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“Owen.” His father interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to face him. “Drooling over another female, I see.”
Heat rushed to Owen’s face. He supposed he deserved that, but he wished his father would see the warrior in him for once, and not a jester.
Father cocked his brow and poured uisge into their cups. “I dinna blame ye, though, son. She is a bonnie lass. Never seen anyone quite like her. A dark beauty, eh?”
Owen glanced at Amber to make sure she couldn’t hear this conversation.
“She’s much more than that,” Owen said, feeling protectiveness rising in him. “She’s a good warrior with skills that ye havna dreamed of. And she’s brave and strong.” His fist clenched around the cup with uisge. “De Bourgh tortured her—a dozen lashes—and she didna say anything.”
Dougal cocked one eyebrow. “Havna heard ye talk about anyone like ye talk about her. This one got right in ye heart.”
Did he hear sympathy in his father’s voice?
“Nae.” The lie scraped Owen’s throat as he said it. She was not only in his heart, but she was also in his blood. “’Tis only I admire bravery and strength—especially in a woman. Dinna see that often.”
“Hmm.” Dougal looked deeply into his cup of uisge and then threw back the liquid. “So tell me about John MacDougall. How exactly did he tell ye about their plan to ambush the Bruce?”
Owen’s pulse galloped. This was his chance to convince his father he wasn’t wrong. That he wasn’t trying to impress Amber and really had information that could lead to a victory over the MacDougalls and the English.
“They thought I was unconscious,” Owen said. “MacDougall discussed their plans with de Bourgh and didna ken I was listening.”
“And how exactly do ye ken he wasna tricking ye? He’s sly enough to set that up.”
Owen’s gut tightened till it hurt. “I just ken, Da. He had knocked me out. I lay there senseless—”
Dougal shook his head. “Son, I ken ye’re nae lying, but it doesna mean he didna see ye were awake.”
Acid rose in Owen’s stomach. He remembered the terrible night he’d stood before his da, Craig, Domhnall, Uncle Neil, and his cousins, ashamed and helpless, repeating that he was innocent, that it was all MacDougall’s ploy, that the gold had been stolen by a woman and someone had planted it in his room. Nothing had helped.
“He tricked me with the gold,” Owen said. “But nae this time. They ken the Bruce is coming for them, and they’ll set up an ambush at the Pass of Brander. They want to repeat the Battle of Dalrigh.”
“The gold—”
“Right,” Owen spat. The taste of the word bitter on his tongue. “Yer son stole the king’s gold. ’Tis what ye think, aye?”
“The old king thought that, aye,” Dougal said through gritted teeth. “And it doesna matter what I think. It matters that we dinna let this king down. Because the freedom of our country lies with the Bruce. Everything we’ve been fighting for since William Wallace. We’ve never been so close. If the MacDougall let ye hear this information to set a trap, and the king walks right into it, he’s finished. We’re all finished. I canna take that risk, Owen. I just canna.”
Owen shook his head, bitterness spreading painfully through his chest. All these years of trying to prove his worth to his clan, and he finally had information in his hands that could help, that could finally bring an end to the war.
“And what if I’m right?” Owen said. “And what if the Bruce walks right into a trap and they kill him?”
“Nae, I dinna believe that will happen.”
“Ye dinna believe that because I brought ye this information. If Craig had said the same, ye would be on yer way to the Bruce right now.”
Dougal paled. “I ken what ye’re thinking. Dinna dare go to the king with this. Promise me.”
“Father—”
“Do ye ken what happens once the Bruce wins?”
“Peace.”
“Aye. Peace. And we finally get our vengeance for everything they did to us. To Marjorie. Ian. Yer grandfather. We get our proper clan seat in Innis Chonnel back. Neil said the Bruce has promised him all of MacDougall lands. He’s considering marrying his sister Mary to Neil. We’d be related to the king himself. It means we’ll be rewarded with wealth and power. Something we should’ve had long ago, but the MacDougalls took it from us.”
“Father, I want all that for our clan, too, and ’tis why the king should be warned—”
“Nae, if ye tell him yer story, and ye’re wrong, we’ll lose everything. He’ll never trust us again.”
