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and his arms folded. Finally daring to open his eyes and look again, the reflection he saw was his own. He looked as tired as he felt.
    Stefan ran his fingers through his short hair and got up. Then he looked in all directions, decided he was alone, stripped down and took a quick bath in the cold water. It helped refresh him.
    When he went back up the path, he paused a moment to admire the beautiful oak tree next to the cottage with its sturdy branches and leaves enough to provide ample shade on hot days. Other oak trees and bushes lined all four sides of the property except where animals had trampled paths to the river over the years. In the middle was the farm land and it was obvious most had not been worked in years. He walked to the small garden, picked up a handful of dirt and let it run through his fingers. The soil was not so different from his home nor was the climate, which so far was just as warm if not warmer than home.
    Once she was done with the milking, he let Kannak show him where everything was, helped both women mount the horse and then handed them the empty baskets and two flasks filled with fresh milk. After they were gone, he looked over the garden again and took stock of the tools in the shed. There weren ’t many and the wooden shovel was warped, but with good care and if the weather was not too harsh, he thought he could manage to grow enough to feed them with perhaps a little extra.
    At least the heather was a good source of food for the livestock, what little livestock there was. Heather had a thousand other uses, most of which the Scots took advantage of, he noticed. From it they made baskets with straps to hang over the back of a horse, baskets for carrying sheared wool, for harvesting vegetables and even small baskets lined with cloth and hung by the fire in the cottage to keep their salt and spices dry. They also made brooms, brushes, floor mats and even woven paths across unstable soil.
    But when the plants began to overgrow the land allowing wolves and red foxes to get close to the livestock, the only answer was a Muirburn. That took a good bit of watching for fear the fire got out of control and Stefan doubted the three of them could manage it without help.
    It was not hard to figure out which basket was used for fishing, although it was clear to see the women owned no useable lines of twine or hooks. No wonder they were hungry. He vowed to show them how to hold a torch near the river’s edge at night, draw the fish to it and spear them with a sword or spear. Then he realized they had neither and found Kannak’s father despicable for leaving them so completely without.
    It was a far cry from the life he imagined as a Viking, but he tried not to think about that. He would need shoes soon and all he owned, including his warm cloak, went down with the ship. There was much to do and keeping busy would at least take his mind off his sorrow. Stefan abruptly went back inside the cottage, got the long bow and found two arrows.
     
     
    CHAPTER V
     
    It was not unlike many of the villages in Scotland with a two-story keep made of stone where their laird and his family lived. In front of the keep was a large courtyard with a short wall around most of it. The stables were just beyond the wall at one end and the clan used the other end of the courtyard as a market place. Surrounding the keep and courtyard were cottages of various sizes, some new and some seemingly very old, but in good repair. With the hill behind the village, trees everywhere, the ocean in the front and the mouth of the river empting into the sea to the south, Clan Macoran had a desirable place to live indeed.
    For most of the farmers on the plots of land granted them by their laird, the harvest had been plentiful and selling their food at this time of year when most had eaten there winter stores was the most profitable. After all, not all were farmers. There were candle makers, weavers, cobblers, tanners, the laird and his family,