Page 31 of Dark Embrace

Aidan had gotten eyeglasses for her.

It felt like the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her.

She turned, and really looked out the window.

A loch was beyond, as if the castle floated upon it, and the rising sun had stained the water peach and gold. Silver swans drifted in the ethereal morning light, as did a flock of ducks. The shores beyond were covered with snow, but thick, emerald-green woods emerged from them. Beyond the forests, mountain peaks were shrouded in the morning mist, white with snowcaps. For one moment, Awe felt magical.

But it wasn’t magical—it was medieval, and she was about to go to war. The maid had left. She removed her sweatshirt and put the tunic on over her T-shirt and jeans. She threw her sweatshirt back on, kicking off her sneakers and stepping into the high, furry boots. The plaid was huge—the size of a queen-size blanket—so she draped it over both shoulders like a cape. She added the belt, hoping to hold it in place, and was relieved when she became slightly warmer.

Had Aidan meant to be kind, or were the gestures been simply practical ones?

Uncertain, Brie left the bedroom. Ahead was the west tower. It was an open, circular room with no walls separating it from the hall she was crossing. That meant that it had been built for defensive, military purposes. The windows were glassless and of various sizes. The tall, skinny loopholes were for artillery. Others were for bowmen, and the widest was for bombards and mortars. Brie started to become aware of a seething mass of savage and masculine humanity close by.

Dread arose in her, and she ran to the closest loophole.

The bailey below was a sea of men and animals.

Her heart lurched. There had to be hundreds of men below. Armor glinted in the morning light. Interspersed amongst the knights and chargers were the standards of their bearers, waving above them in vivid colors. She could make out the Highlanders, too, in their pale leines and colorful plaids.

Her pulse had soared to a dangerously high point. She felt so much savagery below. She glanced across the bridge spanning the loch and squinted. She couldn’t see well, but the bridge was shimmering, undulating, as if it were alive.

“He has four thousand men,” Claire said from behind her.

Brie whirled. “Is that bridge filled with men?”

“And their mounts, and even some pack animals. The army was here when we arrived yesterday, and it backs up to the village on the eastern shore.”

She couldn’t breathe. She was really going to war with a medieval army.

“Are you okay? You’re as pale as a ghost.”

That was a bad choice of words, Brie thought. “I’ve always secretly wanted to live out Braveheart.”

“He and Malcolm have argued about his taking you with him, but he is determined.” Claire was grim.

Brie stared back as grimly. “Are there really four thousand knights and Highlanders out there? How many men do the bad guys have?”

“I don’t know,” Claire said. “But now that you can see Ian, Aidan won’t let you out of his sight. He’ll keep you safe.”

Of course, Brie thought. He was taking her with him because she could see his son’s ghost, and not for any other reason. It crossed her mind that she’d rather be important to him in a far different manner, but she shoved that treacherous thought aside. “Can he be talked out of this war? I’m pretty sure the rebels will lose.”

“They do,” Claire said. “I already did some research on the Internet.”

Brie stared at her.

Claire grinned. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She sobered. “I learned long ago to accept the power of the Ancients. They brought me to Malcolm. I am what I am and who I am because it was written. Feel free to try to convince him to back out. He will or he won’t. If this is what the Ancients have decreed, then it will pass.”

Brie already knew all this. If Claire knew about the hanging, she wasn’t giving an inch.

“By the way, Allie knows you’re here. I sent her a message, special delivery.”

“Did she reply?”

“Not yet. Royce is still furious with Aidan for something he did about fifty years ago, so it might take her a bit to get in touch with you, as long as you’re hanging with him.”

Brie decided she didn’t want to know what Aidan had done to anger Royce and Allie.

“I just want you to know that I’m on your side, and so is Malcolm,” Claire said. “Can you promise to be careful? And by that I mean I’m more worried about Aidan than I am about the royal armies and the Campbells.”