly against the chill of the early morning, but he knew that cloak and the form beneath it very well. She was his wife. Even if most of the world did not know it.

Was the king finally granting his petition? But why would that require all three brothers?

The group made their way slowly through the gates and up to the steps of the keep. When they stopped Eliana dropped her hood and looked around. Small gasps could be heard among the men who had assembled. His wife was the most strikingly beautiful woman in the land. Her hair changed colour as the sun moved over it, from a deep brown to a burnt red. Her eyes too would shift from blue to green to grey if he were close enough to look into them. Padraig made his way through the crowd to help Eliana down from her horse.

“I have a missive from the King.” Nobody seemed to be paying the old emissary any attention. All eyes rested on the small, slender woman as she reached out a hand to take the one Padraig offered and slid to the ground in front of him. Their eyes held. He saw both relief and fear in her gaze, but they didn’t have any privacy at the moment so he could not show how happy he was to see her. His skin tingled where their fingers touched.

Two years apart, and now her hand was in his. Padraig swallowed hard. He wasn’t certain he’d be able to willingly let go. If she was not here to become his wife the two of them might have to go into hiding.

The emissary cleared his throat. Eliana snatched her hand away as though his touch had burned her and looked down as though she had done something wrong. Padraig’s scowled. “Lords McInnis, your attention please!” All three brothers turned their identical scowls at the emissary. “We should take this matter to the privacy of your solar, and Lady Eliana needs to break her fast.”

“Yes, of course,” Alasdair, the third brother, said from the steps of the keep. He motioned to the nearest woman from the kitchen. “Maddie, see lady Eliana to the main hall and bring her whatever she wishes for her morning meal.”

“Aye m’lord.” her red head bobbed and she stepped forward to do his bidding. Padraig turned towards the keep and took the stairs in long, angry strides. He needed to get this sorted out fast and get back to Eliana. Something was wrong. She had been spoiled, pampered, and sheltered her entire life. Only the thought of her father discovering their marriage had ever made her fear anything and she never, ever, looked as though she were in the wrong. Just now she had definitely been both afraid and embarrassed. He had to know what brought that look to her eyes.

“The deteriorating state of your clan has the king concerned,” were the first words the emissary said when the door closed behind them.

“We paid our taxes on time. The king - “

“wishes to ensure your ability to continue doing so.” The emissary interrupted, raising his eyebrow as though daring Padraig to interrupt again. “This experiment your father proposed is obviously not a wise one. Your revenue is not even a third of what it was under your father. The king has decided to end the experiment in a way that will improve the prospects of four clans and bring more peace and stability to the area.”

Padraig opened his mouth to argue but snapped it closed again. The brothers looked at each other. They all knew the king was right. Their father had wanted them to rule the clan together, but it wasn’t working out very well for anyone. 

The uncertain futures of several nearby clans without male heirs had also created a lot of unrest as men fought and schemed to gain lands and influence. There were constant skirmishes as food stores dwindled from the drought and livestock was going missing. It was time for things to change before the border lands found themselves at war once again. When none of them said a word to contradict him the emissary continued.

“The king will honour your father’s wish not to have one of the three of you rule over the others by ensuring that all three of you are lairds of your own lands. Griogair, as you were named after your father the king assumes you were born first.” Padraig muttered something under his breath but the emissary ignored the interruption. “Therefore, you will remain here with the fair Eliana who arrived with me. The king has wed you to her.” Padraig gasped, feeling as though he’d been punched in the gut.

“WED!” he bellowed, only realizing afterward that his brothers had reacted along with him.

“Well yes,” the emissary’s large grey brow scrunched as if that were obvious. “Did you not receive the king’s missive?” The brothers looked at one another.

“We received no message from the king,” Griogair said, “Not since the death of our father, when he agreed to have us keep to our father’s wishes.

“Well, then your shock is understandable I suppose. Let me explain. To make Padraig and Alasdair lords of their own lands, the king wed them into clans that have no male heir. To be fair then, he also wed Griogair to a lady, a secondborn, who had need of a husband. Half of the animals and supplies we have with us are the dowry he has bestowed on her to ensure your clan can get back on its feet as quickly as possible.”

“Half?” Alasdair asked skeptically.

“Yes. The other half is a rather long tale that I do not care to get into at this time. The animals will remain here for now and I will take them back to clan MacDonald on my return trip. You will be compensated for caring for them.”

“We are all wed?” Griogair asked.

“Yes,” the emissary said, “the king wed you all by proxy as soon as the women’s guardian’s accepted. He assumed that no response from you meant that you agreed to his edict without complaint. I suppose he should have considered that the messenger may have failed to arrive. Regardless, it is done. I have papers for you to sign and a cleric with me so you can exchange vows properly for the church as well.”

“What if we do not agree?” Padraig asked.

“He is the king,” the emissary said as if that were the only answer. Which of course it was. He was the king, they would have to obey. “I am also to remain in each castle until I have proof the vows of each union have been consummated. Starting with Griogair and Eliana as soon as possible, hopefully within the hour so we can be well on our way before we have to camp for the night.”

“You expect us to couple with these women...our wives, the moment we meet? Without a single conversation?” Alasdair asked.

“Yes,” the emissary said as he placed papers on the desk. Padraig eyed the papers, wondering if there were any way to get out of this situation. He and his brother now shared a wife. His stomach soured at the thought that Giorgair may be about to undress his Eliana. The two had shared willing women in the past, but he wasn’t certain he could give his wife to his brother so easily. “She is quite beautiful, is she not? I don’t think it will be too difficult for you to complete the task. She is your wife,” he shrugged, “so if she doesn’t submit you will simply force her to do her duty. She need not be willing for the vow to be consummated.” Padraig and Griogair’s eyes met. Paddy could tell that his brother was as uncomfortable with the situation as he was.

Could they choose to blatantly disobey their king?

What would the emissary do if Padraig refused to give her up?

What would he do if he had to sit below stairs and listen to his brother rape his wife? Would Gair even be able to do it? He usually wasn’t even willing to pressure a lass who was shy.

When Alasdair cleared his throat and picked up the missive to read it over all eyes turned to him. One side of his mouth twitched to a smile as he read, then he passed it missive to Padraig. Padraig scowled. Why would Alasdair smile like that? Then he noticed the wording.

It was the man who signed on the line who would be wed to Eliana. The king had used their full name on the document, which was actually the same name for all three of them because their father was such an idiot and had given his three identical sons an identical name. Though perhaps in this instance it was their saving grace. The marriage certificate did not specifically say which of them was to sign, just that the man who did would be her husband. Was he reading that right, or seeing what he wanted to see? Any of the three brothers could sign for any of the women?

He looked up to Alasdair who gave a minuscule bob of his head and Padraig felt the tension release from his chest. He and his brothers could easily see this set to rights. He pulled a coin from his pocket, seemingly toying with it as a nervous habit while he passed the missive to Giogair to read.

Griogair watched the coin for a moment, then read the missive. Groigair looked up and met Padraig’s questioning stare, then his eyes fell to the coin. He clenched his jaw and glanced down at the missive again, flipping back through and skimming all the pages.

Padraig knew they were asking a lot of him. He was the only one who would be going into the unknown. If he wasn’t willing to take the chance they would all have to follow the king’s wishes. When Gair looked up again he nodded to Padraig. The tension drained so instantly that Padraig almost smiled in relief as the emissary took the papers back and positioned himself behind the large wooden desk.

None of the king’s men noticed that the eye of every MacInnis clan member in the room was on the coin Padraig was fiddling with. Padraig grinned as he flipped it high, caught it, and put it away. Each of the brothers changed their stances and facial expressions. It was only a slight change. Most people wouldn’t notice. The emissary didn’t. None of his guards noticed either. But the MacInnis’s clans people did. The lad who was tending the fire gasped and fumbled the poker which clattered onto the hearth. The maid’s eyes widened and she scurried from the room without a sound, the lad following quickly behind.

The game had begun.