“Mary’s will,” she breathed, her gaze lowering to the smear of blood across his mail. Her face grew ashen. “’Tis not from helpingthe mare foal?”
“Nay.” ’Twas a stroke of luck that Bróccín’s mail had fit.
Her lower lip wobbled. “Forgive me, my lord, for my rude behavior. After your loss this day, you are distraught. Once you and your men finish tending to your horses, I will ensure a warm meal and readied chambers await you.”
“I thank you,” Aiden said.
She started to turn away and then halted, the sincerity of her expression at odds with the fierce temptress of moments before. “I am sorry. ’Tis hard to lose thoseyou care for.”
Aiden gave a curt nod, not wanting her to understand or to care. The lass represented a means to an end. When he departed, he would leave no one behind who mattered, less so a woman who’d sworn fealty to his enemy.
At his silence, she headed to the keep, Sir Pieres at her side.
Once Gwendolyn and her knight were halfway across the bailey, Rónán grunted. “King Robert would be impressed by thelass’s spirit.”
Far from amused by his friend’s implication, Aiden led his mount to an empty stall. Their sovereign’s penchant for making matches between strong-willed women and the men he favored was well-known, a fate already burdened upon his friends Stephan MacQuistan and Thomas MacKelloch. And against incredible odds, both had fallen in love with the women they’d wed.
Except the Bruce wasn’t here. Nor did the king’s orders extend beyond those to retrieve information to plan the upcoming attack uponLatharn Castle.
As his men led their mounts into empty stalls, Aiden dismissed the wayward thought. “Once Latharn Castle is in our sovereign’s control, Banff will be the last remaining stronghold north of Mounth still held by the English. The Bruce hasna time to waste in dealing with a spirted lass. Until Scotland is united, I suspect he will leave the castle beneath the guard of one of his trusted nobles, and Lady Gwendolyn will be married to afavored noble.”
“A logical move,” Cailin agreed. “Once Banff is seized, his focus will be on capturing Perth, Roxburgh,and Edinburgh.”
“Plans that canna move forward until this stronghold is seized,” Rónán said.
Water sloshed from the edges of a bucket as Dolaidh hurried into the stable. Curious eyes flickered toward Aiden before the lad set the vesselnear the mare.
As well, Gwendolyn’s protectiveness toward those who lived beneath her spoke well of the lass, enemy or not. “Once you have your gear in your chamber,” Aiden whispered, “meet mein the chapel.”
* * * *
Eyes narrowed, Sir Pieres glanced at Gwendolyn as they crossed the bailey. “After you learned the stranger was your betrothed, what were you thinking of by challenging him? Did I not warn you that Lord Balfour was a mannot to anger?”
Gwendolyn forced a smile at two women passing by, then scowled at her friend. “I did notchallenge him.”
“Telling your intended that you will not take orders from him until you are wed isna considered gentleconversation.”
“Nor do I care. How dare he dictate anything to me when we havena said our vows? He is arrogant, aloof, andunapologetic.”
“He is, and as I cautioned you earlier, a man of war. During battle, if those beneath his command dinna follow orders, men die. As well, ’tis wise to remember that if he hadna intervened, Kellan and her foal could have died.”
She gave a curt nod. “I will not forget his brave act, nor that the healer arrived moments after the mare had given birth, and mayhap could havedone the same.”
Sir Pieres gave a frustrated sigh. “I know you dinna want to marry, but never have I seen you react so vehemently toward anyone. Regardless, Lord Balfour’s actions were given to save the mare and foal’s lives. If the earl had threatened you, harmed you in any manner, I assure you, ’tis my blade he would have faced.”
“I am grateful for his timely intervention, but…”
“A battle-seasoned man, I know his ways are hard, but do you despise him so much?”
“I dinna despise him, ’tis that he is unlike any man I have ever met.” She recalled how his green eyes held hers, unwavering, unapologetic, as if on a dare. Except she hadn’t sensed malice, but a silent provocation that lured her to meet his challenge, to show him that, unlike the other women he’d met, she wasn’t one who he could order about.
“Whatever happens, I will be here to protect you,” Pieres said.
She rubbed the tightness in the back of her neck. “I know. ’Tis the upcoming marriage that has me on edge. Never again did I expect to marry. And I do him a disservice to ignore the fact that his contingent was attacked. Men who served him, ones no doubt he cared for, died. Yet, upon his arrival, he saved the life of a mare.” She paused. “If I had known of his loss…”
“But you did not. Still, with his reputation ’tis unwise to push him.”
“I did naught but state fact. The castle isna his.”
