Page 15 of How to Woo a Highlander

He stepped forward for a quick jab at his friend's chest, but William matched his speed, angling his sword up to parry and forcing Alastair's sword up against his blade. Not letting up, Alastair struck, again and again, forcing William to defend with a victorious laugh until William swung in an arc, nearly taking the blade from his friend's hands. Alastair kept his grip, angling his body to follow his sword, unfortunately leaving himself exposed.

William let out a triumphant exclamation and jabbed at his open torso. In a tight spot with no other way out, Alastair flipped to the side, following his sword and avoiding William's jab before landing and rolling to a stop in a crouch.

William cocked his head, disbelievingly at his friend.

"And ye say that I have improved. I can nae believe ye got out of that one," he said, rushing to strike at William again and meeting his parry. The two continued with their spar on equal footing, striking and parrying without one giving an opening for the other.

"What dae ye think of Jane Baxendale, Alastair?" William asked suddenly, his words shocking Alastair so much that he faltered, only missing William's next strike by a hair's breadth as he stumbled out of the way.

His friend raised a brow, wondering why he had been distracted by his question. Alastair had spent more time alone with Jane than anyone else in the castle, but he did not understand the context in which William was asking.

Did he not hide it well enough that he was attracted to her? He knew that his attraction had got worse after spending so much time with her, but had tried to keep his feelings under control. Was William worried that he would compete with him over this woman? William’s voice cut his thoughts short as he began to explain himself.

"Ye have spent the most time with Miss Baxendale, so ye would ken best what kind of person she is," he said, stopping their spar by stabbing his sword into the ground and leaning on it.

Alastair's troubled thoughts quelled for a moment before starting up again. Was William asking for his approval of the woman before he pursued her? He could not help but feel bothered even though he had already accepted that he would not seek his attraction if William liked her.

"I think she is a good person. I have nay complaints," he grunted vaguely, keeping his thoughts to himself. There is no way he could tell William that he thought she was beautiful beyond measure. That her eyes made the stars pale in comparison, and that her laugh made his heart gallop like an untamed steed. He swallowed hard watching as William considered his words.

"Why dae ye ask? Dae ye like her?" he found himself asking. William's expression did not change apart from his brows raising.

"I think Miss Baxendale is a kind and gorgeous lass, and any man would be lucky to have her heart, but right now, her presence is more trouble than convenience for me," William mused absently.

Alastair frowned in confusion. He saw no interest in his friend's face as he spoke. It was almost as though he were speaking of the weather. Did he like Jane or not?

The moment passed as William seemed to shake off his thoughts, pulling his sword from the ground to point at Alastair.

"Again," he demanded, and Alastair obliged, resuming their spar.

“Is there news from yer spies in the Grant clan?” William asked, steering their conversation towards work. They circled each other, looking for openings to strike.

“Aye, me spies say Grant is still readyin’ their soldiers. It seems they are preparing for a full-scale attack, but we cannae tell when they plan to strike. We should be preparin’ as well, once we can manage the issue with the border.” Alastair replied, deep in thought.

"What is the state of the border villages now?" Alastair frowned as he thought of the situation in the border villages. There had been more attacks, and this time much worse. The soldiers assigned to guard the towns had been attacked and many killed.

Once again, the enemies had attacked swiftly and retreated just as fast. The presence of the soldiers meant that less of the villagers were troubled, but many of the soldiers were lost.

"Things are gettin' heated. Mackenzie might have to go to war soon. The extra soldiers I suggested you deploy were able to protect the villagers, but most of them have perished," he added, blocking his friend's strike.

William had a determined look on his face. "Deploy more soldiers," he ordered. Alastair was taken aback and struggled to keep up with the strikes from his friend that were becoming more and more decisive as he got lost in thought.

"William, we have deployed soldiers twice now. It seems like they are always prepared for our men. There is a bigger problem afoot in those villages than we are currently aware of, leaving us at a total disadvantage. Sending more soldiers is akin to sending men to die."

William finally stopped attacking, stabbing his sword into the ground. "What would ye suggest then? I cannae just leave the villagers like an injured lamb in the path of a wolf. We need to protect them."

Alastair's expression crumbled. He could understand William's frustration. His friend cared deeply for his people and was deeply invested in their well-being.

"How about we move the villagers?" Alastair suggested. "It will be difficult as they would be leaving their homes and their farms and the simple life they lived without needin' to trade, but it would protect them from harm at least. We cannae continue to send men out to the border; I worry that our center is weakenin'.

William sighed, deep in thought. As Alistair watched his friend, he noticed movement in one of the castle windows and looked up to find Jane watching them. His ears felt hot with shame as his immediate thought was that she had been watching long enough to see him spar.

He was shirtless as was William, and they were both men in their prime with bodies defined by muscles. There was not much difference in their builds, and Alastair could not help wishing that William looked less impressive so that he would look better. Was she even looking at him? Or were her sights set on William?

Look at ye Alastair, acting like a lad.

He mocked himself, but he could not stop his inner thoughts. William followed his gaze and saw Jane watching them. He smiled and waved at her, and Jane returned his smile and waved back.

Aye, I should have waved. Instead, I stood staring like a dobber.