Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

T he sun rose over Fort Donald, casting its golden rays upon the ancient stone walls as Mae awoke in her bedchamber alone. She stretched and got out of the surprisingly comfortable bed. She was supposed to meet Niall for breakfast and that brought a smile to her face. She was becoming increasingly acclimated to being here in this time and space. It still took some getting used to though, she thought as she put on her dress for the day.

Never in a million years would she have even considered she would be living in such a way and actually enjoying it. Niall helped with that though. She greatly admired him. Not just his muscular build and easy smile, but also his attitude, knowledge and skills. She was easily falling for him, and she couldn't bring herself to squash those feelings for him.

The only downside to being here was Brian Campbell. The man was slime. However, she couldn't just deal with him as she would have in her past. That would have consisted of getting with him and then taking him for everything she could and tossing him to the wolves. That wouldn't work here. Not because she wasn't capable, but because she now had more respect for herself and for the Donalds as well. She knew what might happen if anything were to happen to Brian.

It would be blamed upon the Donald Clan and that was unacceptable. They were good people. That being said, she still needed to come up with a way to get Brian to leave. She wasn't really sure Cam's thought that Brian might be planning something awful, was possible. Brian wasn't really all that bright. If there was some sort of plot against the Donald Clan, he surely wasn't the mastermind behind it.

She made her way down to the dining hall and noticed Niall seated at the same table as Brian. A sinking feeling stirred in her chest. She hated that she now had to share her time with Niall with Brian. It nearly turned her stomach to eat at the same table as him, but still, she was determined to do it.

"Good morning, Niall," she murmured as she took a seat next to him.

"Lass, tis a pleasure to see you this morn." Niall handed her a plate full of biscuits, and then filled a bowl of porridge for her. "Would you like honey?"

"Please."

"Didnae offer me any of that," Brian sulked.

Niall sighed. "You didnae like the porridge, you said just yesterday. Told young Leah that you wouldnae touch the foul stuff."

"I need some ale," Brian muttered. "Where's the ale?"

Niall shook his head. "Tis a bit early for ale, have some tea. It will soothe that wee headache you said you had."

"I donnae want any blasted tea!" Brian slammed his fist down on the table, then slid his arm into the plates and cutlery, swiping everything in his wake to the floor, and upon the guards passing by.

Mae's eyes widened as the men turned on Brian, ready to read him the riot act, from what Mae could see. They looked ready to beat Brian to a pulp, but before they could, Niall jumped up and got between them.

"T'was an accident, he didnae mean to strike you with his breakfast, merely blowing off some steam. Perhaps give him some space and seek a place to sit on the other side of the dining hall?"

The guardsmen stared at Niall for a moment and Mae was afraid they weren't going to listen but much to her surprise, the one closest to Niall nodded.

"Aye, sir, after we clean ourselves up, we shall do jest that." The man looked at the others with him, and tilted his head back toward the door. "Let's go."

With that, the men turned and left the room, leaving Mae with her jaw hanging down. Niall took his seat next to her again, breathing hard, as though he'd thought it might come to blows. Now he was full of unspent adrenaline. "Perhaps, Brian, you might be more aware of your surroundings."

"Why?" he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "They're nothing but savages, anyway."

Mae's fingers clenched into fists. She wanted nothing more than to teach this asshole a lesson he wouldn't forget, but she knew that would just bring more trouble their way, so she held fast to her seat.

Throughout the day, as she tailed Brian and Niall, she continued to witness near altercations as Brian became increasingly drunk and disorderly. He'd take to ordering her to get him more whisky and ale, which she'd done once, but refused every other time. She had half a mind to piss in it, just to see if he noticed the difference, but she was too much of a lady to do it. Funny that. She had never thought of herself as one prior to being here. Not that she didn't consider herself a woman, of course she did, but in the twenty-first century when women could do practically everything a guy could, it was just different. Women didn't stop themselves from doing things because it wouldn't be lady-like, but here, in this time, it just felt wrong somehow.

It seemed the seventeenth century was growing on her. It made her softer in a way, more apt to choose a better path. Her gaze slid to Niall who was once again stepping in to diffuse another Brian made situation. He was very good at the diplomacy, getting to the altercation just before it escalated and caused trouble for the Donalds. She loved how skilled he was at it, but also held some sympathy for him that he had to do it in the first place, knowing how much he actually hated Brian and would rather just join the others and beat him with in an inch of his life.

It took a lot of self-discipline to hold himself back like that. It was something else to admire about him. His restraint in handling Brian. There were numerous times that Mae would have happily strangled the man, were she in his shoes.

As she continued to keep an eye on Brian and the situations he was causing, she began to wonder if maybe there might be a way to get him to go. If she might be able to use some of her skills from her past life to manipulate him into leaving. It was a chance that could backfire and harm the Donalds though, so she decided to bide her time. She'd wait for an opening that she could use that wouldn't reflect badly on the Donalds.

The only problem was, she hated waiting.