"Nay." He gently gripped her shoulders. "Nay, little one. 'Tis more than ye being bickered over now and all ken it, e'en ye. He means to end the clan. When he cried that he would bring Caraidland down about Father's ears, that he would see us all dead, he didnae boast, nay, nor make an idle threat. He but spoke the truth, a truth we all kenned ere he put it into words. For mayhaps the first time in his life, Sir Hugh spoke honestly. E'en had we been fool enough to agree to his terms of surrender, he would have slain us all. Ye are the only one he means to keep alive. We fight for our very existence, for the survival of the clan.
"Do ye ken? For a while I faulted meself for all o' this. An I had let ye be, mayhaps none o' this would have occurred. But, nay, I ken it would have. We would have raided Hagaleah again and brought him to our gates. 'Tis better to have brought it on because a fair wee lass than for a herd of cattle or a few mares."
"He is mad, I think."
"Near to, mayhaps. Mayhaps 'tis the pair o' them, he and Lady Mary. She, too, is the sort to demand such a vengeance. I maun get back to the walls." He pulled her into his arms, caring nothing about their audience, although almost everyone in the hall was too busy to be interested. "Say it again, Storm." He kissed her and whispered, "Say it again. I find I have a craving to hear the words."
"I love ye," she said softly, coloring deeply but unable to refuse him his request. " 'Til the sun ceases to rise of a morn and beyond."
He said nothing, simply kissed her fiercely and left. She stared after him, wondering if it meant that much that he liked to hear her speak of her love. Shaking her head, she returned to the grisly, sad work of tending the wounded that continued to flow into the hall. For now it would be enough that her admission had not pushed him away from her as she had feared it might. Later, and she refused to think that there could be no later, she would find out what his liking of the words meant to her.
The sun was nearly at its apex in the sky before Sir Hugh allowed his troops to draw back long enough to allow Caraidland any rest. Tavis sank down to sit where he had stood. The air carried the smell of blood and death. He felt that he did too. When Phelan paused by him with the water Tavis poured a dipperful over his head before taking a long drink.
"There will be a lot of widows and orphans at Hagaleah," Phelan said softly as he peered over the walls and viewed the dead and dying strewn over the land.
"Aye. This is a costly way to do battle, a bloody waste of good fighting men. The attackers must toss away many a life to end that o' but one o' those upon the walls. That is why Eldon e'er preferred an acre fight. He didnae see his men as naught but fodder for Scots' arrows and swords. He would ne'er have wasted lives so."
"Nay. He cared about the welfare of e'en the lowest peasant." Phelan smiled sadly. "For all he bellowed and cursed. It grieves me sorely that I could not know him longer and better."
"Aye. He was the best of enemies."
"And Sir Hugh is the worst."
"Aye, laddie. The worst. His word isnae e'en worth spitting on. He will slaughter the bairns at their mother's breast and think naught of it. I wonder what fool knighted him."
"He saved the life of an important man. I think there was little choice. There had to be a reward."
"True. Such a thing cannae be ignored. 'Twould be a black deed, blacker than the knighting of a man like Sir Hugh."
"Can Sir Hugh win?" Phelan asked softly.
"I fear he can, laddie. We ready ourselves e'en now to fall back to the keep, to give up the outer wall and the bailey. Some of the bairns were slinked away out o' the tunnel, but we daren't move too many or 'twould be seen and all lost. We cannae hold against many more attacks. Too many wounded, though, by God's sweet grace, few dead yet." He grimaced. "Mayhaps 'twould be best if they were dying upon the walls. If Caraidland falls, I think Sir Hugh willnae kill us all with any mercy."
"Nay," Phelan whispered. "The man has a liking for torture. Lord Eldon's men are sickened by it, but they can do little, for Sir Hugh and Lady Mary rule. Also, each of them has their own guard who help them hold their rule, enforce their ways. No word of the rest of your men?"
"Nary a whisper. Go on, laddie. Give the men their water. 'Tis all in God's hands now."
* * * * *
Sir Hugh drank deeply of the wine Lady Mary served him. He was hot and weary, wishing only to remove his clothes, his heavy armor and soak in a bath. It was too hot for a battle, especially one that was lasting far too long. The MacLagans had already held for far longer than he had thought they would. He had also lost more men than he had anticipated. It grew harder and harder to drive his army against the walls of Caraidland. As the dead piled up, the living grew hesitant. They were unwilling to face what was apparently a sure death, especially when, as far as they could see, they were gaining nothing. Even the fear of the retribution he would deal out to any who disobeyed was barely enough to keep them doing as he ordered. He had drawn his personal guard nearer as he had sensed
