“My da needs a good man, Cam. I think ye have the strength that he needs.”
Cam turned his head to look at her, thinking she might be a little daft. “After ye saw me beaten this afternoon and now defeated in the arena tonight, ye think I have the skill for such a thing? I am only learning, though I am honored that ye would ask.”
“How long do ye intend tae stay here, then?”
“I have taken an oath for seven years. I will be trained, I will make money for The Cal, and at the end of those seven years, I can buy my freedom if a laird doesna make an offer for my services first.”
“Seven years?” she repeated, trying not to sound depressed. “But… if ye learn faster, can ye leave sooner?”
“If a laird makes an offer for me that compensates Sir Clegg, then I suppose I can leave whenever I am ready.”
Isadora opened her mouth to reply but thought better of it. He hadn’t shown much interest in serving her father, which upset her. She thought he would have jumped at the chance, simply to be with her.
But he hadn’t.
Perhaps it was fatigue and injury robbing him of his enthusiasm for such a prospect, but she couldn’t be sure. She wouldn’t press him today, but the time would come when she would bring up the subject again. Perhaps when he wasn’t so beaten down, he might consider it.
Returning to the Highlands.
Returning to her.
One thing was for certain, however—she was going to make sure her father noticed the man if she had to throw him in front of The Beast again to ensure such a thing.
She wasn’t leaving the Ludus Caledonia without Cam.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Whois thelass?” Galan asked as he and Cam faced off under a bright winter’s sky. “She’s been watching you from the lists for the better part of two weeks, Cam. Surely you know her by now.”
Cam abruptly stood up straight, turning to wave to Isadora. From her usual spot right at the edge of the arena, she waved back. With a grin, Cam returned to his defensive position, ready to withstand an attack from Galan.
Cam and Galan were now training partners, part of Milo’s troop, and Cam was happier than he had been in a very long time. Of course he knew who Isadora was, but that wasn’t something he was willing to divulge to Galan just yet. Isadora was part of his past, part of his future, and an integral part of the privacy he kept so fiercely guarded. Even though Galan was his friend, he didn’t want to share Isadora with him, not yet. He was here to learn to fight, not have a romance in public.
But in private…
“We’re here tae fight, not speak on women,” he said. “Women are a distraction.”
Galan grinned wolfishly. “And excellent ones at that.”
With that, he suddenly charged at Cam, but Cam was faster. Using a slick move to spin behind him, Cam had his sword at Galan’s throat in the blink of an eye.
“Ye’ll have tae be faster than that,Sassenach,” Cam muttered in Galan’s ear. “I can outrun ye.”
Galan rolled his eyes. “That is because outrunning an Englishman is in your blood,” he said. “All we do is chase you bloody bastards all over Scotland.”
Cam laughed, releasing Galan and shoving the man away from him. “I wonder how I will react if an English laird wants tae purchase my services. I will be quite torn.”
Galan squared up across from him again, preparing for another go-around. “A dilemma, indeed,” he said. “You cannot serve a man you are born to hate.”
The smile faded from Cam’s lips. “There are more men tae hate than the English,” he said. “There are plenty of Scots tae hate as well. There are times when I wish the English armies would march north and burn the Highlands tae cinder, erasing those wicked men from the earth. Sometimes I wish…”
He stopped, realizing he sounded a little mad.
“There are wicked men everywhere,” Galan said. “England, Scotland, Wales… I grew up on the Welsh Marches. Believe me when I tell you that the Scots do not have the market on wicked men.”
Because Galan had lowered his sword, Cam lowered his as well. “If ye grew up on the Marches, why did ye come tae Scotland tae learn tae fight?”
Galan wiped the sweat from his brow. “I am the third of three sons,” he said. “My eldest brother shall inherit the lands and titles upon my father’s death and my second brother has an inheritance from my mother. But me… I must earn my own way.”
