Branded by a Warrior (33 page)

Sighing, Elisabeth stood up and left her black sable fur upon the chair, the castle felt warm, turning to Rhona, “Aye. Do ye have any of your special turnovers this fine morning Rhona? My b
elly could use a dozen of them
,” s
miling
brightly at the woman who had taken such great care of her these past weeks,
“and some of your lovely tea
too.
”

“Come lass, let us go feed th
at hungry belly of yours. I have some tarts cooling in the kitchens for you as we speak.
I’m sure your hounds and Is
obel will find you soon enough
.
”

Elisabeth left the castle with Isobel in
tow;
they had
broken
their fast together in the warm cozy kitchen with Rhona this chilly morning. Elisabeth’s stomach felt much better after having a pot of Rhona’s special tea. Cramming as many sweet cakes as she could into her mouth, she was soon full and content.
Rhona’s bakery items always left her feeling warm and happy.
After missing yesterday’s drills she promised herself she would push th
rough, drilling with the warriors was essential to staying her best.

Walking hand in hand with Isobel t
he cool fresh air felt wonderful in her lungs, the breeze felt like it washed away her sickness and drowsiness. Smiling down at the little blonde girl skipping beside her, she saw the men gathering in the bailey as they did every morning.

“Go take yer place Isobel by the stables, after I’m done we shall sneak off to train together,” pointing over to where Isobel had always stood while watching the army.

“Yes Aunt Elisabeth
.
”

Making sure she
Isobel
didn’t trip any of the gathering wa
rriors on her way, Elisabeth watched
the young lass
skip across
the bailey and stand in he
r position, far out of the way with her wooden sword.

Focusing her attention, she rolled her neck and prepared for the long day ahead of her.
Pushing away her yawns and upset stomach, she spent the next several hours working side by side with the MacMillan warriors under Kendrix’s direction.
She had never felt more confident in herself as a warrior, yes, her brother had taught her very well, but she had learned so much from the MacMillan clan. She
had utilized the new techniques Broderick had shown her before his departure, with the combination of Duncan and Broderick’s
lessons, she felt invincible.
She had fully regained her strength she had lost after her brutal attack; her injury was healed and pained her very little anymore.

Making the most of the afternoon she breezed through private lessons with her adorable niece, sneaking off to the kitchens to fill their bellies before returning to the bailey
for her group lesson with the rambunctious children. 

Walking out the front
castle door, Elisabeth noticed a small group
of MacMillan mothers standing next to their wee ones in the training area.
From the armory Kendrix appeared
with a smile upon his face
and hailed to
her
as she met the group in the bailey, his arms full of bows and quivers.

“Ah, Elisabeth, we have new students today! Our lovely ladies here would like to be taught by
The Warrior Queen of Scotland
as well, what say you?” H
e smiled, knowing full well she would happily teach them.

Smiling at the eleven women who stood in front of her, “I’d be honored, welcome ladies! I am happy to see you here
.
” A woman Elisabeth recognized as the wife of one of the warriors, and a mother of one of her students stepped forward, “Good afternoon My Lady, I hope you dinnae mind teaching us. Like our husbands and children, we too would like to learn to defend ourselves and learn from you
.
”

Elisabeth felt a wave of pure pride wash over her, before here was women her own age, mothers, wives, and they wanted
her
to teach them the bow. She knew they had been watching while they attended to their chores during the past weeks. She hadn’t even thought to ask the women of the clan if they’d like to join. In her heart, she felt that every woman should posses the basic skills in the event of an attack.
No one should ever feel unprotected.

“Please, ladies, call me Elisabeth. Of course I’ll teach you, I’m sorry I dinnae think to ask you weeks ago,” turning to acknowledge Kendrix who was standing beside her now, “Take a bow from Kendrix and we shall get started!”

Elisabeth sweet talked Kendrix into taking over the children’s lesson today so she could personally work with the ladies, thankfully, he was more th
an happy to do so. A few of the fathers
came out to help Kendrix corral all the wee ones while Elisabeth worked with the wives.
It appeared their husbands were more than happy to see their wives taught by her, she was proud the men didn’t dissuade their spouses from learning how to defend themselves.

The afternoon flew by, and soon lessons
for the children and the newly added ladies were complete
. Elisabeth had gotten to know the ladies well in the time they spent together. She finally felt like she was able to make friends with these women, she laughed and enjoyed her time with them immensely today. Her time had been so demanding, she had very little time to mingle with the women of the clan during the day, making it hard to make friends. Laughing with the ladies this afternoon put a smile on her
face;
she forgot how nice it was to be around women of her own age.
The women all promised to return tomorrow for their next lesson, Elisabeth allowed them all to take home their bows and quivers. She had never been more proud to share her knowledge as she was today. God had blessed her with a skill she could share to any who sought to learn.

Helping Kendrix put away the
children’s
bows in the armory she was humming a tun
e to herself when she heard him clear his throat, which meant he had something serious to talk about.
She had known him long enough to know his mannerisms.

“We need to finalize our final plans today Elisabeth, the thaw draws near, as does Broderick’s return
, we need to be ready to ride.
He’ll expect our plans to be flawless; do you have time now to go over them before dinner?”

Feeling her stomach roll, she was used to Kendrix
being lighthearted, but his tone told her all too well that within days they would be riding south to deliver sweet justice to that bastard Kincaid and his clan of perverse warriors.

Nodding, “Aye, we can go to Broderick’s study now if you’d like. I want everything to be read
y
for Broderick’s return. I miss that man far too
much;
I want him to be proud of our plans
.” T
urning to face Broderick’s brother, she bit the inside of her lip so she wouldn’t cry when she said Broderick’s name. Damn her emotions were getting hard to control.
She attempted to smile, even though she felt like crying.

Kendrix crossed his arms and sighed, “Elisabeth, I would imagine Broderick will always be proud of you, who wouldn’t? Come on
Sister;
let us finalize our plans for good, and maybe I’ll challenge you to a sword match upstairs if we have time
before dinner
. Today might be my lucky day, maybe I’ll win this time
.
”

He wasn’t blind; he could see the way her eyes welled up with tears at the very mention of Broderick’s name. He was sworn to protect his brother’s wife, over the past
weeks he had seen immense changes in her that others might not notice. He had seen her battle with the absence of her husband, she missed Broderick terribly. Over the past weeks, he had observed changes in her, changes he was positive could only mean one thing, and he was sure she
still
didn’t know.

Yes, he needed to finalize the battle plans, but he had an
ulterior
motive for asking her up to Broderick’s private study.

“Brothe
r, I know you take it easy on me
when we duel, you cannot call it a challenge unless you stop holding back
.
”
Elisabeth rolled her eyes as she exaggerated her words in jest.

“Come on
Elisabeth,
I’ll promise this time, I’ll
give you everything I’ve got
.
”

The
two walked silently up to the north t
ower, leaving the gate unlocked as normal while they occupied the space
should the guards or Rhona need them
. They had turned it into their command post for their battle plans. Maps and diagrams were on every table and space available, they had worked tirelessly on these detailed plans.

With nightfall and dinner hours away, the two sat down at the large table and hashed out the final details quickly, Kendrix and Elisbeth both were
positive that their plans were indeed flawless.
Everything was set; they only needed Broderick to return.

Kendrix pushed back from his chair and raised his brows at the redheaded woman across from him, “Well dear Sister, shall we see to your challenge?”

Looking up from the maps, she smiled, “Aye, but don’t cry when I win Brother, I dinnae like to lose
.
”

“Neither do I, neither do I
.” H
e smirked as they walked to the center of the va
st study and drew their swords; he knew he had to ease into the conver
sation with his b
rother’s wife.

The two took their positions and Kendrix lunged forward and slashed a mighty blow that Elisabeth blocked with considerable effort, he
saw her grin and counter his blow with a flurry of menacing blows.

Circling each other, he knew the only way to get her to realize her condition was to ask a series of questions
and make her figure it out herself
. He noticed similar changes in Elisabeth that he had seen in his wife when she became with child, he was positive that Elisabeth was indeed carrying Broderick’s child, and she jus
t hadn’t realized it yet. He
was concerned with her drilling with his men every morning; he did not want her to lose the babe.
Their drills were brutal and physically demanding, a woman carrying a child could easily be harmed with such vigorous activity.

While countering and lunging, K
endrix led into his questioning, “I’ve noticed a change in our style these past weeks Elisabeth, much different than when you first started, have you been feeling okay?”

“I haven’t been sleeping well with Broderick gone, these days of training and sleepless nights are taxing me considerably
, I’ve told you this countless times.” S
h
e answered, still focused on him.

Circling together, they each held their weapons out waiting for the other to advance, “Nay lass, I me
ntioned your style has changed,
not your energy level
.
”

“Explain
.” S
he asked quietly, followed by a barrage of blade swings
.

Easily defending himself against Elisabeth, he chuckled, “Jesu Elisabeth, you sounded just like Broderick,” countering her attack he knew there he couldn’t skirt the issue forever, “ye tear up at the slightest mention of my brother, ye have lost weight, and haven’t had an
appetite
in weeks,
ye are sick worse in the mornings and
are tired all day
. T
hink about it lass
,
just think
.
”

Rolling her eyes, she lunged toward Kendrix again, “I miss him Kendrix
!
”

“Aye ye do, I dinnae doubt that for one moment Sister, however, I think there is something else at the root of your change
.
”

He could tell she was growing upset with the conversation; her blows were growing stronger as he matched each one.

“What, oh wise Kendrix do you think
y
e
could possibly know that
I
dinnae
?”

“I think
you my dear Sister are carrying my brother’s heir.”
C
ountering her attack he swung his blade
down
hard just as she froze with his last word, unable to stop his sword he landed a blow across her right arm.

Her scream pierced the
air;
the sound of her blade clattering on the stone
floor as it fell to the ground resonated in the large room.
Kendrix’s eyes grew wide as blood began to soak Elisabeth’s gown. Dropping
his blade the moment he saw the d
amage he reaped upon her sword arm. In
two steps he was beside her, he gripped her wounded arm and squeezed to stop the blood flow, “I am so sorry Elisabeth, I am so sorry
.
”
He looked down into her eyes, still wide with shock she had not moved, had not spoke one word, she just stood in place, “Elisabeth, say something please?”

“How did I not know?
” her voice but a whisper, tears began to run down her ivory face as she closed her eyes and placed her left hand over her womb, “
How had I not put the signs together? Jesu it all makes sense now. How did I not suspect?
”