Page 75 of Bride of Ice
To be honest, it had slipped her mind. “I was about to,” she said, summoning one of the maidservants to make up a platter. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“’Tis for the entertainment. Remember? After supper, we’re going to perform in the courtyard.”
Hallie frowned. “In the courtyard?”
“Aye,” she replied, stabbing a parsnip with her pearl-handled dagger and popping it into her mouth. “You don’t want a fire-breathing dragon in the great hall, do you?”
“Fire-breathing dragon?”
Brand slid onto the bench next to Isabel. “Aye, Hallie, wait till you see it! Leap a sheep! ’Tis brilliant.”
Hallie pointed her dagger in threat at the two of them. “If you burn the keep to the ground while our parents are away…”
“’Tis perfectly safe,” Ian told her as he seated himself beside her. “I wanted to use Greek fire, but Gellir thought ’twas too risky. So I’ve settled on peat fire in a great helm, with a bellows to—”
“Greek fire?” Hallie choked on a turnip.
Greek fire was a concoction so savage and dangerous that most civilized armies still refused to use it.
Gellir ruffled Ian’s hair as he joined them at the table. “I’ll get lads with full buckets of sand to stand by.”
At least Gellir had a cool head on his shoulders. He was taking the proper precautions.
Still, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that, an hour later, Hallie sat in her assigned spot in the courtyard to watch the spectacle.
Seated on a faldstool cushioned with sheepskins, she was surrounded by the entire clan. Some crowded together on benches dragged from the great hall. Some sat on plaids spread on the ground.
It didn’t escape her notice that Isabel had arranged the entertainment to take place directly below Colban’s bedchamber.
And when Hallie glimpsed up to see Colban’s face at the window, her heart skipped a beat. Her face warmed. Her breath grew shallow. Sparks of lust ignited her senses.
When it came to the Highlander, it seemed, as with Greek fire, there was no way to extinguish the persistent flames of desire.
What the devil was going on? Colin had just polished off his pea and parsnip pottage when the castle folk began to assemble below his window. A square area was roped off in the middle of the courtyard. To one side was a folded screen. A small raised platform was located in the midst of the square, with an upright wooden beam lodged in its center.
He hoped they weren’t setting up a whipping or an execution. He had little taste for that sort of bloodthirsty display. It was one thing to kill a man in fair combat. And it was fair and just to execute a man for his sins. But he didn’t approve of making a spectacle of punishment, of seeking enjoyment from the suffering of others.
Besides, he’d had enough suffering for one day, considering his humiliating defeat at the hands of that crafty Valkyrie.
There she was now, being seated at the center of the crowd. Despite his irritation at being outwitted, his heart leaped at the sight of her. Whatever mischief she’d perpetrated upon him, she remained as lovely as winter snow, as alluring as a summer loch.
Still, it stung to realize how gullible he’d been. How easily she’d deceived him. He’d actually believed that she too was overcome with lust. That she was drowning in the depths of desire beside him. That the same force of attraction pulling at his heart and shattering his thoughts affected them both.
He supposed he had to admire her skills. That level of deception was probably useful in combat. And it did amuse him to try to determine exactly when she’d lifted the notebook from him. While they were kissing? Or while she had her hand wrapped around his…
“Sir Colban an Curaidh!”
Startled from his musings, Colban looked down to see Isabel, gowned like a princess, gesturing up at him with one graceful arm.
“’Tis in your honor we present this entertainment!”
God’s blood. His honor? Oh aye. He’d all but forgotten about his heroics of the morn. They seemed to pale in comparison to the humiliation he’d endured since. Nonetheless, with all eyes on him, he waved back. At least the clan wasn’t planning to torture anyone.
Isabel turned to address the crowd in dramatic tones. “I bring you a tale of true love and loyalty. Of unmatched chivalry and noble sacrifice. A tale with fierce warriors, lovely maidens, magical enchantment, and a fire-breathing dragon.”
All the children gasped in awe at that.
“But first we shall hear a stirring ballade from Boniface,” she finished as a man armed with a lute came forward.
