Chapter 31

31

The Clans Come Together

T he McGunn Clan arrived half a day later, led by Laird McGunn and Dominic.

William watched them arrive at the castle from one of the upper windows. There were at least a hundred men on horses, and they had cleared out as many of the lower rooms as possible to house the horses and the men.

Many carts were pulled near the rear of the line of horses carrying weapons, food, armor, and other supplies. A lone coach came with the carts, and William was dismayed to see Delilah and Daisy alight. He knew there was a chance of them coming, but he did not want them here in case something went wrong and they did not get their sister back.

Dominic gazed up in William's direction. He nudged his father's arm and whispered in his ear. Laird McGunn looked up at William, and he clearly looked concerned even with the distance between them.

William sent a castle hand down to bring the two men up into the hall that had been converted into a war room. William had always prepared for fighting, especially in the early days of his Lairdship, but never had he imagined he would go to war as Laird of his clan.

Yet, here he was. The outcome of this battle would dictate how his clan would see him for the rest of his days. It might dictate if he was to continue as leader of the clan.

"Thank ye for comin'," said William when Laird McGunn and Dominic entered.

"How could ye let this happen!" blasted Hudson.

He moved forward far swifter than a man his age should be able to and grabbed William by the collar. He shoved him back into the wall and almost lifted him off his feet.

William wrestled free and shoved Hudson back.

"I can take care of me wife, and I will get her back!" shouted William.

"She's me daughter!" shouted Hudson in reply.

He moved to attack again, but Dominic grabbed his father's hand to stop him.

"What are the pair of ye doin'! Dakota is gone, and we willnae get her back by fightin'. Daenae be so stupid!"

William and Hudson stared each other down, both breathing heavily.

"Oi, are ye both goin' to fight each other, or are ye goin' to fight the enemy?" asked Dominic.

"If we daenae get her back…," warned Hudson.

"Faither!" shouted Dominic. "Ye both love her. I do too. We are goin' to get her back."

He turned to look at William.

"Aye," William responded.

Hudson calmed a little, but he still gritted his teeth.

"Can we see what the plan is?" asked Dominic.

"Aye," said William, taking a deep breath.

The Laird walked over to the center of the room, where the map was rolled out. Wooden tokens stood on various parts, representing different clans and groups of soldiers.

"We ken exactly what we are walkin' into, we just daenae ken how many men are there. If Conall is smart, he will have already requested reinforcements without lettin' his brethren ken why he is goin' to war. We have to expect that we are walkin' into a bloodbath. This is where his castle is, and these are the fortifications around it."

"What is that? Three roads in?" asked Hudson.

"Aye. We plan to surround him on all sides. We have yer clan , and Cameron is confident that at least three more will heed our call. We are nae the only clan who has been troubled by Conall, and many would jump at the chance to take out their frustrations on some Englishmen."

William almost smiled when he thought about his earlier chat with Hamish Lachlan. He and his five sons had signed up immediately, and they almost made it sound fun to go to war with the English.

But he did not smile. He could not smile until he had Dakota back in his arms. He hoped he would get to smile at least once more before taking his dying breath.

"I will lead me clan as the main attack into the castle. There is nothin' fancy about what we are goin' to dae. We smash our way in, I find Conall, and I kill him."

"I want ye to promise me, Laird Rottrich," said Hudson. "This Englishman has taken me daughter, yer wife. When ye find the weasel, ye are to end his life. And I want it done swiftly. Nae messin' around and givin' him the chance to escape. I want his head on a pike when this is done."

"Aye, I can promise ye that," said William.

"Me faither has agreed that I will come with ye," said Dominic.

"Aye, nae so much agree, as admitted it is the better option. I wanted to be the one, but me own son convinced me otherwise."

"He is me faither and me Laird. I cannae rob me clan of their leader. And if I should perish, he has time to make another heir."

"I dinnae like it," said William.

"I dinnae like it either, but me daughter's life is at stake, and I ken ye will make good on yer promise, but I want Dominic there too."

"All right," conceded William. "We will fight alongside each other."

"Aye," said Dominic. There was a mixture of fear and excitement in his eyes.

"We willnae ride out of the castle until tomorrow. Nay matter how many more clans come, we leave tomorrow and fight with what we have. I suggest ye both get some rest, and I will speak to ye again over supper this evenin'."

"Aye. Thank ye. And, I'm sorry about before," apologized Hudson.

"Ye daenae need to. Although, I expect to see that same strength and vigor out on the battlefield."

"The English willnae ken what hit them," replied Hudson.

"I never thought I would be goin' to war with the English for me sister, but here we are," admitted Dominic.

"Aye, these are troubling' times. I appreciate the help both of ye have brought. The McGunn Clan is strong now and will be strong in the future."

"Let's hope the union between our two clans remains strong after all this is over." Hudson turned to leave and noticed his daughter lingering near the doorway. "Daisy, come here."

"Aye, Faither."

Hudson frowned. "What are ye doin' up here?"

"I wanted to speak to Laird Rottrich." Daisy wrung her hands together and could not look her father in the eye.

"Aye, and what do ye have to say to him? Ye can speak in front of yer family."

William took a step toward Hudson and his daughter, hoping to make sense of the situation.

"I…" Daisy bit her lip as she tried to get out what she wanted to say.

"Come on, Daisy! Spit it out."

Daisy looked up at William. "I wanted to wish ye good luck, Laird Rottrich. Please bring me sister home safely."

"Aye, I will, Daisy. I promise ye," replied William.

"Och, give him the medicine!" shouted Hudson.

"Medicine?" asked Daisy.

"Aye, the medicine that ye packed in yer bags along with the supplies ye brought so ye might treat some of the men that come back wounded."

"I daenae—"

"Do ye nae think I ken what is going on in me own castle, Daisy? I never got to thank ye for yer help when I was sick, but look at me now! Better than ever."

"What are ye talkin' about, Faither?" asked Dominic. "What did ye do, Daisy?"

"She brought that medicine to the healer, and that is what cured me."

"Nay, that was Laird Rottrich, Faither. Ye must have been delirious with the illness," assured Dominic.

"Och, laddie, ye might be good at some things, but ye are rotten at kennin' what goes on right under yer nose. Ye always see the bigger picture, but ye dinnae ken much about yer wee sister. She was the one who made up the medicine, even though it was the Laird who brought it to the healer's attention. Do ye think the healer would have listened to Daisy?"

Dominic turned to his sister with wide eyes. "Ye cured Faither?"

"Um, aye, I suppose it did work."

Dominic turned to William with a look of disbelief.

"Dinnae look at me," said William.

"I ken ye like to keep it yer wee secret, and I ken why ye asked the Laird to do what he did. Ye've had an interest in medicine since ye were walkin' and talkin'. The best way I could encourage it was nae to discourage it, and I certainly reaped the rewards."

"Och, Faither, ye are the best faither a lass could have."

Daisy ran into her father's arms.

"I think ye saved me life, Daisy. Now, give Laird Rottrich whatever it is ye brought."

"Aye," said Daisy. She pulled a package from her pocket with a salve contained within it. "It's nae some miracle cure, but it should dull the pain while ye are in battle. That's all it does."

"Thank ye, Daisy," said William. He took the packet and could smell its potency. "Dakota is lucky to have a family like ye all around her. I promise that we will get her back to ye."

"Aye, come on, ye lot. Let's give Laird Rottrich some room," said Hudson.

He shepherded his children from the room, and William was left alone.

William had been worried about Dakota from the moment she was taken from him, and he had been itching to go after her. Every second with her gone was agony. If Conall had touched a hair on her head, he would…

It did not matter. No matter what he had done, he was going to kill the man. All that mattered was Dakota's safety.

But now, he had to ensure Dominic's safety too. He was sure the young man could handle himself in a fight, but more than William's future was at stake. What would that mean for the clans if he came home with Dakota but not Dominic?

William's brain hurt just thinking about it. He needed some rest too. He had barely slept since he had returned to the castle, and it was taking its toll.

He called on one of the castle hands and instructed him to station himself at the front battlements. If any other clans arrived that evening, the young lad was to come to wake him so he could greet them personally.

After that, William went to his room. Even though he had not properly shared his bed with Dakota, it felt empty without her in the castle.

Later that evening, the McDulloch Clan arrived with three dozen men. William got up in pain to meet with the Laird before applying some of the salve Daisy had brought, and then he went back to his bed.

In the morning, the Downy Clan arrived, followed shortly after by the Ritchie Clan. Cameron rode in with them, and William was happy to have his second-in-command back.

It might be customary for William to ride out and leave Cameron in his place to lead the clan should anything happen, but neither man would allow it.

William and Cameron rode at the front of the small army with Hudson and Dominic.

William's only hope now was that Dakota was still alive.