“Aye,” he grunted in reply.
“And yer hand…” Hamish made a small tsking noise in the back of his throat. It was the same sort of sound Alasdair heard his grandmother make when she meant to give the lads a round scolding.
“A scratch.”
Hamish hurriedly produced a small pewter bowl and a stack of fresh, clean cloths. These were the sorts of essentials one or the both of them naturally carried in their packs and Alasdair nodded his gratitude when Hamish passed them in his direction. He poured a measure of water into the bowl, dunked a fresh cloth into the liquid, then wipe the cloth over the length of his face. He scrubbed heartily at his forehead and chin but moved gingerly when it came to dealing with his broken nose.
“Ye ken,” Hamish mused, “ye could have sent me to dispatch the McDonoughs on your behalf.”
Alasdair pulled the cloth away from his eyes and peered at his clansmen. “Ye?”
Hamish shrugged indifferently. “Me. Malcolm. Anyone would’ve done the honors.”
“The McDonoughs needed to be taught a lesson.” Alasdair’s upper lip curled in distaste when he thought of the crime the McDonough brothers had committed. Just three days prior,they’d attacked the home of a McReah’s clansmen, pilfered the property, and assaulted the eldest daughter of the household. It made Alasdair’s blood boil to think that even one of those scoundrels had been left standing.
“But did ye need to handle them alone?” Hamish motioned toward the splotches of dried blood that covered Alasdair’s forearms. “If revenge was what ye wanted, ye could’ve sent the Watch to track them.”
“I couldnae send others to do what I wasnae willing to do meself.” Alasdair dipped the cloth in the water again, then used the material to sponge away dirt, grime, and blood that was caked around his right wrist.
“You always say that, Al, but…”
“But…” Alasdair finished cleaning his wounds, then looked up and met his friend’s gaze.
“You dinnae need to prove anything to me…or our clansmen.” Hamish leaned forward so that the cracking firelight once again made the depths of his eyes sparkle.
“Tomorrow,” Alasdair grunted, as a way to abruptly change the subject. “Tomorrow, we’ll track the second McDonough, the tall one…”
“Evan,” Hamish supplied helpfully.
“Aye,” Alasdair snarled. “Evan. We’ll find him and…” As he began ruminating and making quick calculations of how they might find this man, Alasdair’s eyes landed on an envelope that Hamish was holding. “What’s that?”
He hadn’t noticed the thick, white bit of parchment in Hamish’s hands a moment ago. But now, all he could see was an official-looking document that had the seal already broken.
“What’s wrong?” Alasdair was on his feet immediately. He did not know precisely what words were written in that letter, but he recognized trouble when he saw it. No one, except a select few of his own clansmen, knew that he and Hamish were camping out in this territory this evening. They’d traveled light and stealthily purposely to avoid detection. But if someone…some messenger…had found Hamish and delivered a letter, that meant disaster was likely to follow.
Hamish rose slowly and held out the letter. “I wouldnae say something is wrong, Al. But…”
Aggravated by the way Hamish continually started a sentence, then broke off midway, Alasdair snatched the letter from his outstretched hand and unfolded it quickly. He had to squint at the neat handwriting to see the words better in the firelight, but even as he read the script, he could hardly believe it. “What…is…this?” Alasdair felt as if someone had delivered a punch right to his groin.
“It’s a marriage announcement,” Hamish replied in a tone that indicated he was slightly amused by the document.
“It’s more than that,” Alasdair growled as his eyes flew over the words a second time.
Bound to Wed.
Lowlands.
Neither party is required to consent. Neither party may refuse.
Enraged, Alasdair tore the document into bits, then tossed them on the fire. He watched as the decree from the Elders went up in smoke.
“I thought ye might react that way.” Hamish’s voice no longer held the levity it had a second before. Now, it was filled with something akin to sorrow.
“How?” The word burst from Alasdair’s lips. “Why?” He could not summon full sentences, nor could he formulate complete thoughts as his mind spiraled tumultuously. “Can they do this? Can the Elders make such a decree?”
Hamish nodded. “It seems so.”
“But…but…” Alasdair spluttered. “I ken nothing of this…this…” He struggled to come up with the lady’s name, having only seen it twice.