AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Aye, he hates Robert and now he has everything that once belonged to him, Duncan can do as he pleases with all of it. He can do as he pleases with me also.’
‘Forgive me. I do not mean to upset you but Ailsa, Duncan is my friend and I would not have you judge him quite so harshly.’
‘Of course, but then you have the luxury of not being married to him.’
‘I would have thought the marriage to have been an advantageous one for both of you.’
‘I was given no choice but to agree in order to secure the future of my clan.’
‘A noble sacrifice and I sincerely admire you for it. But perhaps you should make more of a study of your new husband and then you might see a future for yourself with him.’
‘You are his friend, of course you would stress Duncan’s virtues.’
‘Aye, though there are a great many faults and precious few virtues.’ He laughed heartily. ‘He can be a cold, ruthless bastard when he sets his mind to it. He is stubborn, vain, though he pretends not to be,’ Rory smiled. ‘He’s arrogant, impatient and has a vicious temper…well, I’m sure you’ve seen that for yourself. He tends to say whatever he wants without thought for the consequences, especially when he’s in his cups and we’ve had many a brawl because of it I can tell you. And women...och he’s a bit of a devil with women.’ Rory had Ailsa’s full attention now.
‘There’s many a lass set their cap at him over the years but none have ever been able to hold him. Do not mistake my meaning here Ailsa, he is never cruel to the lassies it’s just that he makes it plain he wants them but will not love them, makes no bones about it. They know from the start what he is prepared to give and he believes that is enough. Nevertheless, they throw themselves at him like moths to a flame and to no avail; their feelings get hurt and Duncan can never understand why as he has been honest and thinks that is enough.’
‘It would appear my marriage prospects are bleak at best then,’ said Ailsa, wary as to why Rory was talking to her like this. She liked him, his humour and kindness had made their mark, though as a Campbell she had cause not to trust him. Was he reassuring her or warning her?
‘He appears cold and harsh lass but it is the reason he has survived this long. But he is also wise, brave and would defend his men to the death without a moment’s hesitation or regret. He is an educated man, by his own efforts, as no one else ever took the trouble, and he has a natural cunning which makes him a formidable tactician. You wouldn’t want to be his enemy but if you are his ally, well, he has a way of inspiring you to follow him. He is generous to a fault and kind to those who need him to be with endless reservoirs of loyalty for those who deserve it. If you are ever fortunate enough to win his friendship Duncan will go to his death before he will ever forsake you.
Ailsa fell silent, struggling with this new opinion of Duncan and dismissing it.
Rory continued. ‘You know that underneath his raging anger, all the barking and fury, I believe he cares for you in a way that looks beyond your beauty and beyond lust. Ailsa, he is trying to protect you and I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. I venture to say, as he probably never will, that he could even be in love with you.’
‘In love with me!’ she exclaimed. ‘He knows nothing of me and he certainly knows nothing of love, as you have just said, with all the broken-hearted women he leaves in his wake.’
‘He may not understand love – it has been a stranger to him most of his life and in this respect, he is in some ways broken. But just because he has not received affection does not mean he has no need of it, just like the rest of us.’
‘Are you telling me you need love Rory?’ said Ailsa, keen to turn the conversation away from her and Duncan.
‘Aye, eventually I hope to find my one true love and settle down. Until then I offer my eager services to the village trollops and we please each other. There is much joy to be had from love Ailsa, but first, you have to let it in.’
‘The Campbells have taken everything from me and left me with no hope for the future. What joy is there in that?’
‘Come now, you have to admit that you are safer than you were last year, as is Clan MacLeod. You have the protection of a husband and soon children will follow. Your home is safe and comfortable. So yes, you have lost some things but you have gained others, you have not been left with nothing. My friend, on the other hand, started with less than nothing. Over the years I have watched Duncan drag himself out of the mire that was his birthright. I have watched him struggle to survive.’
‘On the battlefield?’
‘No that is not what I mean.’ In contrast to the summer sunshine, Rory’s face had darkened with his memories. ‘Duncan’s father, Fergus Campbell, was a cold-hearted devil who beat his wife and child mercilessly, always drunk, always looking for someone to bully. Eventually, his mother, Eithne, could stand it no more and she ran off with another man when he was but seven years old. I can understand her urge to flee what I cannot understand is how she could leave her bairn behind with Fergus. Perhaps she hated bearing his child or her lover did not want to be burdened with a brat. Alas with his mother no longer around to bully, Fergus turned the full force of his rage onto Duncan. He was the spit of Eithne you see so when he was beating Duncan it was almost as good as beating her.’
‘That is unforgivable,’ said Ailsa horrified.
‘Yes, but sadly it is the way of the world and that is not the worst of it. As his own father did not value him, indeed taking every opportunity to belittle and humiliate him before all, the other boys felt they had free reign to do the same. He was tormented mercilessly, always taking beatings and always covered in bruises.’
‘How did he survive?’
‘By growing bigger, cleverer and more vicious than any of them. Duncan found ways of hiding when his father was drunk and looking for a victim and as to the cruel lads, he never backed down from a fight, always stood his ground no matter what. They would beat him bloody but he would still drag himself to his feet somehow and fight on. That is why I would never want to face him in a fight today. It was a miracle he survived his childhood but mercifully his father died relatively young.’
‘How?’
‘Took a knife to the throat in a tavern brawl,’ replied Rory casually. ‘No one lamented his passing, least of all Duncan, and then his Uncle Hugh took him in and raised him. He got cold comfort there I can tell you for Hugh Campbell is a hard man.’
‘I had no idea.’
‘We never talk of it. Fergus Campbell’s drunkenness and debauchery was the shame of our clan, he lost his estate of Struan over it, along with Duncan’s inheritance. And you must never mention any of this, it would humiliate him.’
‘So he was brought up in misery,’ said Ailsa, shocked and saddened by Rory’s tale. ‘And so how did you become friends.’
