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So far, it seemed, his sworn stepson was.
“It’s all right,” she said to Seoc, feeling anything but. She remembered she’d been a teacher back in the twenty-first century, and she knew how to calm ten-year-olds down and get them to behave. “You’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The boy blinked and let his arm fall, the knife pointing downwards. She knew her voice sounded soothing and teacher-like, and every child had an immediate reaction to it.
Even a medieval one.
Seoc looked around. “I’m so sorry, mistress. I was just curious, and it all fell out, and I stepped on these wee things, and they broke. I didna mean to… What is all this, mistress?”
Her life being smashed against the floor…
But she had to appear strong and capable. Before she could reply, steps sounded from behind her, and Raghnall appeared in the room, panting, his eyes wild… And then they grew wilder when he looked at the floor.
“Oh, lass…” he managed. “Is that yer…insu—”
Bryanna closed her eyes and nodded solemnly.
“Oh, God’s arse! Seoc, what did ye do?”
She shook her head. “He didn’t. It was me, I…I was too clumsy. Don’t blame him. It was me.”
The boy had gone through enough, losing his mother, moving across the country with a man he didn’t know—and he was clearly malnourished and uncared for. What he needed was love. What he needed was care.
Raghnall took her by the arms and shook her a little, his face a mask of desperation.
“Lass, ye ken what this means!” he shouted right into her face. “Ye must leave, now. The enemy is right at our door.”
She felt her legs beginning to shake. She looked at the medical supplies and other stuff scattered around the floor. Was her glucose monitor even whole? Did it even matter if she couldn’t get more insulin in any case?
She swallowed, hard.
“Ye must leave, at once,” Raghnall insisted.
“But how?” she whispered.
“Let’s go, I’ll help ye clear it.”
She saw the hesitation in his eyes, the conflict. The pause, the frown between his eyebrows told her everything.
“You can’t help me. You’re needed to protect your family…” She looked at Seoc, who was staring at them wide-eyed. “Your son.”
Raghnall’s chin jerked, decision hard on his face. “My family has enough men to protect them, including Angus, who is the best warrior I ken. And ye have no one.”
He looked at Seoc. “Come, lad, help me get Lady Bryanna’s things back into her purse.”
As Raghnall rushed to the floor, the boy stood forlorn, blinking. “I am sorry, mistress,” he whispered in a small voice.
Bryanna, who had knelt to pick up her wallet and, one by one, her ID card, her credit card and her other cards, looked up at him. Suddenly, he was so small and vulnerable, she ached to reach out and wrap her arms around him.
“It’s okay,” she said firmly. “What’s done is done. All you can do now is help.”
The boy nodded and picked up the black case of her medical kit and handed it to her shyly. She took it from him and smiled, then put everything back into her purse.
When all was done, she straightened up, and Raghnall was already on his way.
She followed him, catching the shouts of distress coming from beyond the tower. The great hall was empty, and on the ground floor, men were rushing in and out of the basement, holding swords, crossbows, and bows and arrows.
Everything had changed. And everything might change even further—if she managed to free the rock today, she could be back in her hotel, hugging her mom and sister, tonight.
