Page 4 of Highlander Redeemed
“Damn skirts.”
“Why do you not kilt them up?” Duncan asked.
She glanced at him, sure she would see disappointment and scorn in his dark eyes, but was surprised to see a calm gaze, thoughtful, not judging. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, and she knew from long experience that his sharp mind was working on a problem.
“Never mind,” he said. “’Tis good to train in skirts since that is likely what you will be wearing if ever you are ambushed.”
She waited for him to sayagain, but he did not, and she found herself distracted by his change in behavior. He was not attacking her, or treating her like a child, and that alone was remarkable, for nothing about her had changed, so in theory his opinion of her should not have changed either, but it seemed it had, at least for the moment.
Even though she agreed with him about fighting in skirts, she could not let him know that. Scotia set her weapons and targe down and kilted her skirts, tucking the ends, still damp from the mud puddles at the caves, up into the wide leather belt she wore, just as she had when she’d waded into the burn to throw off the lads who usually trailed after her. But Duncan had not been thrown off her trail. Duncan was the best tracker in the clan and had taught her all she knew of tracking both beasts and people.On her own, she had turned the lessons around and, over the years, become quite adept at hiding her own tracks when she did not wish to be found. Clearly she must work harder if she wished to hide her trail from Duncan in the future.
She waited for him to say something, but he was silent as she settled her weapons. She started, as she always did, by closing her eyes and moving through each step of the exercise slowly in her mind, fixing it there. Next she opened her eyes, turned her torso, set her feet, checking both balance and that the weight was more to the back foot, relaxed her grip on the stick, and then moved through the exercise slowly, making sure each step was precisely as she’d seen Malcolm doing it when he taught the lads.
“Good,” Duncan said, circling around to her other side. “Now faster.”
“I do not need your commands,” she said, still wishing the man would leave her, though his suggestions did seem to help. She brought the face of the gap-toothed English soldier who had held her captive into her mind, then put the memory of his blade to her throat there as well. That was all it took to bring into her heart all the rage and helplessness he had made her live with. She imagined he stood in front of her, that smirk on his face as he’d told her what he would do to her after he and his fellow soldiers had slaughtered her family, what they would each do to her, and when the rage lived within her like a beast she flew through the exercise, repeating it without pause. Exhilaration spilled through her, as it had the last few days as she’d practiced, as if she’d finally, finally found the thing she was meant to do. After nine or ten repetitions her breath burned in her lungs and throat, and sweat dripped from her face. She stopped, resting her hands on her knees as she gulped in the cool air of the wood, damping down the burning.
“You really are quite good at this,” Duncan said, as if he truly was surprised by what he saw. “But—”
“But nothing,” she snapped, standing up to face him before he could ruin the subtle warmth that flirted over her skin at hiscompliment by telling her everything wrong with her, by telling her this was a foolish thing to do, a foolish thing to want. She did not want to hear any of it.
“But,” he said again, his voice remarkably patient, “you need a proper teacher if you mean to continue.” He held up a hand to stop her next retort.
But it did not come.
Scotia knew her mouth was agape, but she was powerless to close it.
“And I do think you should continue to train,” he added.
He looked a little too pleased with himself so she pressed her lips together hard enough to close her mouth, and tried to understand what he had just said.
“You cannot mean to let me train with the lads. What are you about, Duncan? Surely you mean only to trick me into letting my guard down before you dive in to tear me apart with sharp, mean words.”
He nodded. “I do not blame you for thinking that, and indeed, that was my intention when I was searching for your trail.”
“Searching?”
“Aye. It took far more work than I expected to discover where you had gone. It would seem you are a good student when the subject serves your purposes.”
She couldn’t decide if that was a compliment or a complaint, but she did not care. She clearly had more work to do to slip the sharp-eyed Duncan, but she had at least made it difficult for him to find her and that was an accomplishment she could be proud of.
“I do not think you should train with the lads. ’Twill demoralize them to see a lass who is far more skilled than they are.”
Pride and surprised satisfaction warmed her.
“Nay,” he continued, “butIcan train you in the ways of a warrior, if you agree to my terms.”
Scotia realized she still held her weapons at the ready, as if she protected herself from Duncan, which was daft, for though his words had always had the power to sting, he’d never physically hurt her.
But now Duncan was asking her to allow him to help her.
Could she do that? Could she trust him?
“If I agree,” she said slowly, “I get to train with a bossy instructor? What do you gain by helping me in this?” Ingrained wariness held her back from jumping at his proposal.
“I get to make sure you are properly trained so that you may be an asset to this clan, so that I can be assured that you are able to protect yourself and those you fight with.” The words were almost soft, as if he sought to lull her into accepting his oversight, but they hit her like a slap, a rebuke.
Irritation sizzled in her gut, but there was too much at stake to give it voice. She raised her chin and squared her shoulders, meeting his gaze with her own. “If I accept, will you promise that I will join the warriors in battle when the English return? Will you promise not to force me to stay at the caves, no matter what any of the others say?”
