Branded By a Warrior (31 page)

“I cannae explain to you the reasoning why without breaking a promise to the King
of England
, I beg you to understand the importance of my promise and honor. I pray that
King Richard
will entrust that information with you when you meet with him
.
Only he can tell you, I am bound my oath to remain silent.
Please understand if I was able to tell you, I woul
d.
”

Tucking the letter into his leather pouch, he
held her trembling hands
and looked into her eyes
, “I honor your promise to the k
ing my love, if need be, I will deliver the note with my own hands to him. Elisabeth, nothing will keep me away from you. I will return to you my love, come, my men wait and dawn is fast upon us
.
”

Nodding, not trusting herself to talk
any longer
, she
turned and walked w
ith her husband to the stables
where his men awaited their Laird.

Twenty warriors were preparing their mounts in the early brisk morning, Kendrix was helping them get ready as Broderick and Elisabeth entered the stables.
Kendrix had doubled his brother’s g
uards after a lengthy discussion; neither she nor Kendrix believed ten warriors would be enough
.
Broderick agreed to take twenty after seeing how adamant
they
were on the issue.
Elisabeth
was please
d
when her husband easily agreed to
take
more guards.
She knew Douglas warriors could very well be waiting on their path to Inverness.
Although the MacMillan warriors were trained and ready, having more men travel with her husband gave her peace of mind.

Squeezing Broderick’s hand one last time she let go, watching h
im
check his
saddle
upon
his large stallion. A
round her the men talked to each other but she only had eyes for her husband.
She watched him slowly transform from her husband into a warrior before her eyes. It didn’t take long before
the group was ready to depart,
standing off to the side Elisabeth saw Broderick walk away from the group, directly to her. Tears welled in her eyes as she stood in the large stable; clenching her jaw she watched Broderick’s face soften as he approached her. Seeing her upset bothered him, she knew that, yet she
couldn’t contain her emotions.
She did not give a damn if his men saw her cry; she refused to dampen h
er love for this man in public. Warrior or not, she was a woman in love, she had every right to be emotional with his departure.

“Oh Elisabeth, please dinnae cry lass
.” H
e w
hispered as he pulled her close into a warm hug.

“I’ll miss you terribly, please return with all do hast
e
my love
.
”

“Nothing shall delay my return
Lis.
I must
go, I love you.”

“And I love you Broderick,” reaching up, she kissed him softly, uncaring of who saw.
Those moments she kissed him with every bit of emotion she had. In this
volatile world, one could never be sure of living until the next day. Dread surrounded her.

Slowly pulling away, Broderick kissed her forehead one last time before turning to mount his stallion. Hugging herself, Elisabeth walked over to Kendrix and followed the warriors out of the stable. Ahead of them, the groaning of the massive drawbridge could be heard.

Rare sunshine li
t up the bailey as
sun peeked over the mountains, Elisabeth watched as
the warriors began to exit the
castle;
Broderick was the last one to leave. Looking back over his shoulder, he saluted his brother and
her
one last time as he crossed the drawbridge.

Elisabeth waved to her beloved husband as she watched him disappear into the white forest. Once the warriors could no longer be seen, Kendrix ordered the drawbridge closed. Securing the castle closed once
again. With
tears flowing down her cheeks she reached up to brush them away, turning to look at Kendrix beside her.

“Come Sister,
let’s
find little Isobel and break our fast, I think you could use
some of Old Rhona’s tea
.
”

Nodding
,
she walked beside Kendrix back to the castle in search of Isobel, and a warm meal. She felt empty, the thought of the following weeks without Broderick made her feel depressed and hollow.
She could tell Kendrix was upset with his brother leaving without
him;
this would be the first time since they were young boys they would be separated from each other.

Walking through the large doors of the castle, Elisabeth’s attention immediately was captured as she heard Siobhan yelling.
Looking up, she stopped inside the door as she saw Siobhan raise her hand in anger at Isobel, “You little bitch! You tore my gown!”

Before Kendrix could react, Elisabeth drew
her
dagger
out of her belt
and threw it at Siobhan, catching her long sleeve, sending her
flying
back
against the wall, her
raised
arm pinned against the wooden doorframe.

Siobhan’s jaw dropped as she turned her head to see Elisabeth and Kendrix rushing towards her.

“How dare you raise yo
ur hand to my daughter Siobhan, she is but a child!
”
Kendrix
yelled at
Siobhan, his anger was palpable.

“I
…I…I wasn’t going to hit her!” S
he swore, trying to dislodge the dagger holding her sleeve.
She nervously eyed Kendrix as he stormed towards her.

Elisabeth rushed over to Isobel and swept her up into her arms and cradled the child’s head in the crook of her neck as she spoke quietly into her ear, calming the child’s fear. Shielding Isobel’s eyes from her father and Siobhan,
Elisabeth watched
as Kendrix pulled the dagger
easily
out of the stone
and held it to Siobhan’s face, “If I
ever
see you raise a hand to my daughter I will kill you myself Siobhan, understood?”
His tone was
menacing and cold, his threat was very real, all
of
them understood that.
People from the castle had appeared at the sound of the commotion, all eyes were upon them.
Elisabeth stood back and allowed Kendrix handle the situation at hand; it was his daughter after all.

“Understood
.
”
Siobhan said with anger before she
spun on her heel and ran from the keep.

Kendrix spun aro
und and looked at his daughter who was nestled snugly in
her arms.
Seeing the anger in Kendrix’s eyes, she quickly attempted to divert his attention,
“Let us go find some food Kendrix
,
surely we all still need to break our fast.
”
S
he offered, trying to get him to calm down.

With Siobhan gone, Elisabeth
turned towards the kitchen still car
rying little Isobel in her
arms;
Kendrix simply nodded and followed them.
Walking down into the kitchens
Elisabeth allowed this to distract her from thinking of Broderick, “Shall we see if Rhona has some cakes for us Isobel? Maybe she’ll let us break our fast on those instead of warm porridge
,
” she teased the child, trying to see a smile from her sad
little face.

“Oh that would be nice Aunt
Elisabeth;
Rhona’s cakes are the best!”

From behind them, they heard Kendrix’s deep voice, “Aye, Rhona’s cake
are
the best my child, she made them for me when I was your age too,
let’s
see if the old lady has them baked yet, shall we?”
In those few words his anger dissipated.

The afternoon had gone exceptionally fast for Elisabeth, after breakfast she drilled with the warriors, practi
ced bow with Isobel and then held a group class for her
ever-growing
crowd of castle children.
She allowed the busy day to keep her mind off Broderick as he traveled south.

Finding a moment of peace, Elisabeth snuck away to her solar to rest before the busy evening approached. Tonight she would meet with Kendrix and start planning their attack on the Douglas
clan;
she knew future days and evenings would be spent much like today. She knew the way to survive would be to stay busy, and so far she had done just that.

The next week followed the same pattern; she would practice with Kendrix and the warriors early in the morning, teach bow lessons immediately afterward and then see to the castle the rest of the day. Her evenings were filled
with dinners with Isobel, Kendrix and Rhona
, followed by planning late into t
he evenings with Kendrix.

She had become so busy; she had little time
to dwell on Broderick’s absence during the daylight hours.
Her heart ached for him, yet her busy schedule demanded her full attention. Only late at night when she curled up in their bed did she let her guard down, she had cried herself to sleep
every night
the first week he was gone.
She eventually let the hounds sleep upon the bed; s
he fo
und it hard to sleep without Broderick’s
large presence beside her.

Lying alone in
bed at night, she thought over the
past
days. Isobel was fast becoming a sensation with her bow; Elisabeth was pleasantly surprised how skilled the child was for only five years old. All of her students were excelling under her tutelage.
She had found it heartwarming to see all of their little faces daily; they brought her much needed happiness.
The castle was running smoothly, Kendrix stepped in to handle things that Broderick would normally see to, leaving her to handle the daily goings on of castle life.

She and Kendrix
had started
to make great strides on their plans for attacking the Douglas lands, together with the maps and knowledge they both possessed the two had
started building a campaign that would not fail. She knew Broderick would be very pleased with how things were coming along.
Kendrix’s
strategies
and
expertise were impressive, he reminding her so much of Duncan. She was very thankful for Kendrix being left
behind;
she
now
understood why Broderick had been so adamant about leaving him behind. Kendrix
had embraced her as his sister
the moment Broderick chose to make her his wife. He was loyal and light hearted, he was always close by if she needed something or had a question. Isobel and Kendrix had kept her busy and entertained throughout the week, something she was very thankful for. She didn’t feel alone.

It
had
been a week since he
left;
she knew he had to be arriving at Inverness, the thought made her stomach roll. She prayed
King Richard
would be in the right state of mind, although she was his cousin, s
he knew best of any that Richard
was prone to fits of rage, bordering on insanity at times.

The journey to Inverness was brutal, the weather had only worsened the farther south Broderick and his men traveled
, something Broderick had never seen before.
Treacherous roads and bitter cold slowed them around every turn. It took Broderick eight days to reach the King’s castle nestled above the loch in Inverness, arriving in the middle of the
night;
Broderick and his men were given immediate
access
to the castle.

Stabling their horses, the warriors were shown to their
quarters
by the King’s staff, as Broderick was taken into
the castle, he was promptly shown to a
well-appointed
room. Dead tired from t
he journey, his meeting with
King
Richard
would wait until the morning; no one would dare wake the illustrious
leader
at this hour of night.

Absolutely exhausted and frozen solid from exposure he undressed. Crawling into the
soft bed, he fell asleep almost instantly; the warmth of the roaring fire lulled
him into the dream world where he dreamt of his beautiful wife.

Broderick woke to the sound of knocking on his door soon after sunrise.
“King Richard shall
see you withi
n the next hour downstairs in the hall
, do not be late Laird MacMillan
.” T
he
male
voice called beyond the thick
wooden door.

Gruffly a
nswe
ring back, “Aye, I’ll be there.”
He swung his sore legs out of bed; he had an angry king to win over
.
It had been at least a year
since his last meeting with
King
Richard
, much had changed since then, praying the King still took favor with him he let out a deep breath and sat up.
Standing up, he stretched his muscles and rubbed the sleep from his weary eyes. He was incredibly hungry, crossing the room he poured fresh water into the basin and splashed his face,
“Wake up old boy, we’ve got a k
ing to win over
.” H
e muttered to his self
, trying to shake off the exhaustion from riding so far in such horrid weather
.
Dressing
and arming himself as usual, he descende
d the long stone stairs toward
King Richard’s
large hall. Entering the quiet hall, he saw
his liege
, sitting at the end of the long table before the vast hearth that anchored the far wall.
Completely alone, waiting for him.

Bowing
to his liege, he cross
ed the room and waited for
Richard
to speak.

“Laird MacMillan, we meet again, please, sit
.
”
King Richard
beckoned, motioning for
Broderick to sit to his right.
Richard
was dressed in immac
ulate attire befitting a royal
, as he always was
. Only a few years
older
than Broderick
, the smaller man commanded attention.
The early morning sun crested the hills, sending dazzling
light into the beautifully appointed ha
ll of the royal
castle.
Taking a seat as instructed, Broderick tucked in and replied, “My King, I’m glad to see you are well
during this bitter winter.
”

“I am told you did not bring Elisabeth as I instructed, would you care to explain why you disob
eyed my orders Broderick?” Richard
sneered, his attitude severely changing as he got to the heart of the matter.

“She was not fit for travel
my liege
,” he answered, d
etermine to keep his composure. The last thing h
e wanted to do was provoke the Richards
’
s notorious temper.

Richard
sat back, crossing his arms his blue eyes ran over Broderick as he sat back and pondered
his
answer.
“Is she with child?” H
e asked,
his agitation beginning to wan as his face softened after asking the blunt question.

“I certainly hope so.
” Broderick replied, smirking at his k
ing with a knowing smile.

Wi
th his arms still crossed, King Richard
leaned forward and gravely asked, “Would you care to explain why you did not seek my permission to marry
her
?”

Leanin
g forward to meet the k
ing
’
s
ice-cold
gaz
e and posture
, “I was not aware I required your permission to marry
.
” Broderick coul
d feel the tension rise as the k
ing slowly unwound his arms and placed them
on the table, cocking his head to the right.

“She did
not tell you, did she?” Richard
a
sked, his voice low and warning, a mysterious smile crept upon his face.

“Before coming, my wife informed me she made a promise to you, a vow.
A vow
she could not tell me, she begged me to understand. She hoped that you would share the
information
as she was unable to disclose it to me
. She sent me with a letter for you
.” H
e admitted
with arrogance, he knew Richard was sea
rching for information. He saw t
he King of England
soften when he mentioned the word
wife.
Richard’s
reaction intrigued him, inst
ead of sitting on the letter; Broderick
let his hand be known.
He was very curious as to what his little wife could say to sway such a notoriously
hotheaded
ruler like Richard.

“Wher
e is it Broderick?” Richard
asked, sitting up straighter.

“She said I was to give it to you in the event our meeting turned sour, curious, isn’t it? What would my wife have to say to you, our
King
that would ever sway your mind?” He speculated.
H
e was determined to figure out the secret, co
me h
ell or high water.

Sitting back, Richard
rubbed his hands as he looked at Broderick. “Let me read her letter, and I will tell you
.” H
e countered; sitting back
he
extended his hand, waiting for the letter.

Broderick handed the letter to his liege and watched him open
it;
the
K
ing’s eyes read the short note.
Brod
erick noticed a smirk upon
Richard’s
face as he finished the letter.
It made him extremely curious to read what Elisabeth had
wrote the most powerful ruler in the world.

King Richard
looked up from the parchment and continued to smile as he explained, “Your wife, the lovely Elisabeth is my
cousin
. She is t
he hidden heir to my thro
n
e
.
You married
my heir
Broderick; you married the potential future Queen of England
. I
f I die
before siring my own heir, my country and my throne are hers.
The only other people who knew, perished when the Douglas clan attacked that night
, Elisabeth and I are the only ones who know, save the Church records
.
”

Broderick’s jaw dropped; never had he imagined such shocking news. He understood immediately.
He understood the secrecy; he understood why his wife could not t
ell him. He understood so much.

“She was sworn to secrecy of our blood connection her entire life, with Duncan dead, she is my sole heir. Years ago her father and I attempted to explain that her husband would be selected for her due to being a royal heir. Obviously, you know her, and her
attitude;
she would have none of it
. King or not, she told me to
kiss her arse
. It has always been one of
the reasons she is my favorite, I admire her spirit.
”

“She told me she won an archery bet with her father for the right to choose her husband, she never mentioned you
.
”
Broderick offered, reeling at the information his liege had just shared.

Nodding in agreement, “Aye she did, she won the bet from
both
of
us, which was the
second part of her secret she could not tell you. She challenged both her father and
me
to produce our best archers, and if we won, she would accept the husband we
would
choose
for her
.
”
Richard
leaned forward and handed the letter to
him
so he could read
it
, adding, “She beat our archers easily, we were honor bound to allow her to choose her own husband
on her own time
. It appears she made a fine choice, I approve of your
marriage to my beautiful cousin
Broderick, as it appears
she
is in love with you
.
I could not be happi
er with her choice of a husband, or that the woman finally found love.
”

Grinning, Broderick took the letter from his liege and read the short missive.

My
most beloved
King
Richard
,

Before you is the
man I have rightfully
chosen as my husband.

I beg you to honor our marriage and to approve of my husband, there is no one more suited to be at my side than Broderick.

I love him with everything that I am.

In blood, forever

Elisabeth
Rosslyn MacMillan

“She has chosen well Broderick, even without her letter I would have still approved of you. Knowing that she is happy makes me pleased. I will charge you with her protection and
well
-
being
, should you fail, you will answer directly t
o me, is that understood?”
Richard
asked.

“Aye, but if you would have approved anyway, why did you call me to you in the middle of winter?”

Clearing his throat, “I needed you to know of her connection to the crown, it is vital
that you knew, something I could not send by messenger in the event the letter was stolen.
I always knew she would never
divulge that secret
, she is far too loyal
.
Now that you are her husband, I knew I had to tell you.
Also, I needed to see what you planned to do about Kincaid. Laird Douglas must be dealt with, I would rather my army stay out of it so I can appear impartial
. Elisabeth’s mother was my Aunt; I want revenge for Elisabeth and her family.
”

Hearing the inflection of emotion in Richard’s voice, Broderick replied,
“I left my brother and Elisabeth to plan our attack on the Douglas lands upon my return. We plan to leave as soon as the thaw gives way
. The icy grip of winter has delayed taking my army south, but vengeance has always been at the forefront of our minds.” H
e answered honestly, around them servants began to deliver trays of fresh sweet breads and warm food fresh from the kitchen.

“Eat Broderick, and let us talk. We have much to discuss you and I, for you are married to my little cousin, I have much to tell you
.
”

The fo
llowing days Broderick and
K
ing
Richard
talked over politics and the future of Scotland. Although Broderick wanted nothing more than to head home, he knew his time with the powerful
ruler
was important and vital to his future as well.
He was intelligent enough to know not to rush his liege; he bid his time carefully as he shadowed the ruler during his time at Inverness.
His wife was the potential future Queen of
England;
he needed to know
everything
King
Richard
had to share.