Draco A Medieval Scottish Roma - Jayne Castel Page 0,27

and he’d been on edge ever since. But now, with the English army approaching, his reprieve would come to an end. He’d need to face the woman once more.

The Wallace stepped back from the walls, and the two men turned to see a small figure, clad in black, emerge from the stairwell. Although it was now high summer, there was a brisk sea breeze up here this afternoon. As such, Lady Gavina had wrapped a charcoal-colored woolen shawl about her slender shoulders. Despite the wave of noise echoing through the late afternoon air from the south, her heart-shaped face was composed, her blue eyes steely.

Watching her, Draco was surprised at her composure and the determination that rippled off her small frame. Whatever problem he had with this woman, he couldn’t accuse her of being a coward.

What exactly is your problem with her? A voice whispered to him then. Why does the sight of the lady make your hackles rise?

A fine question indeed. When he’d first arrived at Dunnottar and caught a glimpse or two of De Keith’s lady wife, he’d noted her beauty. However, on the brief occasions they’d actually interacted over the past months, it was her haughtiness that had vexed him, the way she looked at him as if he were a piece of hedgeborn scum.

Draco might have been a foreigner in this cold northern land—a foreigner who now followed an outlaw—but he’d been born to a wealthy Moorish family in Valentia, a town upon Spain’s southern coast. Few women of this land bestowed him with such a jaundiced look as Lady Gavina De Keith, and her attitude nettled him.

And the fact that it got on his nerves at all angered him further.

What did he care for this woman’s opinion?

Lady Gavina approached the walls, her blue eyes growing wide when she saw the rippling carpet of shields, standards, and pikes that approached from the south.

“The Lord save us all,” she breathed. “It looks as if he intends to tear down Dunnottar, stone by stone.”

William Wallace snorted at this.

Lady Gavina’s attention swiveled to the outlaw. “I’m sorry, William,” she said, her voice soft yet steady. “This is the worst place to be right now.”

Wallace flashed her a wolfish grin. “My nemesis approaches,” he replied. “The man who’d bring the lairds of Scotland to heel. There’s no place I’d rather be at present.”

Gavina shook her head, clearly bemused by the Wallace’s eagerness to clash with Longshanks. Her attention then shifted to Draco—and for a heartbeat, their gazes fused.

“So, the Hammer strikes?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, yet he heard her all the same.

Draco cocked an eyebrow. “And the fort upon the Shelving Slope is ready for him.”

The moment drew out, and Draco was aware that the Wallace was now giving both him and Gavina a bemused look, wondering at what passed between them.

For the moment, the pair ignored him.

Excitement flickered to life in the pit of Draco’s belly. The riddle was playing out, as Cassian had insisted it would. But then the excitement doused, a chill following in its wake.

If he was right about the Hammer of the Scots—was he right about everything else as well?

Gavina stared down at the swelling tide of men and horses that surged over the hills and gathered upon the cliff-top west of the stronghold. Her belly churned at the sight. Reaching out, she gripped the edge of the battlements, her fingers biting into rough stone.

That was better. The sturdy stone anchored her.

“My Lady?” Draco Vulcan was at her side, his hand grasping her arm as he steadied her.

“I’m well,” she assured him, resisting the urge to pull away. His fingers around her upper arm burned through the woolen sleeve of her kirtle, scorching her skin. “I knew Edward was on his way … but seeing such a force gathering on our doorstep is another matter. I’m glad we have made such thorough preparations.”

“Aye, My Lady,” the Wallace agreed from behind her. “Longshanks never does anything by halves … but we are ready for him.”

“He wants to make an example of us,” she replied, her gaze riveted upon the bobbing heads of men and horses that now covered the cliff-top opposite. “After David’s actions.”

“Perhaps,” Draco replied. “Or maybe he’s decided to take the north this year after all … and Dunnottar is his first step.”

Gavina tore her attention from the English army, and she twisted to Draco. He stood so close to her now that she had to tilt her chin to meet