CHAPTERFOUR
Bryce breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he stepped out of the study, and he was about to go in search for Kyla to show him to his room when he bumped into Athol McAdam, Lorna’s older brother, coming around the corner.
“Bryce MacDowell,” the older man said, reaching out his hand to shake Bryce’s. Bryce grinned.
“It has been a long while, Athol.” Athol still looked the same, however, with his brown curls and a spark of mischief in his matching brown eyes. He was still stocky and broad, not looking as if he’d aged much, and it did Bryce good to see an old friend unchanged.
“Aye, aye. Ye are returned! I thought I heard word of it, but ye can never be sure. I ken Watt was eager for ye tae come back after so long. How was France?”
“Bloody and pointless.” Bryce smiled, not eager to discuss the losses they incurred. He wanted to focus on anything else. “The wedding was a good distraction. Watt is happy. I can see that, and it warms my heart. He deserves it.”
“Aye. A good man, so he is.” Athol sighed, looking toward the study door when they both heard loud voices from the other side. “I hear that Lorna is back. We were all worried sick about her. Mother nearly broke into pieces with fear when she found out Lorna was missing. But we were all certain she didnae listen tae us and she went tae the wedding. I assume that’s why yer here? Ye escorted her home?”
“Aye,” Bryce nodded. He had wanted to do a good thing, but he wondered now if he had. It seemed that he was only listening to Lorna’s family’s disappointment in her. “I wouldnae worry about her. Naething happened. She didnae say anything tae Watt.”
“Well, that is a good thing, then. She was a fool for him, that lass. Always has been. Ye must have seen it back when we were younger.” Athol shook his head and clicked his tongue. “I donnae think I have ever seen a lass so in love with a man. I told her so many times that it was foolishness. That Watt would never see her as more than a little sister, like how I view her, but she wouldnae listen. Thought she could convince him somehow. I think she is still too young tae ken much about the world. She wouldnae even consider loving another, but she will have tae now. Now that Watt is married and settled.”
Bryce frowned. He found that he didn’t really like to hear just how much Lorna was in love with his brother, even though that had been the subject of the day. He also didn’t like the idea that Athol didn’t think her capable of loving another.
“Aye, well, now she kens that it cannae go anywhere,” he said, eager to end the subject.
“Good, good. I will speak tae her taemorrow. I am sure she is heartbroken about it. Have a drink with me, will ye? We are all awake, anyway, now that she is returned.”
Bryce suddenly felt the weight of his fatigue. It would be nice to have a drink with an old friend, but now wasn’t the time. There was much to think about, and too many strange, new things he’d experienced and felt that day. He needed a clear mind to sort through them.
“Taemorrow, lad. I think the day’s festivities have worn me tae the ground. It is time I rested.”
“Of course. I understand.” Athol clapped a hand on his shoulder and called over a nearby servant. “Take MacDowell tae the guest chamber.”
With a parting nod, Bryce left to follow the servant, eager to enjoy the feel of a soft bed under him. Kyla was nowhere to be found, but he told the servant to let her know that he had been taken care of.
His room was warm and comfortable, and he sat on the chair by the fire to ease off his boots and listen to the cheerful crackle of the logs in the grate. He removed his plaid and tunic, and sat in his smalls, watching the flames. Now that the wedding was over, his life now begged the question, “what was to come next?”
He went to bed with that in his mind, and he wasn’t sure he knew the answer. It frightened him, far more than the blades and arrows of the battlefield had done. The next morning, Bryce woke with the sun in his eyes. It was a bright sun, so he knew he had slept late. He stretched and yawned, sitting up in bed. He sat on the edge for a little while, trying to clear his head.
While wine was a personal favorite of his, he had indulged in quite a great deal last evening, and he could tell by the lingering headache he had. There was a basin of cool water on the wooden table on the other side of the room, and he went to wash himself quickly before he dressed and left to find the family.
In the main hall, he found Athol eating cheerfully, but no one else was in sight. “Eating alone, are we?” Bryce asked, and Athol nodded.
“Och, young lad, join me. Ye are eating the midday meal now, as ye have awoken late.”
“Where is everyone else?” Bryce asked, taking a seat at the wooden table, and pulling a slice of meat and bread toward him.
“I prefer tae eat a bit later, after I have done some training with the men. They have already eaten. The women are out walking, I believe, and Father is in his study.” He smiled. “Ye should join me after this. We will do a little more training but nae as strenuous.”
Bryce nodded, but then he remembered. “Och, but I have tae return home. I wouldnae wish tae impose upon yer family’s kindness any longer.”
“Nonsense. The sun is bright, but on the battlements this morning, I could feel it in the air. A storm brews. A big one, and ye will likely nae do well riding home. Ye would be on horseback, anyway, and we couldnae have that, especially if there is a huge deluge. Stay for another night.”
Bryce hesitated. “Well, if the storm does come, then I agree tae stay.”
They finished their meals, and Athol took him to the center of the keep where the training was held. They spoke of various battle tactics, and Athol picked his brain about a few of the battles he’d seen in France. Bryce was reluctant to share details, but he didn’t mind discussing it in a general sense. It was when things moved into descriptions of the men who’d fallen where he really struggled. Or the reminder of how they’d lost their hero, Joan of Arc, and how everything seemed to fall into disarray after that. Everything they’d fought for had seemed so pointless.
“Ye are a skilled swordsman,” Athol said breathlessly, as he bobbed and weaved around him. Bryce grinned and took a swing, but Athol blocked it. The two of them were working on a little sword practice even though Athol claimed he didn’t like to fight on a full stomach if he could help it. The day was warm, but the clouds were beginning to roll in, so the sweat on their bare chests was growing cool.
“Constant war does that tae a man,” Bryce replied, his long hair whipping about as he moved. He stepped out of the way of one of Athol’s swings. “Ye either have tae be very good, or ye die.”
“Let us hope our clans never have cause tae fight each other,” Athol teased, swinging around before bringing his sword down for another blow.
