“I’m glad we’re using practice dirks,” Dylan said. “I’m afraid I’d be dead by now.”
“Or badly wounded,” Angus agreed. “Let’s do the opposite now. Dylan you attack and Maggie you defend.” Maggie had learned a lot from the first go round and was quite good at defending. “Okay, now add yer dirk into it,” Angus said, sounding pleased. They continued on, until they were both out of breath. “That was well done.” Angus patted them both on the back. “Shall we work on our bows?”
“Can we have a minute to catch our breath?” Maggie asked.
“Aye. Why dinnae ye get some water and I’ll meet ye over by the targets.” Angus walked away, leaving Dylan and Maggie to rest a moment.
“You’re pretty good,” Dylan said.
“As are ye,” Maggie answered.
“It must be nice to have Angus as your teacher. He’s a great guy.”
“Aye. He is and I am lucky.” Maggie started walking towards the well and Dylan hurried to keep up.
“So, how do you know him? Angus, I mean.” Dylan asked as he dipped his cup in the bucket of water by the well.
Maggie did the same and took a long drink before answering. “He’s a friend of the family.”
She was purposely keeping her answers short, because she was uncomfortable disguising her voice. To her it sounded fake, but no one had questioned it and Dylan certainly didn’t seem to notice anything.
“You live in Glendaloch? I was wondering if ye knew Maggie.” He took another drink of water.
“Nae. I dinnae. I live in Edinburgh. I’ve been staying with Edna and Angus since just after Maggie left, so, nae I dinnae know her.”
“I don’t know what it is about you, but she sure doesn’t seem to like you,” Dylan observed.
“I dinnae know either,” Maggie said. Apparently, it was obvious to the others that there was some tension between her and Brielle. “Angus is waiting fer us.” She headed off towards the targets, knowing that Dylan would follow.
Maggie felt confident about her skills with a bow, so she let her competitive nature come out. She had great aim and hit the target dead center nearly every time.
“Wow! You’re pretty impressive with that bow, Alec.” Dylan tried his hand at it and while he wasn’t bad, he only hit the bull’s eye a time or two. On one of those occasions, Maggie took the opportunity to split his arrow with hers, causing him to throw his arms in the air in concession.
“You win! I can’t possibly compete with you,” Dylan said, clapping Maggie on the back. She wasn’t expecting it and it knocked her off balance.
Grabbing her and setting her back on her feet, Dylan said, “Sorry about that. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”
“How could ye not?” Maggie asked feeling flushed and barely recovering from the feel of Dylan’s hands on her.They’re truly beautiful hands,she thought, catching herself before henoticed her staring at them. Angus on the other hand, seemed completely aware of what was going on in his niece’s head.
“Alec, why don’t ye go rest up? Ye’ve worked hard today.”
“Aye.” Maggie walked away realizing that Angus had saved her from making a fool of herself.
Dylan watched Alec walk away. He was experiencing the same, uneasy feeling that he’d met him somewhere before.
“Dylan?” Angus asked.
“Yeah, I’m sorry did you say something to me?” Dylan responded.
“I was wondering how ye were enjoying yer stay here and how ye were getting on with my niece,” Angus said.
“I love it here. This has been the best experience of my life. I’ve learned so much from Cormac and Cailin. They’re great guys.”
“And Maggie?” Angus asked.
Dylan realized he wasn’t going to get away without answering. But what could he tell Angus that wouldn’t sound insulting? “We’re getting to know each other. It’s been different here… different than it was in Glendaloch.”
“I see,” Angus said, smiling.
