Despite his deepening sense of dread, Bryan did not dare knock or interrupt. He knew that despite their friendship, Alex would be angered by such a show of disrespect. So he waited outside the door as the minutes ticked by, doing his best to keep his breathing steady and his heart calm.
Surely, he was fretting for no reason, he assured himself. Surely, the messenger was merely dispatched to confirm that Katherine had returned home safely, and to reaffirm the newly negotiated peace between the clans.
After what seemed like an hour, the door opened again and the rider emerged. He marched down the corridor stiffly, avoiding eye contact with Bryan. His expression was grave.
The captain wanted to grab the man by his shoulders and shake him to demand answers, to insist upon news of Katherine’s safety and spirits.
Then he heard Alex’s voice call out to him dryly, somehow knowing he was hovering outside. “Ye may enter now, Bryan.”
Bryan hurried into the study, shutting the door behind him as the messenger had done. “News of Katherine, I take it?”
Alex arched an eyebrow. “Ye really must return tae the habit of referring tae her asLadyKatherine, old friend. Ye know I dinnae care, but if others were tae hear…”
“What has become of her?” Bryan pressed, his voice strained.
Alex sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I ought not tell ye, for I fear I ken full well what it will drive ye tae do. But neither can I hide the truth from ye, for I have always held ye in too high esteem for that.” He opened his eyes again, leveling them at Bryan. “Angus imprisoned Lady Katherine the moment they set foot within the stronghold.”
“What?” Bryan exploded, his face turning red. “That bloody serpent!”
“Aye, he is most certainly that,” the laird agreed wearily. “But, like most serpents, a cunning creature indeed. He knew that in doing so, he might provoke us tae break the treaty. Perhaps it might even be a test of a sort tae see if we take any interest in her captivity, since that could prove tae him that she collaborated with us during her time here.”
But most of these words did not penetrate the red fog that had settled over Bryan’s brain at the news of Katherine’s imprisonment. “We must do something!” he exclaimed. “We cannae allow her tae sit in their dungeons. Not after she agreed tae help us, when she knew it would buy her nothing but grief and pain with her own family!”
“Ye would do that, then?” Alex challenged, folding his arms over his wide chest. “Ye would jeopardize the accord we’ve struck, force our people into war all over one lass?”
“She could have resisted us every step of the way since we brought her here,” Bryan insisted. “She could have tried tae flee, she could have sabotaged us, she could have clung tae her loyalty for her clan and made us throw her in a cell next tae hersister. Instead, she risked her entire way of life for us. She did so because we assured her that we were her friends, that she could trust us and depend upon us when she needed it most. Now ye would have her rot in their dungeons for it? That is her reward for doing the right thing?”
“We are not all rewarded for doing the right thing,” Alex retorted. “That is nae the way of the world, and ye are too wise tae think otherwise. I am, of course, dismayed by this turn of events. However, I refuse tae play into Angus’s hands when our treaty was so hard-won.”
“Ye would honor a treaty with such a blackguard?” Bryan protested hotly. “A man with no honor of his own, a man who, based upon his actions, will surely violate the peace at his earliest opportunity?”
“And when he does, we shall respond in kind,” Alex answered patiently. “We cannae do so preemptively, though, else we give him precisely what he wants from us: A war.”
“One we would surely win!”
“But at what cost?” Alex shot back. “Tae our forces? Tae theirs, when they are being led into battle by a madman and a fool who does nae values their lives at all? I say again, we cannae do such a thing in the name of one lass, no matter how I wish we could.”
“A lass who was prepared tae sacrifice everything for a clan who’d sacrifice nothing for her in return,” the captain said bitterly. “Ye know how we felt about each other, Alex, she and I.”
“Aye, I do, at that.” Alex’s voice was full of regret. “Mayhap I ought tae have discouraged it. Ordered some other guardsman tae look after her while she was in our custody.” He sighed again. “Tae be honest, I had hoped that it all might work out for the pair of ye somehow. As Isla and I did eventually, against all odds. But it doesn’t seem that will be possible in this case, and now I fearit has led tae all the more heartache. Even so, this is how things must be.”
“I cannae accept that,” Bryan told him. “I willnae!”
The laird peered at him closely, and when he spoke, it seemed as though he was choosing his words most carefully. “Ye have long defined yerself by yer loyalty tae this clan, Bryan Black. And it has been most appreciated. I wonder, sometimes, whether I have told ye that enough these past years. But yeareyer own man. Ye must do as ye feel is right in all matters, for ye are the one who shall have tae live with yerself and the consequences.”
Alex gazed out the window again, looking down at the farms and villages which dotted the countryside. The people who relied upon his good judgment to live their daily lives in peace and harmony.
Bryan knew that the laird had more to say, and waited as patiently as he could. His blood was frothing in his veins, though, and every muscle in his body twitched and longed for action.
“If ye cannae stomach such an injustice against one ye care for so deeply,” Alex continued, “and ye intend tae intervene, ye must know that it must be without my support, or that of the clan. We must all be able tae honestly claim that we didnae know about or approve of yer actions, in order tae keep from being dragged into a bloody conflict.” He gave Bryan a significant look. “Ye understand what I am saying, do ye not?”
Bryan swallowed hard. He did know what Alex was saying. But admitting to it out loud was another matter entirely.
And to act upon it…
“I do understand, aye,” he answered quietly.
“Then I suggest ye take some time today and make yer choice,” Alex said, sitting at his desk and shuffling papers around. The message was clear; Bryan was dismissed.
