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.“Nae, but Colyne wants to push them back farther from our lands.An o’course the lads are all eager for a bit o’ danger.They wouldna be sae eager for it if it was them who set the bones and wrapped the wounds.”She could not help but look at him.Grim, Colyne sat tall in the saddle, the reds, blacks, and greens of his plaid mantle bright under the winter sun, his hair copper bright.He looked in their direction at that moment.Isabella quickly turned away, fearful he might read the longing in her face, even at this distance.Caitrina waved to them; the horses’ hooves pounded on the bridge as they rode across.“Nae good’ll come of it in the end,” Caitrina said grimly.“I only hope the lads come back safe and with none of the MacLaulachs hurt either.”Why could she not, after all he had done, break this hold he had over her?She started when Caitrina touched her shoulder.“Does yer head pain ye again, lady?”“Yes,” Isabella answered shortly.“The air here seems to bring them on with annoying regularity.I can but pray we are to go on to Perth soon.The headaches are becoming well nigh intolerable.”“On that matter,” Katherine put in smoothly, “is there any word on when we might expect to join the court?”Caitrina averted her eyes.“I canna say.Colyne does nae confide in me these days.”At odds over Alisoun, no doubt.“Please appeal to your brother on my behalf,” Isabella said coldly.“My imprisonment here grows tiresome and my spirits ever more downcast.”Caitrina nodded, her brow furrowed.“I shall ask if ye may be allowed the liberty of a short ride outside the walls, for yer health’s sake and to relieve ye of the monotony.”Kat brightened.“Perhaps to the well.I should so like to see one again.Oh, think of how the change of scene would raise our spirits, poppet!”Isabella flinched inwardly.She could not think of any spot outside the castle less likely to raise her spirits than that place where she had clung to Colyne, seeking his kiss just before he pushed her away from him in favor of Alisoun.Without waiting to see if Katherine followed, Isabella started around the courtyard.To her irritation Katherine began a lively conversation with Caitrina, following behind her so that she was party to every cheerful word.Kat urged Caitrina to tell them about the well and the countryside in general.As they chatted behind her, Isabella felt the headache she had feigned earlier materialize into a band squeezing her skull.She picked up her pace, leaving the other ladies behind.She could not leave this accursed place and join the court quickly enough!Shouts from the courtyard below woke her.Isabella threw aside the bed curtains and was out of bed in a moment, pressing her face against the glass to see.It was hours still till dawn and the cold pane against her cheek made her flinch.From her vantage point she could make out horses and people with torches moving in the courtyard but little else.Raised voices and the cry of a man in pain reached her from below.“What is it, poppet?” Katherine cried.“Is the castle under attack?”“I do not know! I can hardly see.”As Isabella turned from the window she saw that Mary was awake, standing by her pallet and wringing her hands.“Mary!” Isabella pushed the girl toward the door.“Quickly! Go, find out what is happening!”Isabella and Katherine donned their gowns and slippers quickly, each helping the other.Isabella’s hands shook as she dressed.Had the king’s men come to take her by force? James was a brutal man.“My lady, your hair!” Katherine protested as Isabella threw the door open, her hair unbound and streaming behind her.“Leave it!” Isabella called, already in the hallway, Kat following.She was at the stairs, ready to run down, when Mary ran up in tears.“What is it?” Isabella demanded.“What is happening?”“It’s the laird! Oh, my lady, the MacLaulachs have cut him to the quick!”Isabella’s breath rushed out of her lungs.She swayed on her feet.“Are you faint?” Katherine asked, her hand on Isabella’s arm.She shook off Kat’s hand and turned to change direction, heading now for the solar.Caitrina would be there, she thought, lifting her skirts as she broke into a run.Caitrina would not let him die.The solar was a storm of activity.Malcolm bellowed with a blood-soaked cloth to his face.Jamie tended to his father, trying to keep him still while he cringed and cursed.Angus leaned against the door, his exhausted face streaked with dirt and sweat, his tunic stained with blood.Isabella pushed her way into the room, her lips parting at the sight of him.Colyne’s face was contorted with pain as the clansmen lowered him into a half-seated position on the pallet.His shirt was bloody, torn away from his left shoulder, his hair drying into sweat and dirt-encrusted tangles.Isabella made a strangled sound to see the cloth he held to his left arm already soaked through with blood.He looked up and glowered at her.Caitrina was busy at the fireplace, frantically blowing on a cup as she worked.She continued to cool the concoction with her breath as she limped across the room to her brother.“What’s done this?” Caitrina asked, lifting the cloth to examine the gash.“Sword or dirk?”“Sword,” Colyne gritted out
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