“Hush,” Ailith shushed her.“Dinna leap to any conclusions.All is no’ lost.”
“Ye will get us both killed for certain!If not ye by this man, then afterward, when they kill us both for witchcraft!”
Ailith ignored her friend to focus on the man.Portly, that meant slower moving, but could also mean stronger with heavier hits.Williams’ words came back to her – strength meant speed when it came to swinging heavy steel.On the upside, he might tire quickly as well if she could keep him moving.
Soft spots?His kidneys, that was easy.Avoid the waist, William had told her – and this man’s belly was too thick.It wasn’t armored protection William had been talking about.Cutting into fat, not vital organs, would not win the day for her with only her staff and knife.
His legs appeared thin, so he might be top-heavy.Taking out a knee might be easy enough.He wasn’t overly tall, so he didn’t have William’s long reach.She’d just have to avoid the sword, or knock it out of his hand ...
“Who are ye, lass, to think ye can fight a man on ye own?”the grizzled Keith man asked.“Your husband or father should be ashamed of ye behaving this way.”
She hated how he wasn’t entirely wrong.Just how pissed would William be with her?She’d find out once word of this got back to him.But that was a tomorrow problem.Ailith lifted her chin.
“My name is Ailith Gordon MacDougal, wife of William MacDougal of clan MacDougal, sister to Chieftain Seocan Gordon, and niece to Chieftain Cormag MacDougal.And I promise ye, my husband will hear of this.”
The crowd’s snickering died down as she listed the names.Word of the king’s death at the hands of the four allied clans – Gordon, Grant, MacIntosh, and MacDougal, with MacDougals leading the charge – surely had reached Keith ears, and she’d let them know that she was cut from the same cloth.
“I’ll no’ allow this fight,” Alistair scoffed at her as he changed his mind.“I’ll no’ allow a wee lass with a stick who wants to play warrior to cause trouble between our clans.The woman will face judgment, and ye’ll stay out of it.”He pointed a nubby finger at Ailith.
His words seemed sound, but Ailith recalled some snippets of conversation regarding the divisions in the Highlands, and how the Keiths were not as on board with the Gordons or MacDougals as they were with the Morays.Playing both sides, perhaps?Nay, she’d not let his hollow words sway her.
“I will not,” Ailith said.“If ye wish to have no trouble between our two clans, then ye will release this innocent woman, or not deny me the right to her justice.”
“Justice?”the other, portly Keith suddenly yelled, anger masking his face in deep red.“What does a lass know of justice?Your husband must put ye in your place.Drop your stick and find a needle for sewing.”
The crowd tittered at his insult, but Ailith kept her training at the forefront of her mind.She’d allow this man to get angry while she maintained a level head.
“Ailith, please!”Teagan whisper-shouted from where she clung to the platform.“Leave whilst ye can.Find your man.Ye can do more for me if ye seek out William than ye can here!”
Oh, Teagan, ye have no idea …Ailith thought with a modicum of pride, which she immediately squashed.Master Park would have her head if she showed an ounce of disastrous pride.
“I know ye’re molesting a woman with no proof of any wrongdoing,” Ailith called out, pointing her own finger back at the man.“Is this Keith justice?If so, I shall scream it in every village for miles around.I'll go back and tell my own clan that not only are the Keiths willing to harm innocent women, but they’re afraid of true justice and denied me the right to seek it.”
Then she spun, sweeping her arm around to those watching this spectacle.
“Ye call yourselves men?Warriors?Say I should find my sewing?”Ailith shouted to the crowd, facing as many as she could.“Yet ye fear two wee women.I say to ye again.Release the woman or give me my right to fight for her.”
Ailith blew out a shaky breath and hoped she sounded confident to the Keiths.
The crowd of onlookers started chattering.Some were shouting to release the woman, as others chanted to give Ailith the right to fight.Ailith knew those who yelled for him to allow the fight only wanted to see her beaten.
Alistair’s lips moved, but no words came out as he cursed her silently for putting him in this position.She could see his mind work – he didn’t want to allow this trial by combat, but he also could not allow her to make demands on him merely because she was born a Gordon and bedded a MacDougal.
“All hear will bear witness that I refused ye the right to fight,” Alistair called out, never taking his glaring eyes from her.“She forced this upon us.She has no right to make such a demand, and we will let her fight only so she can no’ repeat her lies about our honor and justice.”
The man raised a hand into the air as if to say,Let it begin.The crowd tittered again in anticipation of seeing Ailith get what they felt she deserved.Ailith put her back to the platform where Teagan was pleading with her in desperate whispers.
“Kenzie,” Alistair Keith called out, waving the portly man over to him.
The man Ailith now knew as Kenzie shuffled over to the grizzled man on the platform.
“Dinna kill her or damage her face,” he said loud enough for Ailith to hear.“I'll not have a clan feud over her.If ye must cut her, stay away from her breasts or face.I'll not have her husband wanting revenge, and the MacDougals will slay every last one of us if she’s injured or killed.Teach her a lesson, put her on her arse, and make her not want to get up, and I’ll call ye the victor of the trial.”
They both glanced at Ailith, and she nodded her agreement to the rules.And while they may not realize it, she also understood the converse – if she put Kenzie on his ass, Alistair would have to call the trial in her favor.
“Aye,” Kenzie said with a full-bellied chuckle.
William and her sensei had been right; these men were dismissing her to their peril, underestimating her because she was a woman.Odd, given theyhadto be familiar with shieldmaidens, but then, they knew she wasn’t a Viking.
