Christopher hesitated. "Ye'd have tae be very careful. And ye'd have tae listen tae every word I say until ye get comfortable."
"I swear I will," Ian said immediately. "Help me?"
How could Christopher refuse?
After another half hour of helping Splendor warm up to Ian, they led both horses back out of the stables and into the brightness of what was now mid-morning. Christopher insisted that Ian spend some time walking Splendor around the field to warm him up, and then the two of them mounted the horses together. Splendor took to Ian's gentle direction under Christopher's tutelage fairly quickly, and soon they were riding together around the keep.
As time passed, the two of them sped up, laughing and joking as they rode. Ian whooped with excitement as Splendor sped up, and Christopher, chuckling at his excitement, urged Beatha to run as well. They reached the outskirts of the keep, and then Ian took the lead, guiding them further out at a gallop until they reached the edges of the new encampment.
"Look at it, Murdoch!" he said, slowing Splendor to gesture toward the camp. His cheeks were red with the wind and the joy he was feeling.
Christopher slowed down too, his stomach tightening slightly at the use of the name. It tore him from his cheer a little to remember that, from Ian's perspective, this was a bonding of the sons of Campbell.
He cast his eye in the direction that Ian indicated and saw that the encampment was already busy with warriors, weapons, and horses all around.
Ian started listing names and strategies so casually that it took a moment before Christopher realized what he was hearing. Ian spoke like a boy talking about his toy soldiers, but for Christopher, he was delivering more information than could have ever been dreamed of by snooping around in the war rooms.
By the time they rode back to the castle, Christopher's head and heart were buzzing with excitement. He couldn't wait to see Morag to tell her about everything that had happened already before it was even time for the midday meal. He had seen a whole other side to Ian, a side he hadn't even thought to hope might have existed before. And, more than that, he at last had some solid information he could use to help turn the tide of this war toward his family's and the Murrays' favor.
Things, at long last, were looking good. And Christopher had Morag to thank for it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Though Christopher knew that he wouldn't actually be able to have a conversation with Morag until they met in their secret courtyard that night, he spent the whole remainder of the day desperate to catch a glimpse of her. However, despite him haunting the areas of the castle that she usually frequented, Morag was nowhere to be found.
He didn't find her in the main library, though he spent two hours there trying and failing to concentrate on a book. He didn't find her in the gardens, nor in any of the sitting rooms, nor anywhere else he could think of. By the time he went to lie down for a few hours before supper, his skin was itching with his impatience to see her again. Just a secret smile between them would be enough to fuel him for the rest of the night and any task he might have to face.
Christopher slept for three hours before supper, accepting that he needed some rest if he was to continue Morag's nighttime lessons—and, of course, he had no intention of giving those up. He wasn't quite refreshed when he woke up, but he roused himself quickly and washed his face, preparing himself for supper.
Morag would be there with her father, and perhaps he would be able to catch her eye and communicate to her somehow that he had been able to learn something. He looked forward to seeing Ian, too, hoping he could somehow deepen the real bond he had felt growing between them today.
Alistair sent a servant with word that it would be another large meal in the Grand Hall, which suited Christopher just fine. If there were many people there at supper, he would have a much better chance to speak without attracting attention from anyone he did not want to hear. These thoughts cheered him, making him feel more awake and eager as he finished dressing for supper and made his way downstairs.
But as supper progressed and Christopher sat in his usual seat two to the right of Alistair, it quickly became apparent that things were not going to work out the way he had hoped. The table closest to the head table, the one where the Caindachs usually ate, was empty. Robert and Morag Caindach were both missing, and when Christopher casually inquired of a servant if they knew where they were, nobody seemed to have any idea. Though he was troubled and disappointed by Morag not being present, Christopher might have been able to distract himself with the other part of his goal, had the seat next to him not also been empty.
Ever since he had arrived at the castle, he had avoided talking directly to Alistair whenever he could help it. However, with Ian missing, there was nobody else he could ask. He leaned over the empty seat and said, "Father, where is me brother?"
Alistair smiled at the use of the familial title, as had been Christopher's intention. It disgusted him to refer to Alistair Campbell in such a way, but he knew that it was an essential part of keeping the horrible, legacy-obsessed man's trust.
"Murdoch, me lad, dinnae fear. Ian is just fine. He and several of our men are off arrangin' another victory for ourfamily. He should be back soon, and I, for one, cannae wait tae hear of his triumph."
Alarm flooded through Christopher at the bright glee with which Alistair said those words. What could possibly be happening at this time of the evening that would cause such excitement and clear impatience in this man? How had Ian failed to mention whatever this mission was during the whole morning they spent together?
Something felt off, and the fact that Christopher couldn't even fathom what it was made him squirm uncomfortably in his seat.
He ate his supper without tasting it, his mind far away. He knew that Alistair was talking to him, and he knew that he was answering, but he could not recall any details of the conversation even immediately after they'd been spoken. As soon as it was even remotely acceptable to make his excuses and leave, he did, heading back to his room as quickly as he could.
He paced back and forth, knowing he would not get the few extra hours of sleep he had hoped to grab between supper and midnight. His heart was yearning for Morag and his mind was whirling with questions about what Ian's mission could be and what it would mean for the people that Christopher was trying so hard to protect.
A quarter of an hour before midnight, Christopher was already in the secret courtyard, practicing with a polearm as he waited for Morag to arrive for sword training. The polearm was still his main skill, and he had the feeling he would need to keep himself sharp in those skills as well as in swordplay for whatever was to come.
He kept glancing at the large turret clock that he could just about see from the courtyard, impatient for time to pass so that Morag would arrive and he could find out if she had any more information than he did on what was going on… and, well, justto see her. He knew that one sight of her smile would quell the worry in his heart enough to at least let him think things through.
But fifteen minutes passed without any sign of her. Then another quarter hour, then another. Christopher's anxiety grew with every passing minute, and as it got closer and closer to one in the morning, he started to despair. What was he supposed to do? Should he go inside? No. He couldn't, because what if Morag arrived and thought he'd abandoned her?
But he couldn't stay either; what if something was wrong? He needed to make a decision, but his fear and unrest and confusion made him stand frozen in place, not even able to practice anymore as the weight of indecision held him down.
The bell tolled in the tower above to indicate the passing of the hour, and as it did, a woman's figure appeared in the entrance to the courtyard. Christopher's heart leapt and he hurried to meet her, but his feet slowed and his throat constricted as he realized quickly that this wasnotMorag.
