Summer was beginningto wane, although it was still warm. Well, as warm as it could be. Soon Autumn’s bluster would roll over the hills and settle once again in the valleys. Breckin didn’t much mind the cold season because that meant he got to spend more time at home. Now with Eva there, he hoped to put off any travel come the late autumn and winter.
His men lingered in the loch, carousing, and carrying on. Their bellows echoed from the heavy bluffs that surrounded the loch. After the brief scuffle with the MacNaughtons, they retrieved the missing cattle the Campbells had claimed as theirs. Since the MacNaughtons did not protest much, Breckin took it as their guilt. Their rivals took to the woods and absconded before they could decrease their numbers. The few bloodied MacNaughton soldiers that remained behind were not long for the ground. He commanded that his brethren dig a large enough hole to bury them in.
Colin Campbell scoffed when he heard him. “Why in Heaven’s name wouldst ye give them a place of honor?”
Breckin chortled and paced along the row of men digging the ditch. “Colin, these men were sent by their laird to steal your cattle and were only following orders. I will not leave such dedicated men lying in the woods to rot. Nay, we will bury them not because we care about them but because we respect their loyalty.”
Colin whistled to his clansmen who stood nearby. “Assist the Buchanan warriors.” His men retrieved shovels and some used their hands to scoop the earthen away from the trench.
When the hole was large enough, they worked to collect the five or so men who needed a final resting place. When all was finished, Breckin turned toward his horse but said over his shoulder, “I will not be able to come and aid ye for some time, Colin, so best ye call up your other allies or strengthen your soldiers’ ability when ye come totrouble.”
His comrade’s brows drew together. “Why? Have ye troubles of your own? ’Tis unlike ye not to give aid.”
“I need to spend time at home and I cannot do that if I am out riding through the Highlands aiding every clan that begs for help.” He hadn’t meant to affront Colin, but it appeared he had. “I mean no disrespect, Colin, och I have been remiss in my duties toward my clan. I need to remedy that and I cannot do that if I am aiding others.”
“Perhaps it is time for me to get my men better trained. I understand, Breckin, and wish ye well then.” Colin gave the order for his soldiers to return to their land.
Breckin directed his soldiers to take a rest on Campbell’s land overnight. Near a smaller loch by the border of Campbell land, they set up camp and some hunted for the late day meal. Once they rested, they’d get a good early start on the morrow.
Gideon leaned against a tree and took swigs of his flask. He held it out to him but Breckin shook his head, rejecting his offer.
“If the horses did not need rest, I’d be halfway home by now.”
“Aye, aye, and back to marital bliss,” Gideon said with a chuckle.
“Cease being an arse, Gideon. Married life is new…different…and I am navigating it as best I can.” But that wasn’t necessarily true because he avoided what was on his mind and in his heart.
“Cosh, look at them… Nothing like seeing the shining arses of a bunch of Highlanders after a good brawl. Shame the MacNaughtons did little to entertain us. Och, the heat though…’tis good to cool off in the loch. We should join them.” Gideon set his flask aside and ran in a sprint, discarding his tartan and tunic on the way.
Breckin soon joined them and had to admit the water was refreshing, cooled him, and even allayed his sullen mood. He was much more agreeable and as he rested in the camp that night, he peered above at the star-speckled sky.
Gideon lay on his side and used his arm as a pillow. His comradeappeared relaxed and untroubled with thoughts. “We shall soon be adding to our family, Deena and I. Maybe we will give Hamish a brother. Aye, for we will have a bairn come late winter.”
“That is good news, my friend. I know that ye were hoping to have more children.” Breckin reached for his cup beside him and raised it in a silent cheers to his comrade.
Gideon lifted his head in response and nodded. “We had given up hope, och, God has blessed us. Deena is pleased by it, for she will now have another child to care for. Are ye thinking of having children soon? Now that ye are married and plan to be home more oft?”
“I have not spoken to Eva about having children. ’Tis the truth, I would welcome a bairn or two. But the clan has made life difficult for Eva and I have not made it easier,” Breckin said without much deliberation of his words. “Sometimes, I deem I am not worthy of her. She received a fortune in coins from her da and he bade her to use them for her life. Yet she was willing to give them to me. Of course, I refused them.”
Gideon frowned at him. “What say ye? Ye turned down a fortune in coins?” He swatted his arm. “What in God’s name is wrong with ye?”
“I told her that we did not need coins, only what we are given from the land.”
His comrade chortled. “What a load of cosh that is. Ye know that next year the king will demand the tax and we have no measures to amass the forfeiture. Just because the king allowed ye a respite from what ye owed does not mean he will not seek to receive it going forward.”
“There is that. And I was hoping that since we will pull back from aiding other clans, we might expand our crops and cattle. Maybe even purchase additional sheep. ’Tis time to progress and make our land profitable.” Breckin had overheard his da when he’d been alive and the dreams that he’d had for the land that his grandfather had been given.Cultivating land and animals took time and resources, and sometimes hard times hindered them. Now with the coinage given from Eva’s da, he might be able to make some progress.
“’Tis time indeed that we consider the Buchanans before others, Laird. We should meet and make a plan when we reach home.”
“Aye, that is a fair idea. I also want to build Eva a manor home. If ye saw the home she lived in… The longhouse is but a shack compared to the luxury of her da’s home. I want to give her a better life.”
“Seems to me ye are coming to care for the lass.”
“Aye, maybe more than care, Gideon. I am not one to speak about how I feel but Eva deserves much more than I have given her.”
“Ye will rectify that, Breckin, and I have faith that she will appreciate it. She’s a kind lass, even if she was somewhat spoiled by her rich father.”
“That is the thing… Even though she had wealth, she has never used it nefariously. When I met her, she tried to aid a lad in Edinburgh who intended to thieve from her. I could not believe that she would go and search him out to help him but she did. She is unlike any woman I have ever met.”
