Page 42 of The Iron Highlander
“Thank ye,” said Grear, as Kate put it down beside the older woman.
“I say we take the strongest men, those who can fight, just as we always did, and we head straight for the McGowan household. One way or another, we will get to Max Sweeney, and he will pay for all of the madness which he caused here today.” Hudson continued.
“We mustnae be hasty to make moves like that. Attacking the castle head on might be bad for us. We daenae know what defenses Max has set up, and if we run up with the horses and men, we will be faced down with whatever he has planned.” Grear fired back.
“I’m certain our men will be prepared for anything, we are the most formidable fighting force in all of the highlands, there is nothin’ which the Laird would throw at us, that we wouldnae be able to handle, I am certain of it.” Hudson argued, staring at Reuben for support.
Grear shook her head, “Ye need to understand, we are nae just going to burn down their castle, we must save Lily as well, and if the Laird of McGowan knows that we want her, he will use her as a bargain, or if his insanity is as everyone says, he would most likely kill her and then fall on his own blade like the coward that he is.”
Reuben listened to them go back and forth as he considered the options in his head. He was feeling the rage, and more than anything, he wanted his vengeance on those who had tried to destroy his home. Attacking would give him that satisfaction. They would raid the McGowan home and take no prisoners, pillaging through everything until they got to Max. But as his mother had said, there was a chance that Max Sweeney could go unhinged, and then he would go after Lily, or do something even more sadistic.
He looked up at Kate and noticed she was staring at him as Hudson and his mother argued. She had told him what heneeded to know, and that gave Reuben the plan he needed. It was going to be a longshot, but it was the only one he was willing to go on ahead with.
“Enough,” said Reuben. “Hudson, just ye and I will go. The fewer the men, the better the chances we have of getting the job done quickly. I understand that the estate has done us a great disservice, but we must recall that it was the leader of the McGowan household that caused it. Anyone else was acting under orders.”
“Just the two of us, against the entire castle? We would be dead many times over before we can get anything done.”
“Which is why we are nae getting anything done. What is important right now is the girl.” Reuben continued, “We have to get Lily to safety first before we consider anything else. Once Lily is safely back here, then we can consider an attack, and even when we do, we must go for just Max himself. He is the one responsible for this madness, and he is the one who must pay. There are innocents in the McGowan household, the servants and others who were forced into service. There is not much any of them can do against the cruel man, and if we were to hurt them, that would be wrong.”
Grear and Hudson exchanged glances for a moment before turning back to Reuben. He had spoken with wisdom, and there was no arguing with his logic. Grear smiled and reached out to hold his arm. Reuben grabbed her.
“Ye have the wisdom of yer faither, and I ken the old man would be so proud of ye, Reuben,” said Grear.
“Thank ye, Maither.”
“Ye will have to be careful,” Grear continued. “Max knows ye, and when he knows ye are in his home, he will lash out. Ye must secure Lily without his knowledge.”
“Perhaps a distraction would work?” Kate suggested, speaking for the first time in a while.
“That might work, something which would keep Max occupied until Lily was safely away from the castle.” Reuben replied.
“The eastern side of the castle has a scalable wall, one which servants have scaled several times. If ye look closely, ye can see the dirt of their boots on the walls as they tried to get over it in the night, as they sought their safety away from my uncle.” Kate continued.
“Yer saying that his servants were escaping the castle as though it was some kind of prison?”
“Well, Max is all kinds of insane, and he wouldnae even let them out to see their families. He barely pays them their wages, or lets them have sufficient food or anything. He basically wants a reason to get on their bad side, and I ken that given the chance, they would turn on the man as he treats them.”
“Well, that is quite something.” Hudson remarked with a smirk on his face.
“So it is settled then, we ride as soon as ye are ready. I’ll get the weapons, check on the horses and prepare them.” Reuben spoke to Hudson and began walking away.
“Wait,” said Kate, drawing everyone’s attention. “I would like to go along with ye.”
Hudson snickered, “Aye, nae, Kate. It is too dangerous, even for us.”
Reuben stared at her, seeing that she was serious. Kate was willing to take the risk, just to save her sister. She would make a great mother, and a caring wife. The Laird smiled and reached out to grab Kate, pulling her closer to him.
“Kate, Hudson is right It is too dangerous, and if anything were to happen to ye, I wouldnae be able to live with myself.”
“But my sister is there, she was the one taken, and it is my duty to help. I have to, that is what my maither…”
Reuben rubbed the back of her palm, “Kate, I understand, but what if we go there and ye get hurt? Even Lily wouldnae want ye to come. If ye get captured by Max, then what? He would have won then. We cannae give the laird what he wants, and right now, that is ye. Please, stay here and watch over Willow and Freya, and when we have Lily, we will return, I promise.”
Kate turned over to Grear, and the older woman nodded. “Ye should listen to the laird, Kate. There will be trouble when he goes to find yer sister, and there is a chance that he might be hurt. If ye want to stay safe, ye will stay here and pray for his success.”
“But my lady, I might be of help to them. I know the castle inside and out, I can lead them around, and take them into the dungeons. I can help.”
“We know ye can, but for yer own safety, Kate, that is why we ask that ye stay behind,” said Hudson.
