"So. Maeve O'Sullivan," Senan said after a while. "Have ye anythin' tae say for yerself?"
Maeve didn't answer.
Senan nodded. "Good. I wouldnae have wanted tae hear excuses from ye. That's nae the Maeve I've come tae ken."
"Ye dinnae ken me at all," Maeve told him in a strangled whisper. "I've lied tae ye from the moment we met."
Senan shrugged. "Ye think I believed ye were some poor wee tavern wench? With yer accent and yer poise? I didnae ken who ye were, but I never bought that ye were simply Mary."
Stunned, Maeve could only stare at him, her mouth slightly agape. Senan wore the ghost of a smile on his face, but he turned away from her and spoke to Cailean.
"Do ye think she's a threat tae the camp?" he asked.
Cailean didn't answer for quite some time, and though it made her stomach squirm with anxiety, Maeve was glad that nobody rushed him. She anxiously, desperately wanted to know his true answer to this, not only what he felt in the heat of the moment.
"She was a fool tae do as she did with the Darach men, as foolish as she was brave," Cailean said slowly. "She fought well by me side, and with more determination than one who fights only for themselves. And she did tell me the whole truth at last, though it took some persuadin' tae get it out of her."
"Are ye a fool, lass?" Kier asked her. "Or brave?"
"Neither," Maeve replied. "I'm just tryin' tae survive, like all of us are. I am incredibly sorry tae have deceived ye, but I didnae ken whom I could trust. I've never been on me own before, but even if ye kill me now, it would be better than returnin' tae either of the lives I lived before I had the chance tae be Mary, just for a while."
Ewan raised an eyebrow. "And if we sent ye away? Ye could work amongst the Sparrows or be a wifie in a village somewhere. Ye would be far from the Darachs, far from yer past, and ye could start again."
It sounded almost tempting, but in the silence that followed, Maeve could hear sounds from outside the tent. It was night, yet the rebel camp was still bustling with activity. She couldn't make out individual voices, but she could hear them moving around together, talking together, being together, a joined, breathing unit right here in the heart of her beloved country.
"No," she said after a moment. "No. Please. I'll go if ye make me but… I beg ye, let me stay. Let me… let me be a part of this."
"Why?" Hamish asked.
"I ken I lied. I ken I dinnae have the right tae ask ye for this, but I believe in what this rebel camp stands for. I believe in the family we've built here and the goal of settin' us free, all of us. I believe that I can be a help tae bringin' down the False King and his disgustin' followers once and for all." She spoke with conviction, more than even she had known she had within her until she started talking. "If ye let me stay, if ye let me fight by yer side, I'll do anythin' that's needed tae achieve our goals. I want tae be free. I want our people tae be free."
The four elders all looked at each other, and though she didn't glance his way, Maeve could feel that Cailean was watching her too. Finally, Senan was the one to break the pause.
"If she's willin' tae fight, then she should fight," he said. "She's come this far, and I wouldnae want tae waste all that time I spent with her." He gave Maeve a subtle wink. "And… well, I've tasted her cookin'. We wouldnae want tae unleash that upon anyone."
His little joke wasn't much, but it was like a balm to Maeve's frayed nerves. She looked around at the other elders and saw them all wearing calm expressions on their faces. Nobody was watching her with the fury or disgust that she'd honestly expected from them.
Kier spoke at last. "Then she stays."
"She stays," the others echoed.
Maeve could barely believe what she was hearing. Was this possible? Could she truly have been forgiven so easily? She'd never expected this, not really, and she couldn't even feel relieved because she was too busy being in true shock.
"Ye'll need tae tell the others yerself, though," Senan told her firmly. "I imagine that's punishment enough."
Maeve thought of how Ferda would react, or Patty, or the others. She could imagine the look on Darren's face or Fergus's or even young Dirk's. Her stomach roiled nervously again, but she steeled herself. If they were angry, they had every right to be, and she'd work hard to earn their forgiveness. "I will," she said.
"Darren kens already," Cailean said, speaking for the first time since his story had ended. Maeve turned to look at him and saw his gray eyes boring into her. "At least part of it. He wants a word with ye later."
Maeve nodded, chagrined but accepting. "I'll talk tae him. I'll talk tae all of them. And I'll do whatever it takes tae make it right, I swear it."
Kier spoke up again. "I have somethin' else ye might be able tae do tae help us out. I've been thinkin' since Cailean first told us, and I've come tae a conclusion."
"What conclusion is that?" Senan asked.
"We can turn this intae an opportunity — a good one, at that." Kier tapped the table in front of him. "We've been talkin' about a raid on the Darachs, gettin' me home back, landin' a blow against the enemy. Now we've been handed a tactical weapon that will allow us tae do just that. We held back because we didnae want tae go in blind. Well, now we dinnae have tae."
Ewan nodded eagerly. "If she lived there, she'll ken the castle almost as well as ye do, Kier, as well as all the new defenses and tactics the Darachs have put in place. She'll be what we need tae finally make this attack happen."
