Ternan knew that tone in Drostan’s voice—he’d heard it before, many times. It was the voice of a man who knew what he wanted and would stop at nothing to get it.
Drostan put the coin purse in Ternan’s hand, and the man was on his way to Edinburgh before the day was out.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Village of Blairgowrie
Several days onthe road and Cam hadn’t had much contact with Isadora.
Unfortunately, Cam’s horse seemed very interested in Isadora’s mare, and the little horse was quite frightened of the big-boned warmblood. Therefore, the horses were kept separate at all times, even at night when they stopped to sleep.
Because the weather had turned bitter, Niall had decided that his daughter should sleep in an inn nightly. While Isadora enjoyed a roof over her head and a fire in the hearth, Niall, his sons, and Cam had slept in the livery with the horses, enduring freezing temperatures and uncomfortable conditions. All of this kept Cam separated from Isadora and that only made his guilt with the situation grow worse.
But perhaps it was for the best.
It gave him time to think, to try to push aside his feelings for her to focus on the job he had to do. But the combination of being torn between his sense of vengeance and his feelings for Isadora, and the return to the Highlands in general, had done something to his mood.
Isadora and her father watched him with some concern, but the truth was that they had no idea what was causing Cam’ssullenness. At least, Niall didn’t, but Isadora suspected. She knew the return to the destruction of his village must have been weighing heavily on him.
On the eve of the last day of their journey, it began to rain, pelting them with freezing water, and Niall finally decided to pay for all of them to stay in an inn. Perhaps that would brighten the mood of his surly new warrior.
The inn was called The Fair Stag, situated on the edge of the larger village of Blairgowrie. The place smelled like a horde of unwashed bodies, but it was warm and dry, which made it the perfect place to stop for the night.
As they entered the inn, Cam took charge of where the group sat. The peaceful smithy from Netherton became a no-nonsense bully when the mood struck him, and at the moment, the mood was struck. He was wet from the rain, and wanted near the fire, so he found a table occupied by three travelers and essentially threw the men aside, confiscating the table in the name of the lady.
Being that a woman was involved, the three travelers didn’t fight back, but they grumbled as they walked away, looking for another table. Isadora watched with big eyes as they moved to the other side of the common room.
“Ye dinna have tae throw men from their table, Cam,” she said quietly. “We could have found another suitable table. There are a few around the room.”
Cam wouldn’t look at her as he pulled out a chair. “Sit,” he commanded. “This table is nearer the hearth and considering there are those of us who havena known a fire or warmth the past few days, I think we deserve it.”
Isadora didn’t argue with him. She simply sat down in the chair he indicated while he pulled up another chair from another table so there were enough chairs to go around. Niall sat next tohis daughter, with Cam on her left, and Ossian and Ewan across the table.
The brothers began pulling off their cloaks, moving to hang them on the pegs on the wall near the hearth so they would dry out. Ewan rubbed his hands together, clearly eager and happy to be in a warm shelter.
“Where’s the wench?” he demanded, pounding on the table. “I need food and drink!”
Niall frowned at his behavior but Isadora was more vocal. “Hush, Ewie,” she scolded softly. “Ye behave like an animal. Quiet yerself.”
Ewan didn’t like being reprimanded by his younger sister but he kept his mouth shut. He looked around for the serving wench, who was tending to other customers. Impatiently, he thumped on the tabletop, looking around the room, inspecting the various patrons. This far north, they were mostly merchants and perhaps a few clansmen passing through. No one very interesting. But then he turned his attention to Cam.
He was the most interesting thing in the room.
Ewan had spent several days riding with a surly bear of a man. He wasn’t even a fully fledged warrior, although Ewan was forced to admit his skills were impressive. To take down The Beast, they had to be. He didn’t even realize that he’d met Cam, years ago, when he’d helped ambush him in the Vale of Demons; Isadora never told him, so as far as Ewan was concerned, Cam was just some brute from the Highlands who now belonged to Clan Keith.
“I was told ye were a smithy before ye went tae The Cal,” Ewan said, eyeing Cam from across the table. “Da says ye’re from Netherton.”
Cam, who had been in the process of removing his cloak to dry, didn’t respond right away. He’d had barely any conversation with either brother on the trip north and that had been by hisown choice. He didn’t want to socialize with the enemy and he didn’t want to get to know them, on any level, but at the moment he was a rather captive audience.
He didn’t have a choice.
“I was,” he said. “And I am.”
Ewan was expecting more of an answer. “Ye’re tae come and live with us, but no one knows much about ye,” he said. When Niall tried to hush his bold son, Ewan waved him off. “’Tis true. He’s not said two words tae Ossian and me this entire journey. Are we not good enough tae speak with? Yer fealty is with my father now and when he dies, it’ll be me leading the clan. I want tae know about a man we are supposed tae trust.”
Isadora jumped in. “Ye dunna demand tae know of a man like that,” she said. “Have ye no manners? Ask him politely and he may answer, but if he doesna wish tae speak, ye dunna press him. He’s come tae help us against the Lindsay, but he’s not yer servant. Ye dunna make demands of the man.”
“Oh? And what doyeknow about him?”
