Medieval Highlands 01 - Highland Vengeance (33 page)

Alleck tried to jerk out of his mother’s grasp, but she would not allow it. “Nay!” he said.

“Aye. We are to be wed in six moons’ time.”

“Nay! You cannot wed him, I told you I like him not!”
His tears began to flow in earnest then, gushing forth in bitter, dreadful rivers.

*

Jesslyn’s own eyes misted as she felt every one of her son’s tears as if they were daggers piercing her heart. “Please, do not cry so, Alleck.” She mopped his soft, drenched cheeks with the hem of her sleeve. “You break my heart, my son,” she murmured, her voice thick. Kissing his brow, she took in a slow breath and her heart was warmed by the faint baby scent that still lingered on his much-too-rapidly-maturing skin. “I must wed,” she said at last, “there’s no getting ‘round it, and Callum is a good man.”

“Nay!” her son yelled the word more loudly this time. He threw himself into her arms and held tight. “I want to go home—why can we not go
home
?” he sobbed. “Then you will not have to wed anyone!”

Jesslyn allowed her son to cry out his anger for a moment, stroking his back and rocking him in her arms, kissing him on his reddened, wet cheek.

When he quieted, she tried again. “You need a man’s influence—a father’s influence—which I cannot give you. You want to be a big, strong warrior someday, do you not? Like your papa and Laird Daniel?”

Her son nodded.

“Well, Callum will make that happen for you.”

Lifting his head from her shoulder, he looked down at the strand of her golden hair he’d been holding. He twisted the lock around his fingers and then released it, repeating the exercise several times as he considered her words. After a time, he asked, “Why can we not wed Laird Daniel? Lady Maryn likes us, she will not mind. I know she’d let us wed him too—and then we could live at the keep with them.” He took her hand in both of his and squeezed it. “Please?”

Jesslyn slowly shook her head.

He ignored it. “Then Laird Daniel could train me, just like he said he would before he got wed to Lady Maryn”

It was clear to Jesslyn that Alleck craved the security of the familiar. Because her son had known and loved Daniel all his life he’d had no qualms about his mother’s betrothal to him.

And she understood his fear of the new man in her life as well, for she was still a bit anxious herself. After all, they barely knew each other. But, she was pragmatic. ‘Twould be the same with any prospect. At least Daniel had insisted on a six-moon betrothal; ‘twould allow all of them time to become better acquainted prior to the union.

Jesslyn sighed, unsure of how to explain, in terms her son could understand, the reasons why she could not fulfill his request. One hand still clasped tightly in both her son’s, she lifted the other one to stroke his hair as she said, “Alleck, even if I wanted to share my husband with another woman, I could not. There are laws against it. Your mama would get in trouble and so would Laird Daniel and Lady Maryn. ‘Tis not what you want, is it?

When he shook his head, she continued, “I truly think that you will like Callum. He’s good-humored and friendly, and he’s looking forward to getting to know you. Please come out to the front chamber with me and meet him. I’m sure you will change your mind about him, if you will give him a chance.”

After a moment, he gave a dejected nod of assent.

Jesslyn rose and, taking her son by the hand, led him into the front room.

*

The red-haired man stood and turned when they entered. As they stopped before him, his mother said, “‘I’m sorry that you were forced to wait so long.” Looking down at Alleck, she said, “Callum, this is my son, Alleck,”

Alleck looked up into the face of the man his mama was going to wed and tried to like him. “I’m sorry I yelled at you and pushed you,” he said a bit grudgingly. “I hope I did not hurt your feelings.”

The man grinned down at him. “Ah, a pretty speech. But I think you mean not those words. Offer up to me no regrets simply because ‘tis your mother’s desire for you to do so.”

“I was not, I—”

“Tush!” he said, ruffling Alleck’s hair. “Now you waste both our time.” With a broad smile, he sat back down on the stool.

Alleck wanted to growl when he saw his mother smile as well. “Sit you down on one of the stools by our hearth,” she told him. Then, after bringing the man a tankard of ale and Alleck some water to drink, she took a stool next to the man and said, “I’ve told Alleck of our plans to wed. It became necessary after his harsh words to you when you arrived.”

The man regarded Alleck, and Alleck couldn’t help giving him a gloom-filled look. After a moment, the man said, “I have every hope that we shall soon be friends, Alleck. I know this sudden betrothal disturbs you, but you must learn to deal with your anger like a man. For ‘tis discipline that is the first, and most important, lesson a warrior will learn.”

Alleck’s brows slammed together, but he dared not retort for fear he’d upset his mother again. Instead, swallowing past the bitter lump in his throat, he nodded his head.

*

Though she was a bit annoyed at Callum’s chastising of her son, Jesslyn decided to allow it. After all, the man would soon be Alleck’s father and, therefore, had every right to admonish him when necessary. In any case, ‘twas truth that her son did need to learn discipline in order to become a warrior—and making sure he had proper training was part of a father’s responsibility.

“Why not show Callum your treasure box, Alleck?” Jesslyn said into the awkward silence, hoping to ease the tension between the two. “I’m sure he’d like to see all the different things you’ve acquired.”

“Aye, Mama,” her son said with no enthusiasm. He scooted off of the stool, sulkily keeping his head down as he shuffled back into his bedchamber to retrieve his coffer. Clearly, he did not want to show Callum his treasures, but knew Jesslyn would’ve punished him if he’d told her ‘nay’.

Jesslyn turned back to Callum and explained, “The casket belonged to my late husband. ‘Tis one of the few tokens Alleck has of his father and ‘tis a highly cherished possession. He’ll be given his father’s sword and other armor as well, when the time comes.”

While Alleck was busy in the other room, Jesslyn thought to reassure her betrothed of her son’s character. “Alleck is usually very well-behaved. He has been a great help to me since his father’s death, but he now has it in his head that he is the man of the family and must protect me. And ‘twas only due to his dislike of seeing a man kiss me that made him act so rudely toward you. He’s not used to seeing such.”

“But, how can this be—were you not betrothed to my cousin?”

“Aye, but that was not the type of connection Daniel and I shared—‘twas more an alliance formed from our long friendship. I implore you to have patience with my son until he can become adjusted to our betrothal.”

He gave her a wry smile. “My beautiful lady, you worry overmuch. I see that the lad is distressed, and even understand it. I shall, in future, endeavor to be more circumspect in my attentions toward you in the lad’s presence.”

Jesslyn smiled then as well, her cheeks warming with pleasure. “My thanks.”

*

Alleck sat on his bed, looking in his treasure box and delaying his return. He did not want to go back in the room with his mama and the red-haired man—it made his tummy feel achy and jittery.

Sighing when he heard his mother call out his name from the front chamber, he closed the lid on his treasures and picked up his box. He supposed he was going to have to show the rotten mother-stealer his private hoard. Why did his mama have to tell his secrets? Now he’d have to find a new hiding place, or the man would take his treasure box, too.

As Alleck slowly traversed the space between his bedchamber door and the stools by the hearth, he eyed the man warily, dreading the coming exhibition. At last reaching his destination, he sat down hard on the stool, his knuckles white as they held his treasure trove tight against his chest.

“Open the cask, Alleck, and show Callum what you’ve got inside,” his mother said.

He slowly released his death grip and opened the lid, lifting it and angrily thrusting it up to the man’s face.

*

Callum’s head snapped back, else his nose would have been sorely scraped on the thing. “Let us see what you have then,” he said, looking inside. There was, he saw immediately, an abundance of laddish delights culled together, and lying in loose abandon at the bottom of the wooden container: A leather thong, a shiny flat rock, what looked like a strand of braided horse mane, a small whistle, a few clay marbles, and a cloth pouch with a piece from a knucklebone set edging out of the top.

Recalling the many hours he’d spent with his own father, and even his grandfather, playing the game and learning valuable lessons in reasoning that later transferred to the battlefield, Callum brought out the bag of knucklebones and said, “Do you play? I’ve been known to play a few rounds on occasion. Mayhap we could have a game sometime—I could show you a few tricks I’ve learned. What say you?”

It didn’t escape Callum’s amused notice that the lad turned a pleading look in his mother’s direction, evidently hoping she would not insist on him agreeing to the match.

“My son does enjoy a good game of knucklebones—I’m sure he’d be thrilled to have some instruction from you. Why not play a round now?” she said, looking from Callum to Alleck and then back to Callum again.

“Of course.” Callum said, already opening the pouch and dropping a couple of the pieces into his palm.

The lad shrugged one shoulder and on a sullen sigh, he said, “Aye.”

“I must gather some water to do our washing, so I shall leave the two of you to get to know each other better,” Jesslyn said then and turned to retrieve her bucket.

There was a small bronze disc caught in the loose threads inside the pouch, so Callum reached in and lifted it from its moorings, bringing it towards the light of the hearth to get a better view of the design. “Where did you get this coin?” he asked. “I remember seeing a few of them when I was a young lad. I believe my uncle Jamison brought them back from Jerusalem.”

*

Jesslyn looked up from her task. “Alleck found it in his shoe one day when he fell asleep by the loch. We know not how it came to be there,” she said, deciding it best not to mention Alleck’s belief that a ‘magic giant’ placed the coin there—at least until Callum and her son were better acquainted. She came up beside her betrothed, her gaze caught on the curious piece. “Do you know what the symbols mean—or what place the coin was made?”

“I remember asking my uncle that very question, and he told me they were from eastern Asia,” he said absently, still examining the piece. “He got them from one of his slaves who’d come from there.”

*

Alleck was glad that his mama had not told the mother-stealer about his magic giant. He’d only try and take the giant from him, too, then.

His mother took the coin from the red-haired man and, after studying it a moment herself, placed it back in the casket. Then, gathering her soiled clothes and washing implements into her arms, she bid farewell to them.

That was when Alleck got his first lesson in knucklebone warfare. It was merciless, and horrible, and not the least bit fun. He was relieved when his mother finally came back and told him it was time to wash for supper.

*

“I shall see you up at the keep, then,” Callum said to Jesslyn at the door a few minutes later.

“You look quite pleased. Did you enjoy teaching my son your gaming trick?”

Callum nodded and smiled. “Aye. He’s still a bit to learn in the way of losing without a show of temper, but he has much potential.”

Jesslyn frowned. “I hope you did not beat him too soundly.”

“Nay, ‘twas no more than my own father did with me when he used the game as a tool to teach me the same lesson.”

Jesslyn nodded, appeased

Callum looked over her shoulder and, evidently seeing that her son was well out of sight, bent down and brushed a brief kiss on her cheek. “Until later, then,” he said before stepping over the open portal.

Her son ambled back into the front chamber just as she was shutting the door behind Callum. “I’m too weary to eat at the great hall,” he said sleepily, rubbing his eye. “Can I stay here and go to bed?”

Her bairn was almost asleep on his feet. “Only if you eat one of these bannock cakes with some cheese first.”

He nodded.

Jesslyn felt his brow to make sure he did not have a fever and, finding none, waited for him to finish his supper before tucking him into bed and making her way toward the keep.

*

The purple haze of dawn enveloped the two lads as they scurried towards the boulder only just now visible through the tall stand of trees.

“I thought we were caught when I heard ol’ MacVie callin’ his dogs. Did’ya think so too, Alleck?” Niall said, huffing as he continued running behind Alleck.

“Aye, I surely did,” Alleck gasped out through jagged breaths.

A gaggle of geese scrambled from their roost in the trees in a loud blast of honks and flapping of long wings. “
Aaaaah!
” the two lads screamed grabbing hold of each other and holding tight.

“
‘Tis the Boabhan Sith!
” Niall’s voice quavered.