Page 73 of Highlander of Steel
As he lifted his gaze, however, he saw the figure of his enemy coming back up the hill.
“Laird MacNairn!” Murdock raised his hand in a hail but didn’t quicken his pace, his approach an almost mocking stroll. Then again, nor did he reach for the broadsword that hung from his hip.
Killian walked to meet him, ready for a fight. “I’d call ye a fool if I didnae ken ye were the son of a madman.”
Murdock frowned as he came to a standstill, maintaining a polite distance from Killian. Therewassomething odd about him that Killian couldn’t quite put his finger on, not at first.
He’s… calm.
Uneasy, Killian narrowed his eyes at him.
“Am I to take this as yer answer?” Murdock asked, gesturing to the sword in Killian’s hand. He seemed bewildered, adding to Killian’s unease. “I… was certain ye’d agree to peace between us.”
Killian’s lip curled. “Peace? From the moment ye Ainsleys started this war, there’s been none of that.”
“I ken, but…” Murdock faltered, raking a hand through his dark hair. “I’ve been waitin’ in the woods since yer weddin’. I watched it from afar and kent the festivities would delay ye, but I thought ye’d come as soon as ye received me gift. Ye and Ailis both.”
Something wasn’t right, but Killian couldn’t figure out what it was. Murdock’s demeanor wasn’t at all what he had expected, and there was an earnestness in his brown eyes that Killian just couldn’t comprehend.
“Och, we got yer gift,” he hissed.
Confusion flickered across Murdock’s face, deepening his frown. “Then why did ye nae sign the peace treaty? Why did ye nae come to meet me in the woods? I was goin’ to keep waitin’, but me faither will get suspicious if I’m away for too long, so I thought I’d come and ask ye directly why there’s a delay.” He swallowed loudly. “But it seems ye daenae want to sign the peace treaty at all.”
Gripping the pommel of his sword so tight that his knuckles began to throb, Killian took a step forward, his breath plumingin the cold morning air. “Is this a jest to ye? Did yer faither ask ye to torment me?”
He had to force himself not to hack the head right off the man before him.
“I daenae understand,” Murdock said, his confounded expression undeniably convincing. “When I saw me sister with ye in the woods, I realized that… she was happy. Calmer, brighter, more at ease than I’ve ever seen her. And what she said to me about never thinkin’ of anyone but meself—I thought on it some and kent that she was right. I realized that Ican stop this war so that me daughter gets to grow up without fearin’ for her life. Ye and I hadnae started it, but we can end it.”
Killian’s brow creased as if he were in pain, a wave of uncertainty sweeping through him.
What on earth was Murdock up to? What elaborate and strange joke was this, to speak of Ailis with such fondness? Killian had heard the stories himself. Murdock had never shown his sister an ounce of kindness before, so what was going on?
“I sent ye a peace treaty,” Murdock continued in that same earnest tone. “It was supposed to reach ye when ye returned from the chapel, after the weddin’. I had me best man ride ahead to deliver it.”
“Yer ‘gift’ was nay peace treaty,” Killian spat, once again expending every shred of willpower he possessed not to strikethe wretch down. “It was me braither’s severed finger and a lock of yer daughter’s hair.”
Horror contorted Murdock’s face, his mouth falling open, his eyes widening to the whites.
“Nay. I assure ye, it was a peace treaty,” he rasped. “I wrote and signed it meself. Itmusthave reached ye. As I said, I sent me best man.”
“And asIsaid, all we received was a box with me braither’s finger and a lock of yer daughter’s hair in it,” Killian shot back, uncertain of what to make of the man’s reaction.
Was it real or a performance?
At that moment, Paisley came running out with the box in question, as if she had known it might be needed. With a face that mirrored his inner fury, she opened the lid and showed Murdock.
“Ailis took the lock of yer daughter’s hair,” she spat. “And I’d wager she’s cursing yer name for usin’ yer own child against her, kennin’ how much the lassie means to her.”
Murdock bristled with disgust, though he leaned in to get a closer look at the finger, squinting at it.
“Where’s me sister?” he asked, reeling back. “I need to explain. I sent a peace treaty, I swear it. I wouldneverdo this.”
“She’s nae here,” Killian replied. “She saw this vile gift, saw that lock of yer daughter’s hair, and went back. Went back to keep yer daughter safe, and to stop any other bits bein’ cut off me braither. I told her it was a trick; she wouldnae heed me.”
Murdock shook his head, mumbling incoherently to himself as his anxious gaze flitted from the box to the woods to the castle to the sun coming up in the distance.
“Nay… nay, nay… this cannae be. I was careful. I…” He paused, wide-eyed. “We need to leave.”
