Chapter 8
Another night passed. The army was yet to return, and there had been no messenger sent yet. This wasn’t unusual, but whenever there was a clash with Warnock’s army, tension was rife. The air was thick and people glanced at each other uneasily.
Beitris hated that she was stuck in the Keep when she should have been fighting, but there was nothing to be done about it now.
She just had to hope that her father would change his mind when another battle rose and that Logan was right in thinking that this attack did not warrant Warnock’s presence.
Partly because she wanted to send a message to her father and partly because she knew that Logan was worried about Brody and might need a friend, Beitris took breakfast in the feasting hall with the warriors and guards.
It was far less busy than usual, given that so many men had been called to defend the village.
Most of the men were clustered together, worried looks on their faces, no doubt speaking about the battle.
They would talk about their feelings and instincts, but in truth none of them knew how the battle was going.
Everyone was blind.
One man was sitting apart from all the others.
Logan was hunched over his bowl, paying no attention to his surroundings.
He only looked up when Beitris joined him.
His lips parted and she assumed he was about to tell her to move on, but the words died before they could be uttered.
Beitris slid onto the bench, sitting opposite him.
“Ye are nae dining with yer family?” he asked.
“I dinnae want another argument with Da. It’s better he thinks that I am angry with him. It might make him change his mind when the next battle occurs.”
“Dae ye think he will?”
“I hope he will hae nae choice. I understand he is scared, but that cannae prevent me from living my life. I will nae be a prisoner tae fear,” she said. Logan nodded. “I hope it will nae affect ye. I dinnae think it will. I’m sure he believes that I ordered ye tae help me.”
“It’s fortunate that he dinnae ken me well.”
“Ye would disobey my orders?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. He rolled his shoulders but otherwise refused to answer. “How are ye feeling about Brody?”
Logan shifted his position. His head dropped again. “Brody can take care of himself.”
“But I bet ye think ye could take care of him if ye were fighting alongside him.”
“Aye, but I’m here.”
“Dae ye regret staying?”
Logan ran a hand through his hair. “If Brody dies, aye, but if I was nae here and there was another attack somewhere else, well, I think they would be slaughtered.”
He jerked his head towards the warriors at the other end of the room. They were mostly made up of young recruits.
“I’m sure he will be fine,” Beitris said, leaning forward. “He strikes me as the type who can get himself out of any situation.”
Logan chuckled. It was the first time she heard him laugh properly, without any hint of cynicism. She found she liked the sound. It was warm and resonant, and his face transformed when he laughed. He frowned most of the time, but laughing made his cheeks brighter and lifted his eyebrows.
“Aye, that he is.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Ach, well… where tae begin,” he said, thinking hard.
“There was a time when we slept in a barn. It was deathly cold and if we dinnae get shelter we would hae died, I’m sure of it.
We went tae a farmhouse where a fire was blazing, but the farmer was an ornery man and sent us away, threatening us with a poker.
He swore that if he found us on his land then he would kill us.
We turned away, but there was nae another house for miles.
The barn looked appealing, and there was a storm brewing.
We decided tae take our chances. We settled in the straw and slept like babies, but when we awoke the farmer was already in the fields nearby.
It was only a matter of time before he came tae the barn, and the only way out was directly in his sight. ”
“What did ye dae?” Beitris asked eagerly, her eyes shining bright as she leaned forward.
“Well, I said we should take our chances and run. Dinnae think that he would be able to keep up with us, but Brody hae a better idea. There were sheepskins in a crate, waiting tae be taken tae market. We wrapped them around ourselves and crawled out, pretending tae be sheep. We made our way tae the herd and stayed with them until the farmer left. Then, we ran away.”
“And he never caught ye?”
Logan grinned and shook his head. “The sheep gave us some strange looks, but they dinnae betray our confidence. He’s always been like that, able tae see things that I hae nae. I’m sure I would nae be here if it were nae for him.”
“He sounds like a good friend.”
“He’s the best.”
“Then I hope he returns. I hae never really hae a friend like that,” she said wistfully.
“But ye hae a family. Yer clan and yer bloodline is famed throughout the Highlands. How many cousins dae ye hae?”
“Too many tae count sometimes,” Beitris chuckled, “but most of them were older than me. When I was a bairn they would humor me, but they were eager tae live their own lives. Angus was closest in age, but we quarreled a lot. And he hae nae been quite the same since what happened…”
Her voice grew small and part of her wished that she could go back to a simpler time when the only thing that mattered was pestering Angus.
“Is that why ye really want tae kill Warnock, tae get revenge for Angus? Or is it really all about glory?”
A shadow fell over Beitris’ face. “I suppose it can be both. I mourned him. I thought he was gone. I thought I would never see his stupid face or hear his foolish laugh again, and even though he’s back with us, Warnock took something from him that he will never get back.
It’s the same with sae many people in the Highlands.
Aye, it must be the same for ye as well.
I’m sorry, here I am gaeing on about Angus when ye lost yer family because of that man. ”
Logan turned to the side and waved a dismissive hand in the air.
“We hae all suffered because of him. Ye could probably throw a stone anywhere in the Highlands and ye would nae fail tae hit someone who hae been affected by this war.”
“Aye… it needs tae come tae an end, and soon. We cannae gae on like this.”
“Then it’s fortunate that ye are gaeing tae strike the final blow,” he said with a teasing look in his eyes.
Beitris flashed a self-effacing smile and curled a lock of hair around her finger. She blushed a little, wondering if her intentions were too lofty.
“That is what I would like tae happen, although I would nae begrudge anyone from killing him as long as the war ends. I’ll even share the glory with ye, should we charge intae battle taegether.”
Logan laughed again. Now that it happened a second time, Beitris was certain that she liked his laughter. She might have liked him, at least more than she had when they first met.
“Aye, I’ll strike with a sword as yer arrow hits,” Logan said.
Beitris chuckled as well. It seemed like a far-fetched plan. Surely the stars would not align like that. Right now, she wasn’t even certain she would be able to wield her bow in battle. While she was respected by the clan, she wasn’t the Laird, and her orders would not supersede his.
“I’m sure it will all work out for the best. Warnock’s plans hae been foiled time and time again. He is at the end, and we are just waiting for the final strike tae happen. He hae failed tae make alliances. He is alone.”
“Aye, but some men are most dangerous when they are alone and hae naething tae lose. We cannae assume victory, even when it is within our grasp. Warnock hae a way of making triumphs taste bitter.”
Beitris nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure that Brody will be fine,” she said, assuming that Logan’s words alluded to Brody.
Her gaze rested upon him and the atmosphere became tender.
The silence stretched between them and she found it difficult to look away.
She studied the pained look in his eyes, the knot in his brow, and the thick hair.
She thought of him scampering through the Highlands with Brody, running from his loss, trying to find his way in the world.
Anger flowed through his blood and she presumed he thought he had to fight because there was nothing else for him.
Beitris found herself hoping that when all this was over he could find peace somewhere. She was lucky because Angus had come back, but Logan’s family never would.
Could there be peace for a man like that, even when the source of his anguish had been killed?
“Don’t look at me like that,” Logan said, interrupting her thoughts.
Beitris was shaken. The openness that came with his laughter fell away, and it felt as though a door had been slammed in her face. His words were not harsh, but they were firm, and there was no space for her to find any other meaning in them.
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like you care.”
Beitris clenched her jaw just as heat rose to her cheeks. She was angry not because he was mistaken, but because she could feel things stirring within her, things that threatened to make her life complicated. Because he had seen through her.
“It’s naething like that, Logan. Dinnae mistake my friendship for anything deeper. Ye just seemed lonely, that’s all. I hae seen enough marriages in my time. I think I would prefer tae be a wee bit different.”
“Sae ye are just being kind,” he replied.
Did he seem disappointed, or was she imagining it?
“Aye.”
“Ye remind me of her.”
The words slipped out as a whisper, and when Beitris asked Logan who he spoke about, the look on his face told her that he hadn’t intended to speak these words out loud. However, he did not try to deny them, nor did he remain silent.
“My sister,” he continued. “She was full of joy, curiosity, sharp remarks, and she was never shy about helping people either. She was the kindest person.”
“I’m sorry I dinnae hae the chance tae meet her,” Beitris said, getting a sense of the profound loss that Logan had suffered.
Logan clasped his hands together and he looked as though he was about to say something else, but before he could there was a disturbance behind them all.
Frantic footsteps approached the feasting hall and the door was flung open.
A guard with a pained expression on his face clapped his hands and with a thunderous voice commanded the attention of everyone in the room.
“Reinforcements are needed!” he bellowed.
Everything was frantic as the guards pushed themselves to their feet. Beitris stared at Logan, the commotion rising around them like a storm.
Something had happened.
Something bad.