Page 12 of The Bells of Triumph
“And ye think ye can find these men?” she asked, surprised at the idea.
“Aye. I ken that I can. When I left, there was some unrest in the castle, men who wanted to abandon Campbell altogether, but did nae ken how. They did nae ken where to turn to.”
“He wants to sneak back into Murray Castle, Flora!” Brid interrupted, her voice strained. “He wants to go to the guard's tower by himself and convince those who wish to leave to go with him.”
“Ye make it sound like it is sure death.”
“Is it nae? Then why can I nae come with ye?”
“It is nae dangerous for me. I ken what I am doing and where I would be going. Ye would have nay idea. They would spot ye in a heartbeat.”
Flora was shocked to see moisture gathering in Brid's eyes. It was becoming more and more clear to Flora just how much these two cared about each other. They both wanted to keep the other safe above all else, even in the midst of war. Flora would have never expected this from Brid, especially considering just how hostile she had been towards Seamus and Connor when they had first arrived.
“Ye are being unreasonable,” Brid cried in outrage. “Ye admit that it is dangerous for me, but claim ye will be fine. It what world does that make any sense?”
“What is dangerous?” Seamus asked, interjecting himself into things as he walked up behind Flora and put his hand on her back.
“Connor thinks they need to turn some of Campbell's men and have them stationed in Campbell Village to make our invasion easier,” Flora explained, removing the emotion from the situation. “He wants to go back to Murray Castle to do just that and then go to the village.”
Seamus nodded seriously before offering his hand out for Connor to shake.
“If ye think that is what is necessary, then I dare say it is. Take every precaution and nay needless risks. I would rather have ye fighting on our side than a dozen of Campbell's men.”
“What?” Brid screeched. “Ye are going to let the man ye claim is yer brother walk into such dangerous territory? When ye cannae say for yerself for certain that it is worth the effort?”
Flora opened her mouth to say something to soothe Brid's worried, but Seamus beat her to it.
“I did nae say that I do so easily, Brid. But ye must remember—this is war. We will all have to take risks to try to gain the victory over Campbell. And the thing about risks, is that there is never any certainty involved. If I had it my way, I would seek out Campbell and kill him myself without ever needing to get any of ye involved. But wars are nae won that way, at least this one will nae be. So aye, I trust that Connor understands what must be done to free this clan from Campbell. And having trained with him my entire life, I trust that he is more than capable of carrying out the task.”
“But…” she stammered a bit weakly, Seamus' speech taking the fight out of her words, leaving her with only her fear.
“Dinnae think for one second that it will be an easy thing for me to do,” he continued. “I will worry about ye both every minute that ye are out of my sight, as will Flora. But I will nae allow my fear of death stop me from living, or those around me from doing what they feel they must.”
Brid opened her mouth and snapped it shut again, her mind clearly occupied with mulling over everything Seamus had said. After another minute, she simply sighed and looked at Connor. With a nod, she signaled that she was ready.
“Will ye see us off then?” Connor asked as he started to walk towards their already saddled horses.
Seamus nodded, and the two men sauntered down the hill, their heads bowed as they started to discuss their plans. Flora turned to Brid and gestured after them.
“Shall we?”
“Before we go,” Brid jumped in, stopping Flora with a hand on her arm. “I-I wanted to apologize.”
“Whatever for?”
“The way that I treated Seamus and then ye in the Lost Valley. I should nae have been so harsh, so judgmental. I ken ye well enough to ken that ye were worth the benefit of the doubt, and I did nae offer ye even that. I was so blinded by my hatred of all things Murray that I did nae stop to really get to ken who Seamus was. And then I let that hate seep into how I saw ye. I was so angry with ye for?—”
“Brid,” Flora interupted. “Ye dinnae need to apologize.”
“But I do. I could nae understand how ye could fall for a Murray but now?—”
“But now we understand each other much better, aye?”
Flora looked over to where Seamus was waiting with Connor, still both engrossed in their conversation.
“We have all come such a long way from then. It is hard to imagine life before they came into the picture.”
She looked back at Brid, giving the girl a knowing look that made Brid blush. It was a sight that made Flora smile. Brid looked good with some color in her face and life in her eyes. And she was grateful for the man who had put it there. Throwing anarm around Brid's shoulders, the two walked down to meet their partners.
