The night was long, followed by an overly bright morning that contradicted her foul mood. Too little sleep and too much thinking were an ill-matched pair if ever there were one.
If William was as deprived of rest, he didn’t look it. He compiled a schedule to watch Mabrick Castle with his usual efficiency in an effort to keep track of the comings and goings at the front gate.
William was on the first watch and requested several of the men join him, along with Kinsey. It was not abnormal from what he usually requested of her. However, she’d hoped that in light of what had transpired between them, he would place her in another group.
She wanted to hate him.
It would be so much easier than the heaviness between them as they rode into England or the way her heart quickened when his leg rested near hers as they hid in the brush.
Regardless of her hurt, she couldn’t hate him. Not when they had shared so much with one another: experiences, thoughts, intimacies.
Though she had never been in love, she knew of its razor edge. Her mother had been sliced by it with a wound that cut her to the quick. If Mum lived to be a hundred years, she would never get over the death of Kinsey’s da.
With a painful example in such close proximity, Kinsey should have known better.
With that thought, she realized what she needed to do. It was time to go home. There would be no more raids where she would watch innocent people be slaughtered, and she would have no more blood on her hands. And her heart could be kept safe forever.
Aye, home—to Castleton—away from war and death and any hope of love.
19
Over the next sennight, the days passed in a blur as the watch on Mabrick Castle revealed all the activity William needed to know for an attack. Each day around noon, there was a delivery of some sort, which meant there would be an opportunity to get into the castle.
While there were guards, the numbers weren’t overwhelming, and based on their previous experience with the pot-de-fer, it could only shoot straight. If the army kept off the parapet, they would be safe from its wrath.
William was ready to announce to his men that they would be attacking the following day. A decision he was further convinced to be the right choice when he went downstairs in the morning to find Reid having a bit of bread and ale at one of the tables near the back.
Reid nodded in silent greeting toward William. “I was hoping this was the right inn. The others were too empty to accommodate so many.”
William chuckled. “How many others did ye go to?”
“Only two.” Reid took a sip of his ale.
The blonde tavern wench with the pouty smile approached the table. “And who is this?” Her gaze lit with interest as she scanned over Reid.
He ignored her suggestive tone.
Nonplussed, she turned her attention to William. “What can I get for ye?” She pursed her lips after she spoke, plumping them out in an obvious attempt to show off her most attractive feature.
Her flirtation reminded William of the first night they’d arrived, when Kinsey had been jealous of the woman. If she was still jealous, she didn’t show it. Indeed, Kinsey scarcely spoke to him. At least outside of anything regarding her tasks as an archer.
For his part, William kept his distance from the tavern wench and any other woman who showed him interest.
It wasn’t necessarily to please Kinsey. She’d apparently made her choice. One that his circumstance had forced on her.
Nay, his dismissal of women had everything to do with how hard it was to even think of another lass when his head and heart were too full of Kinsey. And how could he stop thinking of her when she was around him every day, vibrant with her determination to be the best damn archer Scotland had to offer?
William ordered an ale, and though the tavern wench gave him a pretty smile, she didn’t bother with excessive flirting. She already knew of his disinterest.
After she departed, he regarded Reid. “Laird MacLeod?”
“I found him,” Reid said. “He’s hale and hearty as always. Lost a few men in the attack, but wasna injured himself.”
While William was glad his father wasn’t hurt, he didn’t find the news surprising. His da always managed to come out of any situation unscathed.
The wench dropped off William’s ale. He nodded his thanks and took a sip. “And his opinion on Mabrick Castle?”
Reid slid a chagrined look his way.
“He’s no’ pleased, I take it,” William surmised.
Reid’s mouth flattened in a hard line. “He thinks ’tis a waste of time. He would have preferred ye join the king and his army in Jedwood Forest.”
Laird MacLeod’s displeasure only increased William’s resolve. His da would change his mind once Mabrick was taken.
“We will attack tomorrow afternoon,” William said quietly.
“Then, I appear to have good timing.” Reid lifted his ale in a silent toast.
That afternoon, William met discreetly with his army to inform them of his decision to take the castle the following day. Their excitement hummed in the air like the currents in the air just before a lightning storm. A week of monitoring Mabrick had not provided nearly enough activity for men who were used to constant movement of some kind.
William tried not to look at Kinsey as he spoke, despite his acute awareness of her bright blue gaze locked on him.
The men disbanded once he finished, going off to enjoy the rest of the day he’d given them to take for themselves. After all, for some, it might be their last afternoon of life. He never took for granted the dangers of battle.
It was rare to enter any fight without a single casualty, and there was nothing William hated more than losing a man.
Kinsey did not leave with the rest of his men and instead approached him.
His heart thundered in his chest. Reid apparently saw
