Page 55 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
“Aye,” Elias agreed. “The English attacked us from the south and the Highlanders from the north. Both were formidable opponents, and that was before the politics of the clans came into play.”
“That’s why we need to stand strong together,” Laird McKinnon said. “As a clan alone, we can stand against another, perhaps two, but we would put up very little fight in a full-scale war.”
Most of any battle was fought off the battlefield. Elias was a fierce warrior, and he could cut down twenty men by his own hand, but it would mean nothing if they didn’t have the numbers. Being ready for war meant knowing that he had the backing of his allies when the enemy stepped foot on his land.
If we dinnae understand the past, we will be woefully prepared to deal with the future.
“Laird McKinnon, thank ye for comin’,” Elias said.
“The pleasure is all mine, Laird McAllister,” Ruben Miller returned.
The men deeply respected each other, but like all relationships between the clans, there was always a strain. What was best for the clan needed to be done, and it wasn’t unusual for clans tobetray others as they grew weaker. The cure for that ailment was to ensure your clan was never weakened.
Laird McKinnon was not as large as Elias, but he was still a large man, with thick forearms covered in dark black hair. He strode toward Elias with his arm stretched out, standing barely an inch shorter than him.
Elias took the man’s hand and shook it firmly. The politics of the clans was intricate. It was not only about helping others so they owed you a favor but often doing the opposite.
By having the Laird of another clan do him a favor, he was in the man’s debt, and he would repay that debt in time. That brought him peace of mind. If another clan knew that Elias and his clan would rally to help when needed, they had no reason to distrust them. There was strength in weakening yourself slightly. Elias had asked Laird McKinnon for a favor to repay a previous favor, and the cycle would continue on and on, strengthening the bonds between the two clans.
“Ye must remember it well,” Elias said, gesturing toward the map.
“I willnae forget it for a long time,” Laird McKinnon said. “If it werenae for me, ye would have had a sword stickin’ out yer back.”
Elias guffawed, and his deep laughter reverberated through the Great Hall.
Laird McKinnon added, “Aye, there was also the small point of ye killin’ eight of the men who surrounded me, but ye still didnae see the one comin’ at ye from behind.”
“A coward, he was,” Elias stated. “And I was tired from killin’ so many.”
Laird McKinnon chuckled and clapped him on the back. “I shouldnae jest with ye, or ye might nae have me back in the next battle. God willin’ there isnae one in me bairns’ lifetime.”
“Aye, peace feels braw, does it nae?” Elias asked.
“The battles are brutal, but we need that brutality sometimes,” Laird McKinnon admitted. “Often, ye have to do what ye dinnae want to with yer own hand so the ones ye protect are safe. We do what must be done, so our bairns, our wives, our clan dinnae have to.”
“Aye,” Elias agreed.
He had a clan, soon would have a wife, and after that, bairns would come. In the past, he had only been focused on his clan and what was best for them, but that was changing. He also had to focus on what was best for himself.
“So, what has this man done to warrant askin’ for me and Laird McDougal’s help in trackin’ him down and bringin’ him to ye? He wasnae all that hard to find and capture,” Laird McKinnon said. “And why couldnae ye do it yerself?”
Ruben Miller and Hunter Gilmour had always been the strongest allies of Clan McAllister.
“I have a weddin’ to plan soon,” Elias admitted. “I dinnae have the time, though that’s never stopped me afore. Partly, I dinnae want him to see me comin’. I trust ye and Laird McDougal more than I do others. Ye have perseverance and intelligence, and Hunter has endless strength and guile. If I start to poke around, I fear he would slip out of the area and I wouldnae get a chance to meet with him face to face.”
“Is that what ye want?” Ruben asked. “To meet with him face to face?”
“To start,” Elias confirmed. “I want to talk to him and hear his truth or lies, and then I’ll decide if he’ll be killed by me own hand or if he deserves a different fate.”
“Hope for him?” Ruben raised an eyebrow. “I havenae heard ye talk like that afore. He must have wronged ye if ye asked for me help in bringin’ him to ye, but ye really will show mercy?”
“As a last resort,” Elias replied.
“Ye’re to be wed soon,” Ruben said. “Marriage changes us all. Well, most of us. I didnae expect it to change ye so, Laird McAllister. I would like to meet this woman who has tamed yer temper.”
“Me temper is there when I need it,” Elias explained. “In fact, it’s there more than ever now that I have other people to concern meself with.”
“Other people to concern yerself with?” Ruben echoed. “I havenae heard a kinder word uttered from yer lips, Laird McAllister. Ye arenae goin’ soft on us, are ye?”
