Page 39 of The Mad Highlander
Murmurs and shuffling footsteps filled the hall, and Cayden had never heard it so quiet. The men were dwelling on the consequences of the attack, but they gave no sign of where their loyalties fell.
“Ye have all heard by now what happened yesterday.” Cayden stood up and stalked around the room. It was one thing to sit at the head of the large oak table and another completely to get close to the men. He wanted them to be scared and desperate. He needed them ready for war.
“Me Laird, what have ye done with McReed?” Alaister Duggan asked. He was far from the most influential man in the room, buthe was one of the older council members and demanded some respect. “There are rumors ye’ve already taken his head.”
Cayden stopped on the other side of the table and placed his palms flat on the wood, staring directly at Alaister. “Nay, I havenae. Nae yet. I want to speak to him first, and then I’ll make me decision.”
“Yer decision?” There was a slight crack in Alaister’s voice as he challenged the Laird. “Ye willnae ask for a vote at council?”
“What would ye have me do?” Cayden demanded. “He tried to kill Iris. Ye are married, are ye nae?”
“Aye, for over twenty years.”
“What would ye do if someone tried to kill yer wife? Would ye nae want to take his head?”
Silence filled the room as the rest of the council members looked between the Laird and Alaister Duggan.
“I would kill anyone who hurt me family,” Alaister confirmed. “Still, I’d be sure first. I wouldnae jump into a fit of rage and take the first head I found.”
Cayden bit his tongue to stop himself from saying what he really wanted to say. He took a beat before he responded to the man. “Speak yer mind, Alaister. Do ye nae think McReed is the righthead to take? Should I take someone else’s?” The Laird leveled Alaister with his gaze.
“Ye should deal with whoever is responsible.”
Cayden slammed his hands on the table. “I told ye to speak yer mind. We don’t have time for idle talk. Ye dinnae think McReed is behind this?”
“I dinnae ken,” Alaister admitted. “There is some talk that he was fingered for the crime because…”
Cayden rounded the table, and Alaister almost fell off his chair as he stood up. He raised his hands before him in surrender.
“Are ye accusin’ me of somthin’?” Cayden demanded.
“Nay, nay,” Alaister stammered. He looked around the room, and his weakness was obvious. “Let me speak, will ye?” he asked, trying to show some strength. “It is nae me talkin’, but others throughout the villages from what I can gather in such a short time.”
“And what do they say?” Cayden growled.
“They say that McReed has naethin’ to do with it and that ye might have put his name into the mouths of the attackers because of yer fightin’ at the last council meetin’.”
“Do ye think me a fool?” Cayden asked, stepping closer to Alaister.
“Nay, Cayden. Nay, I dinnae think that. I’m only relayin’ what I’ve heard.”
“Why would I invent such a thing when we are about to go to war?”
“Me men will follow ye into battle,” young Cameron Clarke announced as he stood on the other side of the table.
Cayden locked eyes with the young man, freshly out of his teens but with tenacity to match anyone at the table. It was a gesture with wisdom beyond the years of the lad. He would have made up his mind to join the fight before the meeting, and he had used the announcement to bring some levity to the room. The anger Cayden had toward Alaister subsided a little with the support of Cameron.
“I’m only tellin’ ye what people are sayin’,” Alaister muttered.
Duncan stood up next, hoisting up his breeches to cover part of his stomach. “Cayden, there is some cause for concern. Whether McReed was behind the attack or not, the reason for the attack is obvious.”
Cayden took one final look at Alaister before he left the man behind and returned to his chair at the head of the table.
“He thought he could stop the war,” Cayden noted.
“Aye,” Duncan agreed. “That’s the obvious motivation for the attack. If Iris is killed, ye have no reason to save her brother. One death to save many.”
“Then he underestimated me,” Cayden told them. “I made a promise to retrieve the lad, and I shallnae break that promise for any reason. I am nothin’ if nae a man of me word. Whoever wanted to stop the war has already sided with the Murdochs. If we do this me way, we dinnae need to go to war to save the lad. Still, if it turns to war against the Murdoch Clan, I want loyalty, not fear or misplaced trust. Young Cameron has already offered his sword. Alaister, ye seem to be talkin’ an awful lot without tellin’ us yer opinion. Are ye ready to fight with me against the Murdochs should it come to it?”
