Page 22 of Saved By the Highland Beast
“That’s right,” she said, impressed by how well he was taking to the lesson if weapons were involved. Looking around, she reached for two daggers and brought them closer, taking away the middle sword and placing the daggers above one another in its place. “Now, think of the two daggers as being part of the big sword. It’s still the same sword but just split into sections, just like when an apple is sliced. Does that make sense?”
“I think so,” Cillian answered with a slight frown. “It’s what would happen if a blacksmith smelted the sword down into daggers. It’s still from the same sword, just smaller sections.”
“Exactly,” Sophia said brightly. “That’s a perfect explanation.” She looked back down at the swords. “How many swords and pieces will I have left if I remove half of the swords?”
Cillian bit his lip as he thought before standing up and walking over to the carpet. He stuck his hand out but quickly stopped and looked up at her.
“Go on,” she said encouragingly.
He took two of the swords and one of the daggers, placing them to the side before chewing on his bottom lip. “Two and a half swords?” he asked eventually.
“That’s right!” She beamed with pride at how quickly he’d caught on. “Now, if you think of the swords as being a full hour and the daggers as being half an hour, how many hours do you have if you take half away from five?”
He looked up at the clock before glancing back at the swords. “Two and a half hours,” he said with conviction this time.
“That’s absolutely right, well done!” She stood, using her hands to push herself up. “You may take a seat again, and we can continue with the quiz.”
Cillian quickly stood up and made his way back to his desk without even thinking twice about whether he should be listening to her or not. He seemed to have gained newfound confidence after the display and discussion they had. The veil had completely fallen from his eyes, making them appear brighter blue.
Sophia smiled at him and glanced at the papers she held in her hands before placing them behind her back. “What do you know about swords? How long have swords been around?”
“That’s easy.” He smirked with confidence again. “Swords have always been around.”
“Have they?” She tilted her head slightly to the side.
Cillian seemed uncertain again.
“Daggers actually predate swords by a couple of hundred years. Swords only became popular during the bronze era, when copper and bronze weapons were produced with long leaf-shaped blades and hilts consisting of an extension of the blade in handle form,” she explained as he hung on to her every word.
“That’s nae true. How can daggers predate swords? How would men fight in battle if they had to be so close? Swords allow the soldiers a longer range,” he argued.
“You can look it up for yourself if you like,” she said, then walked over to the shelves to retrieve a small blue book. She laid it on the table in front of the boy. “You like books about swords and fighting. Perhaps you should take a look at this one. I know it’s history and not the usual instruction manuals you like to read, but there are some pretty useful bits of information in there.”
Cillian picked up the book and glanced at the index before quickly turning the pages until he found the section about the bronze age. His eyes flew over the page until they stopped on one paragraph. “I cannae believe it.” He looked up at her. “It’s right here. Daggers were truly used hundreds of years before the sword.”
“I was just as surprised as you.” She placed her hands on her hips. “I never even knew there was such a thing as a bronze age. It seems completely mythical to me. I can just imagine how many heroes came out of a time such as that.”
He looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes that she’d never seen before. “How do you think they used the daggers in battle?”
“I guess we will have to look that up.” She turned and ran her finger over one of the shelves before pulling a second book out and handing it to him. “Perhaps you could look that up. We could both learn something new today.” She smiled to herself as he took the book.
Cillian bent his head and began his search for answers, the notion of leaving earlier for his training completely forgotten at present.
Sophia walked over to her desk and leaned against the edge with a triumphant smile and hope in her heart. The laird’s son was shaping up to be a very kind and gentle soul. All he needed was a bit of encouragement and patience.
Things were starting to look up again.
CHAPTER9
Dean walkeddown the corridor with his hands behind his back. He was deep in thought as he made his way to the study. It was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon, and neither Cillian nor Sophia had been seen or spotted even once throughout the day. He’d expected at least one of them to come down the stairs in a huff. His prediction had been that either Cillian would have stalked into the yard with his book, or Sophia would have come downstairs to complain about how her plan had failed.
Are ye concerned because ye wanted the plan to work, or are ye mad that ye may have been wrong?
Given the argument he and Sophia had when she’d broached the subject, he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of being right.
He frowned as he approached the door to the study. Raucous peals of laughter were coming from within the room. He turned his head and looked down the hall to see if he hadn’t perhaps taken a wrong turn. Once he’d established that he was indeed in the right hall, he continued walking until he reached the study.
He swung the door open, and the hinges squeaked in protest, yet it didn’t seem to bother Sophia and Cillian, who were completely immersed in a world of their own. The two were locked in what seemed like an epic battle. They were both parrying back and forth with wooden swords as they asked each other questions that he himself didn’t even know the answers to.
