Chapter Seven #2
“Because the Scots held the city of Berwick and the English wanted it back,” he said frankly.
“The Duke of Gloucester led the charge. Once we reached Jedburgh, we settled in with Clan Kerr, whose numbers were decimated. They told us that they heard tale of a group of Sassenach knights heading for a stronghold known as Wolfe’s Lair.
It’s near the border, a great English fortress that has belonged tae the Norman de Wolfe family for two hundred years.
The Kerr wanted tae intercept the knights, but they were too few, so I told my da we needed tae go in their stead. ”
“What did he say?”
His somber expression foreshadowed his response. “He told me not tae go because the English would overwhelm us. But I went anyway. Being foolish and believing that no Sassenach could defeat me, I went and took about thirty lads with me.”
An ominous feeling crept over Lilia. “What happened?” she asked.
Brody gazed up at the sky, remembering that horrible day, the one that had changed everything.
Now, Lilia was going to know the truth about him.
Part of him had hoped to preserve her opinion about him, that he was a man who had saved her from the assault in the alley.
But he couldn’t hold back the truth; if he wanted to marry her, to share his life with her, then she had to know everything.
He wasn’t so heroic, after all.
“It was a trap,” he said after a moment.
“There was no lone group of Sassenach knights, but an army lying in wait. The day was bright, with clouds scattered about, and the smell of pines was strong. We used the trees for cover until we neared Wolfe’s Lair.
Then, they struck. Arrows were flying and my men were falling.
The English backed us against a loch not unlike this one, attacking us from all sides.
I was able tae swim across it, but some of my lads couldna swim.
Those who werena killed by the sword drown in the loch.
I made it back tae my da, but out of the thirty lads I took with me, only six returned. ”
Six out of thirty. That was a horrible loss and Lilia could see how badly it pained him. There were lines on his face that hadn’t been there before, a hard set of his jaw that conveyed devastation.
“I’m sorry, Brody,” she said softly. “But ye canna blame yerself for it. Blame the Sassenach for setting the trap.”
He looked at her. “They set the trap and I fell for it,” he said.
“My cousins were with me, lads I grew up with. I watched Doogie take a sword tae the gut and Cauley couldna swim. He held on tae me as we fled across the water, but he panicked. I tried tae drag him along; God knows, I did. But in the end, he swallowed too much water and he went down for the last time. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he did…
he knew he was going tae die and I couldna help him. Not if I wanted tae live.”
Lilia’s hand was over her mouth in horror. “Oh… Brody,” she breathed. “I’m so sorry for ye. Ye did all ye could.”
Brody sat up. “Aye, I did,” he said. “But I disobeyed my da by going. He warned me not tae go but I dinna listen. When I returned tae him and told him what I’d done… he sent me away. But I dinna go home.”
“Where did ye go?”
He shrugged. “I couldna tell my clan what I’d done. I killed their sons and fathers and husbands. So… I came tae Edinburgh.”
“And ye’ve been here ever since.”
“Aye.”
“Then yer da doesna know where ye are?”
He lifted his big shoulders. “Probably not,” he said. “I havena seen him since I left him in Jedburgh. I hope he’s told everyone that I died in the ambush. I’m sure that’s what he would prefer.”
Now, Lilia understood why the man had such defeat in his eyes the day she’d met him. She remembered thinking how utterly crushed he looked. By life, she presumed, but now she knew the truth behind it. Brody was a man with a horrible burden to carry.
An arrogant mistake that had cost him everything.
“I canna imagine a father would wish his son dead,” she said. “Mayhap someday, ye’ll find the desire tae return home and see him. Mayhap time will heal the wounds of the past.”
Brody’s gaze drifted over her and a warm glimmer returned to his eyes. “Mayhap,” he said. “But until that time ever comes, if it comes, I need tae find my own way in life. I havena done a very good job of it until I met ye. Ye give me hope, Lilia. Hope that life can be good again.”
She smiled. “And ye give me hope that I’ll not be serving Lady Currie forever,” she said. “At least, I’ll have something tae look forward tae when it’s all over. I can look forward tae ye.”
He nodded, stroking her cheek sweetly. “Ye will, indeed,” he said. “But first, I need tae find a way tae make enough money tae pay yer father’s debt.”
They were back on the subject of buying her freedom and she put a hand on his arm. “Ye dunna need tae pay the debt of a man ye dunna even know,” she said. “I’ll work it off, eventually. I think ye have enough on yer mind without having tae worry over me, too.”
“But this is something I want tae do,” he insisted.
“With Colly out tae kill ye, it’s more important than ever.
I’m not sure how I can explain this, but I couldna protect my men in that ambush.
I felt so…helpless. Mayhap that is why I want tae protect ye at all costs.
I canna stomach the idea of ye remaining where an old woman stalks ye. ”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Nor can I,” she said.
“But until the debt is repaid, I have little choice but tae remain and be cautious of her. In fact, I should leave now. Lady Currie wishes tae go tae the Ludus Caledonia again tonight so I must hurry back and prepare. I told her I was going tae pick flowers, so she doesna expect me tae be gone so very long.”
She stood up and he followed, helping her brush the grass off her skirt. “The Ludus Caledonia again, is it?” he said.
There was something in his voice that sounded displeased. “Ye know I have no choice,” she said, putting a hand to his cheek. “Ye needna worry, though. I may have tae watch those brutes, but I only have eyes for ye.”
He smiled weakly. “Swear it.”
“I do.”
“I wish ye dinna have tae go at all.”
“As do I. But that is the way of things. They have a new group of recruits and Lady Currie is eager tae look them all over, one at a time.”
He knew what she meant and unhappily so.
He hated the thought of Lilia being around men and women who viewed intimacy, among other things, so loosely.
More than that, he simply didn’t like the thought of her around other men.
The woman didn’t even officially belong to him; he knew that, but they had an understanding.
She only had eyes for him, and he for her.
Surely she knew how he felt even if he couldn’t exactly tell her yet.
But he would as soon as he could figure it out for himself.
They started to walk away from the loch, hand in hand. He took her basket from her and carried it.
“Yer Lady Currie visits so frequently,” he said. “One would think her husband would realize what she was doing.”
Lilia lifted her skirt as they walked through the wet grass so it wouldn’t drag in the water. “If he does, he doesna stop her. I dunna think he is a very happy man.”
“Ye have tae feel pity for a man whose wife does as she pleases with everyone but him.”