“Ye’re right. When he was a bairn, there was an accident at the lake. He has ne’er wanted tae recover.”
“Ye’re certain.”
“Ye heard him yesterday.” Duncan paused, exhaling. “Offerin’ tae teach him, that was…”
“Stupid?”
He chuckled, “Nice. Thoughtful. Even if he didnae accept. I worry that incidents like yesterday could happen again and there would be nae one there tae save him.”
It worried Grace too. It was the main reason she blurted out the offer. These past few days, she’d started caring for these particular Highlanders. Others could still prove to be the brutes in her mind.
The air grew chilly at night, after being hot all day. Both horses and humans required rest and nourishment. Grace’s clothes stuck to her back and she longed for that lone bucket of water in Duncan’s tent. After her ablutions and Duncan’s, they settled in to eat, choosing to leave the men to their hearty songs.
“Dae ye think Archie’s grandfaither is on his feet now?”
“I…” he pursed his lips. “Why dae ye always ask what I think first?”
“Okay, I wonder if he made a full recovery. He appeared tae be so bad.”
“Ye worry too much about people.”
She stared at him. “Iworry?”
He paused with a spoonful of porridge to his lips. “’Tis me job tae worry. But fer ye, ‘tis from a good place. The world sucks out all the joy when ye worry, leaving ye empty. So why would ye compound yer issues by worryin’ about complete strangers?”
“I’m a complete stranger,” Grace said, her voice tender and kind. If she’d not witnessed the exact opposite of his words from him, she would have been thought it a terrible thing for him to say. He looked up from his food. “A stranger ye accepted intae yer camp, ye fed and now offered a home. Tis easier tae say ne’ermind, but in the face of trouble, ye will always reach out. I like that about ye. Especially how ye helped Archie. He will ne’er forget it.”
“Ye’re quick tae forget,” he said in his gruffest tone. Grace gave a light laugh. She polished off the last of her food and piled their plates together. They sat face to face, sharing a pitcher of wine. His eyes would stray to the top of her blouse or stay on her lips as she spoke. Still, he made no move.
It was infuriating.
“Oh, I willnae forget either, trust me. Me wrists will always remember. An’ that awkward sleepin’ position.”
He cleared his throat and drank, “I was fresh from battle. We have tae take precautions.”
“I ken.”
He waited a beat, before adding, “Trust is fickle. No matter how much ye try, it might still crack.”
She wanted to veer him away from that path. In case he decided to probe into her once more. “Who hurt ye?”
“Me? Nae. Tis Jaime, me brother.” The words dropped like hot coal from his lips. His form was stiff and rigid. She almost asked him to stop speaking. But from experience, she’d learned that talking could ease the pain, and it seemed that that had compounded in his heart for years. She said nothing, only looking at him with comfort.
“He was the best of us, Jaime, me older brother.
Grace’s throat hurt, she wanted to hug the big man.Was.His brother was gone from this world. No wonder the betrayal stung.
“He was a great fighter. He loved to read. He loved life in general. It didn’t matter how busy he was, if I wanted his attention, he would drop everything. He made it easy for me to focus on… other things.”
“How… how did he–” Grace could not get her tongue to formdie.
“There was a battle with a rival clan. The laird’s health had already started to decline, so he sent us out with Jaime in the lead. Ye should’ve seen him, he was magnificent. Naebody couldstand in his way. Jaime targeted the laird of the clan. If he fell, the battle would be over. Focused on this, he didnae ken there was another at his back. An’ neither did we. Behind him, we fought off the rivals, giving him space to dae what he wanted. Finally, he saw an opening. The laird was about to escape. Jaime went after him. I… I asked Noah tae stay with Jaime, while I fought off the rest.”
“Noah?” Grace asked quietly. Neither of them had taken a sip out of the wine for a while. Grace grabbed her pitcher until her knuckles turned white.
“Noah,” he hissed out in a dark breath. Suddenly, he tipped back the entire drink then slammed the tumbler down. Since the ground was covered with a cloth, it didn’t make that much of an impact.
“I sent Noah tae cover Jaime,” he repeated bitterly. “Noah is me cousin. Came tae live with us after his parents died. He grew up with us, ate with us, drank, mourned and celebrated with us. He was me third sibling. I had no reason to believe that once he was clear of us, he would strike his sword through me brother’s back.”
