Page 21 of A Rogue and a Noble Lass

“Ye would disobey my orders?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. He rolled his shoulders but otherwise refused to answer. “How are ye feeling about Brody?”

Logan shifted his position. His head dropped again. “Brody can take care of himself.”

“But I bet ye think ye could take care of him if ye were fighting alongside him.”

“Aye, but I’m here.”

“Dae ye regret staying?”

Logan ran a hand through his hair. “If Brody dies, aye, but if I was nae here and there was another attack somewhere else, well, I think they would be slaughtered.”

He jerked his head towards the warriors at the other end of the room. They were mostly made up of young recruits.

“I’m sure he will be fine,” Beitris said, leaning forward. “He strikes me as the type who can get himself out of any situation.”

Logan chuckled. It was the first time she heard him laugh properly, without any hint of cynicism. She found she liked the sound. It was warm and resonant, and his face transformed when he laughed. He frowned most of the time, but laughing made his cheeks brighter and lifted his eyebrows.

“Aye, that he is.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Ach, well… where tae begin,” he said, thinking hard. “There was a time when we slept in a barn. It was deathly cold and if we dinnae get shelter we would hae died, I’m sure of it. We went tae a farmhouse where a fire was blazing, but the farmer was an ornery man and sent us away, threatening us with a poker. He swore that if he found us on his land then he would kill us. We turned away, but there was nae another house for miles. The barn looked appealing, and there was a storm brewing. We decided tae take our chances. We settled in the straw and slept like babies, but when we awoke the farmer was already in the fields nearby. It was only a matter of time before he came tae the barn, and the only way out was directly in his sight.”

“What did ye dae?” Beitris asked eagerly, her eyes shining bright as she leaned forward.

“Well, I said we should take our chances and run. Dinnae think that he would be able to keep up with us, but Brody hae a better idea. There were sheepskins in a crate, waiting tae be taken tae market. We wrapped them around ourselves and crawled out, pretending tae be sheep. We made our way tae the herd and stayed with them until the farmer left. Then, we ran away.”

“And he never caught ye?”

Logan grinned and shook his head. “The sheep gave us some strange looks, but they dinnae betray our confidence. He’s always been like that, able tae see things that I hae nae. I’m sure I would nae be here if it were nae for him.”

“He sounds like a good friend.”

“He’s the best.”

“Then I hope he returns. I hae never really hae a friend like that,” she said wistfully.

“But ye hae a family. Yer clan and yer bloodline is famed throughout the Highlands. How many cousins dae ye hae?”

“Too many tae count sometimes,” Beitris chuckled, “but most of them were older than me. When I was a bairn they would humor me, but they were eager tae live their own lives. Angus was closest in age, but we quarreled a lot. And he hae nae been quite the same since what happened…”

Her voice grew small and part of her wished that she could go back to a simpler time when the only thing that mattered was pestering Angus.

“Is that why ye really want tae kill Warnock, tae get revenge for Angus? Or is it really all about glory?”

A shadow fell over Beitris’ face. “I suppose it can be both. I mourned him. I thought he was gone. I thought I would never see his stupid face or hear his foolish laugh again, and even though he’s back with us, Warnock took something from him that he will never get back. It’s the same with sae many people in the Highlands. Aye, it must be the same for ye as well. I’m sorry, here I am gaeing on about Angus when ye lost yer family because of that man.”

Logan turned to the side and waved a dismissive hand in the air.

“We hae all suffered because of him. Ye could probably throw a stone anywhere in the Highlands and ye would nae fail tae hit someone who hae been affected by this war.”

“Aye… it needs tae come tae an end, and soon. We cannae gae on like this.”

“Then it’s fortunate that ye are gaeing tae strike the final blow,” he said with a teasing look in his eyes.

Beitris flashed a self-effacing smile and curled a lock of hair around her finger. She blushed a little, wondering if her intentions were too lofty.

“That is what I would like tae happen, although I would nae begrudge anyone from killing him as long as the war ends. I’ll even share the glory with ye, should we charge intae battle taegether.”