Magnus rubbed Haggis behind the ears, and sort of scoffed, “Tis easy tae explain, the Earl was an arse and insulted Lady Mairead, yer grandmother, Archie. She was offended and so her husband, Wilfrey, demanded an apology. The Earl attacked him and Wilfrey defended himself.”
Archie’s eyes were wide. “It’strue?”
“Sometimes ye canna let an insult stand. Ye tell the cousins that Laird Wilfrey was defending his wife’s honor, that is all they need tae ken, they will understand.”
Archie ran off to tell the cousins with Haggis close at his heels.
Magnus said, “Twas helpful?”
Hayley said, “Yep, I didnothave my story straight.”
“Twas a duel, tis all ye need tae say.”
“I don’t get dueling, I suppose.”
Magnus chuckled. “Tis because ye are a woman, ye daena need tae fight.”
Hayley laughed. “Well, your explanation was very simple. But why do men need to fight so much?”
“Tae find out who is right and who is wrong!”
Fraoch joked, “Och, daena let them upset ye, Og Maggy, they are modern. Moderns hae trouble discernin’ between right and wrong. Their morals are askew.”
Hayley whispered, “None of us are behaving morally.”
Magnus put his finger to his lips. “Nae, we arna talking on anything but the duel that took place this day.” His voice raised as people came and went from the solar. “A duel is how men figure out who is right in an argument.”
She said, “But that makes nosense.”
Magnus asked, “Who dost ye think, in the duel between Wilfred and the Earl, was in the wrong, Madame Hayley?”
Hayley lowered her voice. “Probably the guy who killed the other guy?”
Magnus feigned dismay. “But the dead man insulted his wife! He caused the altercation and ended up dead. Wilfrey was just the conduit for the justice that needed tae be served.”
He exhaled. “This is justice that has needed tae be served for a long time. I feel disquieted that twas not I who dealt out the justice, but justice has been dealt on this day.” He added, “On an unrelated point, Lizbeth looks well.”
I nodded. “We talked, she is doing good.”
He then said, “Kaitlyn, would ye want tae go on a short walk with me tae clear m’head?”
Hayley said she would go keep an eye on the kids, Jack put out his hands and wanted to go with her now that he had said hello to Magnus and me.
Haggis plodded along beside us.
Magnus said, “I dried ye down, Haggis, but ye still smell like wet medieval dog.”
Haggis looked up at him, seeming to smile.
Down one of the corridors we passed an opening in the wall and with the rain pouring down, I stopped and joked, “So we’re still on for a day ride to the woods tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “Och nae, the lands of alba are a-flood and I dinna bring a raft.”
“Fraoch might build one, given a heads up.”
He laughed. “Och, but ye see, Kaitlyn, he would need wood tae build the raft and we need the raft tae get tae the woods. Therein is a conundrum.”
“Very funny, and true, and makes me wonder howdowe have so much firewood? There’s a pile in every room. How far is someone going in the rain for wood?”
