“Who can tell?” Marisse quipped. “The wall be nearly as tall as the keep.”
“’Tis to keep out invaders,” Colyne said. His tone was filled with adolescent incredulity, as if the two women were too stupid to understand the concept. Or anything else for that matter.
“I wish to go beyond the wall,” Aeschene said, nudging Marisse again.
“I ken that!” Marisse said, growing exacerbated with her friend. “Be patient!”
After making their way around a few piles of manure and puddles too numerous to count, they finally arrived at the wall and gate. A young man, mayhap only a few years older than Raibeart, stepped forward, bringing the small procession to an abrupt halt. “Good morn, ladies,” he said, grinning ear to ear at Marisse.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, for she was in no mood to be fawned over, Marisse said, “Open the gate, please.”
“Do ye have the laird’s permission?” he asked, still grinning.
Beyond eager, Aeschene stepped forward. “Young man, if ye do not open this gate immediately, I shall tell me husband of yer rudeness. Ye can see I have my brothers-by-law with me.”
The young man looked to Raibeart for direction. With a nod from the laird’s brother, the guard gave the order for the gate to be lifted.
Aeschene believed ’twas her firm tone that set the man into action. No one would tell her otherwise.
Across a muddy road, Raibeart led them onto a well-worn path. It was dotted on either side with mud and daub huts and little cottages. Each of these homes were in various states of disrepair. A dozen or so appeared to be completely uninhabitable. The charred remnants of an event that took place years before.
“What does it look like?” Aeschene asked happily. It felt so good to be out of doors, to be free to come and go as she pleased! ’Twas nigh on impossible to contain her excitement.
Raibeart didn’t give Marisse time to answer. “Much the same as it did when the Chisolms attacked us eight years ago.”
Her excitement rapidly evaporated.
“We have yer da and kin to thank for that,” he added bitingly.
What was there to say? He spoke nothing but the truth. A knot formed in her throat, making it impossible to speak, even if she had known what to say.
“If yer da had not broken his word, our da and mum would still be alive. Everyone would still be alive,” Colyne added solemnly.
Her heart cracked. She didn’t need good eyes to see the hurt and pain in his, or his brother’s, for it was readily apparent in their voices. Their anger and sadness was palpable. Aeschene could not blame them for being angry with her father. If she were honest with herself, she was just as angry with him as the MacCulloughs were, albeit for different reasons.
“If ye think our people will be welcoming ye with open arms, I fear ye will be sadly mistook,” Raibeart said. “We are a proud people who neither forgive nor forget easily.”
There was a seriousness to his ominous tone that sent a frisson of dread up and down her spine.
“Garrin MacRay did nae just betray yer people,” Marisse said. “He betrayed his own as well.”
“What do ye mean?” Colyne asked curiously.
Aeschene heard Marisse take a deep, cleansing breath before she answered him. “When Garrin broke his oath to yer clan, he also broke his oath to his own people. The lives of many MacRay men were lost. Forfeit for a cause and reasons none of us could ever figure out.” She took another deep breath and Aeschene could feel her trembling. “Because of Garrin MacRay’s betrayal, I lost my husband. A good and honorable man. A man I loved with all my heart.”
Choking on a sob, Marisse went on to say, “Garrin is not an honorable man. What changed, neither I nor Aeschene ken and I doubt we ever will.”
For once, Aeschene didn’t speak up in defense of her father.
Raibeart and Colyne studied each of the women closely.
In truth, Raibeart didn’t care that Aeschene was now his brother’s wife. She was first and foremost a MacRay, the daughter of their sworn enemy. The daughter of the man responsible for the death of his mother, and later his father and four brothers.
“I will never forgive yer father,” he told her pointedly.
“I would not expect ye to,” Aeschene replied, her voice but a whisper. “I only ask that ye not hold me or Marisse responsible for the actions of my father.”
He wasn’t certain he had it in him to do that.
“We ken ye hurt and are angry,” Marisse offered. “We all are hurt and angry with the MacRay.”
Aeschene nodded her agreement. “We only ask for the chance to prove ourselves worthy of being MacCulloughs. I swear to ye, we would never and will never betray ye.”
Robert snorted derisively and shook his head.
Colyne looked up at him and said, “’Tis only fair.”
Raibeart rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest as he glowered at his younger brother. “Think ye it is fair that our mum and da be dead? Think ye it is fair that our four older brothers be dead?”
Colyne gave a nod towards the two women. “But they didn’t kill them.”
If looks could kill, Colyne would have been dead from the furious glower his brother was giving him. Undeterred he said, “They dunnae ask for anything other than a chance.”
Aeschene could have wept. Colyne possessed an honesty and bluntness that only an innocent lad of his young years could. She wasn’t so naive as to believe he was defending her. That was too much to hope for. But the mere fact that he was willing to at least give her a chance to prove herself worthy of their trust was enough to lift her spirits.
“I, we,” she said with a nod towards Marisse, “give ye our word that we will never betray ye or yer trust.” There was naught much else she could say at the moment. All she could do was prove through her own actions that her new family would have nothing but her fealty.
For not the first time in her life, her anger towards her father reared deep in her stomach, threading its way into her heart. How many times in the past few years had she forgiven him for his actions towards her, his only daughter? How many times had she made excuses and blamed herself? If I hadn’t lost my sight. If only I was as beautiful as my mother. If only…
Pulling herself back to the here and now, she swallowed back her tears. “I can never make up for my father’s treachery. I can never bring back yer parents—”
“Nay, ye cannae,” Raibeart bit out.
She could not deny him his anger and hurt. Although she had nothing to do with all the deaths and destruction, she knew she represented the one truly responsible; her father. She was Garrin MacRay’s daughter. If gaining the trust of her new family meant taking the brunt of Raibeart’s anger and frustration, she would. “Would ye like to hit me?” She folded her hands in front of her and lifted her chin.
“What?” he exclaimed incredulously.
“I asked if ye would like to hit me.”
“Why on earth would I hit ye?” he asked, dumbfounded.
Oh, how she wished she could look into his eyes. “Ye cannae hit my father,” she began in a soft voice. “I imagine, were I in yer shoes, I would want to do just that. Beat the living hell out of the man who stole so much from me. Since he is not here, I stand in his stead. If ye would like to hit me, ye can. We will tell everyone I took a fall. Who would not believe that?”