Chapter 10

A Warning

Ragnall slowed his horse, sensing the pain in the quiet. He patted the beast on the neck, reassuring it—the horse could sense the ill wind too. There was nothing to see from the outskirts except a couple of plumes of smoke from chimneys and a gaggle of chickens pecking the ground by the side of the road.

It looked peaceful, but it had been the target of Fraser’s latest attack.

The Laird heard a noise from behind and looked over his shoulder to see Eric approach with two other men on horseback. They quickly caught up to the Laird and brought their animals to a stop.

“Go,” Eric ordered the two men. “Check the cottages, just in case.”

The two men spurred their horses and steered them toward the small village at a trot.

“Ye listened to me for once,” Eric noted.

He had told Ragnall not to go into the village alone, fearing it was a trap. Fraser did not have the numbers Ragnall did, so he worked in the shadows, sowing discontent and using subterfuge. Eric worried the attack was to draw Ragnall out and attack him again. Fraser and his men might have hidden in the village and waited for him to enter, cutting off his means of escape before attacking.

“Ye should have let me send me men here first, Me Laird,” Eric said.

“These are me people,” Ragnall reminded his friend. “It’s nae a strategic attack. These are ordinary people. Why would he do this?”

“Because he’s Fraser,” Eric replied simply. “Because he doesnae care about anyone except for himself.”

“I cannae let this go on,” Ragnall moaned. “He cannae keep gettin’ away with this. Give me some good news, Eric. Tell me we are closer to stoppin’ this madness.”

Eric took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “He’s as slippery as an eel. We will catch him, but I cannae assure ye that there willnae be blood afore then. He sticks his neck out every so often, and he loses men when he does. At some point, he will have to come right at ye while he still has some strength. That’s why I dinnae want ye out here alone. He cannae storm the castle, can he? He needs ye at yer weakest, and if ye let emotions get in the way, he will exploit that.”

“It’s hard nae to let emotions get in the way when he does things like this,” Ragnall pointed out.

“Aye, it’s hard,” Eric agreed. “For now, I’ve sent a couple of riders to each of the small villages around the castle. That’s all we can afford, for now. I’ve also sent word to Gallacher Castle, askin’ for more men. Our relationship with them is good enough for now, but if we keep askin’ for replacements, their patience will wear thin. Clan Gallacher has never been a fightin’ clan.”

“What about his escape?” Ragnall asked. “If Fraser isnae here, where has he gone?”

“I wish I had better news, but if he has struck and ran, then he could be anywhere. Look, me men are comin’ back now.” Eric nodded toward the village, from which the two men on horseback emerged.

“It’s all clear,” the first rider said. “No sign of anyone in there.”

“One dead,” the second added. “Two others wounded, but not so bad.”

“Give them whatever they need for a funeral and to get patched up. Any property damage?” the Laird asked.

“Dinnae think so,” the second man replied.

“Stay in the village for now,” Eric ordered. “Fraser and his men willnae return, but everyone will be on edge. Stay there to help calm everyone.”

The two men nodded and rode back into the village.

Ragnall dismounted, and Eric did the same. They led their horses over to a tree on the edge of the village and tethered them to separate branches. Then they walked into the village together.

The very first people Ragnall encountered recoiled from him. It was to be expected, and he knew how beastly and monstrous his face was, but it still hurt. He had no control over how he looked.

When he looked at the two of them, he realized it was only the woman who recoiled at the sight, presumably the mother of the child she had hidden behind her in fear that the beastly Laird might pounce on her child and devour him.

The little boy looked up with curiosity but not fear.

Ragnall was the leader of these people, and they might respect him as a leader, but they still feared him. Just as Holly feared him. Seeing the reaction of the common people in his presence, he wondered if he had been too harsh with his wife. These people could retreat to their homes and never lay eyes on him again. Holly could not.

“Look at them,” Ragnall pointed out to Eric. “Ye think they would be used to me by now. And they’re doin’ the younger generation nay favors.”

Eric glanced to the right at the mother and boy as they passed them. “Aye, she’s creatin’ the fear within him when there is nay need to be afraid. Do ye want me to do somethin’ about it?”

“Nay. That would only make things worse. If they dinnae want to look at me, they neednae look. I’m here as a courtesy, but I’ll be back in the castle soon.”

“Ye talk as if ye are one beast, when we all ken what a good man ye are. It’s nae ye, Ragnall. Fraser has everyone on edge, and when fear creeps into the heart, it’s easier to fear everythin’.”

“Oy, what are ye goin’ to do about this!” a man shouted from the door to his thatched-roofed hut.

“What did ye?—”

The Laird stuck his hand out to stop Eric from approaching the man. He took matters into his own hands instead. He walked toward the man, and the man did not know whether to retreat into his house or stand and face the scarred Laird.

“Ye’re upset, but nae as upset as I am,” Ragnall told him.

“One of our own is dead,” the man stated.

“Aye, one of our own. He’s from yer village, but he’s from me clan. I cannae claim to have been a friend, but the death hurts me too. Ye ken what they did to me family?”

“Aye, I ken,” the man responded. He looked a little sheepish now that he was face-to-face with the Laird.

“I’ll tell ye what I’m goin’ to do,” Ragnall began. “I’m goin’ to kill the man responsible for all of this, and we will have peace again. I brought this on all of us, but nay man can say it wasnae justified. We’ve all lost people, but I’ve lost more than anyone. I will make this right, but I need ye all to stand by me.” He stuck his hand out.

The man looked down at the hand and the back at Ragnall. He hesitated, but he put his hand in Ragnall’s and shook it firmly.

“I stand with ye, Me Laird,” he affirmed.

“Good,” Ragnall replied. “If ye stand with me, I will stand with ye.”

“Aye,” the man said eagerly. He continued to shake the Laird’s hand for a few seconds more before he let go.

Ragnall returned to Eric’s side as they continued through the village. “Do I need to win them over one at a time?” he asked.

“Ye might have to,” Eric pointed out. “Ye dinnae show yer face much unless it’s to chase Fraser. The people might fear ye, but it is only because they dinnae ken ye.”

“I have nay time to be out here, makin’ friends, when Fraser is still on the loose. And I have Holly to worry about, too.”

“Aye?” Eric raised an eyebrow. “How is married life treatin’ ye?”

“About the same as me relationships with the people here,” Ragnall replied.

“Aye? Well, she has come to me twice lookin’ for ye, so she cannae fear ye.”

“Ye didnae see her in me room last night.”

“So, she did find ye. Did ye have yer way with her?” Eric asked.

“I couldnae when she looked at me like everyone else does. There’s a beauty and a beast in the castle now.”

“Aye, she is a beauty, but she is a liability with Fraser out there. We should have dealt with him first. So, marriage isnae the paradise ye thought it would be?”

“I never expected it to be anythin’ except a means to an end. I need her to give me an heir, but I willnae be humiliated in me own castle. I dinnae want a timid mouse that cowers afore me. I willnae force her to be me slave either. Yet…”

Eric stopped walking when they reached the center of the village, a small clearing among the huts with a well in the middle. He looked at his friend with raised eyebrows.

“Well, spit it out, then,” he prompted.

“She looks at me with fear at times, but there’s more there. I can see her challenging me at times with the way she regards me.”

“Aye, I’ve seen that look in her,” Eric agreed.

“Sometimes, she has no fear,” Ragnall continued. “That’s what I want in me wife. Still, it’s only there for a moment, like a candle, afore it is extinguished in the rain. I want a wife with a bit of fight in her, nae a wife who will lie down and take what I give her. What fun is that?”

“It heartens me to hear ye talkin’ about fun, Ragnall. I havenae heard those words come from yer lips in a very long time.”

“Och, I dinnae mean it like that. Ye ken well what I mean,” Ragnall moaned.

“Aye, I do,” Eric agreed. “Ye want to have some fun with yer wife.”

Before Ragnall could respond, Eric added, “Irrelevant of this talk, ye need to lie with her soon. I worry about everythin’, with Fraser on the loose, and he will target her again. He kenned about the weddin’. Ye should impregnate her, and we can lock her away until Fraser is dealt with. An heir is the most important thing. Ye’ll look even weaker if Fraser gets to her. Other women willnae want to marry ye, and faithers of lasses will be warier. Lie with her soon.”

“I will,” Ragnall affirmed. “She is a bonnie lass. I’ll have nay problem when the time comes.”

“I ken that,” Eric replied.

Ragnall knew he would lie with his wife soon, but he did not want to be the monster everyone thought he was. If she looked at him with horror again, he would simply ignore it and get down to business. There were bigger things to worry about other than her feelings. He needed an heir, and he needed to protect that heir from Fraser. For now, that meant protecting Holly from Fraser. And, by extension, protecting the villages surrounding his castle.

“What a coward!” Ragnall spat as he looked around.

He did not see the wounded men, but he did feel what the villagers felt. They were afraid in their own homes. They had been minding their own businesses and had done nothing to aggravate Fraser, yet the Laird’s mortal enemy had chosen to strike the village and then run away.

“Me Laird,” one of Eric’s men called out.

Ragnall looked over to where the man stood with one of the villagers. The man beckoned him over with a wave. Ragnall walked over to the two men.

“Me Laird, this man says he has a message from Fraser Sutherland.”

Ragnall’s blood ran cold. He looked at the villager, a young man in his twenties, a farmer with a thin frame and a weatherbeaten look.

“What do ye have to tell me?” he asked.

The young man gulped before he spoke. “He cornered me, Me Laird. I would have fought back if I had a sword, but there’s never been any need for it out here.”

“None of this is yer fault, lad,” the Laird assured him. “What did that rogue tell ye?”

“He told me ye would come to the village, and when ye did, I was to warn ye.” The young man took a deep breath. “He said to tell ye, ‘We both lost everythin’, but ye have found somethin’ to love again. She will be taken away from ye in good time. Ye will have nay happiness as long as I’m alive.’ That’s what he told me, Me Laird. Those were his exact words.”

“Thank ye,” Ragnall said.

He pressed a coin to the man’s hand before running back to Eric.

“We need to get back to the castle now,” he called. “Holly might be in danger. I just received a threat against her.”