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‘I’m not on your side today. I intend to knock you on your arse any minute now, for while I was away, you seem to have got old,’ teased Murray.
‘And you didn’t get any less insolent,’ said Duncan. Sparks flew as their blades clashed and they pushed and grunted against each other. This elicited gasps from some of the ladies watching on.
‘As I recall I still owe you a thrashing, seeing as you stole away in the middle of the night to avoid one, and in return, you owe me coin and a horse.’
‘Not much of a horse,’ replied Murry, ‘a lame old nag that didn’t get me very far, I walked most of the way to England.’
‘Good, it’s what you deserved,’ replied Duncan pushing him off with some effort. ‘Let us rest, I have need of some ale to quench my thirst and have a matter to discuss with you.’
They took to the sidelines while some of the young men took their place and sat quietly together as the sword fighting continued. As Duncan wiped the mud and sweat from his hands Murray noticed that Aidan Grant had entered the fray and was doing a decent job of impressing Ilene.
‘You should never have gone away.’ Duncan’s voice tore him away from staring at her.
‘I had to leave,’ he replied, the jealousy surging through his chest making his voice harder than he had intended.
‘Aye, but only because you were too stubborn to admit you were at fault for the raid on the McDougalls.’
‘I felt they deserved it.’
‘Maybe they did, but how did it serve the clan? We must deal with others Murray, even when we would rather cut them. Hate can be a rot in the truest heart if it is unchecked by mercy or forgiveness.’
They fell silent, both staring at the fighting.
‘So I have to ask, do you intend to remain with us?’
‘I have already given you my word on this. Now that I have made my way in the world and have my plunder, I am looking to the future and I see that future here.’
‘By what means did you come by that plunder.’
‘Here’s the truth of it, I did what I had to in order to survive, as I have always done. You of all people should know that war does not breed soft men. The women I took were willing or bought, the riches I have I took from those I defeated, and the men whose lives I took, well, they sold them dearly, and I have the scars to prove it. I did not seek to make war on innocents as did others in Cromwell’s ranks but I did see the aftermath of some terrible things. In truth, I did nothing I would not do again. If you are too weak to defend what is yours in this world then you deserve to lose it.’
If Duncan was surprised by the callousness of the reply he did not show it. Apologies had never come easy to Murray, even as a young boy, and he had spent a life in the armies of Europe among fighting men. Maybe their harshness had seeped into him. Duncan doubted anyone would ever wash it out of his soul. Murray had a stout heart but a dark one, and besides, he had no right to judge. He had always taken what he wanted out of life, though his ruthlessness had been tempered with mercy.
They were alike in many ways he and Murray, which was why they had clashed before. It was clear that the foundling he had taken in all those years ago and raised as his own had followed a dark path since leaving Cailleach behind him. Best he did not know where that path had led, for he loved Murray as a son and clung fast to the belief that he had a kernel of decency and honour in him. If he judged Murray and what had shaped him, then he was really judging himself.
‘So you will put your days as a mercenary behind you Murray?’
‘I should, for I know such a life is prone to an early and bloody end.’
‘That might come to pass if you fight for me.’
‘I will have no regrets fighting honourably to protect this clan and its women and children,’ he said, glancing over once again at Ilene. ‘When this latest danger is over I have a want to settle, get some land with my blood money and stop awhile,’ he said bitterly.
‘I am glad to hear it. Perhaps I can help you in that venture for I have some land with no master for it, upon the northernmost borders of Campbell territory, at Shillinglaw. It abuts the sea and is remote and almost ungovernable. But I think its wildness would suit you, so it’s yours if you want it and if you can hold it.’
‘I thank you, but I could never, in all honour, accept such a gift. I am not your heir, your own son, it is not my place.’
‘You’ve always been as a son to me Murray. With my Uncle Hugh ailing, I have the worry of both Clan Campbell and Clan MacLeod on my shoulders and plenty of land along with it. Conall and Jasper will have a vast inheritance, with or without Shillinglaw.’
‘But surely they would be better masters of it when they are of age, and I have been absent for so long, and my ingratitude in leaving….’
‘Hold, for I will not hear your protest. If you accept this it is no easy thing, you would be pledging your sword to me, should I need it. I may have to call on you soon, for I must prepare for troubled times and a split within the clans as to whom they will pledge allegiance, Richard Cromwell or Charles.’
‘And to whom do you think Scotland will rally?’
‘Most will support Charles but others will oppose his return with all their strength. All I know is there’s trouble ahead. Look, Murray, Shillinglaw is a remote and lonely place. It was the ruin of the previous master, who spent his time drinking himself to death. He left behind a decaying house and tenants who do not fulfil their obligations to me. The land, though not as fertile as here, should yield more than it does, and you would, in truth, be doing me a service by accepting this offer. I need those men up north to pledge to me, I need you to rally them to my cause should the worst happen. I trust you, that is why I would make you this gift Murray. By taking what I am offering you can be of service to me, and I to you, and we can put the past behind us.’
Murray stole a glance at Ilene, so pretty and so beyond his reach. Suddenly he felt as though his heart had sunk to his toes. The past would never be behind him no matter what Duncan said, for even now it was pulling at him. If he accepted Duncan’s offer he would have to say goodbye to her again but what else was there for someone like him? So he faced the truth of his situation.
