Highlander's Charm (Highlander Heat #3)

“Afore I wed Lachlan, I too was a Cunningham as your grandmother was. We’re kin.” She dipped a finger under the red lace edging of her bodice and freed a gold necklace. The disk dangling from it was engraved with the image of a unicorn, the same mythical creature that graced Nanna’s necklace and the Cunningham clan crest. The pendants appeared so similar. “Because of our close ties, we formed a bond of trust, one I would never break.”


She rose, and lifting her skirts, knelt at the edge of the tub. “There is folklore surrounding those born under a falling star, that they have stunning silver eyes and magic flowing in their blood. When they make a wish, with all their heart and soul, that wish may be granted.”

Nanna had often spun that childhood tale, but she’d never imagined any truth in it. Yet if she and Nanna had been born with magic in their blood, it might explain how they’d both ended up in the past. Her wish had certainly been made with all her heart and soul, and she had silver eyes.

“You’re here, and magic brought you did it no’?”

“Yes, I think you’re right.” She touched Margaret’s keepsake. “How come your pendant looks so much like Nanna’s?”

“This necklace was gifted to me by my father, William Cunningham, the sixth Earl of Glencairn. He commissioned one of these keepsakes for each of his five daughters and we received them respectively on our wedding day. ’Tis been a tradition carried down through the generations. Jean acquired hers as an heirloom from her Cunningham father on the day she wed. Look.” She turned the trinket over. “Margaret is inscribed on the back of mine.”

Yes, and Nanna’s was etched with her name. “I miss her.”

“She too spoke of missing you.” Margaret rubbed her arm. “She left you a message, one I couldnae speak of to another. She said you must no’ tell Calum that you’re from the MacIan clan. Jean used the name Cunningham, and you must use it too. She also spoke of the fortuneteller who gave her your charm. The old woman told her that the past must be set to rights. That’s why you’re both here.”

“Calum was told the same thing.” Goodness, she needed to find that fortuneteller.

“Come, the water cools and you’re shivering.” Margaret passed her a drying cloth.

“Why didn’t Nanna wait here for me if she knew I would come?” She dried herself then picked up the sapphire gown the maid had left and eased it over her head. The soft folds shimmered down her hips and swished to her ankles.

“Duart was no’ her home.”

“Yes, but we don’t have any home in this time period. Waiting here would’ve been best.” She laced the front stays to the top of the square-cut neckline trimmed with a lacy ribbon, then donned the matching slippers.

“Come. Your hair will dry quicker afore the fire, and I’ll explain further.” Margaret patted the wooden chair and Lila sat. “Jean was told by the fortuneteller there were two charms linked through time, as was their true holders’ souls. That’s why you and Jean both arrived here first, where Calum holds the other charm.”

So Calum was like the magnet that had drawn Nanna and her to the same place and point in time. Calum too had said they were bound, and after only a short time in his company, she believed.

“You need to know your grandmother awaits you.” Margaret picked up a brush from the side table, separated her hair into sections and combed. “You must follow in Jean’s path.”

“To where?” The moment she knew, she’d go.

“Look into your heart for the answer.” Margaret smiled. “Deep inside, you know exactly where she’s gone. Where do the MacIans reside?”

“Mingary,” she whispered.

“Aye, you will find your grandmother in the home of your ancestors. That too is where you need to be in order to set your past to rights.”

“Then I have to leave, immediately.” Except Calum had already said she must remain here. “But it’ll have to be in secret.”

“Aye, if you’re bound to Calum as strongly as Jean has said, then you must leave without his knowledge.” She set the brush down. “I will aid you as I did Jean.”

“Thank you. That means the world to me. What’s the easiest route to take from here to Mingary?”

“By way of the forest path. It meanders alongside the coastline toward the tip of Mull. Once you reach Tobermory, you can hire one of the fishermen to sail you across the sound. They willnae wish to make landfall for long, but ’tis a short mile across the sea, no more. I have my own coin. I’ll give you what you need.”

“I’ll find a way to repay you.” Her heart heaved at the thought of leaving Calum. They’d had so little time together. Oh, but Nanna was close. All she’d ever learnt was at her knee, and now it would only be a matter of days before she saw her again.

Not a soul could keep her from this journey, not even Calum.

“I have to see him before I go.” She owed him her life.

“I’ll take you. The men will have left for the training yard.”

Lila retrieved her charm from the bedside nightstand and gripped it tight.

A journey into MacIan land would be treacherous for Calum. Going alone was her only option. This was her mission, not his, whether their charms and souls were bound or not.





Chapter 4