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“Ainsly can take care of herself. How is she?”

Calum’s eyes flicked up, and his heart skipped a beat. He wondered if he should be honest with Seamus or hide his fears. “She couldnae be here taeday. She said it’s tae risky for her tae be seen here.”

“Aye, but that doesnae answer my question.”

Calum ran his hands through his silver hair and exhaled deeply. “Lad, I just worry because ye know what women are like. They let their hearts rule their heads and there’s nae a thing ye can dae tae stop them.”

Seamus’s face twisted in horror. “Dae ye think she’s in love with him?” he gasped.

“I wouldnae gae that far, but she haes been spending a lot of time with him. Sometimes I worry that in time it will gae tae far and she wilnae be able tae see this through. Especially if he gives her a child…”

Seamus pondered this for a moment, stroking his chin. There were shadows under his eyes. “If this is true, then we must act quickly before Ainsly should hae her heart turned. I refuse tae believe she would ever forsake her people. But ye are right; we should get rid of him before he can poison her with his child. The last thing we need is his bastard running around.”

“Aye, she needs a good husband, one who understands her. Someone who knows her better than anyone,” Calum said, looking directly at Seamus. As he said this, Seamus flinched and his cheeks reddened. Calum chuckled. “Ye dinnae hae tae be embarrassed. I watched the two of ye grow up taegether. I hae seen the way ye hae always looked at her. I always thought ye two would end up taegether.”

Seamus exhaled and a lot of tension was released from his body. His shoulders sagged and he looked as though a weight had been lifted from him. “Aye, me tae,” he said with a regretful tone in his voice. “I was gaeing tae ask her and then the laird grew ill. After that, I respected her period of mourning, and then I waited for the right time, but there never was a right time. She was always busy with something or her focus was drawn elsewhere. I kick myself now. I should hae just gone through with it and asked for her hand.”

“Aye, ye should hae, lad. But the important thing in life is that we learn from our mistakes and never make the same mistake twice. When all this is done and the invaders hae been driven away ye must nae waste any time. Get down on yer knee and pledge yer promise tae her. She will nae turn away a good man like ye. Ye are the kind of man who should be leading this clan alongside Ainsly.”

Seamus smiled. “I hope that she feels the same way as ye,” he said with a nervous smile.

They spoke a little longer about their plans to invoke a rebellion. Seamus gave Calum a rough estimate of when his group would be ready to attack. Calum nodded wryly and said that he would spread the word amongst his most trusted men and prepare them to attack from the rear. Their hope was that the forces would rush out to meet Seamus in battle, and then Calum’s troops could strike when they least expected it and take them from behind. The battle should be swift, and the resolve of the McLallen clan would prove superior to the raw strength of the invaders.

That was the hope, but both Calum and Seamus were wise enough to know that nothing ever went to plan. They arranged for another time to meet, and then Calum returned to the castle. Thankfully he wasn’t as important as Ainsly, so nobody would be looking for him or caring where he wandered off to, but as he returned to the keep, his heart was filled with a sense of dread. He gazed into the distance and thought of Ainsly and Ian out there, somewhere, just the two of them. He wondered what that brute was doing to her and worse, how she was feeling. Ainsly was stronger than most women, but she was still a woman and prone to the same weaknesses as them all. He dreaded to think what might happen if somehow she fell in love with him. His throat ran dry, and he increased his pace back to the keep, wanting to make sure that his men were ready for what was to come.