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Fifteen years after Andrew joined le Bec’s army, Trey was killed in a battle and Andrew grieved for him as he had for his father.

But, unlike his father, Trey had left him a legacy.

The massive army now numbered close to one thousand men and they all looked to Andrew as their leader now.

He stepped up into the role magnificently, yet without fanfare.

But the word soon spread that Trey le Bec’s army was now under the control of his general, Andrew d’Vant.

Some said he had been in control all along.

It was something that had only grown more powerful over the past few years, bringing them to this moment in time.

Now, Andrew had an entire empire he was in control of, although it was a transient empire.

They moved from place to place with no real home base.

They were gypsies in the most basic sense of the word.

But thoughts of Trey, of transient empires, and of recurring nightmares faded from Andrew’s mind as he sat under the tree, watching the men around him.

He caught sight of a figure approaching him and he recognized his general, Thane Alraedson, as the man approached with his sword scabbard smacking against his thigh-boots.

Thane flashed a grin at Andrew as he squatted down beside him and began picking at the grass.

“The men will be ready to move within the hour,” Thane said. “Have you decided that we shall definitely accept the task at Torridon?”

Andrew looked down at him. Thane was flamboyantly handsome with his cropped, blond hair and granite jaw.

He wasn’t as tall as Andrew, but he was wider with muscle.

He was a knight, but he had been chased from the lord he’d once served by the irate lord whose daughter Thane had deflowered.

With nowhere else to go, Thane had joined up with Trey and Andrew right before Trey’s death and was closer than a brother to Andrew.

He could be childish, and not always very bright, but he followed orders without question and could command capably.

“I have,” Andrew replied in his deep, rich voice. “Torridon is several miles north of our location and I should like to make the castle by midnight.”

Thane thought that might be the answer. Moreover, it wasn’t unusual for Andrew to move the army in darkness. Sometimes it was better that way; less chance of confrontation with other armies or nervous fortresses.

“Very well,” he said, then threw down the blade of grass he was toying with. “Are you sure you wish to accept Torridon’s offer? We have other offers that will pay us more.”

“We will fight for Torridon,” Andrew said decisively. “Tell me what you know of it.”

Thane shrugged. He generally knew a great deal about most fortresses in the border and lowland region. “It is a mighty fortress,” he said. “Big and rich, from what I have heard. That is why I find it hard to believe you would accept their contract for only five thousand marks.”

This time, Andrew shrugged. “I have yet to learn the terms of the contract,” he said. “I would like to know what they want us to do. We could be making this trip for nothing.”

Thane cocked an eyebrow. “But you told the messenger to return and inform the master that you would come,” he said. “That will lead them to believe that you have accepted their money.”

“But I have not,” Andrew said, as he rose on his long legs and sheathed his broadsword. “Until I take their money, there is no commitment. Besides… I hear the Dalmellingtons are fierce fighters.”

Thane stood next to Andrew, bracing his fists on his slim hips. “I also hear that they were once a part of the de Carron Clan,” he said. “I have lived my entire life in this area, so I know the tales that abound. Blood feuds are always the worst.”

“What else have you heard?”

“That this is a battle that has been going on for the past two years,” Thane said. “Quite bitter, from what I’m told. Truthfully, I’m surprised it has taken Torridon this long to seek our assistance.”

“Anything else?”

Thane grinned. “Only that the most beautiful woman in all of Scotland resides at Torridon.”

Andrew cocked an eyebrow in mock interest. “I wonder if she is the one who has sent the missive?” he said. “Lady Josephine? Someone told me that the earl and his son died two years ago, leaving only women. Call me foolish, but this job has my curiosity.”

Thane looked at him quizzically. “Me, too,” he said. “I would like to know who is in command of Torridon.”

Andrew looked off towards the camp. “That,” he said steadily, “is a very good question, one I am sure we will quickly find the answer to.”

Thane thought so, too. But he wondered if the answer was to be a complicated one. It seemed to him that if two women were the heiresses, then it must, indeed, be complicated. Women always were.

Within the hour, the army of The Red Fury had pulled up stakes and headed north towards the mighty bastion of Torridon Castle. With the promise of compensation on the line, the men were all eager to move, and this was all about the money.

In the minds of the mercenaries, there could be nothing else.

Blood feud be damned. What the mercenaries did, they did for profit.