Branded by a Warrior (25 page)

Shaking her head and whispering, “No more Bro
derick, no more will die for me
. I will not let him touch her, I will surrender myself before that ever happens!
”

“
You will never be his my love. I will die first. I am so sorry Elisabeth; I don’t understand my reactions myself. I am ashamed of my accusations,
” lifting her up gently in his arms, he walked out of Isobel’s room kicking the door shut softly behind him.

Sitting her on her feet he grabbed her hand and nodded for her to follow him. Walking through the candlelit corridors, Broderick
clasped
Elisabeth’s trembling hand
and led her to the
kitchens, their dogs at their heels.

Letting go of her hand he walked around the kitchen and selected a few items before grabbing a bottle of fresh mead out of the cabinet, looking back he saw her watching him as she rubbed the lingering tears off her
face.

“What are you doing Broderick?” she asked as he walked back towards her.

“
You and I are going to have a picnic in one of my most favorite places, we are going to disappear for the night
…
and I am going to spend all night begging forgiveness,” he handed her the bottle of mead as he nodded for her to follow him.

Elisabeth was at her breaking point, the stress of vows of revenge,
vows of marriage and children, and the
chilling letter from Kincaid had her on edge. Having Broderick assume she was
conspiring against him broke her heart. She needed her husband to trust her, to have faith in her despite whatever may happen. She yearned for that.
Following
him down the darkened corridor her head spun with what to say. She knew she had to open up to him about her fears; she had to accept it would take time for him to trust her. Her mother had taught her well, she knew she couldn’t force
it;
she had to
show
Broderick how to trust.
No matter how many times he broke her heart, she refused to give up on him. She would prove
it
to
him;
she would withstand the heartbreak for him.

Walking beside Broderick
she saw Conn and Isla jot out in
front of them, leading the way,
the wolfhounds trotted in the direction of the
north
tower. She had remembered Old Rhona
never gave her a tour of this
tower,
thinking back it was as if there as a line she wouldn’t cross. Looking up at her husband she gave him a questioning glance.
This was the one spot of the castle she had yet to venture, it was locked at all times.

Feeling Elisabeth’s eyes on him, he looked down at his warrior wife. She was fully armed for battle;
truly magnificent in her glory. His
black sable fur was d
r
aped around her soft shoulders.
“The north
tower is only assessable to m
yself, I have the lone key
. The tower is my sanctuary from the duties of being laird here
. My grandfather built the this
tower for this purpose only; it ha
s been this way for generations
.
”

Down the hall she could see the massive stone archway that connected the castle to the
north
tower, walking next to Broderick she chose to remain silent. He was allowing her in his most so
litary personal space he had, for
a man who had a hard time trusting her,
the significance was not lost on her.

“Did your father bring your mother up here?” she asked quietly as they arrived to the stairs that curled up the large tower.

Nodding with a grin, “Yes, she was his rock. They were hardly
apart, theirs was a love match as well
.
”
Sliding the key into the solid oak door, he pushed
it
open, “Grab a candle off the wall
Lis
,” he requested as he held the door open for her. Plucking the nearest large wax candle
off the wall
, she walked through the
threshold as
the hounds
dashed
upstairs without waiting for light.

With his arms full of food for them, he motioned for her to go ahead of him, “Go ahead love, light the torches along the wa
y, they’ll be on your left side
.
”

Climbing the century old stone stairs, she lifted the candle high to illuminate her way, Broderick following closely behind her. She could feel his eyes
on
her;
desire ripped through her as she swayed her hips a little bit more at she climbed the stairs.

Lighting the torches that lined the stairs, slowly light spread through the tower lighting her way to the grand room.

Entering the dark room she couldn’t see far, from behind her Broderick swiped the candle out of her hand as he leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Ye make it hard for a man to
want to
have a conversation with a fine arse like that Elisabeth,” walking past her he systematically lit the various candelabras around the two story room.

As each flame was lit, the room came alive before her eyes. Standing still she watched Brode
rick walk around the vast space, the room was at the top of the tower, it was a completely open space. The high arched ceiling seemed to reach the sky; she had never seen anything like it. Windows lined the circular tower room, currently covered with skins to block out the bitter cold winter.

The high stonewalls were covered with beautiful tapestries, some centuries old. A large desk sat in the
corner with a high-backed chair. A
cross the
great
room Elisabeth saw Broderick kneel before the massive hearth to start a fire. The room was awfully cold, crossing her arms
and wrapping the sable fur snuggly around her shoulders
she continued to look around the private room in awe.

As soon as her husband had finished casting the entire room in candlelight
he walked over to the fire and
stoked the
glowing coals into flames. Watching Broderick something caught her eye. The light
reflect
ed
off the wall across the room
, gathering her full attention. Hanging in a beautiful display across the vast wall were hundreds of weapons.
Sitting the bottle of mead on the table she walked towards the wall in awe, maces and swords, dirks and daggers, ancient weapons collected over hundreds of years were artfully hung on the wall.
She had never seen anything to interesting and intriguing in her life. There were some weapons that dated back to ancient times.

Standing before the giant wall she cast her eye
s over the selection before her
, there were
weapons
she had
never
seen before
, nor had any idea how they were used. Before her she spied a magnificent
claymore with a jeweled hilt
, reaching up to touch the intricately detailed sword
she heard Broderick behind her.

“That was my great grandfather’s sword, all the weapons you see before you are a collection started hundreds of years ago by his grandfather, impressive isn’t it?” he asked as he stood up and joined his wife before the wall of deadly weapons.
Seeing her retract her hand from the claymore’s handle, “Go ahead Elisabeth, pick it up, tis a heavy beast and nearly as tall as you my love,” giving her permission he nudged her shoulder playfully as he turned and walked over to retrieve the bottle of mead.

Reaching out she placed her hand on the elegant claymore and lifted it off the wall; the weight of the long sword was indeed substantial. Grasping the heavy sword with both of her hands she lifted it into the air as she eyed the beautiful blade.
The quality of work was outstanding.
Wi
th the fire now roaring and
candles around the room
,
she was able to see the room in all its magnificence,
lowering the blade she turned around to see Broderick opening the bottle of mead and taking a drink righ
t from the bottle. Since she had been
poisoned he demanded to
taste everything before she did, shaking her head at his protectiveness, she couldn’t help but grin.

Watching him
,
her heart easily melted, catching his eye, she saw him wink at her. Bottle in hand he walked slowly over to her, his dark hair fell gloriously to his shoulders. The muscles in his arms flexed as he gripped the bottle and eyed her with desire in his green eyes.

Joining her at the wall, he handed her the bottle and held out his hand for his grandfather’s ceremonial claymore. Taking the bottle from Broderick she handed over t
he heavy sword in exchange.
Watching him twist the large claymore in his hand easily, she      took
a drink from the bottle she asked, “Why don’t you use this as your bedroom Broderick? This room is five times t
he size and suits you perfectly
.”

Setting the claymore back upon the notches on the wall
Broderick explained
, “This tower is the closest to the front gate, under attack it would be the first to take fire. My grandf
ather wanted his family in the farthest
tower
from the drawbridge
to give them more time
and a safer position if ever the walls were breeched,” reaching up he plucked a ruby hilted shortsword down and held it out for her to see, “This
belonged to my grandmother
, she too knew how to wield a sword. My grandfather made it for her,
just as I made yours
.
”

Snapping her head up to look back into his eyes, “You made my weapons?”

Nodding, he handed the ruby sword to her and took the bottle back out of her
small
hands and took another bracing swig, “
Aye,
my queen will
only have the best.
”

Looking up at him in utter amazement, she asked, “Why did you tell me that you had made them for me?”

Shrugging, he simply smiled, “
Come
to the center of the room Elisabeth, I want to show you a few things you didn’t learn today
during drills
.
”

Intrigued, she placed the ruby sword back in its resting place upon the wall and followed her brooding warrior into the center of the vast room. The room was large enough for them to practice swords, the center of the room was free of any supports,
and the
high arched ceilings towered above their heads.
There was room for many men to practice simultaneously the room was gigantic.

Turning back towards her
,
Broderick motioned for her to stop so there was a space between them, “There are hand signals we use during battle when we cannot speak, I’m sure you and Duncan had
signals
, correct?” he asked.

Nodding in agreement, “Of course,” she replied watching Broderick a few meters away, the fire glowing behind him. Unbuckling the chain on her fur, she slowly removed it; tossing it on the leather chair she refocused her eyes upon her husband.

“I want you to learn our signals as if your life depended on it Elisabeth. We have many calls and signs that are essential when riding with the MacMillan warriors, you need to know all of them,” his tone was of utmost seriousness;
his presence commanded her attention
as he spoke.

The teachings of her mother flickered in her brain, grinning she bartered, “For every sign I learn, you must tell me one thing ab
out yourself that I do not know
, or answer one of my questions
.
”

Crossing his arm
s his eyes came alive, “and will my wife answer my questions and share her past?”

Smirking at his quick intellect she nodded in ag
reement, “Aye
, I’ll even let you start. You may ask me a question, or allow me to share something about my past
that
you don’t know,” bowing slightly to her brooding husband, “
shall we begin?”

Elisabeth had known the key to fully understa
nding Broderick would mean
diving into his past. Knowing his past would help her understand why he reacted the way he did. Without a doubt in her heart, she knew he loved her. She knew he trusted her very much, but his past still haunted hi
m, causing him to react as he did tonight.

Today had been taxing on her, with the morning filled with training with the
MacMillan
warriors, then the emotional upheaval of
Broderick mentioning a child and the chaos that had ensued inside her. Her long horseback ride with Broderick and her emotional breakdown while locked inside her solar. The letter from Kincaid had been her true breaking point, something she still neede
d to discuss with Broderick.
T
he
gross accuracy of him knowing her movements within Broderick’s castle scared her. She knew Broderick hadn’t forgotten about that, the threat upon Isobel was indeed something they would discuss, later.