Wager with a Warrior - Emma Prince Page 0,58
more. “That is why I hate Balliol and everything he stands for. He doesnae have a true claim to the throne. He simply took what he wanted, no’ because he has the right, but because he had the power to, and a hunger to rule.”
Aye, he needed to remember this—why he fought, and what he fought for. It didn’t lessen the pain of leaving Birdie, but at least he had a worthy cause to throw himself into when he departed.
“And that is why I must do everything I can to drive him out—even if that means taking on every last man in the Highlands to build an army. If I’m little more than a brute with an ability to fight, then at least it can be in the service of justice.”
“But ye arenae just a brute, Gregor.”
He gave her a gentle smile. “It’s all right, lass. Ye remember when I spoke of the men I was imprisoned with at Scone—the other Horsemen who made a pledge with me to destroy Balliol?”
She nodded, so he continued.
“We all have different strengths. Domnall MacAyre is driven, focused. Tavish MacNeal is quiet, but he notices all. Artair MacKinnon is clever—silver-tonged, and blade-witted. And I—well, I’m the muscle. It is the way of things.”
“I thought ye said ye didn’t like that might makes right all too often,” she countered.
Smart lass. As if he needed more proof that he didn’t deserve her.
He exhaled. “Aye, I dinnae. But it seems that is the nature of the beast.”
“So ye think if the world is to be ruled by strong men, then at least they can be good as well, is that it?”
“Aye, exactly. My father ruled as a tyrant in our home until someone stronger could best him. And Balliol took the Scottish throne by force. Now we must overthrow him, else he’ll rule the same as my father—as a despot with absolute power. Which means I cannae falter.”
“Must the fate of the entire nation rest on yer shoulders?”
Her question, gently spoken, was nevertheless an echo of the one he’d asked her not long ago. He’d subtly poked at the idea that she must bear so much responsibility for her clan’s fate. Now it was her turn to nudge him.
“A great deal is at stake,” he replied quietly. “And I have already failed more than once. I was strong enough to stop my father from terrorizing my ma. But at Dupplin Moor…”
Gregor swallowed against the burn in his throat. That night had been a chaos of blood and death and screams of agony. It had been unlike any battle he’d seen before. It wasn’t a battle at all, but a slaughter.
“I took on as many of them as I could, but it wasnae enough,” he rasped. “I failed.”
“Ye cannae expect yerself to best an entire army by yerself,” she offered.
“It wasnae just that, though. At Scone, when we were brought from the dungeon to hang, the guards walked us by the gallows where they were executing the rest of the prisoners captured at Dupplin Moor. I recognized two MacLeods just before they swung. I couldnae save them either.”
“Oh, Gregor.”
“I cannae fail this time,” he said, more to himself than to her.
He was drawn from his dark thoughts by a gentle hand on his cheek.
Birdie gazed at him with such tenderness in those bottomless green eyes that it nearly stole Gregor’s breath.
“I understand. Balliol’s treachery cannae go unchecked, and ye are needed for the fight. The loyalists are lucky to have such a fierce defender in ye.”
Gregor’s chest ached at her kindness. He knew it was breaking her heart as much as his to see him go. It was more than generous of her to give him her sympathy—and her blessing, in a way.
“I didnae ken yer father—thank God,” she continued. “But I ken ye, Gregor MacLeod. Ye may be strong, but ye are no brute. I hope…I hope ye remember that when—when y-ye go.”
Though her voice cracked with emotion, she forced herself to finish. She held his gaze even as her eyes brimmed with tears.
“Och, lass.” He hauled her into his arms, his lips finding the tracks of her tears. Restraint be damned, along with the coming dawn. He couldn’t hold back anymore.
He moved to her trembling mouth, kissing her until she melted like warmed butter beneath him. It wouldn’t last, but at least he could ease both of their pain for a moment.
Never breaking their kiss, he lowered her down to the mattress. But thinking of her