Thirty
“We can wait out the night here,” Brodie explained as he nodded to the stacked supplies. “There're oats for the horses and dried beef for us along with dried fruit. Once it’s dark, I’ll slip out to a stream near here to fill our waterskins and buckets for the horses. The Lamonts are likely still moving through the mountains searching for us. My men know caves and overhangs throughout the peaks and valleys where they will hide with your men. Just like I will at dawn, they’ll send out scouts to see where the Lamonts are. They’re too far up now, and likely too lost, to find their way down before nightfall. We’ll need to remain until at least late tomorrow afternoon, if not the next morning.”
“Do you think the Lamonts will push forward and go down the other side or turn back?” Monty asked.
“If they were smart, they would go back. As rough as today’s going was, the descent is far worse. I worry more aboot that for Laurel than aught else. The slopes are nearly vertical in some parts. With her skirts, leading Teine, and not being used to hiking so long, I’m scared for her.” Brodie felt no shame in admitting his fear. If anything, he felt better for it. He didn’t worry that the two men sitting across from him would think him weak. He didn’t worry that it made him weak.
“Laurel was surely part goat when she was a wean. She’d climb the crags along the Cromarty Firth and explore the caves. She would give our mother fits,” Monty explained, laughing at the end. “Granted, she would do it in her chemise or steal a pair of my breeks. They’ll be too long and too loose, but I’ll give her a pair of mine in the morn. I brought them for court but blessedly never wore the damn things. She can belt them under her arisaid.”
“I’d feel better with her in them. I have a spare leine for her. It may as well be a gown, but I ken she’ll make do,” Brodie nodded. “With the descent as it is, if we encounter Lamonts, there won’t be any way to evade them. And we can’t fight lest we die instead of them. There’s also nowhere for Laurel to hide. We must be on the lookout for them. The best I can do is put distance between us and them. But I would prefer to avoid them altogether. They won’t have planned for this detour, so the MacFarlanes may be at Kilchurn before we arrive. The MacDougalls won’t know what to think when the Lamonts don’t show at their meeting place tonight. The MacGregors and MacArthurs won’t make a move without being sure they aren’t facing my forces without the others.”
“What aboot the dam?” Donnan asked.
“I’ll send three of my men to relay the message. I need to see Laurel safely at Kilchurn, and I need to be there to coordinate the other branches I summon to the battle. The Lamonts and MacDougalls have declared war. I am not interested in a feud, where we raid one another and bicker. The moment they set their sights on Eliza, they set us on this path. Now that they’ve made Laurel their target, I won’t settle until I grind them under my boot heel.”
“You ken I sent a mon to Balnagown,” Monty mentioned.
“Aye. Will your father come?”
“I didn’t ask him to, and I don’t think you need him or the Rosses. But will you accept his help if he does?”
“I’d be a fool not to. More sword arms on my side is for the better. And I don’t wish to slight your family or your clan. I heard what you said earlier. I hope one day Laurel wants to visit Balnagown. I don’t need the alliance any more than your clan does. But I want it for Laurel’s sake. I want her to be at peace with your family.”
“We want that too.” Monty glanced at Donnan, who nodded. “Father and Laurel may not like one another, but neither does he wish her harm. He’s been a fool to turn his back on her, to refuse to acknowledge what life at court is like. He’d rather assume she lives a life of luxury, swanning around the royal castle than accept that he erred in sending her there. His pride has been his downfall with my sister. But she’s still his daughter.”
“And she’s still the Earl of Sutherland’s niece,” Donnan pointed out. “Laird Ross and Lady Sutherland aren’t close, and neither are Laird Sutherland and Laird Ross. The cousins aren’t friends like the Sutherlands are with their Sinclair relatives. But Laird Sutherland will raise all his forces in defense of his family, close or extended.”
“In all likelihood, all will be said and done before my mon reaches home. We’ll probably be back at Balnagown before Father can reach Kilchurn. But the MacGregors, MacArthurs, MacDougalls, and Lamonts have made powerful enemies by making this personal with Laurel. Every major clan in the northern Highlands is connected to the Sutherlands or Sinclairs.”
Brodie considered what Monty said. He didn’t exaggerate. The Sutherlands and Sinclairs, were bound, via marriage, to the Rosses, the Mackays, the MacLeods of Lewis, the Camerons, the Mackenzies, and the Frasers of Lovat. Now they were indirectly tied to the Campbells. Brodie chuckled but shook his head when Monty and Donnan stared at him.
“I was just thinking that it took the Bruce years to rally such a force, to convince the clans to stop the in-fighting and to band together against a common enemy. It’s taken a few wee women with spirits fiercer than any mon, and they’ve accomplished more than the Bruce. He’d do well to remember who the real peacemakers in the Highlands have been, and who he owes a debt of thanks to.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right.” Monty nodded at his sleeping sister. “I can think of several husbands and brothers who would disagree, but I say my sister is the fiercest of them all.”
“I think so,” Brodie agreed as he looked down at Laurel’s peaceful visage. He looked back at the couple who sat across from him. “Rest now. When I go to scout, I need you awake in case you must defend Laurel.”
“Aye. And I’ll take the first watch tonight,” Monty announced. He looked at Donnan and lowered his voice. “I’ll check your arm again, but you need to sleep,mo ghaol.”
Brodie looked away, giving the men as much privacy as he could. He supposed he would never understand it, but he reminded himself that it wasn’t his to reason why. He just prayed the men didn’t one day lose their lives for it.
* * *
“Laurie,” Brodie whispered as he nudged Laurel awake. Her blue-hazel eyes fluttered open, a tired smile spreading across her face. She squeezed her arms around his waist and sighed. “I don’t like disturbing you, but I need you to eat something. It’s dusk. I’m going out to scout.” Laurel jerked away and shook her head. “Wheest. Dinna fash. I need to fetch water for us and the horses, and I need to see if we can leave tomorrow. I’m the only one of us who knows where we are and what to look for.”
Laurel looked doubtful, but she nodded her head. She knew he was right, but her chest burned with anxiety. She forced her smile back into place, but she knew it was hardly convincing. Drawing in a fortifying breath, she nodded again. “What do you need me to do?”
Brodie cupped her cheek. “I love you something fierce, Laurie.”
“I love you.” Laurel’s smile was dazzling in the dim light. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”
“I ken. But I love you, nonetheless. This isn’t the first time you’ve asked what you can do to help rather than asking for aught for yourself or avoiding a challenge. It makes me so proud to be your husband.”
“I want you to be proud, Brodie. I’m so proud to be your wife.”
“You don’t have to try, Laurie. Being who you are is enough.”
“You’ve told me that before. It feels odd and right all at the same time. I don’t know how to describe it, but after so many years knowing I wasn’t, it—” Laurel shrugged. “Thank you.”
