Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"Ye're frownin’ at yer soup."
Alpin looked up from his bowl to find Mhairi watching him with amusement.
They were seated at a small table in one of the castle's quieter dining rooms, a space Alpin preferred when he wanted to avoid the noise and spectacle of the great hall.
"I'm nae frownin’ at it. I'm just... thinkin’."
"About soup?"
"About supply lines, actually. And whether we have enough grain stored fer winter if we need tae feed additional warriors." He set down his spoon. "But that's nae very interestin’ conversation fer lunch."
"I dinnae mind." Mhairi broke off a piece of bread. "Though I have tae say, after this morning's disaster with the bandagin’, I'm nae sure I can handle thinkin’ about anythin’ more complicated than eatin’."
"It was nae a disaster. Donnach said ye did well fer a first real attempt."
"He was being kind." But Mhairi was smiling despite her words. "I kept getting’ the tension wrong. Too loose, too tight, never quite right. It's maddenin’ when ye understand the principle but yer hands refuse tae cooperate."
Alpin recognized that frustration.
He'd felt it himself learning swordwork as a boy, knowing exactly what movement he needed to make but having his body refuse to execute it properly.
"Ye just need more practice," he said. "On different types of injuries, different body parts. The wooden arm can only teach ye so much."
"Aye, I ken. But I cannae exactly go around injurin’ people just so I can practice wrappin’ them."
"Ye could practice on me."
Mhairi's eyes widened. "What?"
"I'm offerin’ meself as a practice patient." Alpin extended his arm across the table. "Any time ye want tae work on yer technique, I'm available. Better tae practice on someone who willnae mind if ye get it wrong than tae worry about hurting a real patient."
She stared at his arm, then at his face. "Ye'd really let me dae that?"
"Why wouldnae I?"
"Because it's tedious. Because ye have actual responsibilities."
"I want tae help ye learn." He kept his arm extended. "And watching ye discover something ye're passionate about is far from tedious."
Color rose in Mhairi's cheeks. She reached across the table, her fingers brushing his wrist lightly. "Thank ye. That's... that's really kind."
"I'm nae being kind. I'm being practical." Though the way her touch made his pulse jump was anything but practical. "Ye need practice, I have arms and legs that need wrappin’, occasionally anyway. It's efficient."
"Efficient," she repeated, but she was smiling now. "Is that what we're calling it?"
Before Alpin could respond, the dining room door opened and a messenger appeared, one of the younger warriors, out of breath like he'd been running.
"Me laird," the man said, sketching a quick bow. "A letter just arrived. From MacGregor lands." The messenger handed over the sealed parchment.
Alpin broke the seal and scanned the contents quickly. A smile spread across his face as he read.
"Good news?" Mhairi asked.
"Very good news." He looked up at her. "Peadar and Kenina are coming. They'll be here in two days."
"Who are Peadar and Kenina?"
Alpin set the letter aside and leaned back in his chair. "Peadar MacGregor is laird of Clan MacGregor and one of me closest allies. Kenina is his new wife, who I have nae had the pleasure tae meet yet."
"And they're coming here because...?"
"Because I asked them tae. Because they have experience with Graham and the auction trade that could help us." Alpin paused, choosing his words carefully. "Their story is... similar tae yers in some ways."
Mhairi's hands stilled on her bread. "Similar how?"
"Kenina was taken during a raid organized by Graham. She was brought to one of his auctions and sold." Alpin watched Mhairi's face pale slightly. "Peadar was there, he'd infiltrated the auction tae gather evidence against Graham. When he saw Kenina on that platform, he bought her tae save her."
"He bought her." Mhairi's voice was flat.
"Aye. But nae because he wanted tae own her, because it was the only way tae get her out of there alive. They married afterward, tae protect her legally and politically. And in the meantime..." Alpin's expression softened. "… it became real. They fell in love."
Mhairi was quiet for a long moment, processing this. "So, Graham has been daeing this fer a while. Takin’ women, selling them."
"Aye. Longer than we initially thought." Alpin's jaw tightened. "Which is why I need Peadar's help. He knows Graham's operation better than anyone. He knows the routes they use, the contacts they have, how the whole network functions."
"And ye think taegether ye can stop him?"
"I think taegether we have a better chance than either of us alone.
" Alpin reached across the table to take her hand.
"That's the plan, Mhairi. Unite the clans that have been affected by Graham's trade.
Pool our resources, our intelligence, our warriors.
And then bring the bastard down permanently. "
Hope flickered in Mhairi's grey eyes. "If ye stop Graham... if ye dismantle his network..."
"Then we might be able tae find yer sister," Alpin finished. "Aye. That's what I'm hopin’."
"Ye really think it's possible?"
"I think we have tae try." He squeezed her hand gently. "I made ye a promise, Mhairi. And I meant it."
Tears shone in her eyes but didn't fall. "Thank ye fer nae forgettin’ about her. Fer carin’ about what happens tae a girl ye've never met."
"She's yer sister. That's all the reason I need tae care." Alpin released her hand reluctantly as a servant appeared to clear their dishes.
They finished their meal in companionable silence. When they rose to leave, Alpin caught Mhairi's arm gently.
"There's something else," he said. "Tomorrow. I need tae... there's somewhere I need tae go. And I'd like ye tae come with me."
"Where?"
"Somewhere important tae me. Somewhere I dinnae show many people." He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "Will ye come?"
Mhairi studied his face for a moment, then nodded. "Aye. Of course I'll come."
The next morning dawned clear and cold, frost coating the ground in delicate patterns. Alpin found Mhairi waiting for him in the courtyard, dressed warmly against the autumn chill.
They walked in silence through the castle grounds, following paths that grew progressively narrower and less maintained. Mhairi didn't press for details, seeming content to simply walk beside him as the sun climbed higher.
After nearly an hour, she finally spoke. "We're quite far from the castle now."
"Aye."
"And headin’ away from any main roads."
"Aye."
"Alpin."
"Just trust me a bit longer." He glanced at her. "Please."
They continued walking. The forest grew denser around them, evergreens mixing with bare-branched oaks and ash trees. A stream burbled somewhere nearby, hidden by undergrowth.
Finally, they emerged into a small clearing. It was peaceful, sheltered by ancient trees, carpeted with moss and autumn leaves. And at the center, arranged in a careful pattern, were stones.
Not natural stones. Placed stones. Carved with names and dates.
Mhairi's breath caught as understanding dawned. "This is..."
"A burial site." Alpin's voice had gone quiet. "Me family's burial site."
He moved forward slowly, and Mhairi followed, her footsteps silent on the moss. There were three stones arranged in a small semicircle. Alpin knelt before the two on the left.
"Me maither," he said, touching the first stone gently.
"The Lady Fiona MacDougal. She was... she was everything a maither should be.
Kind, fierce when she needed tae be, always knew exactly what tae say tae make things better.
" His hand moved to the second stone. "And me sister, Isla. She was only twelve when..."
He couldn't finish.
Mhairi knelt beside him without a word, her presence a quiet comfort. She looked at the names carved into the stone, at the dates that told a story of lives cut far too short.
"What happened?" she asked softly. She hadn’t had the heart to ask him about it the last time he had mentioned it because he had looked so distraught.
"A raid. I was fifteen." Alpin's voice was steady but empty, like he'd told this story so many times it had lost all emotion.
"A rival clan thought we were weak after me father fell ill.
They attacked at dawn, burned half the village, killed anyone who tried tae stop them and then attacked the castle. "
His hand was still on Isla's stone, fingers tracing the carved letters.
"Me maither tried tae get Isla tae safety. I was with the warriors, helpin’ defend the walls. By the time I realized they'd broken through..." He paused. "By the time I got tae them, it was too late. They were already gone."
Mhairi reached out and placed her hand over his. "I'm so sorry."
"I see them sometimes in me dreams. Me maither's face when she realized she couldnae save Isla. Isla's eyes lookin’ at me like I was supposed tae fix it, supposed tae protect her." Alpin's voice had gone rough. "I was fifteen years old and I couldnae save them."
"Ye were a child."
"I was old enough to hold a sword. Old enough tae fight." His jaw clenched. "Old enough that I should've been there when they needed me most."
"Alpin, ye cannae—"
"I ken what ye're going tae say. That it wasnae me fault. That I did everything I could." He looked at her finally, his eyes dark with old pain. "But kennin’ something intellectually and feelin’ it in yer heart are two different things."
Mhairi understood that all too well. "Is that why ye went taea the auction? Why ye followed me intae that forest?"
"Partly." Alpin looked back at the stones. "I couldnae save them. But maybe I could save someone else. Maybe I could keep another family from losin’ their daughter, their sister."
"Ye did save me."
"Aye. But nae the others. Nae the lasses from me own lands who were taken before I even knew tae look fer them.
" His hand tightened on the stone. "That's why Graham needs to be stopped.
Why I'll dae whatever it takes tae bring him down.
Because every woman he sells is someone's daughter.
Someone's sister. And I willnae let him keep destroyin’ families the way mine was destroyed. "
They knelt there in silence, the autumn wind rustling through the trees above them.
Mhairi placed her free hand on the ground near the stones, a gesture of respect for people she'd never known but who had clearly shaped the man beside her.
"Thank ye," Alpin said after a while. "Fer comin’ here. Fer listenin’."
"Thank ye fer trustin’ me enough tae bring me." Mhairi squeezed his hand. "Fer sharin’ something this important."
He looked at her then, really looked at her, and something shifted in his expression. "Ye're important too. That's why I wanted ye here. Why I wanted ye tae ken about them, about what drives me."
"Because ye think I should understand yer motivations?"
"Because I think ye already dae." He stood, helping her up. "Because ye've lost things too, been betrayed by people who should've protected ye. And somehow ye're still standin’, still fightin’, still believin’ there's something worth buildin’ in this world."
Mhairi felt her throat tighten. "I'm nae sure I believe that all the time."
"But ye believe it enough tae keep tryin’.
That's what matters." He adjusted one of the stones slightly, making sure it sat perfectly aligned with the others.
"That's what me maither would've wanted.
What Isla would've wanted. Nae fer me tae spend me life mournin’ them, but tae live in a way that honors their memory. "
"By protectin’ others."
"Aye. By makin’ sure what happened tae them daesnae happen tae anyone else if I can prevent it." He took one last look at the stones, then turned toward the path they'd come from. "Ready tae head back?"
"Aye." But Mhairi paused, looking back at the burial site one more time. "Dae ye come here often?"
"A few times a year. On their death days, mostly. Sometimes when I need tae think." He waited fer her to join him on the path. "It helps, somehow. Talking tae them. Even though I ken they cannae hear me."
"Maybe they can." Mhairi fell into step beside him. "Me maither used tae say that the people we love never truly leave us. That they live on in our memories, in the choices we make, in the lives we touch."
"Yer maither sounds wise."
"She was. Is." Mhairi's expression clouded. "I havenae thought about her much since... since everything happened. I wonder if she kens what me faither did. If she tried tae stop him."
"Dinnae ye want tae find out?"
"I daenae ken." She was quiet for a moment. "Part of me wants tae believe she fought fer us, that she had nay choice. But another part..." She trailed off.
"Another part cannae fergive her fer nae fightin’ harder," Alpin finished.
"Aye."
They walked in comfortable silence for a while, following the narrow path back toward more familiar ground. The sun had climbed higher, burning off the morning frost and warming the air.
"Alpin?" Mhairi said as the castle came into view through the trees.
"Aye?"
"I'm glad ye brought me here. Glad ye shared this with me." She looked up at him. "And I promise ye, we will stop Graham. We'll find me sister and all the other women he's taken. We'll make sure yer maither and Isla didnae die fer naething."
Alpin stopped walking, turning to face her fully. "Ye sound very certain."
"I am certain." There was steel in her voice, the same steel he'd seen on the auction platform when she'd fought against impossible odds.
"Because I ken what it's like tae be powerless.
Tae be treated like property. And I'll be damned if I let that happen tae anyone else while I have breath in me body. "
Pride swelled in Alpin's chest.
This was the woman he'd seen beneath the fear and trauma, fierce, determined, unwilling to be broken.
"Then we'll dae it taegether," he said. "Stop Graham, save yer sister, and build something better."
"Taegether," Mhairi agreed.
They continued walking, and Alpin found himself reaching for her hand without thinking about it.
She laced her fingers through his without hesitation, and they made their way back to the castle like that—hands joined, purpose aligned, ready to face whatever came next.
Together.