The next morning Eleanor had stubbornly insisted on riding Beck, but after they stopped at a waterway mid day she had admitted her legs were aching and asked Fann to take her on his horse. So that’s where she was as the ground grew more rocky. The river they had crossed was the Liddel Water Fann told her. Now they were following the River Esk. The keep they were heading for was on this side of the river. MacDonald lands were on the other. They would be camping in a cavern tonight. One of the mercenaries had been this way not too long ago and knew of a good spot on a rocky hillside along the road. Low enough that the horses could climb it easily, but high enough that nobody could sneak up on them. It seemed to Eleanor that they were being far too cautious, but Fann said there was no such thing. They were strong warriors, but not a full army. Skill was commendable, but caution was often wiser. She had no response to that as he was the one with experience.As the afternoon wore on she fo

Fifteen men. Fann watched the last of the dead being drug into the woods. His own band of warriors had a few injuries, but fortunately no deaths among them. One of the lads reached out trembling hands to take Fann’s sword for a proper cleaning so he held it out to the child. “You are well?”“Well enough sir.”“Twas your first battle?”“Tha sir.” The boys voice shook slightly, his face turning green as he looked at the blood on the blade.“You have been told what to expect for the next few days?”“Tha sir.” Fann nodded and started towards the cave. Eleanor would be waiting for him. The first battle was always a shock for the lads, no matter how their mentor prepared them. The lad would be fine in time, or he would return to his family and farm instead. That was the way of it. Coddling him would not help him. A horrendous cry echoed out from the entrance as he approached and Fann cursed. Callum had forgotten about the women and begun to torture the survivor before seeing them out of t

Eleanor shifted in her saddle as the main keep came into view and looked all around herself. The warning bells began to ring showing that the keep knew of their approach and she started to smile. “I remember this place! This is McInnis land!”“I suppose that is not surprising you know it. It is only a day or so ride from your family’s land. You may have visited often if your clan is friendly with this one. The land must have changed some in eight years though.”“Some," she agreed. "The memory seems a bit confused,” She said after a while. “I remember I got into trouble for throwing mud at a boy. Do you see that tree by the broken wall? The tree was shorter and the wall was less broken, but one of the McInnis boys was in the tree and I threw a fist full of mud that hit him in the face. Padraig or Alaisdar...maybe Griogair? Those were their names but I’m not sure which one I hit with the mud. One of them had put a frog on Eliana’s head and made her cry so I was retaliating. I remember

Fann paced restlessly in Padrig’s solar. Something wasn’t adding up. Why had Eleanor’s father left her in the abbey and never communicated with his daughter? He had not even told her of her mother’s passing! He had not passed on messages between sisters and not seen to the marriage of his heir in a timely manner. What sort of man did all these things? It was as though he wanted the clan to die out.Was that it? Fann wondered. Was the man so enamored with the English that he wanted the Scottish bloodline to end and his lands to become English? But if he loved the English so, why had he not paid his tax to the crown?He looked up as the door opened and Padraig came in.“There is more you should ken,” his face solemn as he went to the bookshelves and opened a false front to retrieve some hidden papers. “The day before Eleanor was sent to the abbey, my father approached Donald MacDonald for her hand.” Fann stopped pacing and took the papers, shuffling through them. “She was two and ten.”

Fann stopped just inside the stable door and stared at his wife. How had she managed to get to the stables when he thought she was heading into the keep? Her hand smoothed down the side of her horse, Beck, while she talked softly to the mare. She was so calm and gentle with the horses. So unlike the way Fann was used to seeing people handle their mounts. The horses were all drawn to her though, even those that were not hers seemed to crave her attention.An orange cat stretched on the hay in the corner and got up to twine itself under her skirts and she talked to it as well, bending for a moment to stoke between its ears before returning her attention to Beck. Storm popped his grey head over the rails from the next stall and nudged her shoulder, huffing gently and making her honey colour waves flutter. His lips teased some strands into his mouth before her hand came up to ease them away and stroke the stallion's nose. She seemed so at peace, lost in her own thoughts, that he was abou