Page 55 of His Secret Highland Bride

Shane was already shaking his head, but Alec stubbornly pointed at him.

“If this is what you want, I’ll not risk one of my men. I’ll go.”

“Very well,” Shane said, hoping this was the right thing. “You’ll leave at first light.”

…

With Shane up at the castle on this important day, Lindsay tried to go about her daily chores as if everything was normal. She gathered berries to use to tidy up the lettering on Maria’s stone. She checked the traps, finding a plump rabbit in each. She cleaned them and strung them over her shoulder so she could go to the village to trade. All the while, she heard rather than saw the men who’d been sent to watch over her. She knew if she came into trouble they would be there quickly.

Which made her wonder what authority her husband had to order such a thing. He was likely a formidable warrior. Mayhap he would become war chief. She recalled the man acting as war chief now and found him much more terrifying than Shane. Nay, Shane must be a respected soldier. She could see how the laird must be grateful to have him.

She went about her business. Usually, when she visited the village, she would have gone to find a few vegetables or maybe even a tart because her husband enjoyed them. But as she passed the smithy, she stopped. Her cousins were gathered around the large man as he showed them something near the forge. He must have made a jest, for all three boys laughed.

She’d never seen them so happy. And despite working for the blacksmith, they were cleaner than she’d ever seen them, too. She imagined what would happen to them if the MacColls attacked, and her stomach clenched.

“What can I do for ye, miss?” the older man asked.

Lindsay should have continued on as planned, but she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know the danger they faced. She was worried for her husband and this clan she had never wanted to claim. “I wonder if you could melt down different metal items to make arrowheads?”

The man showed his surprise at her question. “What need do ye have to make arrowheads?”

She came closer. She knew the warriors did not have proper weapons. She wanted to do whatever she could to ensure Shane and the other warriors could not only protect themselves but defend the rest of the clan as well.

“My husband is a MacPherson warrior. He has told me the old laird has left the finances in a bad way. As such, they don’t have proper weapons to protect us. I thought perhaps if I brought some things from home, you might be able to melt them down to help. I’d rather not send my husband off to battle the MacColls with sticks and stones.”

The man’s brows lifted, and he leaned closer.

“Do you think there’s a chance we could go to war against the MacColls?”

She bit her lip, not wanting to worry the man. But while she didn’t want to set the village to panic, it might not hurt for them to know what they were facing if they didn’t find a way to help. Preferably before it was too late. Fortunately, she didn’t need to say anything. Her silence must have told him what he wanted to know.

“We must do something straightaway.” He went to the corner of his open shop and clanged two large pieces of metal together.

Lindsay didn’t know what making such a racket would do until the villagers began to gather.

“What is it, Munro?” one of the older men asked.

“We’re being called on to help the warriors in the castle. Bring me any metal you don’t have a use for so it can be melted down to make weapons.”

A murmuring went through the crowd.

“What business is it of ours? We don’t have enough ourselves, and the castle takes and takes.”

“And ye know none of us will even have the chance to carry the name MacColl if it comes to that. You’ve heard the tales. They don’t just kill the warriors when they take over a clan.”

The group nodded, and a round of “ayes” went about.

She had only asked this Munro about making arrowheads, but the man took it upon himself to delegate other tasks as well.

“You with children, take to the woods and look for straight sticks and branches, no thicker than your finger. Take them to these men, Roddy and Samuel, and my boys.”

Her heart warmed at the way this man claimed her cousins.

“What are we gonna do with a bunch of sticks?” one of the older men asked.

Munro smiled, making him look younger than she’d originally thought.

“Ye men spend your days whittling anyway. You’re going to shave them down to arrow shafts.” The men frowned but nodded, though Munro wouldn’t have seen because he’d turned to a plump couple at the other side of the crowd.