Page 47 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

But until that moment came, he would hold fast to what he could.

After a short breakfast, he and Gemma walked through the village with the wagon rolling by their side. At the first group of homes, they stopped, and the guards dispersed to round up the men, women, and children. At the fear in their eyes as they cowered before him, bile rose in his throat, but he swallowed it down. Now was not the time to appear weak.

“I bid ye good morn,” he said quietly. “As many of ye know, I have been working in Loch Moran to bring some resources back while our fields recover. If one member of each family will step forward, we will provide food for the members living under yer roof.”

At first, no one moved, and Theo could see them casting each other puzzled looks even though their heads bowed. Gemma stepped forward and grabbed a woman’s hand, leading her forward. “Marie, we spoke yesterday, and I told you this might happen. You have a husband and three little ones, yes?”

Marie nodded slightly. “And my husband’s mother,” she whispered.

“So a house of three adults and three children.” She turned to the man distributing the food, and they divided a number of vegetables and spices and potatoes.

“Thank ye,” Marie said gratefully. She tried to scurry away, but Theo stepped into her path. She squeaked, stopped short, and nearly let the potatoes on top tumble to the ground.

Theo grabbed them quickly and put them to rights. “Tell me of the land ye and yer husband tend.”

“No land,” Marie said as she shook her head quickly. “Only animals. Yer father took half of our cattle herd for what he claimed was the good of the people. We are still replenishing our herd.”

Theo frowned. That hadn’t been covered in the reports, but he knew there was a time when his father refused to send out hunting parties because he was so paranoid that the neighboring clans were poised to attack, so he slaughtered the cattle and sheep instead. “I want ye or yer husband to come to the keep this evening for dinner. I would know what yer herds look like.”

Marie nodded and quietly scuttled away. Bolstered by the food on the cart, the families stepped forward, one by one, to give their reports and take their food. Children, far braver than their parents, edged toward the cart, and Theo would toss them fruit, to their utter delight, and they would run away giggling.

One thing was certain: the reports from the people did not match the reports by the guards. The huge discrepancies made him uneasy, but soon, he had asked almost the entire village to join him for dinner over the next four days.

“What is it?” Gemma asked as they made their way back to the keep with the last of the empty carts. “You seem upset. I thought you would be glad to speak to the people.”

“I havenae been given correct information from the people I thought I could trust,” Theo confessed. “I should have personally gone to each person to take a look at their fields and herds, but I was too busy weeding out the people I knew were loyal to my father.”

“He was the biggest threat, and you dealt with it. Establishing your hold on Loch Moran was also important. Theo, you could not do everything at once,” she chastised gently. “I expect that your Great Hall will be full the next few nights, and though your ears might blister from their complaints, you will be able to take the next step to protect your people.”

“Our people,” he corrected as he stopped and pulled her close.

“Right. I am still having some trouble with that.”

The woman doesnae even know her own influence!

She would never view herself as being in a position of power in Loch Moran, but those people would have followed her to the end of the world, and though she had yet to see the MacDougal people as hers, she was putting in all of her energy to protect them.

They would be hers whether she believed it or not.

“I will have a bath drawn for ye before dinner,” Theo said roughly as he released her. “There are a few more things I need to see to before I join ye.”

Tentatively, she touched his chest. “If you are going to see your father, I beg you not to let him get to you,” she whispered. “You have made great strides today. Do not let him ruin that.”

How well it seemed that his wife knew him.

After sending her up to their chambers and hoping that she rested after her bath, Theo went straight to his father’s cell. Patrick had arranged his sitting chair directly in front of the bars and seemed to be patiently waiting for him.

Theo could guess why. The old man had seen Theo go out with the food cart and suspected what he would learn.

“I knew ye were cruel, but even I didnae know that ye had left the village to starve while fattening up yer own storehouse!” Theo lashed out in anger.

“Do not forget, Son, that ye were eating from that storehouse as well.”

“How did ye pull it off? I was captain of the guard. I oversaw everything, and yet ye razed fields to the ground and stole entire herds of cattle without my knowledge.”

Patrick threw back his head and laughed, a hollow sound that sent chills down his spine. “When will ye learn, Theo? This land is mine and will be for as long as I draw breath. I knew that ye were expending all that time smuggling people across the border when I had ordered them executed. I knew of yer bleeding heart the whole time. While ye were gone, I made certain that ye and I would be fed because I was a good father even while ye plotted to overthrow me.”

But, Theo thought with some satisfaction, his father had not seen that coming, no matter what he boasted of knowing. “Tell me now...who is still feeding ye information? Who is doctoring the reports before they get to me? I will allow ye to stay here if you confess. Keep silent, and I will move ye to rot in the dungeons. Ye have twenty-four hours.”