Chapter 15

“Laird Tad.” Despite the sudden ease of Laird Gilroy’s voice, he held just as tightly onto Ilyssa as he did before. She thrust her hands against his forearms, trying her best to break free, but he held her fast. The blade against her throat cut into her skin and he wobbled a little with her, keeping her firmly in place. “I am simply trying tae uphold the terms of our clans’ agreement. Would ye break them now?”

“When ye have a blade tae me sister’s throat? Aye, I would.”

She could hear Tad advancing slowly, though she couldn’t see him for her head was forced too far back by Gilroy’s grasp.

“Nae that there is anything tae break.” Tad’s words made Gilroy’s grasp weaken, just a little.

Ilyssa tried to break free again, only Gilroy caught it in time and shifted the blade to the side of her throat.

“Stay back!” Gilroy warned.

Now, Ilyssa could see exactly what was happening.

Bran and Cillian were facing one another, both ready for a fight. Catreena was in the doorway, her hands gripping to the doorframe as she looked about her, clearly hunting for a weapon. Tad stood in front of Gilroy and Ilyssa, his sword raised in his grasp.

“Another step, Laird Tad MacBean, and I kill yer sister.”

“I dinnae believe ye. Why would ye dae that now when all ye wanted was tae trap her in marriage in the first place?” Tad took a small step forward. “The contract’s a fake.”

“What?” Bran snapped from his position squaring up to Cillian.

“A fake,” Tad said again. “I went tae the council. They were all baffled by this agreement. Nae one of them had heard of it before, then one remembered me grandfaither saying he hated the Grant clan for their greed. He was certain he’d heard him say tae never form an alliance with them. Now, if that was the case, why would he ever give away his granddaughter’s hand?”

There was silence around the room for a second. The only sound was Ilyssa’s heavy breathing and Tad’s quiet footsteps as he took another step forward.

“I found the man who slipped the falsified contract intae me study. A footman, a spy fer the Grant clan. I found him and under careful interrogation, he confessed,” he said in a rush.

“It’s nae true.” Laird Gilroy’s voice had at last lost some of its confidence and grandeur.

“Aye, it is.” Tad nodded firmly. “Ye wanted me sister and saw an opportunity tae force her hand. Tae force the families together, did ye nae? Perhaps it was yer victory against me family at last, after the years of war between our clans. Ye sought tae have the final word by taking our line and making it yer own. What was the next plan, I wonder? Kill me so that the clan would go tae me sister, and then…” He glanced over his shoulder to where Cillian was glaring at Bran, frozen, the dirk in the air, “then yer son would have got me position.”

“None of this matters now,” Laird Gilroy said in a rush, spittle on his cheeks. Ilyssa could feel it fall on the back of her neck. “She is tae marry me son, and ye will let it happen, or I’ll kill her.”

Ilyssa didn’t doubt his intent. The blade was pressed too firmly into her neck to possibly think he was bluffing.

“Enough! This ends now. Release her, or I’ll kill ye tae protect her,” Tad warned.

“Cillian,” Gilroy muttered sharply. “Cillian.”

Cillian looked around, away from Bran. Unbeknownst to Cillian, Ilyssa saw Bran took the opportunity to pick up the discarded sword from the floor.

“Ye take her. Ye take her now, and all of this will be over.”

“Enough!” Tad barked yet again. “Bran, now.” With this order, Bran sprang forward with the sword, lashing out at Cillian.

“Nay!” Laird Gilroy’s cry was as loud as Tad’s own. He shifted the dirk on Ilyssa’s neck. She stamped down hard on his foot, not knowing what else to do to try and break free. His firm grip on her hand loosened, and she flung herself forward as Tad tried to get around her.

She heard the whistle of the dirk being brought down in the air behind her as Gilroy tried to attack her. She even felt a chunk of her hair being cut away, he came so near, then suddenly, there was a grunt of pain.

Ilyssa tripped and fell into Catreena’s arms. The two fell together against the racking of the wall. Both breathless, they held each other up from slipping completely to the floor, looking around at the bearer of that grunt.

Laird Gilroy stood there, his face shaking in agony, as Tad stood before him with a sword in his stomach.

“Ye lost, me laird,” Tad said with resignation. “May yer son remember what happens when he crosses me clan again.” Then he withdrew the sword.

Laird Gilroy grunted again.

“Nay. Nay. Faither!” Cillian called out, but his exclamations of fear were silenced by a heavy thunk of metal.

Ilyssa and Catreena looked around to see that Bran had struck him across the back of the head with the sword. Knocked out, Cillian’s eyes turned glacial, and he fell to the floor face first like a plank of wood.

Laird Gilroy’s lips parted to say something, but nothing escaped him. He slumped down to the floor, falling backward amongst the racking. What remained of those stacks of broken wood crumpled beneath his weight.

Silence followed in the barracks.

Ilyssa could not find words and looking around the room, she suspected no one else could either.

Bran was the first to move. He used the rope that had bound him before to tie up Cillian’s wrists and fasten him to an iron ring in the wall. Tad moved next. He nodded to the door, silently saying they should all leave, then he went to help Ilyssa and Catreena. Ilyssa gripped his hand, communicating through that firm grasp how thankful she was for his arrival.

“Dinnae thank me,” he said as they stumbled outside into the grey morning. “I only did so much. After I found out the contract was false, I wrote tae the king. His men are on their way here now tae collect Cillian and Gilroy. Looks like they’ll only be collecting Cillian now. I wouldnae have kenned where tae find ye though. That was all Catreena.”

“Catreena?” Ilyssa looked at her friend beside her.

“Ye didnae come back last night.” Catreena shook her head. “Ye didnae come tae the chamber, so I was looking fer ye. When I saw he wasnae in his chamber either,” she gestured to Bran, “at first I thought ye had slipped away fer another of yer trysts.”

“What did ye say?” Tad stumbled, half slipping on the grass. He turned around with wild eyes flashing at Bran.

Hurriedly, Bran held his hands up in innocence at Tad.

“Then I saw out of a castle window that they dragged ye both in here.” She nodded at the barracks behind them. “When Tad arrived, I kenned where we had tae go.”

“Thank ye. Thank ye so much.” Ilyssa flung her arms around Catreena, holding her tight, though her eyes were on Bran and Tad.

Bran was backing up as Tad increasingly advanced toward him.

“Ye bedding me sister, Bran?”

“I wouldnae put it like that.”

“Then how exactly would ye put it!?” Tad snapped.

“Time tae dae something, Ilyssa.” Catreena pushed her forward.

Ilyssa ran between the two men, shoving herself in front of Bran and pushing her brother back.

“I love him, Tad,” she said as hurriedly as she could. Tad’s eyes widened on her.

“What?”

“I’m in love with him,” she said again, her voice quieter this time.

“And I love her too,” Bran declared, his voice as firm as her own. “Granted, this isnae the way I wished tae ask fer yer blessing tae marry her.” He cast an uneasy glance toward the barracks where Gilroy now laid dead and Cillian was unconscious. “But I’ll ask ye nevertheless.”

“Ye want tae marry her?” Tad asked, looking between the two of them.

“Please, Tad.” Ilyssa reached for Bran’s hand behind her, winding their fingers together.

“Ah, finally!” Tad suddenly declared and turned to face Catreena. “Cat, ye owe me some coin now.”

“Oh, I ken.” She sighed heavily.

“What?” Ilyssa looked between them, bewildered.

“I told Cat years ago ye two would someday marry. Fortunately fer our little wager, ye realized it before this side of Christmas, or I would have been down a few coins.”

“Could ye two nae have waited until Christmas?” Catreena said with a heavy sigh. “Well, I’m happy fer ye, even if I did lose the bet.”

As Catreena and Tad argued over exactly how much was agreed in their wager, Ilyssa turned to face Bran.

“How many of our siblings kenned we were in love before we ourselves realized it?” she asked under her breath. He chuckled and stepped toward her.

“Who kens.” He bent down to her. “But I intend tae make up fer lost time now.” His lips met hers in a kiss.

“Argh, I dinnae want tae see that,” Tad called from behind them, but neither Ilyssa nor Bran showed any sign of pulling away.