Page 54 of The Bells of Triumph
“Murray Village, still alive and thriving,” he clarified. “And nae just the village but all of the lands around it. As put out as I am over Campbell having escaped a second time, I cannae tell ye how much it means to me to see such a glorious sight.”
She studied the view a little bit closer, watching as children played in between the trees that blew in the wind. It was picturesque and peaceful, wholly untouched by the fight that had just occurred.
“Och, Seamus, it really is quite wonderful. And it is all thanks to ye.”
His hands went to her shoulders and turned her back around to face him. Without another word, he pressed a kiss to her lips, firm and sure.
“One day,” he told her after taking a step back again, “verra soon, all of our hardship will be over. There will be nay more discussion of war or battle strategy. Campbell will be a thing of the past. And when that happens, when we are finally done with all of this chaos, I have every intention of standing in front of this clan and marrying ye again. I want them all to ken that I could never have done any of this without yer help. I want them to ken that I love ye more than life itself. I want them to call ye their lady.”
She swallowed hard, taken aback by the sudden onslaught of emotion his promises elicited. Blinking to clear her vision, she took Seamus' hand and held it tight. Without the adequate words to respond, she settled for kissing him back.
When they made it down the stairs and back into the Great Hall, some several minutes later, a much different scene than the one she left greeted them. Liam and Errik were huddled together with Connor near the front of the room, whispering about something serious. The rest of the soldiers were either getting their wounds patched up by the handful of healers whohad ridden with them, or were downing mugs of ale as quickly as they could.
Seamus' arrival in the mix created a heavy air of anticipation. What for, Flora couldn't imagine.
“Glad ye could rejoin us,” Liam chided a bit playfully as the couple walked up to join the group. “We were just discussing the aftermath of everything.”
“Fill me in and spare me nay details.”
The three men glanced at each other nervously before Connor cleared his throat and looked back at his friend.
“Seamus,” Connor greeted with a handshake that Seamus was all too happy to return, “I am pleased to say that my efforts were more successful than I hoped they could have been.”
“I must admit, I was nae expecting to see ye here. Ye were supposed to be in the village with Brid. What happened?”
“I was, and we had great success in gathering supporters for the cause. I have been told that many from Murray Village joined ye as ye walked through. But the longer we stayed in the village and the longer the blockade was up, the more restless the village got. It became clear to me that things were nae going to plan, and I needed to do whatever I could to help us. With the help of an old training mate, I managed to sneak back into the castle and convince some of Campbell's guards nae to fight against ye.”
“Some,” Errik cut in, “more like half. And that eejit Archie never stopped to notice his men did nae follow him out as he had expected.”
“Where are these men now?” Seamus asked, unable to hide his surprise.
“They surrendered before the fight even started.”
“And what happened to the rest of Campbell's guards?” Flora asked, peeking over her shoulder, still not convinced that there wasn't going to be another ambush.
“Those who were nae killed have been imprisoned. The men have already locked them in the dungeons. They can stay there until we decide what to do with all of them.”
“None of them deserve to live,” Errik muttered.
The other four looked over at him, shocked by how angry and resolute he sounded. He simply shrugged.
“Any man who fought for Campbell and stayed with him when given the out is nae worth the air he breathes. They are all murderers and thieves as far as I am concerned. They have all taken part in the suffering of this clan and for that, they dinnae deserve to live.”
Flora found herself agreeing with Errik's points. There was no telling the horrors these men inflicted on the clan. They could not be simply set free, able to inflict more harm on whoever they come across. She looked to Seamus for an answer. He took in a deep breath and scrubbed a hand over his face before answering the unasked question.
“As Connor said, we will deal with them later. I am nae willing to overlook their crimes, but I have nae interest in starting my reign as Laird by slaughtering dozens of men. History would only see it as a repeat of Campbell's actions. Besides, none of that matters until?—”
“There he is! The man who has freed us from the tyrant!”
A half drunk villager stumbled into the Great Hall, slurring his words as he went.
Several others trailed in behind him, cheering and celebrating as they went. Seamus looked to her, searching for answers, but she had none to give.
“News has spread quickly of yer victory over Campbell. Murray Village thinks the man is dead.”
Flora's heart fell to the floor. Behind her, villagers started pouring into the castle, cheering and celebrating the supposed victory. The rebel soldiers joined in with them, all overjoyed athaving finally won against Campbell, or so they thought. She could already hear the misplaced guilt screaming in Seamus' head. It was written all over his face.
“Some of the others volunteered to ride to Glenkirk Castle to give them the news as well. We are to reconvene here, in the Great Hall, for a meeting. We thought that this is where ye would like to tell everyone the news yerself and reclaim the clan.”
