Page 87 of Marin’s Promise

The tension in his face did not drain away.

A quiet scratching sounded at the door. Bran cast an irritated glance over his shoulder. “That damn cat willna leave me alone.”

A bubble of laughter burst from Marin. She immediately bit back the giggle.

What right did she have to laugh when her father was no longer alive? The memory struck her deep in the chest and threatened to consume her in a cyclone of grief. Her people were relying on her for their safety. With the Grahams on the outside of the castle walls, circumstances were becoming dire.

She shoved at her loss, gently tucking it to a silent corner of her mind. Too many others relied on her.

“Do you think something might be done about the Grahams?” she asked Bran.

He lifted a brow at her.

“If we perhaps gave them food in good faith, provided them with coin to see to their basic needs...” Her words trailed off at the ridiculousness of what she suggested. She put a hand to her brow where her head throbbed. Her fingers were cold and offered a semblance of relief against the heat of her skin.

She gave an exasperated sigh. “Bringing them Nan's meat pies and giving them coin is foolish and would only serve to encourage them to attack.”

Bran smiled sadly. “If only it could be so easily done as Nan's meat pies. Though I must say, I've no' ever tasted anything savorier or tenderer in a crust in all my life.” He pressed his lips together, as though he could taste the rich gravy as he spoke. “Nay, I've committed a great offense against them, and the Grahams do not forgive easily.”

“Can they be bargained with perhaps?” she offered.

He shook his head. “The few bargains I've seen them propose have been exorbitant.”

“We have coin enough.” Marin couldn't keep the hope from her tone.

“Their prices are no' with coin generally, but with what they know ye'd least be willing to sacrifice.”

“You know them well,” Marin surmised. “You knew they would retaliate against you.”

He nodded and her heart sank.

He had incurred Graham wrath for having come to her aid at her behest. He'd done it for her. Even after he already had the castle and needed to save his own sister, he still sacrificed everything for Marin.

“You knew and you still helped us,” she murmured. Until that moment, she had not understood exactly what he'd done for her. Aye, she was grateful for her sisters’ lives, but she had never fully understood what he had given up for her.

He nodded again and she found herself aching to be in the comfort of his arms once more.

“Bran, I—”

He held up his hand. “I got a bonny wife out of it.” He gave her a boyish grin that made her heart tilt.

The castle lay in the back of her mind like a stone, weighing at her thoughts. “What can we do to get the Grahams to leave?” She asked. “They've been at the castle for almost a fortnight and with the increased need for food for your troops, our stores are dwindling. I do not wish to wait and be starved out.”

Bran rubbed the back of his neck. “We canna wait for Kerr, no' when we dinna know if the first letter was delivered. And if the Scottish were soundly beaten at Berwick, he may no’ be coming at all.”

“Waiting for the Grahams to come within close range for our arrows has provided little success,” Marin mused. “When my father’s men come home, they will be exhausted from battle. We cannot rely on them to help.”

“What of the passage?” he asked. “The one ye used to get yer sisters out of Werrick the first time.”

“It would be fine for sneaking out a small group, but without horses and with the constant patrols of reivers, we would surely be found. Unable to flee with haste and prime for slaughter.”

Bran's stare intensified. “Ye know what we must do.”

Steely determination flared through her. This was her chance to exact revenge for the soldiers they lost in the battle to save her sisters, an opportunity to allow the helpless rage coiling inside her to blaze out in savage glory.

“Aye,” she said vehemently. “We fight.”