Page 20 of The Bells of Triumph (Highlands’ Lost Valley #3)

19

FORGED IN FRACTURE

F inn kept to the corner of the Great Hall with his chin tucked, hiding behind a half empty mug of ale. The last time he had been in a room this size with Seamus, things hadn't gone well. He wasn't looking for a repeat. Instead, he found himself more than content to stick to the shadows and watch the rest of the room.

Brid had left his side almost as soon as she had dismounted. Her head had been on a constant swivel, searching the crowds for someone. He wasn't surprised it was taking her this long to find whoever it was she wanted. The Great Hall was bursting at the seams with soldiers and rebels and people from the village wanting to join in the celebrations, waiting to hear what Seamus would say as his first act as laird. Finn was just as curious, though he wasn't willing to show it.

He kept his eyes on Brid, watching as she elbowed her way to the front where Errik and Liam stood with Flora, Seamus, and Connor. The closer she got, the more frantic her moves were. She started calling something, but he couldn't tell what over the sound of the crowd. The group of five turned her way, but it was Connor who moved. Finally managing to get free from the rest of the crowd, Brid sprinted the rest of the way, nearly slamming into Connor. To Finn's surprise, Connor ran just as fast with his arms out. As soon as she was in reach, he pulled her into his arms, lifted her up, and spun her around the room.

“She is in love,” Iona said, her words echoing his thoughts.

“Why does she act as though she has nae seen him for some time? I thought they were in the village together,” Finn asked, his eyes still on the reunion.

“I heard that Connor snuck into the castle before the battle and convinced nearly half of the remaining guards nae to fight against Seamus. He is the reason so few of our own men were wounded. I dinnae think she has seen him for several days. And they both would have kent just how dangerous his mission was. It is hard nae to be overcome with emotion under those circumstances.”

Finn grunted in reply. It seemed as though every time he spoke with Iona, she pushed him to better. She made him want to be better. Chief Rolland used to do the same thing, but this was different. With the Chief, Finn wanted to make him proud. With Iona, Finn wanted…well, he wasn't sure what he wanted yet.

As it was, Finn wasn't having any thoughts of being a better man. He was having more trouble keeping his thoughts tamed. He hadn't wanted to admit it to anyone, but his reasoning for wanting to avoid this gathering had less to do with Seamus than anyone thought. He had been in this room before, in these walls, and none of his memories of this place were good. The skin on his back tingled as he recalled the feeling of Campbell's whip across it. He and the other captured rebels had been brought in for the evening entertainment the first night they were in the castle.

“They think they are all such great fighters,” Campbell had called with a mouthful of food. “Well, let's get them a sword and see them fight.”

With their hands still tied, Campbell had done just that. He put them up one by one against three of his greatest warriors. Finn could still hear the way Campbell laughed with glee as his men ruthlessly beat the rebels. Finn managed to last a little too long for Campbell's liking. He had even disarmed one of Campbell's men. That was what had earned him a whipping.

He could still feel the way his legs dragged on the stone floor as the other two rebels carried him out of the Great Hall and down towards the dungeons. Finn would have sooner burned the entire castle to the ground than step foot inside of it again. But how could he tell Iona that? She had lived imprisoned in her own home, her grandfather's castle, her entire life, yet she was strong enough to endure. So he had to be, too. Of course, the flask of whiskey he had downed in the courtyard helped soothe his nerves. And with the mug of ale he was nursing, he could almost forget about it all. Almost.

“I think it is starting,” Iona whispered as Seamus moved to stand at the front of the room.

As Seamus took his place, standing on the dais in front of the set of chairs, the rest of the Great Hall grew still. Even in their drunken stupor, everyone who had come to celebrate understood that this moment was what they were all waiting for. Seamus swallowed hard and then addressed them all.

“Today has been a day I could have never predicted. We have all awaited today's victory for so long that I can hardly believe it is true. As of this afternoon, we have won back the Murray Clan.”

The crowd erupted, cheering and dancing and throwing hats into the air. But Finn watched Seamus, noting the complete lack of celebration or pride in the man's face. So when Seamus put up his hand to silence the crowd once more, Finn wasn't surprised.

“Aye, this is a monumental victory. But there is more ye must hear.” He paused, and it felt as though the entire room stopped breathing. “Our enemy remains. Campbell is nae dead.”

This time, the crowd erupted again, though for entirely different reasons. They shouted and gasped, asking themselves how such a thing could be true. Even Iona let out a sharp breath of surprise. Finn didn't want to believe it, but he knew just how tricky and slippery Campbell was.

“How could this happen?”

“Why did ye let him get away?”

One by one, the rebels started hurling accusations at Seamus. And just as Finn knew he would, Seamus stood there and took them all without saying anything. But he could see Flora flinch every time.

“Campbell must have discovered our plans to attack. Or, at the verra least, he anticipated them.”

“What are ye saying?” someone shouted across the room at Seamus.

He took in a deep breath, his eyes guarded.

“I am saying that he escaped the castle long before we got here. He had to have left days ago.”

“So there is nay chance of catching up to him.”

“Do we ken where he went?”

“Where is he going?”

“What about the rest of the clan?”

The entire room descended into chaos that had nothing to do with celebrating their victory. It was starting to look more and more like sheer panic. Seamus raised his hand, trying to regain control over the room, but it did nothing. He tried to call out over the nearly rioting crowd, but they couldn't hear him.

“This war is nae over! We have only set ourselves up to be attacked all over again.”

“Campbell is going to come back and kill us all.”

“He cannae be allowed to live! How could he be allowed to live!”

This time, Errik and Liam stepped up to Seamus' sides. They, too, called order into the crowd, but it did nothing. Seamus had lost all control of the situation. Finally, Errik let out a bellow that made Finn's ears ring. It hushed the crowd long enough for Seamus to start answering some of their questions.

“We dinnae ken where Campbell has gone but?—”

“Then what do ye ken?” an accusatory voice cried out.

“I ken that we will find him. I ken that I will stop at nothing to protect ye from him. He will nae regain control of this clan ever again.”

“And we are supposed to believe ye?”

“Yer father vowed to protect us too. Look how well that turned out.”

“How do ye ken that Seamus is nae on Campbell's side? Campbell all but raised Seamus!”

“Och, nay,” Iona whispered. “They are turning on him.”

Finn looked over at her, his brows furrowed.

“It is one thing to be put out by the outcome of today's battle,” she explained. “It is another thing entirely for them to begin questioning his authority. If something does nae change and soon, they might try to oust him.”

“I have never been on Campbell's side,” Seamus argued. “I have always fought for ye.”

With each minute that passed, Seamus grew more uneasy. Finn could see just how unsettled and unsure he was. Even Errik and Liam looked worried. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen them worried. He didn't know if he had ever seen them like this before. And though Flora kept her back to him, he could see it in the way she held her shoulders, tight and up to her ears, that she was just as unsettled. Finn looked over at Brid who now stood in front of Connor with his arms protectively blocking her from the crowd.

“Someone has to do something,” he told Iona, feeling a little desperate himself.

“Aye.”

He looked back at Seamus, watching as he tried to fend off the same questions Finn had asked once upon a time. From the day Finn had met Seamus, he had been suspicious of the man. He had convinced Rolland that Seamus was a spy for Campbell, that he couldn't be trusted. He had convinced himself that Seamus had tricked Flora into believing his ruse too. And when Seamus had appeared at the castle, Finn had been so sure that Seamus was there to betray them all. Finn had demanded answers about Seamus' past and present and future, just as the crowd was doing now. He had been just as irate, just as suspicious.

At some point, Finn's doubts of Seamus had turned into hatred. Seamus represented everything that had gone wrong in Finn's life; from losing his parents to losing Flora to losing Chief Rolland. But somehow, Iona had managed to get him to question what he thought he knew about it all.

“Was she ever truly yers in the first place, then?”

The simple question she had asked in the Glenkirk Castle courtyard had stuck in his head all day. And the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that he had been completely and utterly wrong. Seamus wasn't responsible for his parent's death, Campbell was. And while Flora might have fallen in love with Seamus, Finn had always known that things weren't right between them. They butted heads too often for it to have ever worked in the long run. And it wasn't Seamus who staged a surprise attack on the Lost Valley. He doubted that Campbell had even been able to follow Seamus back to them. The only one responsible for Rolland's death was the man who had put a sword through his chest: Campbell.

As the crowd grew angrier with Seamus, Finn found his anger dissolving. All that was left in its place was guilt.

“Stay here,” Finn ordered Iona, “and if anything happens, escape through the servants quarters. They're down the hall, to the left. The last door on the right.”

“Where are ye?—”

Her question faded into the noise of the crowd as Finn pushed through to the front. As he waded through, he noticed the volume in the room starting to fade. A few steps in and he no longer had to push people out of the way, they almost seemed to part for him. Their attention shifted from Seamus trying to fend off questions to watching Finn walk forward. Finn had never bothered to hide his disdain for Seamus and with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword and the other on the dagger on his hip, he knew what it looked like.

When he was only a few feet away and the majority of the crowd was behind him, he caught Errik and Liam's attention. They stopped trying to quiet anyone down and moved, in unison, to stand closer to Seamus. He tried not to take offense that they would defend Seamus over Finn, but Finn knew his own actions had left them with little choice. He hoped that his plan would change everything.

“Seamus,” Finn called out, letting his voice ring in the now silent hall.

Over his shoulder, Finn could feel Flora tense, along with Brid and Connor, the latter of whom had moved to stand in front of both of the women. Finn took his last step forward and released his grip on his weapons, opting to let them hang loosely by his sides instead.

“What can I do for ye, Finn?” Seamus asked cautiously.

Finn couldn't help but be taken aback by Seamus' response. In the midst of a near riot, after being approached by the man who had never supported him, Seamus didn't turn Finn away but rather gave him an offer to help.

“It is nae what ye can do for me. But there is something I must do for ye.” Finn cleared his throat and shifted his weight on his feet. “I must apologize and ask for yer forgiveness.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want ye to ken how sorry I am.”

“For what?”

The simple question was an honest one.

“There is much I have to atone for, but I will start by saying that I, more than anyone else here, have been manipulated by Campbell. For years, he has played the long game, making the entire clan believe that ye were on his side. And when ye came to the Lost Valley, I refused to hear otherwise. Even when ye proved yer character time and time again, I did nae allow myself to see it.”

“Finn…”

“Please, let me finish.” Seamus nodded and kept quiet, as did the rest of the room. “I divided the rebel efforts, publicly questioning yer ability to lead, so I must make amends publicly. I am ashamed to admit that while I questioned yer ability to lead, I never stopped to question my own. I was so caught up in the lie Campbell told us all about ye that I was ready to do anything to stop him, except trust ye.”

Finn then turned to the full room still standing behind him. He could feel Brid's eyes drilling into him, but he couldn't look at her. His guilt wouldn't let him.

“I was so entirely enthralled in trying to best Seamus that I did nae stop to consider the consequences of my actions. My plan was to siege Murray Village. I wanted to starve the town so that those still alive would riot against Campbell. I wanted to trick ye into joining the rebellion, rather than seeing ye as a group of suffering people who needed protecting. I can only thank God that Seamus did nae listen to me. Otherwise, an entire village would have starved to fight a tyrant who was nae even here.”

The looks of shock on the faces of those staring back at him would haunt Finn forever, he knew. His own devious plan would haunt him just the same.

“Seamus,” he continued, turning back around, “I am sorry for dividing the rebels, for going against ye every chance I was given. I am sorry that I did nae trust ye when ye have shown yerself to have the highest level of integrity out of all of us. Please forgive me.”

Seamus nodded again, his face softening.

“Ye may nae have killed Campbell yet, but because of yer level head, ye managed to thwart Campbell's attempt to turn us all against ye. If ye will have me, it would be an honor to serve at yer side as we conquer Campbell once and for all.”

Just as the air in the room had shifted so quickly against Seamus, things changed again having heard Finn's declaration. They all knew that Finn had been so wholeheartedly against Seamus, that to say any of this was no small thing. And when Seamus stepped forward and off the dais to extend a handshake, Finn knew that he had managed to begin to repay the debt he owed to the man.