Page 95 of The Sinner
“Ye have the chieftain’s authority so ye could order the match,” Glynis said. “But I suppose that wouldn’t be wise, at least not yet.”
Alex was glad Glynis understood that forcing a lass’s marriage against her father’s wishes would cause a good deal of grumbling among the men.
“I’ll see to the marriage in time, provided Ùna wants it as well, but my first duty is to protect the MacDonalds on North Uist,” Alex said. “To lead my clansmen here, I must gain their trust.”
“I’d follow ye anywhere,” Glynis said, and kissed his cheek. “Most of the men already know ye are a good man and a strong leader, and the rest will soon.”
Alex’s chest swelled at her compliment as if he were a young lad instead of a seasoned warrior. So long as Glynis had faith in him, he could do anything.
* * *
A week later, Alex was practicing in the bailey yard with the other men when he noticed Seamus had a black eye. The lad was keeping his head turned, as if he did not want anyone to see it.
“That’s enough for today,” Alex called out to the men. “Good work.”
Alex strolled over to where Seamus was leaning against the castle wall.
“Ye get into a fight?” Alex asked.
Most lads are proud to have something to show for a fight, but Seamus’s head sunk even lower into his shoulders.
“Come now, what happened to your eye?” When Seamus pressed his lips together and shook his head, Alex put his hand on the lad’s shoulder. “I’ll do what I can to help, whatever it is.”
Seamus ventured a sideways glance at Alex. “In private,” he whispered. “No one can know. Ye must promise me.”
“Ye have my word,” Alex said. “Here, take my shield, and we’ll go into the armory.”
Once they were alone in the armory, Alex sat beside the boy on a low wooden bench. He pretended to study the axes and other weapons hanging on the stone wall in front of him while he waited for Seamus to speak.
“’Tis about my sister,” Seamus choked out.
Ach, family troubles, the worst kind. “What about Ùna?”
“My da…my da…” Seamus couldn’t get the words out, and various thoughts whirled in Alex’s head, none of them pleasant.
“Has your father hurt her?” he asked.
Seamus nodded without looking up.
Alex forced himself to keep his voice calm. “I suppose ye got that black eye trying to protect her?”
When the lad nodded again, Alex clenched his teeth against the blinding rage that roared through him. Seamus’s father was a foot taller and twice the lad’s weight. Alex wanted to murder the man.
“I know what it’s like to be angry with your father,” Alex said, though his own father only laid a hand on him when it was well deserved, and then it was always measured. “How has your father hurt your sister?”
Alex pretended not to see the tears that started spilling down the lad’s face and took a deep breath. This was even worse than he’d first thought.
“You’re a brave lad, but ye don’t have the size or the years to handle this problem yourself,” Alex said. “When our chieftain made me keeper of Dunfaileag Castle, he made the safety of every member of our clan here on North Uist my responsibility—that includes you and your sister. Ye must tell me what the trouble is so I can do my duty.”
“I don’t know exactly,” Seamus said, fidgeting. “But he gets drunk and sends me out of the cottage. He bars the door so I can’t get back in, but I can hear my sister screaming.”
Alex’s stomach turned sour. Oh, God, there was evil in this world.
“When he lets me back in,” Seamus said, his voice barely above a whisper, “Ùna is on the bed weeping. Da tells her to keep her mouth shut, or he’ll do it again.”
The man should go straight to hell, and Alex wanted to hurry him on his journey.
“Ye did well to tell me,” Alex said, and the lad’s shoulders relaxed as if a weight had been taken from them. “I’m going to pay a visit on your father.”
