“I see no reason why yer presence here should be confined tae yer chambers, or even tae the castle,” Bryan replied. “As longas certain precautions are taken, ye should enjoy at least some degree of liberty tae?—”
“Nay,” she interjected, shaking her head. “There was more tae it than that, I believe. Ye knew that Fiona would approach and invite me into her home.”
“I certainly believed it was a possibility,” he admitted.
“Then why?” she challenged again. “Tae make me feel guilt for the orders my father gave which led tae her family’s death?”
“Not at all,” Bryan told her. “I did it because I want to put an end tae the warring between our clans at last, and wished to determine for certain whether ye do as well. I thought that introducing ye to Fiona might be a good way tae do that.”
“I see. And do ye plan tae continue tae manipulate me thus while I am here?” she asked haughtily.
He sighed. “I intend tae do whatever it takes tae prove tae ye that we are nae yer enemies. If that means taking ye for a long ride on a sunny day tae introduce ye tae a kindly old woman who serves ye tea, well, then I suppose ye shall have to simply endure such horrors.”
This made Katherine feel chastised. When she spoke again, the bitterness had left her voice. “Ye say ye wish tae end the warring. But ye are a warrior. Surely ye would prefer tae win a war instead, and in doing so, earn further glory for yerself upon the field of battle?”
He stopped short on his horse, and she was forced to stop as well and lead Bluebell a few steps back toward him. As she did, she realized that in coming to such an abrupt halt, he had given her a chance to get a head start on him and perhaps escape.
He was too smart a tactician not to know that, she knew. But he had done so anyway.
Another demonstration of his trust, but a genuine one, or merely a show to get her to letherguard down?
She did not know. Every time she felt as though she understood him thoroughly, he managed to surprise her again.
“ye are right,” he intoned solemnly. “I am a warrior, which means I have seen combat firsthand. None who have, and have taken the violence they have seen, would prefer more bloodshed. Not when they could put an end tae it instead. Not for all the glory in the world.”
His words were spoken so earnestly that she did not doubt him. Particularly when she saw the ghosts of those memories haunting his eyes; the things he had seen, the things he had been forced to do in order to survive.
“Very well,” she said. “But again, I must remind ye that the hands of yer clan are far from spotless. Ye Oliphants have shed innocent blood, just as we have.”
As she said it, she felt strange using the word we in that context. For as Fiona had pointed out, Katherine had had no part in any crime committed against the Oliphants, nor had she taken any delight from the horrid scheming of her father.
“I dinnae deny that,” Bryan conceded. “All clans have dark chapters of their past, no one can claim otherwise. The previous laird was far from perfect, tae be sure. Laird Alex is a different sort of leader, though. He has a good heart, even if he is forced tae hide it beneath gruffness and an iron will much of the time. Ye have seen for yerself that his people thrive under his rule, and ye have never seen the Oliphants needlessly take the lives of yer countrymen since he became laird.” He laughed mirthlessly. “No doubt yer father blamed many evil acts upon us, but have ye witnessed any? Or merely heard them secondhand?”
He had a point, and she knew it, though she hated to admit it. Her father had told her many tales about raids carried out by the Oliphants.
She had never seen any for herself, though. Nor any evidence of them. Nor had she heard any stories about such raids when she had visited the lasses in town.
She felt like a fool for never having questioned any of it before. At the time, it had not occurred to her that her father would lie about such hideous things.
“Tell me, then,” she said hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper. “What would ye have me do? Tae aid ye, against my father? For ye must know that I wouldnae agree tae anything that would get any of my countrymen killed.”
“As I’ve said, ‘tis our wish tae avoid that,” Bryan replied.
He did his best to keep his tone even, but inwardly, he was jumping for joy. This was it! She had just taken her first real step toward cooperating with the Oliphants. And it had only taken a matter of days.
“All we would have ye do,” he went on, “is tae convince yer father that peace is in his best interests; a lasting peace, in which the Oliphant lands which were taken by previous generations of McGregors are returned.”
“But ye said that the aggressions of our ancestors ought to be put aside entirely, that we might forge a peace here and now,” Katherine protested. “Many of those lands have been tended by the current farmers’ fathers, or theirfathers’fathers. They supply what little provisions our clan can muster. My father would never agree tae such an offer if ye had a hundred of his daughters.”
“Aye, but he doesn’t have a hundred daughters, only the two,” he answered wryly. “And ye needn’t fret, for Laird Alex wouldnae allow yer people to starve. Ideally, we would wish for an alliance with the McGregors. We could find ways tae work together and share our resources, so neither of us would ever need tae resort tae pillaging or scheming against the other.”
Katherine was taken aback. “An alliance?”
These assurances seemed to encourage her, and Bryan was emboldened by it. “Indeed! And he wouldnae need tae fret about having no male heir, for the Oliphants would put a steward in place tae manage our affairs there. One who could help him with?—”
But the words died in his throat as Katherine’s eyes became stormy. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and her face turned red. “Then what ye truly propose is nae ‘alliance,’ but conquest! Och, aye, ye’ll ‘put a steward in place tae manage yer affairs, andouraffairs as well! My father would no longer be laird, and the McGregors would no longer be McGregors, merely Oliphant lackeys under different banners.”
Bryan sputtered, protesting. “That is nae what I?—”
