The dog looked at his master with baleful eyes, but obeyed, turning back towards the door and trotting away on legs that seemed impossibly long. He looked back once and wagged his tail before disappearing around the corner.
When she looked back to Bridei, he was watching her through slightly narrowed eyes.
“The day grows long and I have much to do that is more important than listening to your stories, lass, and so I’ll leave you here to consider your truth.”
“But if I tell you what youthinkis the truth, that I’m some sort of spy, won’t I be punished?”
“Aye.”
“Then why would I tell you the truth if that’s what the truth was? Not that it is. I’m not a spy, I’m lost!” She was rambling again. Obviously her already overwhelmed mind had had all it could take for one day.
“We’ll have to wait and see what the truth bears out, then won’t we lass?” He opened a large wooden box that rested against the wall and took out a length of rope.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
“Making sure you don’t leap from the window.”
Brideiwhistled for his horse, and the great beast came running to him, a mouthful of freshly plucked grass still hanging from his mouth.
“I hope you enjoyed your free time Lotex, because it’s back to work for you now.” He swung up onto the animal’s back and spurred him forward with his heels in one smooth motion, reveling in the bunching and flexing of powerful muscles beneath him. He had ridden before he had even taken his first steps, and being on horseback was as natural to him as breathing. But now he rode with purpose. He had to get back to the training fields, where he had left his men in order to deal with the trouble at the well. Already it was late afternoon, and he needed his men ready as they never had been before. They had to be able to fight together like one great weapon, reading each other’s minds and movements as if they were their own. He’d worked hard for this. For years he’d been away more than he’d been home, sleeping on the hard ground, constantly vigilant and always planning his next move. When his kingdom was finally whole again, it would all have been worth it.
But for now, it was good to finally be back for a while at Tallorc, the seat of the kingdom of Fortriu and his childhood home. With the north, west, and southeast all secured, it was time to regroup once more and prepare for the final blow to the Saxons. The attack of the Scots on Dundurn, his stronghold in the south, had been a surprise. He’d had no choice but to retaliate with a raid on Dunadd, the capital of Dal Riata. It had been an easy victory, he thought smugly. Never before had the Picts had such military prowess and power as they did now, under his rule. He was proud of what he had accomplished.
But even with all of this on his mind, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from returning to the strange scene at the well. He shouldn’t be letting such small matters cloud his head, not when he was mounting the biggest campaign of his life. He had to stay focused. Every detail mattered. Every minute of training. Every man in his army. His thoughts of the woman were only because ofwhoshe might be, he told himself. Ecgfrith had sent others before her, and if the lass had learned anything at all, no matter how small, he could not let her leave Tallorc. He was confident that his battle plan was flawless, but only if his enemy was taken entirely by surprise.
If he was completely honest with himself though, the lasswasa rare beauty, and hehadbeen instantly captivated by her. Looking into her eyes to see whether she lied—she had, many times—did something strange to him, as if he was trying to remember something familiar that he just couldn’t grasp. And it did something even stranger to his cock. Not that he wasn’t a virile man, he just usually had complete control over all aspects of his body and his mind, including his lustful nature. But apparently not when he looked at the woman called Nessa. Or thought about her. With no small amount of annoyance, he sighed and shifted on his horse.
There was something peculiar about her and her uncle. Where did their strange clothing come from? Certainly not Fife. He’d been there, many times, and no one dressed in such garments. He had studied the clothing carefully after Petra had brought it to him. The lass had worn pants, which was not the current style that women preferred. They were dyed a dark blue, and clung tight to her legs, with thick seams sewn into the sides. Her tunic was short, and made of threads so fine they could hardly be seen. And it was…pink. A color he had never before seen applied to clothing. Sunsets, yes. And flowers. But never cloth. Her shoes had seemed more reasonable, with delicate leather straps holding her feet to thick soles which might have been made of wood or of many layers of leather sewn together. Was all this strange dress meant to fool him?
She was a mystery that he intended to solve, preferably before he marched to crush Ecgfrith’s army.
As he rounded the top of a hill and looked down into the shallow valley below, he was pleased to see his men were so disciplined and dedicated that they’d continued training while he was gone. Dust filled the air as horses galloped hard across the field with sword wielding men on their backs. The clash of metal on metal echoed over the rumbling sound of hundreds of hooves striking the ground at once. Other warriors were on foot, practicing with swords and axes, and even hand to hand. He smiled. He was proud of his army, and of their strength and skill and loyalty to him. He worked them hard for another two hours, then dismissed everyone for an early dinner. Rest, food and relaxation, after all, was just as important as training.
Bridei didn’t leave the field until the last man was headed home, and smiled as his best friend and long-time confidant Domech rode up beside him on the sturdy white mare he favored.
“You need a different horse. Anyone can see her coming for miles.”
Domech reached forward and patted the mare’s neck with affection. “I won’t give her up. She’s beautiful, and she and I are perfect together. She knows what I want even before I do.”
Bridei arched an eyebrow. “Why are you so cheerful? You should be tired. I worked your arse into the ground today.”
Domech sighed dramatically and his lips curved into a sappy smile. “Just thinking of another lass that knows what I want even before I do.”
Bridei groaned. “Youare a lovesick fool. You’ve been mooning around for weeks. I don’t think I can take much more of it.” His own lips curled into a smile as he spoke though. Beneath the good-natured teasing, he was truly glad his friend had found happiness.
“You have to trylove, Bridei. I know you don’t want to be attached to a woman or give away your heart, but you wouldn’tbelievehow much better the sex is. It’s like floating in the clouds, only tethered by your cock.”
Bridei laughed. Lately Domech had been rambling on about love and wedded bliss, ever since he’d found and married the woman that held his heart.
“I have nothing against attachment to a woman, but if you haven’t noticed, I don’t have time for such things right now, so stop harassing me. As it is, I barely have time in the day to sharpen my sword or have a meal. And now I have more spies to deal with. Besides”, he added more seriously, “it’s not something you can just wish for, you know that.”
Domech would not be dissuaded. “But you could at leasttry. You could at leastlookfor it.”
Bridei let out a low growl of amicable frustration. They had had this same conversation nearly every day for a month now. “Domech! I’m in the middle of mounting a major uprising! Do you really think I have room in my life right now for a woman? Sex is sex. I canhavesexwhenever I want.”
“Aye, but there’s alwaysroomfor a woman. Is your bed so small? And if you were havingenoughsex, you wouldn’t be so irritable.”
Bridei rolled his eyes. “You know that’s not what I meant.” He always slept alone. To share his bed with a woman would give her a certain power over him, possibly even influence his decisions in subtle ways, and that was a position and status only a trusted wife should have.Especiallysince he was King.
