Chapter 21
“We should see what food we have left, make the rations.” Reuben began, staring at Kate.
“Aye,” she replied. “With the fires taking out some of the grain, it would be best if we made rations for now, before the next harvest.”
Reuben and Kate walked out the room together as the morning came, joining the rest of the house to look at the castle walls.
As expected, the fire had done a lot of damage to the walls outside, and the building would need a lot of work before it would be returned to its prestigious state.
Reuben looked around at his servants and saw that they were all tired and weary from the long and stressful night of battling the flames and shuttling water to the house.
He walked to the front of the castle, clearing his throat so he would draw the attention of everyone around.
Freya and Willow turned to look as well, turning away from Kate.
Reuben stared at Kate in the morning light for a few moments, and felt his heart skip a beat.
He ran a hand through his hair, and within the smell of smoke and sweat, he still managed to catch the scent which had driven him mad for so long.
The aroma of lavender which Kate wore had rubbed off on him, and he smiled.
“Last night, our home was attacked, and luckily, we were spared any deaths. There wasnae serious injuries that had come to anyone, and at the end of the night, we still have each other. But now, our home needs us. It has been burned and damaged by the flames, but the house of McDonald still stands, and as long as this castle stands, so do we. I know ye are tired, and have worked tirelessly to save our home, and so it is with a heavy heart that I plead with ye, to make one last pull with me.”
The silence of the estate was deafening.
Reuben heard the sound of movement beside him and looked into the house to see his mother emerging, with a smile on her face as she stared at him, urging him to go on.
Her smile told of all of the things she felt.
Grear was proud of her son, and Reuben was proud to have her as his mother as well.
She had supported him, and taught him well, and now he would have to take charge, leading with everything he had learned from the older woman.
“The kitchen has suffered terrible burns, and so have some of the rooms. These walls here have been blackened out by soot, and will need some cleaning. The fire did a lot of damage on the inside of the house, but together, it is nothing which we cannae handle. If we let this put us down, we will be spending another night outside, sleeping in these tents. But if we put our backs to it, we will be able to have our homes back to ourselves by the end of the day.” Reuben paused and looked at the faces of everyone who listened, “And I personally promise, I will get revenge on the man responsible for this.”
The cheers were unexpected, but they put a smile on Reuben’s face.
In a matter of moments, everyone got on the move, his speech inspiring them to do the work.
He got together with Hudson and his mother as they planned the best way to get the house back in shape.
One side of the corridor walls had to be knocked out entirely as the fire had damaged it badly.
Hudson and Rueben grabbed hammers and got to work, breaking the wall down as the workers got the bricks to replace it.
Freya and Willow helped in the kitchen, moving out bad food, and burned-out utensils which were no longer useable.
Kate helped on the outside, getting water for some of the servants who climbed ladders and began cleaning off the soot which stained the outer walls.
The windows were changed, and in a few hours, the house was starting to look like a home once again.
Freya brought in some of the flowers Reuben and Lily had been taking care of, using them to combat the smell of smoke that still lingered in the air.
“What do ye plan to do about Max?” Hudson asked as he gathered in the great hall, along with Reuben.
“In a moment,” Reuben replied, walking up to his mother who sat in the chair where she was the night before when the smoke had taken her out. She looked tired, and stared out the window, deep in thought. Reuben grabbed her hand and kissed it, looking at her face, “Maither, how are ye feeling?”
“I’m fine, Reuben. Ye have proved yerself a worthy leader of the clan today,” Grear said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Thank ye,” Reuben replied, “Ye were the best teacher.”
“But ye have to tell us what ye plan to do,” said Grear, turning in her seat as Hudson walked up beside him. “What do ye plan to do about Max Sweeney?”
“Aye, the man has lied about us, claiming ye killed Kate’s parents, and now he takes Lily and tries to burn down yer castle,” said Hudson.
They all turned as Kate walked in as well, smiling as she looked to Reuben. The laird smiled back before he turned to face his mother, who had caught the look on his face before he tried looking serious.
“My lady, how are ye feeling?” Kate asked, holding up some bread and wine in a small tray. “I have brought this for ye.”
“Thank ye,” said Grear, as Kate put it down beside the older woman.
“I say we take the strongest men, those who can fight, just as we always did, and we head straight for the McGowan household. One way or another, we will get to Max Sweeney, and he will pay for all of the madness which he caused here today.” Hudson continued.
“We mustnae be hasty to make moves like that. Attacking the castle head on might be bad for us. We daenae know what defenses Max has set up, and if we run up with the horses and men, we will be faced down with whatever he has planned.” Grear fired back.
“I’m certain our men will be prepared for anything, we are the most formidable fighting force in all of the highlands, there is nothin’ which the Laird would throw at us, that we wouldnae be able to handle, I am certain of it.” Hudson argued, staring at Reuben for support.
Grear shook her head, “Ye need to understand, we are nae just going to burn down their castle, we must save Lily as well, and if the Laird of McGowan knows that we want her, he will use her as a bargain, or if his insanity is as everyone says, he would most likely kill her and then fall on his own blade like the coward that he is.”
Reuben listened to them go back and forth as he considered the options in his head.
He was feeling the rage, and more than anything, he wanted his vengeance on those who had tried to destroy his home.
Attacking would give him that satisfaction.
They would raid the McGowan home and take no prisoners, pillaging through everything until they got to Max.
But as his mother had said, there was a chance that Max Sweeney could go unhinged, and then he would go after Lily, or do something even more sadistic.
He looked up at Kate and noticed she was staring at him as Hudson and his mother argued. She had told him what he needed to know, and that gave Reuben the plan he needed. It was going to be a longshot, but it was the only one he was willing to go on ahead with.
“Enough,” said Reuben. “Hudson, just ye and I will go. The fewer the men, the better the chances we have of getting the job done quickly. I understand that the estate has done us a great disservice, but we must recall that it was the leader of the McGowan household that caused it. Anyone else was acting under orders.”
“Just the two of us, against the entire castle? We would be dead many times over before we can get anything done.”
“Which is why we are nae getting anything done. What is important right now is the girl.” Reuben continued, “We have to get Lily to safety first before we consider anything else. Once Lily is safely back here, then we can consider an attack, and even when we do, we must go for just Max himself. He is the one responsible for this madness, and he is the one who must pay. There are innocents in the McGowan household, the servants and others who were forced into service. There is not much any of them can do against the cruel man, and if we were to hurt them, that would be wrong.”
Grear and Hudson exchanged glances for a moment before turning back to Reuben. He had spoken with wisdom, and there was no arguing with his logic. Grear smiled and reached out to hold his arm. Reuben grabbed her.
“Ye have the wisdom of yer faither, and I ken the old man would be so proud of ye, Reuben,” said Grear.
“Thank ye, Maither.”
“Ye will have to be careful,” Grear continued. “Max knows ye, and when he knows ye are in his home, he will lash out. Ye must secure Lily without his knowledge.”
“Perhaps a distraction would work?” Kate suggested, speaking for the first time in a while.
“That might work, something which would keep Max occupied until Lily was safely away from the castle.” Reuben replied.
“The eastern side of the castle has a scalable wall, one which servants have scaled several times. If ye look closely, ye can see the dirt of their boots on the walls as they tried to get over it in the night, as they sought their safety away from my uncle.” Kate continued.
“Yer saying that his servants were escaping the castle as though it was some kind of prison?”
“Well, Max is all kinds of insane, and he wouldnae even let them out to see their families. He barely pays them their wages, or lets them have sufficient food or anything. He basically wants a reason to get on their bad side, and I ken that given the chance, they would turn on the man as he treats them.”
“Well, that is quite something.” Hudson remarked with a smirk on his face.
“So it is settled then, we ride as soon as ye are ready. I’ll get the weapons, check on the horses and prepare them.” Reuben spoke to Hudson and began walking away.
“Wait,” said Kate, drawing everyone’s attention. “I would like to go along with ye.”
Hudson snickered, “Aye, nae, Kate. It is too dangerous, even for us.”
Reuben stared at her, seeing that she was serious. Kate was willing to take the risk, just to save her sister. She would make a great mother, and a caring wife. The Laird smiled and reached out to grab Kate, pulling her closer to him.
“Kate, Hudson is right It is too dangerous, and if anything were to happen to ye, I wouldnae be able to live with myself.”
“But my sister is there, she was the one taken, and it is my duty to help. I have to, that is what my maither…”
Reuben rubbed the back of her palm, “Kate, I understand, but what if we go there and ye get hurt? Even Lily wouldnae want ye to come. If ye get captured by Max, then what? He would have won then. We cannae give the laird what he wants, and right now, that is ye. Please, stay here and watch over Willow and Freya, and when we have Lily, we will return, I promise.”
Kate turned over to Grear, and the older woman nodded. “Ye should listen to the laird, Kate. There will be trouble when he goes to find yer sister, and there is a chance that he might be hurt. If ye want to stay safe, ye will stay here and pray for his success.”
“But my lady, I might be of help to them. I know the castle inside and out, I can lead them around, and take them into the dungeons. I can help.”
“We know ye can, but for yer own safety, Kate, that is why we ask that ye stay behind,” said Hudson.
“I’m sorry, but ye cannae come with us. It is for the best.”
Kate turned and walked away, a frown on her face told him that she was not happy with the decision. The fact that the woman was fine with risking her life to take on the journey with them was one which he found outstanding.
Reuben got his sword and Hudson’s axes, sharpening both of the weapons before he sheathed it.
As he got on the horse, he looked up at the doors to see his mother nodding at him, giving her blessings.
Hudson walked up to him with his axes and got on his horse as well.
He had a small bottle of water which they would share during the one-day trip to Max’s castle.
The laird looked up at the window and saw Kate staring at him from it.
Still upset about not being able to join them on the trip, but wishing them well either way.
He waved at her, and she waved back. Hudson moved closer to him with his horse and stared up at Kate, “Ye better be looking to marry the lassie, else I’ll do it for ye. Now come on, let’s go rescue her sister already.”
“Ye remember the last time it was just the two of us heading out to go fight off someone who had attacked the castle?” Hudson asked with a smile on his face.
“Aye, ye mean the time ye got drunk at the inn down in the raiders camp and made them come all the way here to get their vengeance? Aye, of course I remember Hudson, we had to stand by the gallows while they threw fruit at us for disrespecting their chief.”
“And I was the one who did the disrespecting. It was glorious that both of us had to take the full brunt of that, as it was the only way to achieve peace.” Hudson said with a laugh.
“We better hope Max would be into that kind of thing, otherwise, it willnae be apples and cabbages we would be dodging, but his spears and arrows.” Reuben replied, kicking the sides of the horse. “Hyah!”