“Aye, it is,” the Laird turned away for a minute and ran his hands through his hair in stress. “Ye love her, lad?”
“Aye, faither, I do,” Erskine tried to calm his voice. He waited for a minute, watching the reaction in his face.
“So, ye are tellin’ me that I just sent a good woman who was tryin’ to flee an awful marriage back into the arms of that vile man?” Laird MacCallum asked, looking angry at himself.
“What happened, faither?” Erskine asked himself. “Why did ye let her go?”
“Erskine, he is an Earl. I dinnae ken any of what ye had been through. I had an Earl turn up at me door and tell me that me son abducted his betrothed then wrote to tell him where she was in the hopes of gettin’ the reward. What could I do? I couldnae stop him from takin’ her.” The Laird shrugged helplessly.
“It’s a lie,” Erskine began to pace in a small frantic circle. “I never wrote to the Earl, and I wouldnae do that to her. I want to marry her, faither, I wouldnae hand her back to such a disgustin’ excuse of a man.”
“Then…why were ye nae here this mornin’ when she arrived?” the Laird frowned with the words.
“I was drugged,” Erskine didn’t want to accept who could have done it, but he knew now he was reaching the crux of the conversation that would be the most difficult to persuade his father of.
“Who drugged ye?” As though in answer to the Laird’s words, the door to the great hall opened, and a face appeared beyond.
“I understand from the staff ye have been shoutin’ me name through the corridors, Erskine?” Dearg asked, bearing a smile upon his face.
“Ye bastard,” Erskine crossed the room quickly, walking toward Dearg.
“A little upset, are we?” Dearg taunted him.
Erskine grabbed hold of his brother’s shirt collar and held him up, preparing to beat him for what he had done.
“What did ye do exactly, Dearg?” he spat with the words.
“Ah, I see ye are a little upset to have yer English whore taken from ye?” Dearg laughed with the words.
“How could ye call her that!?”
Erskine pulled back his fist and delivered a harsh blow straight to Dearg’s nose. His brother stumbled away after the bone-crunching sound, clutching his face.
“Erskine!” Laird MacCallum was crossing the room toward him, clearly intending to stop him, but Erskine evaded his father’s grasp and rounded on Dearg again.
“When did ye find out who she was?” Erskine asked as he pulled his brother straight again.
“I saw the two of ye,” Dearg smiled through the blood pouring from his nose. “In that cave on the beach.”
Erskine balked, remembering exactly what he and Laura had shared in that cave. Dearg had known for some time then just who Laura was.
“It dinnae take long to connect she was the woman those English soldiers were searchin’ for,” Dearg fought against him, trying to break out of his hold, but Erskine was stronger.
“Why did ye write to Lord Moore? Ye wrote in me name, dinnae ye? Pretendin’ to be me ye revealed where she was. This was nothin’ to do with ye, Dearg!” Erskine roared the words as he delivered another gut-wrenching strike to his brother’s stomach, winding him and forcing him to bend forward.
“Erskine, stop!” Laird MacCallum’s order fell on deaf ears. Erskine was not going to stop now. He couldn’t.
“Why did ye do it?” He followed Dearg as he attempted to escape from him, running across the room. “Tell me why!?” He caught up with Dearg and tackled him to the ground, forcing his brother to roll over as he held another threatening strike above his head, his fist poised, ready to go.
“Because ye always have everythin’!” The words cut through the raucous in the room.
Erskine breathed heavily, staring down at his brother, still threatening him with his fist pulled back. He was aware of their father watching the two of them, standing at the side and preparing to tackle Erskine to drag him off Dearg. The only thing that had clearly stopped the Laird from doing that was Dearg’s words.
“What do ye mean, Dearg?” the Laird asked.
“Erskine is the older brother,” Dearg gestured up at Erskine, grimacing with his lips smattered in blood. “He getseverythin’.Everyone does as he says because he is the golden child set to become the new Laird.Ihave to always do as he says. And I am sick of it!” he addressed these last words at Erskine. “It’s always yer way. Everythin’ is. Ye have nay idea how much over these last few years I have wanted to see ye nae get yer way, just once.”
“This is pure jealousy, Dearg!” Laird MacCallum roared, but it did not stop Dearg.
