Chapter 21
“I’m sure we all understand this is only the beginnin’,” Laird Robertson said.
Domnhall looked at the man over the rim of his cup, then over to Hugo and Cormac. The four of them sat in his study, as Domnhall had summoned them all there after dinner, when he saw that Hugo was already doing much better.
His friend had given him a fright that day. Though he still looked tired, perhaps because of the excitement and the blood loss, at least he was alive and well. For a moment that day, Domnhall thought he had lost him.
The relief that came with knowing Hugo was fine, though, was eclipsed by the fact that Ferguson was still very much a threat to Domnhall and his clan. He knew Laird Robertson had a point. This was only the beginning, and things would only get worse from then on.
“With the gold, he will be able tae gather a bigger army,” Cormac said. “How many men does he have now?”
“Too many,” said Hugo. “He doesn’t use all of them. As far as we know, he has a strong army, though not stronger than ours.”
“Yet,” said Domnhall. “The gold is more than enough tae buy him a good army. There isnae much tae stop him from attackin’ once he has more men.”
“Will ye be able tae defeat them?” Laird Robertson asked.
Domnhall could only shake his head. He didn’t think it would be possible. All his sources said the same thing: Ferguson’s army was strong, and now it would only be stronger.
“I see,” said Laird Robertson as he stood. “Then Cormac an’ I shall leave in the mornin’ an’ gather troops.”
Cormac was quick to join Laird Robertson, leaving his cup on the small table by his chair, but Domnhall could do nothing but stare at them for a few seconds.
“What is it, lad?” asked Laird Robertson.
“Ye will dae that fer me?” Domnhall could hardly believe it. Only the previous day, he could have sworn Cormac wanted his head.
“Ye’re family now,” Laird Robertson pointed out. “An’ ye need our help. So, we shall help ye.”
That was a first for Domnhall. Before meeting Hugo, there was no one else on whom he could rely, and once he met his friend, there was only that much he could do for him. But having Laird Robertson as his ally would surely be of great help, and he didn’t know how to even begin to thank the man.
Domnhall only hoped he wouldn’t let any of them down.
Exhausted after his meeting with Laird Robertson, Hugo, and Cormac, Domnhall made his way to his chambers once everyone else had retired. The moment he opened the door, though, he saw an oddly familiar sight that gave him pause.
Billie stood in the middle of the bed with her slipper in her hand, looking as though she was about to hurl it at him. Domnhall frowned, hesitantly taking a step into the room, his gaze glued to the slipper.
“I believe ye already tried this once, lass,” he said. “I told ye it isnae very effective.”
Huffing out a soft laugh, Billie lowered the slipper but she didn’t let go of it. “There is a very big spider in here but I cannae find it now.”
“Are ye afraid o’ the wee spider?” Domnhall asked with a laugh of his own, shaking his head. He walked around the room and looked for the creature, but he couldn’t find it in the candlelight.
“It’s a very big one, as I said, nae wee at all,” Billie repeated, emphasizing the word “wee”. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she, too, looked for the spider. As Domnhall looked into the corner of the room, Billie yelped and pointed at the wall. “There it is! Domnhall! Dae somethin’!”
Domnhall’s gaze followed Billie’s hand and he saw the spider on the wall. It was a big one, he had to admit, but he only walked over to it and grabbed it between his palms, making sure it wouldn’t escape as he took it over to the window.
“What are ye doin’, ye mad man?” Billie screamed, recoiling from him as he walked by the bed, even though the spider was nowhere near her. “Kill it!”
“I willnae kill the poor spider, Billie,” he said, before he released it right outside the window, watching it go on its merry way for a moment to make sure it wouldn’t come back in. “See? It’s gone now. There’s naething tae fear.”
Billie only calmed down when she was certain the spider was gone. Slowly, she stepped off the bed and put down her slipper, though she still looked around her as if she expected a hundred more spiders to come out of the walls. When she finally sat down with a sigh, Domnhall joined her and pulled her close for a kiss, laughing softly at her antics.
“It’s quite unfortunate ye have such a weak wife,” Billie said when they pulled apart. She chewed nervously on her bottom lip, her fingers curling in the fabric of Domnhall’s shirt. “Forgive me. I must have seemed very foolish.”
“Yer far from weak, Billie,” Domnhall assured her. “I’ve seen ye tend tae soldiers without flinchin’ at the sight o’ their wounds. It’s more than I can say fer meself.”
“An’ yet a spider frightens me,” Billie said. “As I said, foolish.”
Wrapping an arm around Billie’s shoulders, Domnhall lay back onto the bed and pulled her on top of him. He cradled her cheek with his hand and forced her to look at him, no matter how much she tried to avert her gaze.
“Ye are the best wife I could ever have,” he said, his voice quiet, almost reverent. “I’m glad ye threatened me tae wed. I wouldnae change ye fer anythin’ in the world.”
The strange thing was that he meant every word. He wasn’t only trying to reassure Billie; he truly was glad things had turned out the way they had, even if at first he had been so stubborn, refusing to marry her. He couldn’t deny his feelings for Billie. He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t happy with her, that he wouldn’t chose to be blackmailed over and over if it meant being with her in the end.
And now that he had her, he wouldn’t let anyone take away from him the love they had built.
The day was dark and windy, hardly appropriate for travel, but Billie’s family had no choice but to return to their homes. Her father and Cormac had to reach out to other clans and ask for men and assistance, while Keira and Abigail had to take care of the tasks their father’s council couldn’t. Billie would have liked nothing more than to have her family there for longer, but what other choice did they have? All they could do was hope they would meet again soon.
“Will ye write?” Abigail asked as she pulled Billie into a tight embrace. “Promise me ye will.”
“O’ course I will,” Billie said. Not having Abigail near her would be the most difficult part. She was used to Evangeline’s and Keira’s absence, but she and Abigail had never been separated for long before. “I will write ye all the time.”
“We will see ye soon,” her father promised, putting a hand on her shoulder and the other on Abigail’s, giving them all the comfort, he could. When Abigail and Billie finally parted—with great reluctance—her father embraced Billie as well, holding her even more tightly than her sister had.
He, too, would miss her terribly, Billie knew. He was too used to having all his children under his roof, and now one by one, they were leaving. Billie didn’t even want to imagine what would happen to him once Abigail would be out of the castle, too, married and living with her husband.
I can only hope it will be a while until then.
Abigail was still young, after all. She had plenty of time.
When her father released her, Billie’s eyes shone with tears. Keira smiled softly at her and wiped her thumb over her cheek, wiping off the tears that escaped her lids, though Billie could see how hard she was trying to keep her own tears from flowing.
“Look at ye… ye’re all grown up now,” Keira said. “Dinnae cry.”
Billie nodded wordlessly, wiping the rest of the tears away with the back of her hand. She knew she had to let her family go, but it was so difficult to pull herself back from them, to let them get in the carriage.
She only stepped back when Domnhall wrapped his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm soothingly. Billie watched her family enter the carriage and bit hard on her cheek to stop herself from crying once again. The last thing she wanted was to sadden them even more.
As the carriage left, she spotted Cameron standing by the castle walls. He didn’t look much better than she did, face red with the effort it took him to say nothing to Abigail, to stop himself from running after her. Billie would have to find him later, to ask him if he was alright. Perhaps this was the first heartbreak he had ever experienced—he was young enough. Perhaps reassuring him about Hugo and Abigail had done nothing more than delay the inevitable.
Poor lad… he had tae ken she would eventually leave.
Then again, Billie had always known, too. Ever since she had first stepped foot in the castle, she knew that the day would come when she would be separated from her sister, and yet she only felt the full force of it now, the gut-wrenching pain that came with it.
She watched until the castle gates had closed, the carriage long gone down the path. She already missed them.
“Come,” Domnhall said, pulling her back into the castle. The first drops of rain had begun to fall and soon they would all be soaked if they stayed there. “Let’s go back inside.”
It took her a long time to move. Billie simply stood there, letting the rain fall on her, the raindrops multiplying fast. She only followed Domnhall into the castle and up to his study when he all but dragged her out of there, the two of them soaked. It wasn’t often that she sat there with him, but she liked the quiet warmth of the room, how lived-in it looked. Once there, she collapsed in a chair by the window and looked outside, barely able to spot the carriage in the distance.
Domnhall was silent for a while, after asking a guard to fetch them towels and fresh clothes, but Billie could tell his eyes were glued on her. He was watching her carefully, surely trying to find a way to cheer her up, though she didn’t know how that would be possible. They stayed like that for a long time, neither of them speaking, until Domnhall sighed heavily and joined her by the window, leaning down to kiss her temple.
“Shall we play a game?” he asked.
Billie wasn’t quite in the mood for games, but Domnhall was already arranging the pieces over a chess board, so she said nothing. When he sat across from her, he gave her a mischievous grin, one that finally pulled her attention away from the road that was taking her family far from her.
“Fer every piece taken, the winner will ask a question,” Domnhall said.
Billie raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested. “Any question?”
“Any question at all,” said he.