Isla stared at him in amazement, finding his arguments not only convincing but also moving. She had always been given to believe Ewan Ballentine was a hard man, a man bent on destruction, as she had been bent on his. But just as she was seeing another side to her brother, so she was also seeing another to their sworn enemy. This dogged attempt on his part to win peace despite all the insults was a revelation.
Respect for him burgeoned in her breast, and she was astonished to find her loyalties wavering. But once more her fragile hope that Gregory would agree to Ewan’s offer wasquickly dashed. From the battlements, he yelled a stream of foul invective. Then he shouted defiantly, “Ye’re the liar, Ballentine, with yer weasel words. Take yer peace and shove it where the sun dinnae shine! Dae yer worst. This place is impenetrable. Nay army alive can breach our defenses. Me advice is tae crawl back intae the hole ye came from and take yer rag-tag bunch of cut-throats with ye, before I give the order tae cut ye down where ye stand.”
A silence full of tension fell. Even the birdsong had ceased. Isla put a hand to her chest, finding it hard to draw breath, she was so frightened by the harsh response. She looked at Ewan and knew Gregory had missed the chance for peace. The enemy laird sat quite still in the saddle, his face unreadable but for an almost imperceptible tightening of his jaw. But it was his eyes that told her all hope was lost. Already dark, they had darkened even further. They appeared as hard as marble and devoid of life.
Finally, he raised his head to the battlements and shouted up, “I gave ye a chance, Galbraith, but I can see ye’ve been taken in by Allan’s lies. Ye’ll live tae regret refusin’ me offer. Ye see, I dinnae need tae lift a sword tae defeat ye. I can simply starve ye and yer people out like rats. See how they thank ye fer that.”
Calmly, he turned his horse, and the others followed suit, including Isla.
A siege…He never meant tae attack the castle at all. That’s what he intended when he said his plans depended on Gregory. And now Gregory has refused tae make peace, he’s gonnae laysiege tae the castle and starve them out! Unless Allan sends men, Gregory is as good as dead!
The mood among the rest of the party was as somber as her own as they rode back to where Ewan’s army was waiting beyond the ridge. When they got there, Ewan and Colin conversed in low tones for several minutes. Then, the laird barked out a few orders, Colin made sure they were carried out, and within a very short time, the entire army rode down to the castle and spread out, making camp on the meadow before the gates, well out of musket range.
For Isla, the whole thing passed in a sort of dream. Her outer silence concealed a tumult of confusing emotions warring inside her. It was painful to be forced to question Gregory’s judgement. It felt like betrayal. And it came all the harder because she knew she shared Ewan’s desire for peace. But despite that, he was still the enemy.
Fer Gregory’ sake and the sake of me clan,’tis more important than ever that I kill him.
Night settled over the camp. Smoke from many cooking fires and the smell of food hung in the air, and the mood among the men was quiet as things began winding down. In his tent, Ewan sat down at the table sharing a simple supper of roasted fish—freshly caught in the nearby Loch Galbraith—with his captive Annie Dean. Or rather, Harris, as the would-be assassin was now known to his men.
They had hardly spoken since making camp, and Ewan found himself grateful for her silence. He had enough to think about, for he was sorely disappointed Galbraith had refused to make peace. He had really held out a lot of hope that the man would see sense. But once again, Allan had done his evil work.
The only thing he could feel glad about was that no one had died that day from fighting. A siege situation was not ideal, he knew, but it was better than more senseless bloodshed. Defeat and death seemed inevitable for Galbraith—that was as long as Allan did not turn up with reinforcements. He wished the lie he had told Galbraith about killing the messenger had been true.
But he was fairly confident that his assessment of Allan’s motives was correct. He had no doubt the corrupt laird would arrive at some point, but it would be when it suited him and his plans.
I just need long enough tae either persuade Galbraith tae agree tae a peace treaty with me or starve him out. And then, I’ll go after Allan.
However, intent on his thoughts and plans as he was, he could not help noticing how serious Annie seemed. Her expression had remained downcast since the army had moved down to the castle grounds. And though he knew she must be as hungry as he was, she showed little enthusiasm for eating her fish. It struck him as sharp contrast to the way she had polished off her the porridge that morning at breakfast.
But though he was curious about her subdued mood, he was too tired to ask about it. After he had eaten and she had pushed morsels of fish about her plate for a while and they had drunk their tea, he stood up.
“Time tae turn in,” he told her, picking up the ropes he had used to bind her the night before.
“Please, nay, dinnae tie me again. I cannae stand it,” she protested.
It was hard to resist the pleading look in her luminous eyes, but he knew he had to do it. He shook his head. “I cannae take the risk.”
“I’ve done everything ye asked of me today, have I nae?”
“Aye, ye have, but it was only last night ye tried tae stick me with yer knife.”
“I promised I wouldnae try that again.”
“And I promise tae keep ye safe as long as ye obey me.”
She nodded and meekly let him tie her wrists before going over to the cot. She sighed as she heeled off her boots and lay down. Following her, Ewan stripped down to his shirt and trews, tied her ankles—once more securing the rope binding her hands to his wrist—and lay down next to her.
With the candle snuffed out, the darkness enclosed them. She lay on her side facing away from him, unmoving. He wondered what she was thinking about. She had promised not to try to kill him again, and she had obeyed his every command that day.
Yet she still hasnae told me the truth about who sent her tae murder me. Whether it was Allan, or anyone else, I’d be a bloody fool tae trust her an inch.
For a while he stared sightlessly into the blackness, listening to her breathing. Only when he heard it become slow and regular, and he was sure she was asleep, did he allow himself to relax and do the same.
For the next two days and nights, he kept her tied up, only releasing her to eat, wash, answer the calls of nature, or perform the occasional menial task like brush his coat or polish his boots or make tea. She remained subdued the entire time, and when she was not doing something, she lay on the cot, sleeping or staring up at the canvas ceiling, hardly speaking a word.
With the siege in progress, nothing moved inside the castle. Apart from making sure camp discipline was followed, Ewan occupied himself by reading, sleeping, maintaining his weapons, and working silently on his plans. Alongside the siege, these involved waiting for the scouts he had sent north to track down Allan’s whereabouts and return with that vital intelligence. Mostly, he forgot Annie was even there, she was so quiet. But from time to time, he would look over at her and wonder when she would relent and tell him the truth about herself.
Two more days passed without much incident. During the late evening of the second day, he and Annie were alone in the tent, sharing a meal of roasted carp, once again caught fresh that day in Loch Galbraith. He was used to Annie being quiet, but he could not help noticing on this occasion that she seemed truly downcast.
