“What’re their names?”
“Mirren and Nessa. They’re both younger than me.”
“Ye have a vera big family, dinna ye?”
“Aye. See all those men down there?” Saoirse pointed to the tables filled with her family. “Those are all ma cousins. Some are ma uncles’ sons. Three are ma Auntie Mairghread’s and Uncle Tristan’s sons.” She pointed to Tristan, who looked over and smiled. “And some of them are ma da’s cousin’s sons. See that mon next to Tristan? That’s ma da’s cousin, Lachlan.”
“Who’re the two auld men?” Henry’s hand thrust out and pointed to Liam and Hamish. They both playfully scowled at the boy.
“Did ye hear that? He thinks us auld, Hamish.” Liam chuckled.
“Lad, do ye have a wooden sword yet?” Hamish asked.
Henry straightened with pride and nodded.
“Bring it with ye in the morning. Laird Hamish and I will show ye we arenae so auld. Mayhap we can even teach ye something that I didna teach yer da.”
Henry’s eyes widened as he looked at Liam, then Seamus. “Ye taught ma da?”
“Aye,” Seamus answered. “All that I ken aboot being a laird, a warrior, and a mon, I learned from these men. I am who I am because I became a Sinclair when I fostered with them.”
“Can I foster there too?” Henry’s excitement made Saoirse feel bad as she glanced at Caroline, who appeared horrified.
“Henry, ye have a vera long time before ye can go anywhere. Yer mama needs ye too much. Grandda and Uncle Hamish will teach ye something tomorrow, but ye must stay and be a good helper for yer mama.”
Henry slid off Saoirse’s lap and darted to his mother’s side. She lifted him onto her lap, and he wrapped his arms around her back. “I’m a good helper, arenae I, Mama?”
“The vera best.” Caroline kissed his forehead and shot Saoirse’s an appreciative smile. The child remained in his mother’s lap until he drifted off.
“We’ll have our turn one day,mo ghaol.” Magnus whispered to Saoirse at the end of the meal. “I’d see if we can make that happen soon. And I wouldnae mind falling asleep against a certain pair of breasts.”
Saoirse giggled before drawing her lips in between her teeth. She nodded before Magnus pulled her chair back. She squealed when he swept her into his arms. They cared not who stared. He carried her off the dais and up the stairs to what was now their chamber. They’d both noticed the glares had turned to giggles while she talked to Henry and returned when Magnus carried her off to have his way with her. Saoirse looked forward to calling Eilean Donan home. She just prayed Magnus returned from battle so it could happen.
CHAPTER20
The Sinclairs, Sutherlands, and Mackays stayed with the Mackenzies for three days as they strategized. Their fervent hope was Laird Matheson would meet with Seamus and Magnus without having to involve the others. They would ride to the Mathesons’ keep with a score of Mackenzie guards, but among them would also be Blake, Thormud, Torquil, and Tate. The four young men were to keep their heads down and be invisible lest someone recognize them. But if anything happened to Seamus or Magnus, two would ride back for help while the other two remained to watch over the Mackenzie brothers.
If Laird Matheson refused to take responsibility for his clansman, or if he did anything to threaten the brothers, the rest of the army would descend upon them, encouraging them to reconsider. Caleb Matheson, the prisoner, was a guest in the Mackenzies’ dungeon while they remained at Eilean Donan. He’d ridden, tied to a horse, between Ric and Kirk Hartley, who’d led the Sinclairs’ warriors. They would remand him to Alex and Callum’s custody if they had to make an example of him before the Mathesons. At that point, a battle was almost inevitable. Wiley, Kirk, and Ric would remain at the campsite with Saoirse.
The older men worried it would insult Wiley and Kirk to not ride into battle alongside the others, especially when Callen would, and he was younger than both of them. But they’d pleased the older men when their chests puffed out with pride to be tasked with protecting Saoirse. She suspected it was partly pride but a lot of bravado. Their fathers and the other men terrified them, even though Kirk was one-and-twenty, and Wiley was eight-and-ten. They would keep her alive because they feared for their own if they failed.
True to their word, Hamish and Liam pretended to spar with Henry, who followed them like a devotee. Neither laird minded since they were both grandfathers several times over. But they were once more formidable warriors when they stepped into the lists. Both in their sixties, they knocked their sons and nephews on their arses repeatedly. If people didn’t know better, not only would they think both men were at least half their age, but true enemies when they sparred against each other. The Mackenzie warriors stared, slack jawed, when Liam, Callum, Alex, Tavish, Mòr, Hamish, and Lachlan teamed together. None wanted to step forward to take on the hydra they appeared to form. They cheered when Seamus and Óg joined the mix. Saoirse convinced Caroline to watch from the entrance to the lists.
“How do they do that?” Caroline whispered the day before the army would depart.
“Practice. Da says they’ve practiced so many times that it’s now just intuition. There’s naught they dinna ken aboot each other’s fighting styles because they’re the same. They ken what their partners will do because it’s what they would do. Seamus and Óg are that way because Mòr trained them, and they practiced with the others. Uncle Hamish and Lachlan are mirrors of each other. Uncle Hamish and Grandda have been fighting alongside each other since before the days when the Bruce fought for his throne. They’ve fought together within the last two years to return King David to his rightful place as our sovereign.”
“They’re incredible.”
“Aye. Does it help ye to worry a little less?”
“It does. Seamus and Óg fought the Rosses and Roses for years before the floods and illness. I trusted they were as good as the men said, but I’ve never watched. I thought it would be too violent. But it’s almost graceful.”
“Aye. I doubt it’s that pretty in battle, but it’s like a dance they all ken by heart.”
“Seamus hasnae ridden out to fight since before the floods. I’m scared, Saoirse.” Caroline kept her gaze straight forward as she spoke.
“Scared that he willna come back?”
