Chapter 10

Daemon moved quickly to stand at Lyla's shoulder. "May I?" He gestured to the missive in her hands. Her face was pale, but composed as she handed it to him, and he tried to ignore how her fingers shook slightly.

Her hair brushed his arm, bringing with it a faint floral scent from her soap. The scent and the softness of the dark strands made his skin tingle and his stomach twist with sudden longing. Daemon bit the inside of his cheek to distract himself, and focused on Laird MacDougall's message.

It was exactly as Lyla had said. Clan MacLean had been besieged by Ranald, and Laird MacDougall intended to ride to the aid of his kin-by-marriage and his new heir with all speed. What Lyla hadn't mentioned was the note suggesting she request shelter at MacMillan Castle until the matter was resolved, for her own safety.

He lowered the letter to look at her, then at his comrades. "Cai, call for the Council. Ryan, begin preparations for fighting, and tell the captains tae start deciding who will remain here, and who will go tae MacLean tae aid them there. Then meet us in Council."

Both men nodded and dashed away. Daemon turned to Lyla. "Ye and yer folk are welcome tae stay here as long as needed. Yer faither asked that I look after ye, and I think ye should remain within the safety of our walls."

Lyla nodded. Daemon breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been afraid she'd insist on traveling, and he'd heard stories of several near abductions, and one actual kidnapping, that had occurred when a neighboring clan had tried to force Erin to marry their laird instead of Marcus MacLean.

His gaze went to his cousin. "Alyn, please escort Lyla back tae her rooms, and send servants tae make her folk comfortable as well. The two o' ye: stay inside the castle walls, and dinnae wander outside until we ken more o' what's going on."

Both women nodded again, and Daemon turned to make his way to the Council chambers, his mind already whirling with plans that needed to be made and implemented. There was no question that he would go to the aid of MacLean, only of how much help he could afford to give, especially when he was sheltering kinfolk of MacLean Clan.

Ryan was the last to arrive in the Council chambers. Once the doors were shut behind him, Daemon turned to the assembled Elders. He didn't bother to waste time with pleasantries. "Three days ago, we received word that Clan MacLean was under threat o' attack, and request fer aid. Now the attack has come. Clan MacDougall rides tae the aid of their kin-by-marriage, and so will we."

"None o' our clan is wed tae MacLean." One of the older members of the Council, Daniel McKinley, spoke up. "And rumor has it we're already sheltering a lass from MacDougall."

"We've given safe haven tae Laird MacDougall's youngest daughter Lyla, aye. But as tae yer first point – me wife Rowan was of MacDougall Clan, and her sister is wed tae MacLean's second son, Marcus. He'll be claiming the name o' MacDougall and the mantle o' the Laird MacDougall when the time comes. That links our clan tae theirs by ties o' marriage kin."

He sent a cutting glance around the room. "And even if it didnae, I ken ye all remember that only a month or so past, I negotiated an alliance with Darren MacLean. Clan MacMillan doesnae abandon allies, nae matter what ties bind us taegether."

"And how are we tae aid MacLean, when they're across the Firth o' Lorne? Ye cannae tell us Ranald willnae have scouts and spies, and like as nae troops waiting tae keep us from reaching them," one of the other Elders spoke up.

"Och, I'm sure they dae have scouts, and plans tae keep all aid from MacLean's side. But Laird MacDougall is already riding, and I'm fair sure he'll secure us this side o' the firth, and boats tae cross. As tae the landing – McCouorcodale managed tae reach the isle in secret, more than once. There's plenty o' coastline, and Ranald cannae watch every possible landing point. We'll find a way."

Cai spoke up next. "Comes tae that, the main ferry landing on the closest side o' the isle is in MacLean territory. I'll wager Laird MacLean will see it secured fer use, as a diversion, while reinforcements land elsewhere, if naething else."

"Aye. There's that too." Daemon looked around the room. "There's nae question o' whether or nae we'll be riding tae aid MacLean. ‘Tis only a question o' how many warriors we'll be sending, and what supplies we can afford tae send with them, with the harvest nae yet in."

"They'll likely need tae be hunting, if they can. But there's plenty o' cured meat fer the sending, and other rations as well." Cai responded to his query. "We're nae bad off."

"There's men who can hunt well among the archers and the scouts." Ryan agreed. "If the lasses can gather wild greens and hard-tack fer us, we'll be well set."

"Might be able tae spare some cheeses and the like as well." Cai nodded.

McKinley rose from his chair. "'Tis all well and good tae be talking o' rations and troops, but ye're missing a critical point, and one I feel must be addressed!" He thumped a hand on the table for emphasis.

"And what is that, then?" Daemon gave the man his full attention.

"Ye talk o' sending men tae aid MacLean, and ignore the fact that ye've already given shelter tae one o' his kinfolk. A lass we all ken has gotten intae danger once afore." McKinley glanced around the room. "If we send our warriors tae aid Laird MacLean and Laird MacDougall on the field, then who will be left tae defend us, if Laird Ranald decides tae try and take the lass hostage tae stay her sister's hand? Or tae use her against Laird MacLean directly?"

"I wasnae thinking tae send the whole o' our warriors away. I'd nae leave MacMillan Keep undefended in such a manner." Daemon raised an eyebrow. "Ye should ken that well enough."

The older man stared back at him, unrepentant and unyielding. "Even so, Lyla MacDougall is a target, if only because her sister is wed tae a MacLean. Tae have her here makes us vulnerable, especially if ye intend tae take tae the field o' battle across the firth."

"'Tis a risk, aye." Daemon nodded. He could see McKinley's point, though he didn't understand why it seemed so important to the man. "But then, we're kent as allies o' MacDougall, so there's nae saying that we wouldnae be a target in any case."

"'Tis nae me point, me laird." McKinley glanced around the room again. "In battle, one does one's best tae minimize the dangers and the threats one faces, and maximize the chances o' victory. Choosing tae defend the MacDougall lass here and aid MacLean in the field willnae dae that. It splits our forces, and puts us in greater peril."

"And what would ye suggest?" Daemon felt his stomach tighten in apprehension.

"If ye're set on aiding Laird MacLean, then so be it, but send the lass home. Or back tae her sister. Anywhere that isnae MacMillan lands, where her presence endangers the clan."

Daemon saw others in the council nodding, and apprehension turned to anger. He practically snarled out his next words. "I beg yer pardon?"

More than one man blanched at his expression, but Daniel MacKinley remained unfazed. "Return the lass tae her faither's lands, or tae her sister. Dinnae keep her here, where she's a target tae endanger our clan."

Daemon felt his shoulders tense, his lip drawing back in a sneer of anger. "That's what I thought ye said. I just didnae believe ye were coward enough tae speak such words tae me."

"Me laird…" One of the others spoke up, shocked, and Daemon cut him off with a sharp glare that made the speaker flinch back in his seat.

"Ye dare suggest that we send a lass out, alone, upon the road, while kenning that she's likely in danger o' being taken captive, if nae killed? That we send her tae her home, kenning that it isnae defended, that her faither – also her laird – and the best warriors o' the clan, including her sister, are elsewhere?"

His gaze raked over the assembled council. "I didnae think I'd ever see the day that the Elders and leaders o' Clan MacMillan were so craven as tae suggest leaving a lass vulnerable fer their own safety. Even less did I think I'd ever see a day come when ye suggested abandoning honor, and breaking oaths for such a coward's reason."

"There's nae oaths…" Joel McHale protested feebly, only to snap his mouth shut when Daemon glared at him.

"Her faither bid me keep her safe, fer her sister's sake and the sake of our bonds tae her kinfolk. I gave her sanctuary, and offered her a place tae stay as long as was needful. Would ye have me go back on me word and deny her haven? Would ye have all the Highlands ken that MacMillan are too weak and cowardly tae keep their obligations tae kith and kin? Because I will nae see our honor as a clan so tarnished while I am laird. Dae ye understand me?"

Silence fell, heavy with the weight of his accusations. Then McKinley bowed his head and took his seat. "I hear ye, me laird."

"Then we'll have nae more talk o' sending Lyla away from this place, nae unless she wishes tae go." His temper was still dangerously close to the surface, and Daemon scowled. In this mood, he'd get nothing done. And the council needed some time to think, and to come up with other plans. "Dismissed. We'll meet again taemorrow, tae make some proper battle plans."

The council members fled, all save Cai and Ryan. Daemon noticed the two of them exchanging wary looks and sighed. "Come tae the study with me, will ye?"

The two men followed him to the study. Daemon shut and latched the door, then gathered up a bottle and poured out three glasses of scotch. "All right. Whatever yer thinking is, tell me now."

Cai frowned and glanced at Ryan. Ryan shook his head. Cai huffed. "Ye were fair short-tempered with Elder McKinley in Council. I understand some o' yer reasons, but it seemed that ye were…" He trailed off.

"Ye were fair ready tae take his head off, Cai means." Ryan spoke abruptly. "But there's more tae the matter than that."

Daemon gave him a pointed look. "Aye?"

Cai nodded. "Aye. These past days, especially yesterday, ye've been different. Less melancholy. More the man I kent afore yer wife died. Ye've seemed more at peace, and more like yerself, as if ye've lost that shell o' grief and ice around ye, or cracked it at least. And I'm thinking it has much tae dae with a certain MacDougall lass."

Daemon considered Cai's words. His advisor and friend wasn't wrong, much as he would have liked to say otherwise. Lyla had managed to break through the shell of pain around his heart, in more ways than one, and arouse his sense of joy in the simple things. Though thinking of that also reminded him of other things her presence managed to arouse.

"Och, ye've got that look on yer face, that says ye've a thorny knot o' a problem on yer mind." Ryan leaned forward to look closer at his face. "Dinnae tell me that's tae dae with the lass as well? Did ye argue with her again?"

He would rather not speak of it, but Cai and Ryan were his closest friends and confidants. Besides, he'd thought last night that Lyla's return to her home would make the matter irrelevant, but now that she was going to be staying at MacMillan Keep for a few days, that solution was no longer available to him. Ryan and Cai might be able to suggest other ways of handling the problem he'd recently developed. "We didnae argue, nae. But…" He felt his cheeks flush. "We spoke last night."

"Spoke?" Ryan's eyebrow went up. "From the look on yer face, it must have been a fair interesting conversation. Assuming there were words involved at all."

"It wasnae like that." Daemon snapped. "She's Rowan's sister, and younger than me by far tae boot – o' course it wasnae that sort of encounter. We simply happened on each other in the library."

"If ye say so." Cai agreed, far too quietly for Daemon's taste. Cai looked as if he was holding back laughter, or insinuations of his own. "What about this conversation vexed ye?"

"She was... well, she wasnae wearing... she was dressed fer bed, ye ken. Looking fer a book. And I happened upon her near the back shelves... where those books are."

"Those books?"

Daemon scowled. "Aye. Ye ken the ones I mean."

"I'm afraid I dinnae." Cai shook his head. "There are many books in the library, even in the back shelves. "Ye'll have tae be more specific."

"They are the types o' books a faither wouldnae want his daughter reading. Ye ken... the ones lads without wives enjoy…" He wasn't explaining well, and he knew it, but he couldn't seem to say it more directly. He cursed himself for suddenly becoming tongue-tied and unreasonably shy. He was usually far more direct.

"Ye mean the ribald ones, where the men are bedding the lasses every other page." Ryan snickered. "Did ye catch her reading one o' them?"

"I might have." He scowled as Ryan's snickers turned into poorly muffled chuckling. "And well, one thing led tae another... we talked... I happened tae notice…" His tongue tangled again.

"That she's a woman, with a woman's body?" Cai snorted. "There's many a man here who kens that, and wishes she were nae a laird's daughter."

"If that were all I noticed, I'd nae have minded. But she'd been enjoying her reading, and... Well, ‘twas notable. Very notable."

"And? That's scarce something tae be troubled over."

Daemon's cheeks heated further, and he looked away, slouching in his chair. "Tis a problem when she's nae longer the only one... excited. And I'm thinking o' her... nae the book."

Ryan burst out laughing. "Is that what's got ye all twisted in knots this morn? That after a year and more o' mourning, ye finally remembered ye're a man, and happened tae notice when a beautiful woman crossed yer path?"

"'Tis nae funny." Daemon scowled. Ryan ignored him, and even Cai was smirking. "She's Rowan's sister – me kin by marriage. And her youngest sister at that. She's barely more than a child."

"She's a woman grown, younger sister or nae." Cai said. "And she's a pretty lass. Ye're a healthy, grown man. ‘Tis nae surprise and nae shame in it if ye noticed her and liked what ye saw."

"Especially if she was running around in naught but a nightdress." Ryan nodded.

"I shouldnae be reacting like that tae me wife's younger sister." Daemon snarled the words. Neither man appeared the least bit cowed, and he grimaced. "'Tis nae right."

"Yer manhood doesnae care what relation she is tae yer deceased wife." Cai said. "But I said it afore – there's nae shame in reacting. Naething in the world says ye have tae act on that response beyond a cold bath or some personal time in yer rooms."

"Unless ye like the lass in other ways, and she welcomes ye." Ryan put in. Daemon stared at him, appalled.

"Ye cannae be serious."

"And why nae?" Ryan shrugged. "What's the harm, if ye decide ye like her and she responds in kind? She's nae blood kin, so nae sin in it."

"She's Rowan's younger sister!"

"And Rowan isnae here any longer." Cai's tone was quiet, gentle, almost apologetic for bringing up such a sore point. "She's gone, me laird. Sooner or later, ye'll need tae consider marrying again, fer the sake o' an heir if naething else. Lyla's an unmarried woman, and a pretty one, and I think ye like and respect her far more than ye've let on. Ye could dae worse."

Daemon shook his head. "Nay. Nae a chance." He refilled the whisky he'd been sipping throughout their discussion and drank it down, then slashed his hand down in a gesture of negation. "We're nae discussing this any longer."

"As ye like. We dae have battle plans tae make." Cai drank some of his own whisky, then rose and went to get the maps and inventory records, while Ryan collected troop records.

Their discussion turned to troop movements and plans for aiding Clan MacLean, and Daemon forced the distraction of Lyla – and his sudden, unwelcome response to her – to the back of his mind.