Cormac banged his palm down on the table.
‘So, your rival for this girl’s affections is the son of one of the most powerful men in Scotland. The MacGregor’s are ruthless in their pursuit of power and led by a man whose conniving is only surpassed by his cruelty.’
Lyall was silent under his brother’s glare.
‘You will know that Banan’s father has the King’s ear? Old MacGregor whispers of plots and rebellions constantly, and the King listens.’
‘Then, the King is a fool to do it.’
‘No, he is wise to do it. His rule is still uncertain until it is recognised by Rome.’
‘I stopped at Farne Abbey on the way here and saw Abbot Aifric. The Pope still refuses to acknowledge Robert as King in Scotland,’ said Lyall.
‘Well, until he does, Robert is afraid for his future and, while he is afraid, he is capable of anything, his mind can be poisoned. What is he like, this Banan fellow?’
‘Banan is a mad dog, a raper, a butcher of innocents. He wanted to brutalize Giselle, and he could have killed her.’
‘So, this mad dog - you say that you beat him, you humiliated him before the other men, you stole the woman he desired. To make an enemy of such a man is dangerous, Lyall.’
‘He was my enemy well before this, for I detest him. Since he joined our ranks this last year, at the request of his father, he has been hostile to me, and I could tell Banan holds the Buchanan clan in no high regard. The things I have seen him do are terrible. And the things he does out of sight are, surely, even worse. Look Cormac, I did not want Giselle for a prize, but I fought for her because my gut told me to do it.’
‘Are you sure it was your gut and not some other part of you, brother?’
Lyall glowered at Cormac. ‘What the hell do you mean by that?’
‘I’ve got eyes in my head, haven’t I? Even filthy, that lass is as bonnie as any I’ve seen in a long while.’
‘Is she now?’ said Ravenna, giving her husband a hard stare. He swiftly changed the subject.
‘What about the girl?’ he said. ‘Did she come with you willingly, once you stepped in as her rescuer. Does she see you as her saviour, or her jailor, Lyall?’
‘A little of both, I would imagine. Giselle did not want to come along with me and truth be told, once I’d won the fight I did not quite know what to do with her. I would rather not have the burden of dragging her here.’
‘So why do it, you fool?’ snarled Cormac.
‘I couldn’t leave her behind without protection and no way of getting safely home. And Giselle is sweet and gentle, and she has had a sheltered life, I think. I sought to protect her that is all.’
Ravenna regarded him with a piercing gaze. ‘So Lyall,’ she said lightly, ‘is this Giselle de Villers your prisoner, or are you hers?’
‘It’s not like that,’ he replied, shifting in his chair.
His sister Morna, who had so far been silent, snorted back laughter at the other end of the table.
‘Do you have something you wish to say, Morna,’ said Lyall in exasperation at them all. He was impatient to be away and see if Giselle was alright.
‘They do say that redheads are of the Devil, and she’s English. That makes for twice the damnation, don’t you think? Will she murder us all in our beds this night?’
‘I thought you’d be on my side, Morna.’
‘Oh, I am, Lyall. I’ve missed you sorely, dear brother, for it’s so dull around here without you. I am glad you are back to scandalise us all with your English girl.’
‘If it is scandal you want, let us talk about a man we met on the road here, one who threatened us, one who knew our clan by all accounts, one who knew you, Morna.’
‘Who?’
‘A cutthroat, by the name of Willam O’Neill.’
Ravenna and Cormac exchanged glances as the colour rose in Morna’s face and spread down her neck. Her mouth hung open. Whoever this O’Neill was to his sister, Lyall had finally achieved the impossible, causing Morna to be lost for words.