His gray eyes met hers, and Maeve's heart fluttered. She took a deep breath and said, "What favor do ye need from me? If it's in me power…"
"Just… beat Darren in a spar," Cailean said. Then his serious expression relaxed into a grin. "I've got an ongoin' bet that I'm more than ready tae win."
* * *
Mary's surprised laughter was like music to Cailean's ears. He'd rarely heard her laugh before in the weeks she'd been here, and never so genuinely. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed the sound, and part of him yearned to be the cause of her laughter more often. "I'll do me best," Mary promised, light dancing in her eyes.
Cailean felt his breath catch when she met his eyes. She was a beautiful woman, there was no denying that, but that wasn't what was drawing him to her — not entirely, at least. There was a life to her, a vivacity that had been hiding away and that was slowly spilling out more and more as their training went on. He found himself eager to learn more about her, to spend more time with her, to see her smile and laugh and everything else.
Was that why he had made the decision he had? He couldn't honestly say for sure. It didn't really matter, though.
"Dinnae worry," he told her. "Darren's all show. Ye'll beat him in no time."
Mary laughed again, much to Cailean's secret delight. Then she shook her head and said, "Do we have tae go back tae the camp yet? I… well, ye must at least let me buy ye an ale and perhaps a meal tae make up for all ye're doin' for me."
"That's not necessary," Cailean started.
Maeve held up her hand to interrupt him. "Please. I insist."
There was no real way that he could disagree, not when she was asking him in such a way, and so he found himself nodding and saying, "All right. One drink."
They reached the center of the village a short time later, leaving their horses with the rest of those tied outside the tavern and heading inside. Mary went ahead to find a table, and Cailean moved to the bar to bring them both a mug of ale and place an order for food.
When he returned to the table, Mary was smiling. She accepted the drink with thanks and took an impressively deep swig. "This is good ale," she said.
Cailean laughed. "I'm surprised ye like it. Ferda always makes us buy her wine if we bring her out here. She says ladies dinnae drink ale."
"Good thing I'm nae lady. I told ye that some time ago," Mary replied with a wink.
They settled down across from each other. The tavern was surprisingly lively despite the small size and relative poverty of Broken Windmill; it was the gathering place for most of the village folk as well as a popular spot for travelers who made their way through, not to mention many of the rebels found their way there several times a week. It was small and worn, but still cheerful and clean on the inside, and the tavern owner and his wife were skilled cooks and brewers.
After a little while of light chatting about how training had been going so far, the tavern owner brought out two bowls of stew and placed them before Mary and Cailean.
"Thank ye," Mary said politely, earning a smile from the owner. Cailean thanked him as well, and when he was gone, Mary spoke again. "Ye ken, I used tae work in a place like this."
Cailean blinked in surprise. By her accent, he'd taken Mary for a highborn woman, perhaps the daughter of a rich merchant or maybe a minor laird. "Ye did?" he asked. "Was yer father a tavern owner?"
"No, not at all," she replied. "I was on me own, and a friend of mine managed tae get me the job. I was there in that tavern when Senan found me."
Her smile faded at that, and Cailean saw a darkness cross her expression. What had happened that had caused her to look like that? He wanted nothing more than to bring light back to her eyes and to make her smile again, but he found himself at a loss for words. What could he say to make her feel better when he didn't even know what the problem was?
They ate the stew in silence for a little time, with Cailean occasionally glancing at Mary. She still looked obviously uncomfortable. He didn't want to press or ask her, but before he could think of something else to talk about, she spoke again.
"Me boss, the owner of the establishment… he was a bad man," she explained. "He thought he owned me body as well as me labor. The night that Senan found me, Bill, the owner… he'd decided that he would take me for himself, whether I wanted it or not."
Rage filled Cailean in an instant. The fact that men who would do such things existed disgusted him beyond belief, and the idea of someone trying to force themselves upon Mary made Cailean feel sick to his stomach. "Did… did he hurt ye? Did he…?" he asked hoarsely.
She shook her head. "He tried. But Senan intervened. He beat the man senseless and offered me the opportunity tae learn tae fight, and tae protect meself"
Cailean wouldn't have minded beating this Bill senseless himself, though he felt a surge of pride for Senan at the news. He surveyed Maeve then asked, "So that ye can take revenge?"
"No," she said simply. "No, I'm nae interested in revenge. I want tae be able tae protect meself, ye ken? Not just that, others as well. Other women. Others who are weak. I wanted tae be part of somethin' bigger, and this rebellion is everythin' I could have wanted or needed."
Cailean could tell by the honesty in her voice that this was fully true. Whatever her history, Mary was fully committed to the cause, and her determination suddenly made much more sense. "Well, we're glad tae have ye," he told her.
She smiled a little teasingly. "Ye wouldnae have said so much two weeks ago. I thought ye were gonnae pick me up and throw me bodily from the place if I insisted upon stayin'."
"I thought about it. But God kens that ye provedmewrong." He shrugged. "I should have kent better when I heard yer wee speech the first day. People who talk the way ye did are never the type tae back down."
