Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

The next afternoon found Ivar, with his hands behind his back clutching a book on irrigation systems, strolling around the castle grounds with Haldor by his side. The brothers had been walking for some time and were deeply engrossed in a conversation about the upcoming training needs of their army.

“Henry Chisholm hasnae as large a force as ours, but I hear his men are well drilled and equipped. That counts fer a lot in a war like this,” Ivar said.

“Aye, we can step up our men’s drill practice fer sure, and I think we should get Dunstan tae arrange tae have our men train alongside the remainin’ Matheson warriors. That way they can learn far more about what fightin’ our new mutual enemy is like,” Haldor replied.

“That’s what I was thinkin’. It will allow the men to bond a bit too. That way, the two clans will fight more effectively together against Chisolm’s forces,” Ivar said, nodding his agreement.

“With any luck all these preparations will turn out tae be unnecessary. With yer upcoming weddin’ with Anastasia now common knowledge, ’tis unlikely Chisholm will attack the Mathesons again. He’ll be too fearful of reprisals from our combined forces,” Haldor said as they reached the end of the castle green and stepped onto the gravel path leading to the main courtyard.

“I wouldnae assume it, Haldor,” Ivar cautioned as they passed by the entrance to the keep. “The man’s quite deranged from what Anastasia’s told me. He’s mad enough tae dae anythin’, so we should be prepared.”

“I take yer point, Braither. If the man’s unstable in his mind, then he’s capable of anythin’. If Arne agrees, let’s proceed with the training as planned then.”

“Good afternoon, me laird,” a sweet, feminine voice suddenly piped up from behind them. Ivar and Haldor stopped and turned around. Ivar froze to see Catalina was standing just a few feet away from them, smiling at them as if butter would not melt in her mouth. She dropped a pretty little curtsey. Their eyes met, and he immediately felt annoyed and flustered at the same time. “And a good afternoon tae ye too, Ivar.”

“Hello there, Catalina, ’tis nice tae see ye out in the sun. Takin’ a walk are ye?” Haldor asked affably, returning her smile. Ivar’s lips, on the other hand, stiffened into a thin, straight line. Was it just his imagination, he wondered, that every time he saw her the lump on his head began to ache.

“Aye, I’m on me way tae meet with the other girls,” she said, her green eyes sparkling. “We’re meant tae be havin’ a picnic outside, I believe. Sofia suggested it because the weather is so uncommonly fine today.”

“That sounds interestin’,” Haldor replied, which did not surprise Ivar as his brother was interested in everything that involved his wife. “Maybe we’ll join ye later.”

Catalina’s smile was like the sun. “I’m sure they’d welcome ye both with open arms,” she assured them. Ivar stood silent, feeding his resentment. Why did she have to keep smiling at him like that? And why must she look so fresh and pretty in her pale blue dress, her thick dark hair shining in the sun as it fell in waves to her neat little waist. He knew about that waist. The sensation of its pliable, warm curves beneath her gown was indelibly burned onto his palm from dancing with her the night before.

“Me laird, I was hopin’ tae ask ye if it would be possible fer me tae practice me archery while I’m here. ’Tis a favorite pastime of mine. Is there somewhere I could use and nae be in the way of yer soldiers?”

“Archery now, is it?” Haldor remarked, raising his brows and appearing rather nonplussed by the request. “These young lassies today, eh, Ivar?” he joked.

“I’d have tae see it tae believe she can even hold a bow and shoot with one,” Ivar scoffed, oddly pleased to see her smile dim and an annoyed glint in her eyes.

“Steady on, Ivar, ye should ken nae tae underestimate Catalina here,” Haldor warned him with a laugh.

“I dinnae underestimate the damage she can dae, but I dae doubt her ability with a bow.”

He smiled grimly at her, secretly amused to see how she was struggling not to bite his head off. A whirlwind of emotions flitted across her lovely features, and he thought he could read her like a book.

Her laugh, when it came, was warm, and her voice was jocular when she replied, “Ye think a woman cannae shoot a bow straight?”

“I ken it,” he found himself saying, unable to help grabbing the chance to put her in her place because… well, he didn’t exactly know, but it felt good. It was not only the fact that his family would forever make fun of him because of her that irritated him. Catalina’s whole presence was taking him out of his skin. He had no idea why he found it so hard to accept her apology, but he just couldn’t.

“A skeptic, I see. Well, how would ye like tae have a wee wager with me.”

“A wager?”

“Aye. We could have a competition, just ye and me, fer fun,” she said pleasantly. “Ye can try tae prove yersel’ right. And I’ll prove ye wrong.”

The sound of Haldor’s ringing laughter grated on Ivar’s nerves, yet he found

the idea of beating her amusing. It might make him feel better.

“Catalina, there ye are,” Dahlia called as she, Sofia, and Anastasia approached them from across the green. “What’s all this laughing about?”

“It looks like we have a wager afoot,” Haldor explained, still chuckling, putting his arm around his wife’s shoulder.

“Ooh, how exciting. What sort of a wager?” Sofia asked with enthusiasm.

“There’s nae wager as yet,” Ivar said, feeling uneasy as he scanned their excited expressions.

“That’s a shame,” Catalina told him, smiling sweetly, “because that means ye’ll be walkin’ around wrongly believin’ that women cannae shoot a straight arrow.”

Haldor guffawed, Dahlia and Sofia laughed, and neither he nor Catalina noticed Anastasia’s hesitant smile as she looked at him and Catalina in turn.

“There’s nay point in such a wager,” he declared as confidently as he could, sorely tempted to take her up on the challenge, nonetheless. “It stands tae reason that a woman cannae draw a bow and shoot an arrow like a man. She disnae have the power. Ye’d nae beat me in a thousand years,” he said to Catalina with some satisfaction, convinced he was right.

“Well, ye were nae sayin’ that the other night when I knocked ye out of yer senses,” Catalina shot back playfully.

“Och, ye have tae take up the challenge after that, Braither,” Haldor said, chuckling and slapping Ivar hard on the back.

“Aye, ye must,” Dahlia exclaimed laughingly. “Maybe we girls will have a wee bet on the winner.”

Ivar glared at Catalina, whose good-natured expression rankled. The twinkle in her eyes made him cave in. “All right, I agree. An archery competition, tomorrow, just ye and me,” he said.

This time, he told himself, I’ll make sure she looks the fool. Even if she can use a bow, there’s nae chance in hell she can beat me.

“Very good. Until tomorrow then,” Catalina said, looking suspiciously confident. However, when he glanced at Anastasia, he noticed she was looking at her sister somewhat worriedly. He wished he could reassure his fiancée that all was well between him and her sister, but he had no real explanation for the way he was feeling and acting towards Catalina.

One thing was clear: where Anastasia tried to calm troubled waters, Catalina stirred them up even more.

Sofia had brought the young Thorsten along to enjoy their picnic. Catalina immediately fell in love with the mischievous little scamp, who seemed to take a shine to her too. He insisted on feeding her cake, getting crumbs all down the front of her gown and sending the others into hysterics with his antics.

“So, Thorsten is Arne’s son, is that right?” Anastasia asked, while Catalina and the little boy played an excited game of tag.

“Aye, that’s right,” Dahlia said with a nod.

“But I thought Arne didnae have a wife.”

“He doesnae. He and Thorsten’s maither were never married,” Dahlia explained sadly. “Anyway, she clearly didnae want Arne or the bairn since, one night, she left him fer Arne tae raise and departed from the area fer good. We’ve had nae word from her as far as I ken. Nae one kens where she went. So, here we are, bringin’ up the wee man between us.”

“Aye, he’s the image of his Da, a proper wee Viking. He suits his fine Viking name,” Catalina put in as she caught the lad and whirled him in the air playfully. He screamed with laughter and kicked his legs.

“Actually, Arne named him after his braither Thor, Ivar’s twin,” Sofia supplied.

“That’s nice,” Catalina replied, surprised to hear the cold-hearted Ivar had a twin brother. Maybe he was the nice one, while Ivar had all the mean traits. “Will we be able tae meet him?”

There was a moment’s hesitation before Dahlia replied, “Sadly, that will nay be possible. He was killed, four years back,” she said, suddenly wringing her hands sorrowfully. It was clear to Catalina that she was still deeply affected by Thor’s loss, and though she was curious to know about the circumstances of his death, she hesitated to ask questions that might upset Dahlia further. “’Tis hard tae talk about,” Dahlia went on, her beautiful eyes full of anguish. “We all mourn his loss every day.”

“I’m awful sorry tae hear it, Dahlia. It must have been terrible fer ye all. And poor Ivar, loosin’ his twin like that,” Anastasia said with obvious sympathy.

“Aye, they had a special connection. Ivar didnae take it well, but we all miss Thor greatly,” Dahlia replied with some insistence, though Catalina noticed she did not elaborate.

Then, Catalina heard her sister say, “Catalina and I can sympathize. We lost our elder sister Brenna only last year. We loved her so much, and we miss her all the time. She was so kind and patient and loving. She was like a maither tae us after we lost ours when we were all so small. I suppose that’s why we girls were all so close. She caught a fever and passed away.”

“I heard about Brenna,” Dahlia admitted, leaning over and patting Anastasia’s hand. “I’m so very sorry fer yer loss. She sounds like she was a wonderful sister. Me heart goes out tae ye both, and yer faither. ’Tis one thing we all share, the pain of loss.”

Catalina listened as the women continued talking, feeling the painful ache in her heart once more for her departed sister. It never really went away. It struck her that Ivar must have felt similar pain for the loss of Thor. She almost felt sorry for him for a moment. Then she remembered his disparaging claims about women being unable to shoot with a bow. His arrogant prejudice had made her competitive hackles rise. She would not allow it to go unchallenged.

When Sofia insisted that Thorsten must sit down and eat something, Catalina also took a break. She sat down next to Anastasia and took a cup of tea for herself.

“What did ye think ye were doing back there?” Anastasia hissed in her ear. “Did ye nae promise me just a few hours ago to make peace with Ivar? And the next thing I ken, ye’re challenging him to an archery competition.”

“’Tis just a harmless bit of fun, so stop worryin’,” Catalina told her, playing down how important it was to her to prove Ivar wrong.

“But an archery competition of all things. How did ye come up with that mad idea?”

“I asked the laird if I could practice somewhere and he just started mockin’ me and women in general,” Catalina said. “He was beggin’ me tae challenge him.”

“Dinnae go makin’ me situation any harder than it already is, Cat, please. Ye promised tae behave.”

Catalina felt guilty for deliberately pretending to misunderstand Anastasia’s accusation but she was nevertheless determined to teach Ivar a lesson. “’Tis just a harmless competition, a wee bit of fun,” she repeated with false casualness.

“Ye ken what I mean, Cat. I told ye nae tae upset him again. I want ye tae call off this stupid competition at once.”

Catalina stared at her. “Call it off?” She thought about it. She honestly did. And then she said lightly, “Och, stop worryin’, Ana. Ye want me and Ivar tae get on. Well, this competition might be a chance fer us tae spend some time together and understand each other better. Besides, if he wins, just think how happy he’ll be.”

“When he wins ye mean, Cat, because that is what is going tae happen. And ye’d best make sure it does. I dinnae want any more trouble, and no more silly games.”

“Ye’re worryin’ too much, Ana. Calm down. The others are all excited fer it. It’ll be fine, ye’ll see,” Catalina assured her with a smile. She hated to upset her sister again, but her nature would not allow her to back out, nor let Ivar win if she could help it.

“I hope so,” her sister whispered warningly before giving up and returning to the general conversation.

Despite Anastasia’s pleas, Catalina’s promise to mend bridges with Ivar had gone out of the window. Now, all she wanted to do was beat him and make him admit he was wrong, preferably when everyone else was watching.

And when he loses, which he most certainly will, he’s going tae look even more foolish than ever and he’ll have nae one tae blame but himself.

The conversation moved onto lighter things then, and Catalina was soon back playing with Thorsten again. As she chased the high-spirited little fellow around the lawn, questions darted through her mind like rushing minnows in a stream. She could not help wondering if losing his twin in a such a tragic, unexpected way had somehow damaged Ivar inside.

If so, then maybe it was something to do with that, that had made him take against her this way, for she could not think of another reason as to why he should hold such a grudge against her. She was sure that if it had been Arne she had knocked out in the woods, he would have laughed it off good-naturedly, and Ivar would likely have joined in the laughter. Or would he?

The other MacLeod’s had all welcomed her warmly as Anastasia’s sister and, therefore, part of their family. But Ivar remained a mystery. It was as if two different people resided in the same body. One was educated, kind, intelligent, polite, and a fine dancer, with the face of Adonis. The face he showed to her was the complete opposite. Boorish, stubborn, unfeeling, amongst other faults, although admittedly, Adonis’ identical twin.

Her brother-in-law-to-be was a walking contradiction., a puzzle, a thorn in her side, and she could hardly wait for the chance to beat him and make him eat his arrogant words.