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Douglas stood there stark naked before the scared woman. He could sense the trepidation in her voice and knew that something had changed when he told her what had happened with her father. She seemed to have lost some of the fire that had been burning in her eyes. He still wasn’t sure exactly why he was keeping her alive, but there was something deep within that wanted to be around her and wanted to keep speaking with her.

“The first thing I’d like tae dae is know yer name,” he stated.

“Lyndsay,” she replied. He introduced himself formally, and she replied that she had heard the other man call him by his name. “What are you going to do now?” she asked in a small, trembling voice.

“I’m gaeing tae get intae bed,” he said, and promptly pulled the blanket away and slipped underneath it. She trembled like a frightened bird, but he was adamant he wanted to be close to her. “Come here,” he said.

She shook her head and refused, so once again, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her toward him with little in the way of resistance. She let out a tiny squeal as she was dragged to him. His arm rested around her tiny waist, and he could feel her body shaking as it was pressed next to his. She was so cold as well, as though her blood was ice. He assumed it was the fear that had made her this way. Her breath was warm, though, and came out in rapid waves. Her scent was sweet, and it intrigued him. It was as though she was imbued with all the scents of the flowers in the forest, and he found himself inhaling deeply.

She held herself rigidly as well, and she seemed like such a fragile thing. Now that she was in his arms, he was overwhelmed with the need to protect her when he knew that he should kill her.

“Ye didnae expect me tae say what I did about yer da, did ye?”

“No,” she replied, gulping after she spoke, “but I’m not surprised. He made no secret of the fact that it was my duty to be married, and I suppose a marriage to you would have been beneficial to him than the one that had already been arranged.”

“Ye are already promised tae someone?” Douglas asked.

“Yes, to Baron Adams. He’s a very powerful man, and I’m sure he won’t take kindly to his betrothed being taken away,” Lyndsay said.

Douglas licked his lips slowly, thinking on the matter.

“Aye, well, perhaps it’s time the English got their noses bloodied. It’s about time they lost something for a change,” he said, his words hot with anger.

“Why do you hate us so much? What is it we did to you? I can promise you I have never raised a hand in anger to anyone, let alone a Scotsman. All I’ve heard are the stories.”

“Aye, and I know what kind of stories these are,” Douglas said.

“No worse than the stories you tell about the English, I would wager,” she said. She seemed to have regained her composure now that they were lying in bed together. Perhaps it was because she knew she had nowhere else to go and that if he was talking, he wasn’t doing anything else. It had been a long time since he had shared his tale of woe with anyone else, and he hadn’t expected to speak about his parents with a prisoner of his, but she seemed able to coax the truth out of him.

“If ye must know, they killed my parents.”

“Really?”

“Aye. We were out riding along the border one day when an English patrol came across us. We were well on our side, but they were convinced we haed crossed over, and they demanded tae inspect our goods. They took all the coin that Da haed and started tae…tae grab Ma. They laughed and said they haed a good mind tae take her back. There were three of them. Da drew his sword and attacked one. He told me tae run, but I was tae late. Ma wrestled with another and got stabbed in the stomach for her troubles. I watched her fall tae the ground, blood pouring out of her like wine from a bottle. Da was distracted and let his guard down, and he was run through. I ran taewards the soldiers. One of them lashed out at me with his sword and caught me, leaving me this”—he gestured toward the scar on his face—“and then they ran. I dinnae think they expected tae kill anyone that day. I walked home holding my face, feeling the blood seeping through my fingers while anger filled my heart. I swore on that day that I would never trust an Englishman. They hae only been terror tae my people.”

There was a pause before Lyndsay replied. Douglas cleared his throat and grit his teeth as he relieved that horrible day. Even now, he could feel the blood on his hands and the awful feeling he experienced when he realized he was going to have to leave his parents there, for he had been too weak to carry them home.

“I…I didn’t realize. I’m sorry that happened to you. It must have been terrible,” Lyndsay said. Despite all that he had done to her, she was still feeling sorry for him, and he believed that she meant it too.

“Aye, Ye see, these were not my real parents, they just raised me. ”

“What do you mean?”

“I am a bastard son, lass. My fathair was Ruari Calbraith, but my mathair was a woman from the village, she wasn’t a noble. My fathair didn’t know of my existence though. He was very young when I was born, and my mathair couldn’t have me, so she gave me away to some farmers, who raised me.”

Lynsday was shocked. She was looking right in the eyes.

“Oh.. I’m so sorry to hear this. How did you learn who your real father is? Is your father still alive?”

“Nae. I’ve learnt from my Uncle, Laird Wallace, that my real fathair was killed a few months before the parents who raised me got killed as well. So, I’ve never met my real father, neither my real mathair, but I know from Laird Wallace that he was the fathair of four children with his wife, Kenna.”

“How did Laird Wallace knew your existence while your own father didn’t know?”

“Well, ye see lass, my fathair never learnt about me, because his fathair made sure of it. He had heard the rumours about Ruari and he visited my mathair, he persuaded her to give me away and the only person besides my grandfather who also knew, was Laird Wallace. That’s why he took me in after everything that happened.”

“And how did your father die?”