They passed the bridge and continued. At the headland where a large copse of trees prevented them from seeing the edge, they stopped. It was close to the place where the lit torch that memorialized Marian stood. She thought to perhaps visit that spot when they finished their dagger practice and place some flowers if she could find any.
Connor took the berries from Caden and set the baskets on the ground. He then handed them each a blade. “Milady, ye take the blade and pinch it with your fingers. Take aim, pull back your arm, and then release with all your might.” He let go and the dagger sailed through the air. It hit a spot on a pine that had lost many of its lower branches.
Her shoulders sagged as she realized she probably would be no good at throwing a dagger. But she would give it her best.
Caden was next. He said nothing as he took the spot vacated by Connor, took aim, and released his dagger. The dagger sailed through the air, making a swoosh sound. His target was above Connor’s and in the exact center of the tree trunk. She was impressed by his talent.
“That was incredible, Caden,” she said as she took his spot. “I doubt that I shall even come close.” Eva held the dagger the way Connor showed her and took aim. She pulled back her arm and threwit with all her strength. It missed the tree by a mark and she sighed. “Sweet Mary, this is difficult. Maybe we should forget about this.”
“Try again, Milady,” Caden said. “Ye will get it. It takes a wee bit of practice.”
She reached the tree, grabbed the dagger from the ground, and held it. “I will do better this time—” Eva turned abruptly when she heard a woman’s shout. “Did you hear that?”
She raced toward where she’d heard the noise come from and the lads followed. On the approach to where Marian’s torch stood, she spotted Breckin standing with a woman. The dark-haired woman spoke but she couldn’t hear her words.
The stranger lifted a flask hanging from her belt and appeared to consider taking a drink. Then she offered it to Breckin. He took a sip and then—at the woman’s apparent prompting—a larger quaff.
Eva wondered what the flask contained, especially when she saw that he returned it to the woman. Then she pressed the cork back into the spout without taking a drink herself, but instead let it drop to hang by her hip.
The lads stopped behind her and crouched down, likewise watching quietly.
“Who is she? Do you know her?” Eva didn’t see a horse nearby and suspected the woman must have walked to their meeting place.
“’Tis Danella,” Caden said as he knelt beside her.
Eva’s heart sank. “His former betrothed?”The woman he loved?
“Aye, but she’s married to William Stewart now,” Conner said.
“We should leave,” Eva said then, but she couldn’t draw herself away. Instead, she stayed partially hidden by the thicket as her heart thudded in her chest so loudly, she was certain the lads—if not Breckin himself—could hear it.
Eva was overcome by a sense of betrayal as a range of emotions swarmed her—shock, anger, and extreme sadness. How could he be with another woman when he’d enjoyed being with her? Whateverthey’d shared, which had seemed so monumental to her, must have been trivial for him.
Now the lads stood silently next to her as they too watched their brother’s boorish behavior. It was as if an arrow pierced her heart. Why had she been so trusting? Unwilling to see any more, she made to leave. She’d return to the longhouse and there, she would decide her next course of action.
But then a movement and the woman’s laugh made her turn back. She watched as Breckin’s knees seemed to buckle, and the strong warrior fell back and landed on the ground without trying to stop himself from falling. He lay still, without moving. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him lying there.
Then a stream of sunlight pierced through the morning mist and Eva saw the glint of a blade in the woman’s hand. Eva gasped, pressed her hands on the lads’ shoulders, and shifted them away.
“Both of you, go and fetch Gideon and Willa. Your brother is in danger.” The lads didn’t question her and ran off. Eva ran toward her husband, ignoring the woman. When she reached him, she saw blood staining the front of his tunic. “Breckin!” She bent to reach for him but then the woman grabbed her arm, preventing her from touching him.
“Who are you?” She still held the dagger, stained with Breckin’s blood. Now she pointed it at Eva.
Eva held up her hand and said, “Who am I? I am his wife. What have you done?”
The woman’s eyes were darkened with anger and she peered at her as if she intended to harm her as well. “He needed to be stopped and I had to… Ye are his wife? I did not know Breckin had married.”
“Who are you?” Eva hid the practice dagger she’d forgotten to return to Caden, held in the folds of her gown. She was afraid to look away from the woman, thinking she might attack her but she was more concerned for Breckin. He still had not moved since he’d fallen.
“I am Danella.”
“Danella. Why would you harm him?” Eva pressed forward, knowing she had to put herself between the woman and Breckin. Somehow she had to protect him until Gideon arrived. She had no time to wonder why Breckin’s former betrothed would want to kill him. Yet, she would do everything to prevent her from doing so.
“He was going to war with my family and would murder everyone in my clan. Aye, we heard that he vowed to make war against us for what I had done. I could not let that happen.” Danella shuffled closer to Breckin’s body but made no further move to strike him again.
“What did you do?” Eva had to keep the woman talking. She took a glance at Breckin and noticed his eyes fluttering slightly. He was not dead, at least not yet.
“I called off our betrothal. Ye see, I did not want to marry the fiercest warrior in the land. I wanted to marry William and Buchanan stood in my way.”
