Page 25 of It’s in his Highland Kiss

“How do ye think, lass?” Edan asked. “Shite. It’s always shite.”

“Aye, canna argue with that,” Eiric agreed, much to Marion’s amusement.

She couldn’t blame them for hating England, even though she had grown up there and her mother had preferred it over Scotland. From what she had heard in the six months that she had spent in the castle, England wasn’t the kind of place that she wanted to support.

Her parents had only allowed her to know a little about politics and the war between the two countries. Her parents’ word was law in their house, and no matter how much she tried to inform herself, to eavesdrop, to catch a glimpse of anything that would allow her to learn a little more about the world, her efforts were rarely successful. Everything that she had known was from their perspective, and their perspective was that England was always right.

“Eiric, can I speak with ye?” Edan asked then, and Marion frowned. He seemed more serious than she had ever seen him, and if Edan was serious, it meant that the situation was serious.

“Aye, go ahead,” Eiric said.

Edan glanced at Marion, and she could tell that he didn’t want her to be there while he talked to Eiric. With a sigh, she picked up her sword and Eiric’s own, giving both men a small smile.

“I’ll go and get ready for supper then,” Marion said, and after receiving two nods as an answer, she turned around and left.

Only she didn’t go too far. She had to admit that she was curious; what could Edan have to say to Eiric that she shouldn’t hear? Why was he being so secretive?

Marion hid behind the bushes that lined the small area where they had been training, listening carefully to the two men.

“Weel?” she heard Eiric ask. “What is it?”

“I didna ken how much she kens,” Edan said. “And I didna ken how much she should ken, ye ken? England was nae bonnie, Eiric.”

“Aye, I ken,” Eiric said. “That place is shite.”

“Aye, but it isna only that,” Edan said. “There’s much more than that. Eiric, their forces, ye’ve seen nothin’ like it before . . . I dinna ken how we can possibly defeat them.”

“We’ve always kent it would be a challenge,” Eiric reminded him. “That’s what we’ve been workin’ for. That’s what we’ve been gatherin’ men for. Who cares if they have men? So do we.”

“Aye, but nae enough to fight them.”

Marion slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from gasping. Are they heading for war? Against England?

There were things that she had been hearing, whispers and rumours, the corners of the castle alight with them; but that was all she thought they were: whispers and rumours. The lady and the laird of the clan had never given any indication that war was approaching, and Marion didn’t know what to do with that information.

She couldn’t possibly support England; her heart wouldn’t allow it. But could she be against England? That was something entirely different, and Marion found herself conflicted, torn between giving all her loyalty to Scotland, and hoping for the best for England.

“They have gold, Eiric,” Edan continued. “More gold than we have ever seen here in Scotland. Even if we fight the men they have, they’ll buy more. Ye ken that it’s gold than wins the wars.”

“Aye,” Eiric agreed. “We’ll secure the gold that we need. We’ll have the support of France, Edan. We’ll have gold, perhaps nae as much gold as England, but we’ll have enough to make a difference. And if gold willna do it, then our men will. Each of us is worth ten Sassenachs.”

“Aye, aye, but there are nae ten Sassenachs for each of us,” Edan said. “There’s hundreds!”

“Ach, noo ye’re just bein’ dramatic,” Eiric said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Come . . . let’s go speak to me faither.”

The moment that Marion heard Eiric’s words, she stood and ran from her hiding place, trying to reach the castle as quietly as possible. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Eiric and Edan approaching, but they didn’t seem to notice her, too busy talking to each other.

She made it to the front steps of the castle doors and then slowed down, taking a deep breath in so that when Eiric and Edan caught up to her, they wouldn’t know she had been running.

“That didn’t take you long,” Marion said, just as Eiric and Edan reached her. “Will you be coming to supper?”

“Aye, we’ll just have to speak to me faither first,” Eiric said.

“About your travels, Edan?” she asked, trying to not sound curious, or at least not quite as curious as she felt.

“Aye.”

It was a short answer, and Marion was quite certain that she wouldn’t get another one. She watched as Eiric and Edan disappeared up the stairs, and then she made her way to the kitchens, forgetting that her dress was full of dirt from the training.