Page 16 of Awakened By Time
“Good. Ye’ll sit next to me and ye can explain to me why ye dinnae wish to marry me beautiful niece.” Saundra walked away, leaving a very red faced Brenna and a bemused Zeke.
Brenna covered her face with her hands and turned away from Zeke. She was so embarrassed. She couldn’t possibly look at him. What must he think of her?
“Brenna,” Zeke’s hands touched her shoulders as he turned her to face him. He gently removed her hands from her face. “I’m sorry I can’t marry you.”
His soft voice and kind words took her by surprise. She gazed up into his eyes and saw the truth of the matter reflected there. He was a kind man and it wasn’t his wish to hurt her. He truly was sorry. There was something about him. Something undeniably attractive to her. He wasn’t anything like the men of Castle Treun. Not only was he the most handsome man she’d ever met, but he had manners. He was strong and brave and she believed he could best any one of her Da’s men and unlike any of them, he seemed to be honestly concerned for her. “I understand,” Brenna muttered dejectedly. “I must marry Laird Munro. ’Tis me fate. I must marry the man me father has chosen for me.” She shook her head, clearing her mind.
For a brief moment she had forgotten that she was angry with him. She’d walked the courtyard with him and found herself wanting him to like her. It was foolish of her. She didn’t like him, she was just pretending to and he obviously didn’t like her, so there was nothing else to be done about it.
“Why on earth is everyone so determined to marry you off so quickly?” he chuckled. “Are you a trouble maker?”
She couldn’t tell if he was serious, but she’d had enough for one day. “I dinnae ken what ’tis like where yer from, Zeke Barrett, Laird of San Francisco, but here at Castle Treun ’tis quite rude to insult a lass.” She glanced away from him, upset that she found herself in this situation. Upset that she was being forced to marry and upset that this man thought it so amusing. “Ye can laugh at me all ye like. Ye and everyone else here, but I—”
“I wasn’t laughing at you. I’m sorry if it came across that way. I just don’t understand why…”
Brenna didn’t allow him to finish. “There’s nothing for ye to understand. As I was about to say before ye interrupted me, I’m nae going to marry anyone, ever!”
“I’m sorry if I insulted you. That wasn’t my intention. It’s just that everyone I’ve met here today, including you, has spoken to me about marriage.”
“I wouldnae marry ye if ye were the last man on earth! I dinnae even like ye!”
“I’m going to assume you don’t want to finish the tour,” Zeke said, looking at her with those impossibly blue eyes.
“Aye. I believe I’ll leave ye now.” Brenna turned, red-faced and walked away determined not to look back.
* * *
Zeke watched Brenna walk away. She was an interesting young woman. Yes, she was very pretty. She had long dark hair that framed her face. She had very expressive hazel eyes that flashed fire when she was upset. If he met her in San Francisco, he might ask her out, but here in the midst of whatever was going on at this castle, he did not want to get involved. It was obvious that her father had chosen a husband for her with little thought to what she might want. The man was more than twice her age. It was understandable that she had run away, but he wasn’t going to be her savior. That wasn’t why he was here. His only goal was to find Sara and to that end, he’d better start looking.
Zeke wandered the courtyard, keeping his eyes open for his sister or Logan, but they were nowhere in sight. He wandered back to the practice field to join the men there.
“Yer back already,” Duff noted.
“I am. Care to spar?” Zeke asked.
“Do ye even need to ask, lad?” Duff chuckled.
“I guess not,” Zeke laughed.
The two men took their fighting stances and Zeke was pleased to find that he and Duff seemed to be evenly matched. They were about the same height and both were in good physical condition, the only difference being that Zeke was leaner than the bulky Duff.
Zeke kept his eye on his opponent. He didn’t wish to be caught off guard. He mirrored Duff’s footwork and waited for him to make the first move, which he did in short order. It’s a good thing Zeke was prepared. Duff’s first blows were hard and fast, almost knocking Zeke off balance. He recovered quickly and used his speed and lithe movements to parry Duff backwards as he attempted to evade Zeke’s sword. Back and forth they went and despite the cool air, Zeke broke a sweat. Duff moved in closer and grabbed the hilt of Zeke’s sword, crushing Zeke’s hand in the process. He was forced to let his sword drop to the ground, effectively giving Duff the victory.
“Yer good,” Duff said.
“You’re better,” Zeke replied.
“Come back tomorrow.”
“I will.”
Zeke picked up his sword and walked back towards the castle. Duff had given him quite a workout and it had been exhilarating. Whatever he learned here, he’d be able to use to make his students better using authentic medieval tactics. This was a benefit he hadn’t even considered when he asked Edna to send him here.
* * *
“Nevil, I’ve told ye, I willnae give ye any of me land in exchange fer me daugher. The dowry I’ve offered is all I’m willing to give.”
“That is not acceptable,” Nevil barked.