Perhaps it would have been enough to make me happy for the rest of my days.
In the light of day, Katherine was able to fully take in the sights of the Oliphant territory for the first time in her life.
She had never ventured here before, not even during the days, which now seemed so long ago, when Romilly had been betrothed to Laird Alex. Even then, she’d known that the wedding plans had been made under false pretenses; that it had always been intended as a series of steps which would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Oliphants from within, once Romilly had been properly installed as the lady of the clan.
Then Laird Alex’s famed intolerance of imperfection had put an end to that, requiring other, more brutal means.
The entire time, though, Angus had bidden Katherine to stay away from the Oliphants, at least until the day of the planned wedding, when it would have been unseemly for her not to be in attendance. Katherine had initially assumed this was because he saw them as a potential danger to her.
Later, she came to understand the truth. That, in fact, he had been more concerned that she might prove to be a danger to their plans with her guileless nature and unwillingness to participate in schemes that would result in bloodshed and strife.
Therefore, she took in the farms and estates of the Oliphant lands with fresh eyes—and was amazed by what she saw.
What had she been expecting, based upon her father’s description of the Oliphants and their relentless evil and malice? Looking at them now, she realized that ever since she was a wee lass, her mind’s eye had responded to these stories by conjuring images of a bleak and desolate land. The sort that might be presided over by some evil warlock from a fairy tale, where the sky was always dark, the people toiled as slaves, and the ground was stony and unable to give forth more than the most meager of scrubby crops. A place of ignorance and misery, populated by near-savages who would do whatever it took to steal the glory of their neighbors for their own.
Katherine looked around, wide-eyed, and astonished, at the sights which greeted her instead.
The sky was clear and blue, and the sun shone down cheerily on the prosperous families who worked their farms. The crops were bountiful, and the valleys and hillsides bloomed kaleidoscopically with a hundred different kinds of wild flowers, each more beautiful than the last. The manors were welcoming, with servants singing merrily as they went about their chores, and pillars of white smoke drifting from the chimneys.
The villages were teeming with artisans going about their labors, and the taverns and inns appeared busy indeed, with travelers of all sorts coming and going; merchants, minstrels, envoys, and other assorted wanderers, all of whom appeared happy to be there.
And in the distance, growing larger and more awe-inspiring with each passing moment, was Castle Oliphant.
Again, Katherine had always imagined it as a dread and somber place, with forbidding spires reaching up into a malign sky, and ramparts bristling with soldiers in evil-looking spiked armor.
But it largely consisted of a main tower of sturdy, sun-bleached blocks, surrounded by a high wall that likewise gleamed white in the sunlight. There were sentries, of course, and they were armed with what appeared to be crossbows, but they conversed casually as they stood their watch, clearly not expecting any violent visitors.
“Do ye like what ye see, my lady?”
Bryan’s words, whispered in her ear, startled her slightly. As she admired her surroundings, Katherine had nearly forgotten the circumstances by which she was viewing them. His warm breath tickled her earlobe slightly, sending a ticklish shiver down her back.
“It’s breathtaking, tae be sure,” she admitted. “I had never imagined the Oliphants lived in such splendor. Truly, ye are a fortunate clan.”
“Ah, we are rewarded not so much for good fortune as for hard work,” Bryan replied proudly. “Generations of lairds have worked tae ensure a bright future for our people. Some, perhaps, more effectively than others,” he added with a slight grimace.
“Ye speak of Laird Alex’s father,” she guessed. “He who provoked the enmity between our clans tae begin with.”
“A rather jaundiced account,” Bryan said ruefully. “He was nae the best of our lairds, by a far piece. But he continued the strength and prosperity of the Oliphant Clan during his rule, and that, in itself, was a mighty feat indeed.” He realized something, and chuckled.
“What amuses ye?” she inquired.
“Ah, only that as ye come readily tae the defense of yer sister despite her shortcomings, so I still instinctively defend my former master in the face of his own. Perhaps we are not nearly so different as either of us would have thought.”
She was struggling to keep her expression as unreadable as possible. Her body language was tight, her posture rigid to the point of quivering.
She was a woman at war with herself. Over her fondness for him.
Herdesirefor him; she was increasingly sure of it.
Their party drew close enough to the ramparts to attract the sentries’ notice, but the men on the wall recognized their fellows almost immediately and did not bother to aim their bows.
“Open the gates!” one of them cried out. This order was echoed among several of the others, and seconds later, the heavy iron gates of Castle Oliphant swung open to greet and admit them.
When the guardsmen saw that Katherine was with them, a raucous cheer went up among them. Barclay waved to them, grinning. However, Katherine noticed that Bryan did not acknowledge their revelry.
“Surely, ye can show yer appreciation to them, heedless of how it might appear to me?” she asked innocently.
He snickered. “I merely see no need to gloat under the circumstances, my lady. I have succeeded in my mission, and that is reward enough for me.”
