“But she told me she would run first,” Edna continued. “She told me that she would never forgive me if I did something so rash.” She looked at Erik. “Warrior is in her blood, and no one will take that away from her.”
Erik wasn’t so certain that they were talking about moving Finley to the second-in-command position any longer. Did Edna know of something that he did not?
Had Finley been discussing him with her aunt?
“Well, then,” she replied a moment later. “I still think we havenae solved the situation of mah council.”
Erik watched as the Lady returned to her list of names, but his mind was now on Finley. She intrigued him, even impressed him. They had only known each other a few days, and clearly, she didn’t hold him in the same regard.
No, he had no interest in Finley outside of her warrior style. He couldn’t. He had sworn off the thought of having a woman at his side long ago. Love was nothing more than a hammer waiting to fall, whether it was betrayal or death. No one should have to go through such pain.
Finley’s aunt had nothing to be concerned over. He was not about to involve himself with her niece.
After his meeting with Edna, Erik walked through the keep with Leeth, noting the improvements that had been made since the last time he was here.
“Now we think we can defend from all positions,” Leeth explained as they stood on the roof of the keep, where they could see all directions of Scotland.
The wind rustled fiercely at this vantage point, but Erik enjoyed the battle, letting it tear at his hair and clothing. He and Kaiden did something similar every once in a while, especially when Kaiden was looking for a way to escape for an hour or two.
“Aye,” he replied, noting the small section of the wall on the north side that needed to be completed. “I think ye have done well.”
Leeth looked at him, giving him a toothy grin. “’Tis hard not tae when ye put a woman in charge.”
They shared a smile, and Erik knew that the warrior’s words were nothing more than praise for the laird. He had seen the way the two admired each other. “Why won’t ye take the second-in-command?” he asked, curious.
Leeth’s smile faded, and he looked perturbed. “I’m not getting any younger, and at this age, I fashion mahself a quiet hut with a willing woman at mah side. Nothing more.”
“Wot aboot the fight?” Erik asked. The Scot was dotted with scars on his face and hands, a sign of a warrior who had taken his position seriously and lived to talk about it.
Leeth shook his head. “’Tis not all in life that a man should focus on. Aye, I will miss the clang of the swords, the weight of mah own sword in mah hands, but I’ve had enough of that life. I have nay reason tae think I will live forever. Why not find something else tae make me happy?”
“The battlefield is mah woman,” Erik grumbled, though Finley’s image crossed his mind. Kaiden himself had asked him the same question once. It was easy for Kaiden. He had found a warrior of a woman in Ferra, the lass that had not only saved his life but also given him a life worth living. The lass had ridden into battle for him, and to Erik, that was a measure of a woman who would go to the ends of the earth for her husband.
He just didn’t need that. He didn’t want to feel the panic that Kaiden had felt that day, watching Ferra run across that battlefield toward him. Kaiden had expressed more than once over a bottle of whiskey how his heart had stopped in his chest and that he had never felt fear as he had that day.
No, he didn’t want that. He didn’t want that weakness.
Leeth clapped him on his shoulder. “Aye, but one day ye will come across a woman that will be a formidable foe for ye. Ye will try tae ignore her, try tae push her away, but she will keep coming back, and soon ye will realize that there’s a reason she’s there. Ye will realize that she is the one ye cannae live without and will gladly lay down yer sword for her.”
The older warrior took his leave after those words, leaving Erik to stare off in the distance. What Leeth didn’t know was that Erik had felt that before, and it had given him nothing but heartache in return.
Leeth walked down the stairs toward the great hall, feeling every move on his aching bones. He felt them more often these days, especially when the weather was cold, and that was why he couldn’t be a second-in-command.
He wasn’t certain he could last another battle.
Turning down the hall, he found himself pausing by the study, eyeing the scene before him. Edna sat at the table, her long hair obscuring her face as she wrote fiercely on the piece of parchment before her. His heart clenched in his chest as he watched her work, both with love and pride for the woman who had become the leader of their clan. He hadn’t lied to the young warrior from the McGregor clan.
Every word he had said was true. How many times had he tried to push Edna away? How many times had she been on his mind during his battles, fighting hard so that he could return back to her just to see her smile?
If she asked him to lay down his sword this moment, he would do so gladly.
But he couldn’t be more than just her warrior. She deserved to marry for position, to better the clan and strengthen their ties with others.
She didn’t need him.
Edna looked up at that moment, and her face softened as she saw him. “Leeth,” she said, placing her quill down. “Wot are ye doing?”
Despite every traitorous breath telling him that he needed to move on, he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. “Watching ye work.”
