Page 19

Maxwell let out a long breath and then shook his head.

“Maxwell, what happened out there? Who did ye see?” Hilda asked.

“My wife,” he said. “Well, the woman who was supposed tae be my wife. Bea.”

The statement took Hilda by surprise. This man was so rugged and hard, she hadn’t been convinced that any woman would have loved him.

“And ye saw her here? Is she working with the enemy?” she asked.

“She would never dae that!” he snapped in reply, an angry look coming over his face, as though it was a harsher blow than any that could have been done to his flesh. “She died years ago. That’s why I’m here. That’s why...I hae been tracking these men.” He took a long pause that made Hilda pay even more attention to what he was saying. “It was the day of our wedding when she died. I held her in my arms, but nae the way I thought I would. Nae the way a husband should.” His words were slow and heavy with emotion. “I hae seen her in my mind every day since then, but nae like this.” He shifted his gaze to where he was looking out of the cage, as though he was trying to see this mystery woman again. “But I dinnae even know if I was there. I let myself get distracted. It’s because of me the battle was lost. I said that I would protect ye, and I failed.” He groaned, turning his gaze away from her.

Hilda had a lot to process. She knew there had been something vulnerable in this man, and now she knew what it was. His heart had already been taken by another woman, and Hilda’s disappointment surprised her. There had been an inkling of an idea, a whisper of a feeling within the shadows of her heart, but there was no use thinking of it now. It was clear that Maxwell loved this woman with all he had. There was something beautiful about the way it lingered even after her death. Hilda searched her mind, but she could not remember seeing such a woman on the battlefield. Then again, her attention had been captured by all the blood and thunder going on around her. But still, as well as the plan failing, it was clear that any chance of stealing his heart was bound to end in failure as well.

In fact, Hilda could not deny the fact that anything she turned her hand to was a failure. She had come out here to try and avenge her mother and bring peace to her father’s heart, but that would never happen now. She had only gone and gotten herself captured, and the man she thought had been the most impressive she had ever met had turned out to be weak and fragile. It was so absurd she almost laughed bitterly at her situation.

Thor of the Highlands, aye,she thought to herself as she looked at the forlorn figure of Maxwell, slumped in the corner of a cage. I bet Thor was never rendered this weak by love.

As angry as she was, Hilda was also a little envious. She couldn’t imagine anyone loving her this much, and if her fears were real, then she assumed that nobody would ever have the chance to love her because she would be dead. She sat against the cage just like Maxwell, with a sense of dread in her heart. She knew something terrible was going to happen...she simply did not know when.

Some time had passed, and there hadn’t been any word from their captors. Hilda found this strange, as she assumed they would want to know who had attacked them and what the strength of their force was. For all they knew, Hilda had other men elsewhere in the forest. Yet nobody had come to speak to them. The mood in the cage was low. The warriors had resigned themselves to their fate. Hilda didn’t have the strength to try and force them to be more jovial. It was as though a cloak of despair had settled upon them, and there was no getting rid of it.

Eventually, though, someone did come to them. He was a surly man, with a mean face and a wispy beard.

“One of ye is coming with me,” he said.

“Why? What dae ye want with us?” Hilda asked.

A thin smile spread across the man’s face. “That’s for me tae know and ye tae find out, although I’m sure if ye hear any screams, it might give ye an idea of what’s gaeing on.” The man looked around the cage and then stretched out his arm. A bony finger pointed through the sea of bodies. Hilda swung around to see who he had chosen.

It was Angus.

“Come with me,” the man said.

“Ye cannae dae this! We need tae talk. Tell me of yer demands. Tell me why ye are daeing this,” Hilda said.

The man narrowed his eyes. “I hae naething tae say tae ye, and ye are in no position tae make any demands.” He turned back to Angus. “Ye, come with me now, or I’ll drag ye out.”

Hilda looked toward Angus and wished that she could help him. While she and Angus had argued, she had known him for a long time, and she didn’t want him to receive a fate like this. Besides, he was one of Stephen’s best friends, and Hilda didn’t want Stephen to suffer yet another loss because of her. She shook her head, trying to tell him to stay back, trying to think of some way that this could be avoided, but it seemed inexorable. Angus had a resigned look on his face as he started moving toward the entrance of the cage, but just as he was about to reach it, there was a cry from the corner of the cage.

“Take me instead,” Maxwell declared.

Even though their captor had not told them what fate awaited Angus, it was clear that it was nothing good. At the very least, the man would be tortured and likely killed. Hilda was impressed that Maxwell would give himself up for a man who had been at odds with him since the very start. Perhaps these memories of his wife had taken a greater toll on Maxwell than Hilda had assumed. Maxwell rose and walked toward Angus, who looked just as surprised as Hilda.

It was Hilda to whom Maxwell directed his words. “I failed tae protect ye as I promised, lass. This is all I deserve,” he said. The honor in his heart was undeniable, but it would not be indulged.

The captor simply laughed. “I always like it when prisoners think they hae a say in what happens. Yer time will come. Ye need hae no worries about that. But for now, it’s yer turn,” he said to Angus.

Angus had a strange look on his face as he passed Hilda. He said nothing to her, and what could be said? As Hilda watched him walk away, tears formed in her eyes, for she knew that this was her fault. She was the one who had pressed them to attack. It was her plan that had failed. She was the leader, and now her men were going to be picked off one by one, and she was going to have to listen to their screams. Her heart had broken under the weight of knowing she was responsible for her mother’s death. It was going to be utterly shattered by the time all these other men had died.