“Ye better get out of me sight, lass, before me generous spirit fades and I lose me patience!” he boomed, and Ellie felt the sting of wet tears prick the corner of her eyes.
“Ye cannae mean.”
“I mean it, lass, get gone from my sight. I’ll have no more conversation with ye this day!”
The conversation was done. He was the laird, and he would not relent. Ellie saw her world fade away with any hope of an amicable solution. She would be forced to either run away, bringing shame on both clans or stay and be forced to marry Sinclair. Both options were unbearable. How could she hope for any happiness in her life? She stood from her seat and picked up her skirt, running from the room as fast as she could.
* * *
“Is that th’ best ye got, friend?”
“Och, why don’t ye ask ye fair wife about th’ best I got?” Aidam laughed as Damon grew red-faced and charged at him. He stepped to the right just in time to miss the brutal smackdown his friend was about to deliver, and Damon went flying in the dirt.
“Ye dae nae play fair, bringing me wife intae it.” Damon spat out a clump of dirt as Aidam reached down and helped his friend up, only to quickly be double-crossed and find himself lying on his back in the very place Damon had just landed.
“Oof, whose nay playin’ fair now?” he asked his sparring partner.
“Next time, ye’ll think twice before talkin’ about me angel of a wife,” Damon countered, giving Aidam a wink and allowing him to get up on his own. “If memory serves, this isnae th’ first time I’ve given ye a beating in Wynne’s name.”
Aidam stood and brushed the dirt from his trews. It felt good getting his energy out with Damon, but not good enough. Their rivalry turned friendship could always be relied upon. Damon was the strongest man in the clan aside from the Laird himself. If anyone could beat the thought of Ellie from his mind Aidam thought for sure it was Damon, which was why Aidam was perplexed as to why the spar wasn’t working.
“Ye wanna talk about the lass that’s troublin’ yer brain, friend?” Damon asked after Aidam returned to the ready position. “Or do ye just want another beat down?”
“Another beat down would be braw, friend,” he said before charging his friend and letting loose with a warrior yell. It did no good. He did not plan his charge correctly, and Damon anticipated his left side attack, swinging Aidam over his right shoulder and again landing him on his back.
“Och, ye’re truly are a beast,” Aidam coughed out, with what little air he had left in his lungs.
“I told ye it would be easier tae talk it out,” Damon chuckled. “Who is she?”
“Nae one of import,” Aidam said.
“Well, that’s good tae hear. I told Wynne just as much th’ other night.” Damon handed him a skin filled with water, and Aidam took a deep swig. “I told me bonny wife, th’ only lass ye’d been around is the Laird’s betrothed. An’ ye had a wee bit more sense than tae bark up that tree,” he finished giving Aidam a strong glare.
“Aye, a wee bit more,” Aidam agreed.
“Aye, but then Wynne reminded me ye were friends with the new Lady of the Keep when ye were bairns. And well, that got me tae thinkin’.”
“Damon, we are friends, ye ken,” Aidam warned. “But we both ken what happens when ye get tae thinkin’. Best leave it.”
“Weeelll,” Damon stretched and took a swig of water from the skin. “That's just it, ye see, once I start meself tae thinkin’, I cannae stop. And ye did dance with the lassie at the feast.”
“There were a ton of bonny lassies at the feast,” Aidam deflected.
“ ‘Tis true, but ye didnae dance with any of them as far as Wynne, and I could tell. And now th’ next morn’ ye’re out here with me, sparrin’ at near dawn. So I’m guessin’ ye didnae leave with any of them either. That only leaves one answer.”
“Ye’re as mad as that deranged bull over in th’ west pasture.” Aidam knew Damon was on to him, but he was not about to give his friend the satisfaction of admitting anything.
“Maybe so, but at least I ken where not tae tip me hat. The Laird finds out ye’re pinin’ for his betrothed, and ye’ll wind up in the keep’s dungeons, nephew and heir or no. He willnae take kindly tae ye sniffin’ around such a bonny lass.”
“Nay, he will not,” Aidam said. It was as close as he would get to admitting Ellie was on his mind. She was the only thing on his mind. He did not sleep a wink after the feast. When Ellie tore from the great hall, he followed her, telling himself it was his job, his duty to keep her safe. She wandered the halls of the keep. She was ethereal as she floated through the corridors like a long-forgotten ghost, her hair falling out of its braids and trailing behind her. She was frantic in whatever she was searching for. And then it became clear. It wasn’t a whatever but rather a whoever. She was looking for his uncle. Aidam’s heart sank. The connection he felt with her as they had danced was real. It wasn’t something he was capable of imagining. Yet, she still clung to the fantasy of his uncle. What was she thinking? He left her then, returning to his own chambers after assigning one of the other men to keep watch over her. He could not bear to see her after she found the Laird. Would his uncle take her in his arms, embrace her, kiss her, or more? Would she emerge from his study with swollen lips and reddened cheeks, the same way she looked after the kiss she and Aidam had shared only days before? He couldn’t stand it. Even now, after thinking about it all night, it bothered him more.
“The lass is nay but trouble,” he said.
“Aye,” Damon agreed. “Don’t look now, but trouble is headin’ toward th’ stables.”
Aidam looked up and saw Ellie as if they had conjured her. She was in a light green day dress, hitch up as she ran across the fields at a breakneck pace. Even from far off, Aidam could see she was upset. Something in her stride and the way she held her head down as she ran gave her away. Perhaps another would not notice, but Aidam noticed everything about her, whether he cared to or not.
“Och,” He wiped a hand down his face and shook his head. Whatever has the lass so upset, he could not let her be alone. The Ellie he knew was reckless and impulsive when she was upset. What if she left the keep? The woods and fields between the clans were not safe for a lass traveling alone. There were always highwaymen or thieves from neighboring clans about ready for a fight or worse. Imagine if one of them got a hold of Ellie and realized she was Sinclair’s betrothed. The ransom would be outrageous for her safe return. She was a walking bag of coin outside the castle gates without an escort. He shuddered at the thought. He was still charged with guarding her. If anything happened to the lass, it would be on his head with his uncle. Aidam handed Damon back his water skin and took off toward the stables.
“Where are ye goin’?” Damon called after him.
“Lookin’ for trouble, I guess,” he shouted back with a shrug.
