“I’m fourteen, Sir,” Isla ventured.
“Ach, leave the lad alone, Colin. He cannae help his age, and if he’s keen tae be here, then he cannae dae any harm,” the laird said with an air of finality.
“Well, all right, if that’s what ye want,” the captain relented with a shrug. However, as they continued the journey through her homelands towards Gregory and Castle Galbraith, Colin continued to throw curious glances at Isla, making her feel even more uncomfortable and fearful than she already was.
When the captain decided to ride a short way back to check on something, she drew nearer to Ewan and said in a low voice, “Thank ye fer lyin’ fer me, but I dinnae think he’s quite convinced.”
“Ach, Colin’s just naturally suspicious. That’s his job after all, tae make sure there are nae spies in the camp,” he replied, keeping his eyes straight ahead.
“I’m nae a spy,” she pointed out.
“Nay, ye’re an assassin,” he reminded her. “And nae a very good one at that. And by the way, I’m still waitin’ for ye tae tell me the truth about who sent ye tae kill me.”
“I already told ye. A stranger?—”
“In the village inn, aye, I ken,” he broke in irritably. “I forgot tae ask ye how much I’m worth dead.”
Flustered by the unexpected question, Isla snatched the first figure which came to her from the air. “Thirty English pounds.”
He made a disgusted noise. “Thirty bloody pounds?! Is that all. Christ Almighty. Am I so cheap? I thought at least a hundred.”
“Ye think that’s cheap, but thirty pounds would set me up for life,” Isla said, feeling unaccountably bad for having undervalued him, which she knew was ridiculous since it was a complete fiction anyway.
“I suppose so,” he said with a shrug. “If what’s about tae come turns out badly fer me, ye’ll be lucky tae get a couple of groats fer me head,” he added with a bitter laugh.
For some unfathomable reason, his words plucked at Isla’s heartstrings. But she immediately chided herself for sympathizing with the enemy, whom she had already tried to murder. Instead, she focused on the first part of his statement.
“Why? What’s about tae come? Ye still havenae told me where we’re headin’,” she said. It was now afternoon, and they were getting awfully close to the castle. The land they were now riding through was as familiar to her as the back of her hand. She was hoping that at this stage, he might let slip some useful nugget of information she could somehow get to her brother to use against him.
“We’re on our way tae the stronghold of Laird Galbraith, the main ally of me mortal enemy, Laird Calumn Allan.” He said the name with obvious distaste, completely unaware he was telling her what she already knew.
“And what d’ye intend tae dae when we get there?” Isla pressed, gripped by fear and anxiety and desperate for answers. Time was running out, for she knew that once they cleared the next rocky ridge, the towers of her home would be clearly visible above the surrounding trees.
“That all depends on Laird Galbraith,” he replied enigmatically.
“Are ye gonnae wage war on the castle?”
He turned his head and gave her a strange look. “For someone with a lot of secrets, ye ask an awful lot of questions.”
Isla tried to tamp down her fear. “Sorry. I’m just curious, ’tis all. I’ve never been a soldier before.”
“Well, that’s just about the one thing ye’ve said that I can believe,” he replied laconically.
At that moment, Colin came riding up and fell in next to his Laird. “The castle’s just over the next hill, Ewan,” he informed him.
“Grand,” the laird said with an icy calm that only served to deepen Isla’s fears. She fought down the urge to take off and ride straight to Gregory, to tell him what was happening. But since that would likely end in her immediate death, which would render her useless, she decided she could be far more helpful to him by remaining with the enemy commander.
“Did ye send the scouts ahead tae see the lay of the land like I said?” Ewan asked his captain.
“Aye,” Colin replied. “They’ll report back as soon as they can.”
“Very well,” said the laird, his handsome face a cold mask. “Now all we havetae dae is wait.”
The wait for the scouts to return seemed interminable to Isla, and it was like torture. Ewan had ordered quiet to be maintained in the camp while they waited. She was sure Gregory would have armed units patrolling the area too, and she was itching to sneak off and find one of them, to tell them of the imminent attack. She thought about running and getting back into the castle via the tunnels, to tell Gregory herself. But she dared not move.
Ewan was suspicious of her. Though he had no idea of her true identity, he was always watching her closely, insisting she stayed within his sight at all times. While they waited, she was forced to swallow her mounting fears and go with him, Colin, and a few of the serjeants as they rode slowly up to the crest of the ridge and stopped to survey what Isla feared would soon become the killing ground.
Isla was shocked to see the fields surrounding her home, which were usually full of livestock and activity, now lay empty and quiet. The castle, which stood upon a steep rocky promontory, presented its grey granite face to the enemy, as forbidding as a sleeping monster. She imagined Gregory and his men standing behind the battlements, and all the frightened people crammed inside the walls, all waiting, watching for the enemy to approach.
