Lachlan shot a withering glare down the table, silencing the young Eowin. He was young and desperate to prove that he wasn’t, so Lachlan was more tolerable of his antics, but this was not an occasion where disobedience would be accepted.
“Taryn is a member of this clan. She sacrificed much to see us all here, enjoying our freedoms within our own homes. I will nae hear any of ye say otherwise.”
Eowin looked down in embarrassment. Aila nearly felt bad for him, but her worry for Taryn outweighed it.
“What ye dinnae ken about our Taryn is that she is wanted by the English. I will nae go into the details, as that is her story to tell, but I will say that it is as unfair for her as it was for me. Even more so, if I am honest. It is the same Baron who goes after her. We have good reason to think that she is being taken to his estate just beneath the border.”
“Are ye going to go after her?” Edith asked gently.
“Nay.” He sighed heavily. “We will nae be able to catch up in time, and the last thing I want to do is ride up to that wicked man’s property without any aid.”
“We need allies,” Aila said plainly. “We need other men who will help us fight Baron Dudley.”
“What makes ye think it will come to that?”
This question came from Mary, but was just as unassuming as Edith’s.
“Baron Dudley has chased after me for years, destroyed our village, and saw me get thrown into prison for what I did. He has already spent years hunting down Taryn. He will nae let her go a second time without a fight,” Lachlan answered.
“So we fight.”
Aila looked down the table at Eowin with relief and gratitude. His simple declaration shifted the atmosphere of the room in an instant and relieved some of the tension behind her shoulders. Lachlan nodded appreciatively.
“Aye. If it comes to that, we will fight. But first, we need allies. I believe our best bet is to journey first to the south.”
“What of yer father’s allies? He had many. I am sure they would all be just as?—”
“I have thought of them,” Lachlan interrupted Edith with a hasty smile to cover his misdeed. “But I fear the clans in the most imminent danger are those that stand between us and the Baron.”
He rose and moved to the maps hanging from the wall like they used to, showing everyone with his finger just who he was talking about.
“We will start here, with the McKenzies. It has been a long while since I have been able to catch up on the happenings in our country. They could already be experiencing invasions that I am unaware of. If that is the case, they will nae doubt appreciate our help.”
“And if they are nae?” Aila questioned, trying to follow his line of thought.
“Then they will be… soon.”
He looked up at her from the other end of the table, where he still stood leaning over the map. His eyes were a bright, glowing green that whispered to her of the dangers to come and his vow to protect her.
“Who will ye send to talk with them?” Eowin asked, puffing his chest, clearly vying for the job.
“I will go.”
Aila blanched at Lachlan’s answer.
“But ye are still a wanted man. Ye cannae leave this area without risking being turned in. And what of the castle? Who will protect it should Baron Dudley and his English guards return for another fight?”
Her worries poured out of her before she had the chance to stop them. From the shocked looks on everyone else’s faces, she knew she wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“It is my story that will convince the others to join us,” he spoke low and unhurried, his brogue getting rougher. “Nay one else can tell it the way I do. Nay one else can make the others see just what this Sassenach devil is capable of. It is nae something I can put in a letter or ask a messenger to convey. They must see the truth of it in my eyes.”
Lachlan had a point. They all knew he did. It was his persuasive storytelling that had convinced Aila, Sorcha, and Taryn when they had first met. It was his words that had gotten Mary to journey to Kincaid Castle to heal Arran. And it was his demands to speak to Laird Fraser that had garnered his freedom from a second prison. Aila nodded her agreement. It was all Lachlan needed to continue with his plans.
“Aila and I will leave after the midday meal. We will travel alone. It will be easier for us to go unnoticed that way. It is fartoo dangerous for us to bring a guard, even if we had one to spare. In doing so, we entrust this clan and its lands to all of yer capable hands. My hope is that the other Lairds will hear our tale and take it as a warning for what might happen to their people if we dinnae stand up against Baron Dudley.”
“Aye, Laird,” Edith agreed. “They will listen to ye. Ye have always been able to talk people into doing what ye want.”
With everyone on the same page, the chairs around the table emptied one by one. Each man stopped to shake Lachlan’s hand as they left, while the women gave warm embraces to Aila. She was close to tears by the time she and Lachlan were the only ones remaining.
