“I will send word to you when it is safe for me to see you again,” Vivien murmured, giving him a quick kiss before walking out of the cabin.
She looked back at him as she mounted her horse, desolation clear in her eyes. Kieran nodded to her, calling for her to travel safely. And then she was gone.
Kieran barely had time to process her leaving and how he felt about it before Tilly rounded on him angrily.
“What were ye thinking?” she all but spat the words at him, “Sleeping with the Sassenach? The Sassenach who ismarried? To our enemy, no less? Have ye lost yer mind?”
“Don’t ye start with me, Tilly.” Kieran turned to face her, hands clenched at his sides. “It has naething tae dae with ye. It is not yer business.”
“O’ course it has tae dae with me,” she raised her voice, eyes narrowed.
“An’ how is that?” Kieran was in no mood to fight with his sister; he had had the best night of his life, and he refused to let Tilly ruin it for him. She would always overstep her bounds, but there were times where he would not stand for it.
This was one of them.
“Ye put the entire clan in danger by consorting with her; can ye not see that?”
“Nae, an’ ye ken that is as far from the truth as it can get. She’s helping us – she wants naething more than tae protect our clan from Lord Stone.” Kieran shook his head in exasperation. “I willnae discuss this with ye further, Tilly. My business is mine. We have tae prepare for the Lord’s next attack. I don’t have time tae argue with ye.”
“Tilly, leave it be,” Bailey said calmly, briefly touching her on the elbow, “We need tae get back tae the castle. It is dark an’ dangerous enough as is with this Lord Stone around now.”
Tilly nodded, “Don’t ye ever make me worry like that again, Kieran. Ye were gone for hours. I was near going crazy with not knowing if ye were alive or not.”
Kieran shrugged as they mounted their horses and made their way to the castle.
Kieran found it to be a particularly long journey as Tilly continued to berate him, alternating between his disappearance and his actions with Vivien.
The situation was no longer amusing.
Chapter Nineteen
The following days passed by in a whirlwind for a change.
Kieran had his hands full preparing his men for the anticipated attack by Lord Stone’s men. His warriors trained daily, ensuring that they were fighting fit for the attack; the villagers removed the food stored in the granary as quickly as they possibly could through the dark of night.
Kieran could not afford for Lord Stone’s men to suspect that he knew anything about the forthcoming attack. He was almost certain that there were men watching the castle; under cover of moonless nights was the best opportunity to secure their food supply.
There was only so much that Kieran could prepare for – he would not risk losing their stock, no matter how well prepared they were.
And prepared they were. Lord Stone would regret this attack, Kieran would ensure that.
Vivien had been correct with all of the information she had given Kieran.
Five days after Vivien had overheard Reginald discussing the attack, a large troop of unmarked soldiers merged with mercenaries left the newly renamed Stone Castle and began to cross the distance between the two castles. Kieran’s lookouts tracked their progress as they marched throughout the afternoon – the soldiers well-organized and in formation, while the mercenaries walked in groups with no order among them.
They stopped advancing just before sunset, hidden, they surely believed, in the same forest in which Kieran’s men had been attacked the first time.
Kieran’s own soldiers and warriors were already at their designated stations and points by the time the British force stopped to rest and prepare themselves for the oncoming slaughter. His lookouts maintained their positions from their various vantage points. One sentry was so close to the army, Kieran had no doubt he could smell the sweat rolling off the men below him – he had hidden high up in the branches of one of the trees, directly above the army’s position.
He could not help but feel a sense of pride in how his men and villagers had come together when he called them for help. Kieran’s men trusted him implicitly, even after they had taken the forest fire and attack into account. They knew that he did not make rash decisions or plan an attack or defense without as much information as he possibly could.
They had strict instructions to wait until the signal before each segment of their force was to proceed with their part of the planned attack on the Englishmen.
Three hours after sunset, a single flaming arrow was shot into the air.
Kieran’s attack had begun.
A volley of arrows was launched from the highest vantage point that overlooked the part of the forest where the Englishmen had camped out for the evening. Kieran could hear the screams of those who had been struck by them from the castle ramparts; whether fatally or not, it did not matter.
