AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lillianna blew him a kiss. “Come find me in the great hall when ye’re done.”
He nodded even as Graham snorted loudly beside him. As they continued their descent, Graham spoke. “How do ye plan to meet with two lasses at once?”
Cameron blinked in confusion until he recalled his promise to Mary. “Simple. I’ll meet Mary first and then Lillianna,” he said with a grin.
Graham scowled at him. “One day, Brother, ye will meet a lass who will make things confusing.”
“And I’ll wish her farewell faster than she can take a breath,” Cameron replied, not liking how much his brother’s glare reminded him of their father’s. The past was haunting him tonight, and he felt out of sorts. “I dunnae want one lass,” he continued, but the feeling of being confused—or rather, on the verge of something important—grew. “Especially a confusing one.” His voice had become quieter, and his mind whirred as if a storm had slipped into his head. “I want nothing more than to be a warrior.” The truth came out before he could stop it.
His brother’s eyes widened a fraction, and he sighed. “I suspected.” Graham clasped him on the shoulder. “Dunnae be yer own worst enemy, then.”
Cameron frowned. “I’m nae. I train as much as anyone else, but Iain dunnae seem to see, nor care.”
“Iain sees everything. Dunnae ever forget that. He sees that ye have given up; we all do. Iain is testing ye, waiting to see if ye will rise up and become the man we all ken ye can be. Presently, ye’re failing Iain’s test. Dunnae continue to be a clot-heid. If ye truly wish to be seen as an equal, ye must pursue that desire with utter determination.”
Their eyes locked, and Cameron realized with a start that what his brother had said made sense. Hehadgiven up, had settled on being the reckless brother.
He clasped Graham’s shoulder. “Thank ye, Brother. I’ll nae give up.”
Graham nodded as they moved onto the shore from the stairs, and the noise of the assembled crowd swallowed them. They weaved through clansmen and strangers, and in and out of bonfires that had been lit to ward off evil spirits. Near where all the contestants were lined up side-by-side for the dagger-throwing competition, Cameron halted as a group of barefooted children raced in front of him, giggling and waving sticks as they pretended to battle one another. Once they were past, Cameron strode toward Iain and Catriona, who leaned against her husband, looking pale as the moon and fragile as a newborn babe.
Cameron’s throat tightened at his sister-in-law’s sickly state. Her difficulty breathing and horrid coughing spells seemed to be worsening by the day, but he’d not utter the thought aloud. To do so would bring his brother’s wrath down upon him. If a body could be saved from death by the love of another, then Cameron had no doubt Catriona would regain her health, as his brother loved her mightily.
When Cameron moved to his place in the line of competitors, Iain gave him a narrow-eyed look that conveyed, without doubt or words, his vexation with Cameron for being late. His older brother was almost always irritated with him, just as their father had always been, but maybe it was a test, as Graham had said.
Cameron was about to apologize for his delay when Archibald looked at him and spoke. “We were all beginning to wonder if ye were scairt to face me in competition.”
“I dunnae fear ye, Archibald,” Cameron drawled as he donned his plaid once more. “Yer aim is about as impressive as this day is short.” He twisted his mouth in a smirk.
Archibald furrowed his brow. “’Tis one of the longest days of the year…”
“Aye,” Cameron said with a chuckle, then tapped the man on the side of the head. “The day is nae short, and yer aim is nae impressive.”
Guffaws rang out down the line of twelve men.
Archibald smacked Cameron’s arm away. “I’ll show ye how impressive my aim is,” the man thundered, swinging a punch at Cameron.
As Cameron ducked, a hand shot out in front of his face to stop Archibald’s fist.
Alex appeared seemingly out of the mist. Archibald’s cousin towered over him, dark and grimacing. “Keep yer temper and yer wits about ye, or ye’re certain to be bested as ye were the other day by my wee sister.”
Bridgette MacLean tossed her long red hair over her shoulder before offering a smirk from where she stood with the other women. Her green eyes danced with mirth. Knowing Bridgette, she’d much rather be in the competition than watching it, but her brother had refused to let her participate.
“She did nae best me,” Archibald grumbled. “I let her win.”
“Ye’re lying to save yerself the mortification,” Bridgette replied matter-of-factly. “I told ye then, and I’ll tell ye now—women are better at dagger throwing because we’ve more patience.”
“Step up in line and prove it,” Hugo, the Earl of Ross’s son, jeered.
Cameron grimaced. He’d never liked the grasping bastard son of the earl, and it had nothing to do with Hugo being the result of an illicit affair between the earl and his wife’s sister. Cameron didn’t give a saint’s sniff about the shame that others said was attached to Hugo. What Cameron did care about was that Hugo had used the fact that his father was cousin to King David to attain land he did not deserve. But as of late, fate had taken care of Hugo and the earl, as both seemed to be falling out of favor with the King of Scots, who was presently imprisoned in England.
“What’s the matter, Bridgette?” Hugo taunted. “Are ye fearful ye’ll shame yerself if ye throw with the men?”
Cameron glanced swiftly at Graham, wondering if his brother was going to finally make known his feelings for Bridgette by coming to her defense. His jaw was set and his sword drawn, but as he stepped forward, Bridgette snorted and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Och, if my brother would let me throw, ye’d be the one shamed, Hugo.”
Iain raised his hands for silence, and a hush fell over the assembled crowd. “Ye all ken the rules, but they bear repeating. The dagger closest to the target wins. Twelve men stand ready to compete and have offered up the necessary purse of coin. The winner takes all twelve purses.”
Iain quickly called out the clans present, as well as one lone competitor. The man had no plaid on to indicate he was part of any clan, so Cameron assumed the stranger was aCeàrdannan. He wasn’t overly taken aback to see a Summer Walker at Dunvegan for the festival, but he hadn’t expected to see one competing. The clanless land travelers usually did not partake in such things.
