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‘Aye, Robert is a hard master, I’ll own it, but he is the master our country needs, and I would follow him into hell if I have to for I will protect what is mine and what I love at all costs. That is the difference between this Bain and I. He does not love anything enough to die for it.’
‘Then he is no fool. Please Cormac, let us not quarrel. Who knows when we will see each other again?’
‘When this latest action is over, I will return, Morna.’ Cormac turned to Will. ‘You have poisoned my sister’s mind against her own family. I should have let them take your head at Bannockburn for a traitor.’
‘Cormac, stop this,’ said Morna, but to no avail.
‘If you’d done that, Morna would be dead or worse, whored to Wymon Cranstoun. I saved her from that fate Buchanan, whether you want to believe it or not,’ snarled Will.
‘Aye, and that is the only thing which is stopping me from gutting you right now.’
‘That and the bows trained on your heart from my walls,’ said Will. ‘Kill me and you die too, Cormac. Where will Morna be then?’
‘What do you want from her Bain? Are you to wed my sister or are you content to make a whore of her?’
Morna looked at Will. A muscle was going in his cheek, and his grip on her hand tightened like a vice.
‘She is to be my bride.’
‘Then dredge up a priest and get it done. I shall know if it is not.’
Cormac rode over to her and leaned in close, out of earshot of Will. ‘I would not part on bad terms, though this is not the outcome I hoped for. I cannot believe I am to ride away without you. When this action is over, I will come back with Lyall. In the meantime, tell Bain that he had better take care of you, for you are my beloved sister and more precious to Lyall and me than anything. Listen to me, Morna. This man will not make you happy. When this union dies a natural death, as it surely will, remember you always have a home at Beharra.’
With that, he jerked his horse’s head around and galloped away without a backward glance. The tears came then, a flood which would not stop. Morna pulled her hand free of Will’s as they dripped down her face and landed in her lap.
He looked at her with a face like thunder. ‘Go inside, now,’ he said and galloped off after Cormac.
***
Will caught up with Cormac just as he crested the hill.
‘What do you want? Have you come to gloat?’ said Cormac.
‘No.’
‘My sister does not know her own heart. When she does, she will despise you for leading her astray.’
‘I can make her happy, I know it.’
Cormac laughed. ‘You will be the ruin of her.’
‘I don’t have to be. I know I am not what you would have chosen for Morna, but it was never your choice to make. She has an independent spirit. You cannot rule her any more than I.
‘What do you want Bain?’
‘You say I have no allegiance, that I hide on this island in the middle of the ocean. I am coming to realise that is not the best course of action if I am to keep my clan safe. If Robert prevails in this war, then he will turn his eyes to the Western Isles with retribution in his heart. But if I ally myself with him now, at the turn of the tide, then I will have the ear of the King of Scotland, will I not?’
‘He does not need your help to crush the English, and nor do I.’
‘How many ships does Robert have at his disposal? I would wager not as many as the English. How will he transport men and horses to battle? How will he protect these shores from the English armies coming up the coast and raiding inland? I have allies hereabouts that I can call upon.’
‘If I haven’t needed you before, why should I need you now?’
‘You have been lucky, Cormac, but luck always runs out, and if you fall in battle and that fool Owen Sutherland and your brother with you, Morna will be in danger without me to protect her, cowering here on my little island. If Robert takes against me, as my wife, she will also be in danger. We both know what happens when you get on Robert’s bad side.’
‘I don’t trust you with my sister’s welfare.’
‘That is a burden indeed and one you must bear, not I.’
