Page 39 of The Empire and the Wolf King

“It has been twenty-nine sleepless hours.” There was a tremble tae her hand as she raised the glass tae her lips.

“I wish I dinna hae tae be the one tae tell ye about it.”

“Life is full of uncomfortable duties.” She took a deep staggering breath as she placed the glass on the table. “Tell me, I will brace myself.”

She looked down at her hands once more.

“Uncle Sean was murdered on the field of Kippen. I was but eight years old. I believe, possibly, the years hae made it murky… but I remember the act of it as if it were yesterday, ye ken, the sight of it — we met in a tent in the rain, and the King of England was an arse. I daena remember, but Uncle Fraoch tells me, he was an arse?—”

“Yer father ought tae hae killed him for the insult.”

“Aye…”

She said, “Go on.”

“There was a commotion outside. Uncle Sean went tae see what it was, a few men followed him. I was watching Da’s back as he looked around the tent, he was calculating, but it all happened verra fast. Then men came into the tent, they were um… draggin’ Uncle Sean between them, they…” My voice trailed off, twas hard tae recount it.

Lady Mairead rolled her hand. “How?”

“They cut his throat in front of us.”

Lady Mairead said, “Och nae.”

She and I both lifted our glasses tae drink.

She asked, “How did it come that yer father dinna kill everyone there for murdering Sean?”

“We had tae run.”

She grimaced.

“I daena remember much, why Da couldna fight, but Uncle Fraoch daena hold it against him. The attack was a surprise, we couldna mount a good battle. Twas frightening, I was holdin’ ontae Ben, and our horse was goin’ fast and I was tryin’ tae be strong, but then Da brought me ontae his horse and we rode… I tried not tae be frightened, but twas altogether terrifyin’, and I regret that I dinna say something tae Da then. I dinna ken twould be the last time we would be…” I gulped. “I wish Ben and I hadna gone tae the meeting. Da might hae been able tae solve the problem, if he hadna been worried about me.”

Lady Mairead said, quietly, “Well, while that is true, and I hae questioned yer father before on this verra thing, he always erred — I meanerrsin keeping his family close. Though I argue, he will not reconsider. And he ought tae hae reconsidered in this instance, in hindsight, but I think, for your father, he has lived through enough times in which he lost his family and that is a fate he canna accept. He means tae hold everyone close. Tis a failing, his affections, but I hae had tae learn tae live with them.”

She smoothed her skirts. “I suppose there are worse failings in a man…” She asked, “Then, my record shows, your father was kidnapped, aye?”

“First the castle was almost destroyed and then he and Ma were taken away in a helicopter. He surrendered.”

She brushed her hair from her face and smoothed it down. “ I daena understand this, his men allowed him tae surrender? As if he were weak? How could they be so ineffectual?—”

Archie said, “Uncle Fraoch was there, Uncle Wallace, Uncle Cailean, Uncle Zach, they couldna stop it. They dinna hae enough weapons. The enemy’s weapons were from the future, and our vessels dinna work. We needed weapons and supplies and we had nothin’. Da believed we were all goin’ tae die, wewere. He had tae surrender.”

She asked, “Who is Uncle Wallace?”

“William Wallace.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Has he been fighting in battles?”

“We hae been waging war against the English king, aye.”

“Ye hae been waging war alongside William Wallace? Tis yer throne, ye are willing tae lay down yer life for yer ‘uncle’ Wallace’s petty squabbles?”

“They arna petty, he?—”

“Perhaps I misspoke, petty is not the correct word, more insignificant tae ye, and yer timeline, yerthrone,yerkingdom. Dost ye ken how his life ends?”

I shook my head.

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