Isadora was very quickly becoming annoyed with him. He was making this seem as if it were some manner of social visit when they both knew it wasn’t. Her irritation had the better of her.
“Do Ilooklike someone who has traveled the world?” she said. “Look at me. Do I dress like a fine lady? I’ve barely been out of Auchnacree.”
If Drostan was offended by her snappish reply, he didn’t let on. “Pity,” he said. “Surely ye know some stories tae entertain me with, even if they only come from yer experiences from yer village.”
She sighed sharply. “I dunna know any stories,” she said. “Will ye please tell me what ye wish for me tae relay tae my da?”
Now, Drostan was starting to show some displeasure. “I wouldna be in such a great rush if I were ye,” he said. “I am trying tae show ye my hospitality.”
“Ye stopped showing me any measure of hospitality when yer men dragged me here.”
“Ye shouldna have fought with them.”
“I wasna going tae make an easy target, Lindsay. Why did ye bring me here?”
She finished it off with a demand, something Drostan rose to. She was lovely, and he’d been trying to charm her, but it hadn’t worked. That infuriated him.
“Ye havena yet learned tae be gracious,” he said, his jaw twitching. “That is an unfortunate flaw, lass. Ye’d do well tae know that ye’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Ye may look like a rose, but ye have the disposition of a boar.”
Isadora replied before she could stop herself. “Only in the appropriate company.”
Drostan’s cheeks took on a ruddy cast and the tic in his jaw worsened. Isadora teetered between being sorry she’d spoken up and defiant in her position. She watched as Drostan stood up and came around to her side of the table, wondering if the man was going to strike her.
“Ye want tae know why I brought ye here? Then I’ll tell ye,” he growled as he looked down into her face. When she tried to scoot away from him as he sat down beside her, too close for comfort, he grabbed her by the arm so she couldn’t move far.
“I want ye tae look at the man I brought with me,” he said, pointing. “Do ye see him? He is the best warrior in all of Scotland and he’s sworn tae me. They call him The Beast.”
Isadora had no choice but to look at the hulking figure standing over near the hearth. He was looking at her with those wild eyes—they were dark, so dark they were the color of coal, but it was thewayhe was looking at her. Those eyes glittered and she could see the savage within.
“I see him,” she said, struggling against the fear that was clutching at her. “Where did he come from?”
“The Ludus Caledonia,” Drostan said with satisfaction. “Ye’ve never heard of it, have ye? Of course not. A lass who hasnever left her village. The Ludus Caledonia is a place where they make great warriors. I’ve paid for the man’s fealty, meaning he’ll do whatever I tell him tae do.”
“And what will ye tell him tae do?”
Drostan looked at her, then. “Yer clan has settled on land that doesna belong tae ye,” he said. “It is Lindsay land, given over tae a whore who married intae Clan Keith. She inherited it from her father, who was my uncle a few generations back. The land should never have gone tae her. It has always been Lindsay land.”
“That still doesna tell me what ye’ll order yer Beast tae do.”
“That should be obvious. He’s tae destroy yer village, but more importantly, I’ll tell him tae destroy yer da. Ye have brothers, too. I’ll tell him tae destroy yer brothers so there’ll be no more chieftains from yer da’s line. I could destroy ye, too, but it would serve no purpose. Ye’ll tell Niall Keith that if he doesna leave Auchnacree before the spring thaw, I’ll send my beast in tae destroy him and his bloodlines.”
It wasn’t a surprising statement. Isadora found herself looking over at The Beast, who was quite unemotional about it all. Truly, he had no reason to behave otherwise—none of this meant anything to him.
But it meant something to her.
“I was born in Auchnacree,” she said, returning her focus to Drostan. “My mother is buried at the church in Glenogil. My entire family, generations back, has been born there. Ye’ve never even set foot in Auchnacree. Why would ye want something so badly that has no meaning tae ye?”
It was a genuine question, not a belligerent one. But Drostan was unsympathetic.
“Because it’s mine,” he said simply. “Those lands are mine.”
“Have ye ever spoken tae my da about paying ye tribute? Tribute tae remain on the land?”
That gave him pause. “We’ve offered tae pay him tae leave.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean,” she said. “If ye allow us tae remain in peace, then I will speak tae my da about paying tribute. ’Twould be better tae have us there, paying ye for the privilege, than having us leave and the land remaining vacant. Wouldna it be worth more tae ye tae have someone there tae pay ye for it?”
It was actually quite logical. More than that, it was surprising that Drostan, in all of his years of hatred and scheming, had never thought of the same thing. He looked over at Ternan, who was across the table, searching for a reaction in the man’s features. Ternan simply shrugged as if it might actually be a possibility.
