"Nae loss tae the world," Patty told her with a shrug. "I married when I was twenty-two and left him the first time he laid a hand on me. Before we wed, he acted as though me callin' as a healer was somethin' he approved of, but that quickly changed once he had a ring on me finger." She grimaced. "He didnae like it when I argued. Thank God we never had any bairns, or I'd have been trapped."
Ferda scowled. "Piece of worthless shite," she murmured.
"Dinnae swear, Ferda," Patty chided. "Though ye arenae wrong. After he hit me, I left that night, and I didnae stop runnin' until I found the rebellion. It was everythin' I'd been lookin' for. A chance tae really help me country, and a chance tae be free."
As she'd been talking, the three of them had begun to wash and dress for the day. Ferda beckoned, and Maeve and Patty followed her out of the little hut and into the cool air outside. They walked along through the camp, which was already filled with happy, chattering voices, serious whispers, and everything in between.
"I'm sorry that happened tae ye," Maeve whispered. She'd been on the receiving end of men's hurting, too, but it still seemed awful to learn it had happened to someone else. Almost unfair.
Patty shrugged. "It was terrible, but it was eighteen years ago. And the strength I've earned since more than made up for it. When I heard he died, I was so healed from it all that I didnae even feel joy, just pity for a life poorly lived."
They reached a large building and went inside, only to find rows and rows of tables laid out. Many of the seats were already filled, and Maeve realized this must be where the rebels gathered to take their meals. She allowed Ferda and Patty to lead her to a spot somewhere off to the side, then Patty went off to fetch food for all three of them.
"Are ye all right?" Ferda asked her while they waited. "Ye look pensive. Did Patty's story bother ye?"
Maeve shook her head, then nodded. "I'm nae sure. Of course it bothered me that this happened tae her, but it gave me a strange kind of feelin' as well. I'm glad she was able to find freedom here. It… gives me hope."
She expected Ferda to press her, but the other young woman just nodded thoughtfully. "She's not the only one. Of course, me own story is much less dramatic; I'm part of the Bruce clan, and we're the biggest group in this rebellion. It was always gonnae be me fate tae be part of it, ever since me parents were killed the night the king was killed."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too. But me uncle Kier saved me, just as he and many of me other aunts and uncles saved the rest of us, and brought us here." Ferda reached for the jug of water in the middle of the table and poured them both a cup. "But I felt trapped and resentful. That's why I ran away when I was a young lass of thirteen or so."
"Ye ran away?"
"Aye, and it didnae go well for me." Ferda shook her head. "I was a fool. I wanted tae prove a point about me independence and instead I nearly lost it entirely. I was found by an awful couple who took me in and used me as their servant — their slave, really, for they never paid me though I worked endlessly. I got very sick, but they pushed me and pushed me, and I was convinced I was gonnae die."
"What happened?" Maeve asked. Patty returned with their food and another woman alongside her, and the newcomers slid into their seats without interrupting, simply passing along the hot porridge and leaving Ferda the space to continue her story.
"Hamish found me," Ferda replied. "The men at the council, they'd never stopped lookin' for me. It would have been so easy for them tae write me off as a useless waster, a lassie who'd made her own mess and had tae deal with it, but they never left me behind. Hamish brought me home and they cared for me until I was well again. Then, instead of punishin' me, Uncle Kier asked me tae tell himwhyI'd run away. I explained, feeling foolish, but they never mocked me. It was Ewan's idea tae train me as a scout if I wanted. That way, I get me freedom without losin' me home."
"I was in a brothel when Senan found me," the new girl piped up. "They never judged me for it. They just offered me a new life as a cook here and I took it. And ye ken, they've never called me a whore or thrown me past in me face."
"Naebody here would, Lillian," Patty told her. "Not with the way ye cook."
The women laughed, and Maeve stared. "The men treat ye well even with such a history?" she asked. She'd seen how men treated the women of the night they brought back to the castle, her own father included, and it was hard to reconcile this new information.
"Och aye," Lillian told her. "That's what they do here. The council — Senan, Ferda's uncle Kier, and Ewan and Hamish — they dinnae just enforce the ideals that our rebellion stands for. They embody them."
"Respect," Ferda said. "Dignity. Hope. And a love for our country. That's all they ask from us, and it's what they give us in return. Ye saw how quickly they shut down me dim-witted cousin last night. Woman, man, rich, poor; it doesnae matter where ye come from. As long as ye're a part of the rebellion with all yer heart, then ye're part of the hope for Scotland which we believe in. That's all that matters."
Maeve didn't answer, but for the first time, something small and hopeful flickered in her chest. She took a spoonful of porridge and slowly placed it in her mouth, thinking hard as she did. She'd thought that, with everything that had been done to her since birth, she was doomed to be lost forever. But hearing these women's stories, and watching the camp around her, Maeve was feeling something very strange that she'd rarely ever felt before.
Hope. Hope for the future. Hope for herself. And hope for the country she loved. All of it stemming from this room, and the kindness that flowed around her.
* * *
Cailean expected solitude at the training grounds when he arrived first thing after eating breakfast. It was usually his time to just enjoy the peace and reflect on everything that had happened over the previous days. Even when there were people there training early, they were few and far between, and he was usually left alone until the sun was high in the sky.
Not today, though. Just as he was about to start on his laps, he saw that someone was standing in the middle of the training field, clearly waiting on someone. Waiting onhim.
It was her — the girl, Mary, who had so thrown him off the night before. He had expected her to spend the morning resting, but it seemed she'd come here immediately after breaking her fast, determination shining in her eyes as he got closer. Cailean cursed to himself; part of him had been hoping that spending the evening and morning with the other women would have made her reconsider at least training as a scout rather than a warrior, but he knew without even asking her that this wasn't the case. Her face wore the same expression as it had the night before, and it was pure resoluteness.
"Ye're later than I expected," Mary said as soon as she cast her eyes upon him. "The women said ye're usually here at the break of dawn, or only a wee bit later if ye remember tae break yer fast. I've been waitin' a half hour."
Cailean stared at her, struck momentarily speechless with her directness and audacity.
She shrugged. "Oh well. I'm ready tae start trainin' whenever ye are. I'm right that ye'll be takin' over me trainin' rather than Senan, aye?"
