Colin laughed along with him while they watched Harris trying to catch his breath. Then the captain said in tones of mock warning, “Ye’d best take care, Ewan. Ye dinnae ken yer own strength. There’ll be naethin’ left of the poor lad if ye keep on whackin’ him like that.”
“Ach, he’s a tough wee lad, he can take it,” Ewan replied, chuckling as he raised his hand to strike Harris on the back once more.
The boy soldier dodged nimbly aside this time and glared at the grinning Ewan. Now able to speak again, Harris said sarcastically, “Thank ye, Colin. ’Tis nice tae ken that someone’s lookin’ out fer me and nae tryin’ tae kill me.”
But that just made Ewan laugh all the harder. The trio split up then, and as he and Harris returned to the tent, he found he was looking forward to their little scouting excursion later that night.
Back in the tent, they dined on bread and cheese and small ale. While they were eating, Annie surprised him when she suddenly said out of nowhere, “Ewan, I need yer help.”
“Oh, what with?” he replied, eyeing her with some suspicion. He had noticed how hard she had argued against there being a possible secret entrance into the castle, though he had no idea why, other than she believed it. Was this an attempt to redirect his intentions?
“I want ye tae teach me how tae fight with a sword.”
Ewan almost choked on his ale. “Ye must be jestin’,” he replied, chuckling in disbelief as he brushed the drops of ale from his waistcoat. “Why would I wantae teach me would-be assassin how tae use a sword? I’d have tae have a death wish. Nay, ye can forget that!”
“But I can fight fer ye properly then! Now, I only ken how tae fight with double daggers, but the weight of the armor and the sword makes it so hard. They’re too heavy and slow me down. But if I could learn tae fight with the sword, I’d be much more useful in battle.” He face below the woolen cap was alight with enthusiasm.
“I told ye, forget it.” He shook his head vehemently. Her answer was to get up from the table and walk out of the tent. Ewan sat there, thinking she had gone off in a huff. He was taken aback when she reappeared a few minutes later with two roughly sword-length tree branches that had been stripped of their leaves, one in each hand.
She tried to hand him one. “We can use these tae train with.”
“Nay,” he said, shaking his head again, shoving the branch away.
“Aye,” she insisted brightly, pushing it at him again. Still, he refused. “Ach, come on! D’ye nae want me tae be a better fighter fer ye?” she cried.
“I dinnae fancy ye skewerin’ me with that sword while I’m sleepin’,” he told her, meaning every word.
She huffed impatiently. “I’ve sworn tae ye that I’ll nae try tae kill ye again, and I havenae. D’ye nae believe me?”
“Nay.”
“Spoil sport,” she mumbled. “Ye ken ye really wantae.”
“I assure ye, I have nae intention of teaching ye how tae fight with a sword. Now, let that be the end of it,” Ewan insisted, unable to help smiling at her antics.
“In that case, I’ll havetae make ye.” She struck a fighting pose and began to fence with him, striking him lightly about his chest and shoulders with the stick, trying to provoke him into picking up the other branch and engaging with her.
We he did not respond, the strikes came harder and faster.
“That’s enough now,” he told her warningly.
“I’m nae gonnae stop until ye pick that stick up and fight back,” she declared, poking him in the chest with the point of her stick. Her face was glowing, and she seemed as excited a child with a new toy.
“Well, dinnae hold yer breath,” he replied, deciding to put a stop to her provocation. In one fluid movement, he got to his feet, grabbed the branch from her hand and tossed it aside, then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
“What are ye doin’? That’s nae fair! Let me down, let me go, ye beast!” she cried, beating her small fists on his back furiously, her feet flailing in the air as she tried in vain to kick him. Her attempts were so feeble, Ewan shook with laughter as he whirled her around a few times to make her dizzy.
Intrigued by her less than subtle attempt to redirect his intentions, he said, “I’ll let ye down when I’m good and ready. Ye think ye can fool me, eh? I ken exactly what ye’re tryin’ tae dae. Fer some reason, ye dinnae want me tae look fer a hidden entrance tae the castle.”
“That’s nae true!” she protested, finally giving up her struggle to free herself.
“Aye, it is, though I have nay idea why. At any rate, I’m nae changin’ me plans fer ye or anyone. Ye’re comin’ with me tae the village taenight, tae see what we can find out, so ye might as well stop yer mitherin’. Now, are ye gonnae behave?”
To his added amusement, she actually hissed like an angry cat before she grudgingly muttered, “Aye.”
“Good.” He put her down. She glared at him as she rearranged her clothing.
“Right, we have some time before we ride out. Like Colin says, we need disguises. I think we should pose as a married couple who were supposed tae visit their family in the castle and found it under siege. We can drop intae the conversation that a rider came out of some sort of secret entrance and see if that gets anyone talkin’.”
