Alec slammed backhis fifth drink of the night. His mug rattled as it hit the bartop, letting the man running the tavern know he was ready for another.
The anger in his stomach turned to bile, twisting around until it threatened to come up again. Alec clenched his jaw harder, forcing the whiskey to stay down, annoyed that even his own body wanted to betray him.
“Tough night?” the man asked, refilling Alec’s mug.
Alec was in no mood to talk, but the worn old man didn’t seem interested in going anywhere else, so he nodded. He hoped it would be enough to send the barman on his way, but it had the opposite effect.
“Lady troubles?”
“What makes ye think that?” Alec spat, trying to hide his surprise.
“Ye would be surprised at how many sorry souls find their way in here to drown out their sorrows. Though ye dinnae look so sorry to me. Nor do ye look like ye want to drown yer sorrows as much as burn them to embers.”
Alec scoffed at the man’s perceptiveness.
“Ye are right about that,” he admitted through gritted teeth.
“So what did the lady do to deserve yer fury?”
Merely trying to put words to it all had Alec reaching for his cup again.
“Two years I spent with her. Two years I listened to her snivelin’ and cryin’ over how hard her cushy life was. But she would never stick it out with me. She was too afraid to take that leap with me.”
“She left ye,” the man finished for him.
“She did nae just leave me,” Alec said with a humorless laugh. “She traded me in for another man. She claims it is for her father’s sake, but I ken there is more to it. I dinnae ken what she sees in this man. He is weak and spineless.”
The man sat on the stool behind the bar, the almost empty bottle of whiskey in his hands again. He mulled over his words, watching Alec closely.
“Did ye love her?” he asked.
Alec balked at the question. He had just told the man—he spent two years with Charlotte. He had helped her, pushed her to grow and be more outspoken. He had left everything to be with her and she couldn’t so much as give him the courtesy to spend time with him. And this man had the audacity to question if that was love.
“Of course I loved her,” Alec slurred. “I did everything I could to keep her safe. I followed her halfway across the Highlands so she would nae be alone. I spent as much time with her as I could. I showed her how much I loved her. And what do I get in return? Nothing but rejection and dismissal.”
“Och, lad. There are plenty of bonny lasses out there in the world. Ye just need to find the next one. Ye are still young. Ye can still build a life with another lady.”
Alec scoffed again. There was so much he wished he could say about the mess with Charlotte. So much that he wished he could make the man understand. But he knew it would only get himself into trouble.
Instead he said, “Aye, I could. But it would never be like the life she could have given me.”
“What does that mean?” the barman asked, an eyebrow raised.
“It means that marriage to her would have changed everything for me. I would have been able to move up in the clan. The size of her dowry alone would have paid for a new house and so much more. I wasted all those years with her. I put up with her for far too long. Ideserveat least that much.”
“There’s that fire. Dinnae fash, lad. Once the whiskey burns through ye and ye have a few good nights’ sleep, ye will have a clearer mind. Things will nae seem so bad.”
The man refilled Alec’s cup one last time before moving on to the next customer on the other side of the tavern. But his words hung in the air.
Alec wasn’t interested in wallowing. He wanted to destroy Cameron for what he stole right out from Alec’s hand. It would take far too long to ride back to the Sinclair castle and get an audience with the Laird. He needed something done faster.
A look out towards the rest of the tavern gave Alec his answer.
Sitting piled up at one of the tables was a group of soldiers. Their tartans didn’t match the Knox colors and Alec knew that he had his answer.
Stumbling out of his chair, Alec tried to pull himself together. He needed to seem credible for what he was about to say. Straightening his shirt and wiping his face, Alec ambled up to the table and cleared his throat. Up close, he could see that they represented three different clans and at least one of them was a Sinclair soldier. It was perfect. The interruption was enough to get all five of the men to look at him.
“What do ye want?” one of the men demanded.
He was clearly the soldiers’ leader so Alec focused only on him.
“I have news. I was sent with the Sinclair lass to the Knox castle and have just heard that Laird Knox is readying his troops. He is planning an imminent attack.”
“Why should we believe ye?” the same man questioned through narrowed eyes.
“I was sent to keep an eye on the lass. But she betrayed her father and her clan. I snuck away tonight to warn my clan.”
That was all the soldiers needed to hear before they were out the door and on their horses, riding out to their Lairds.
