Gehrig, Igor, meet my wife, Katherine."

Katherine's heart pounded, but their captors didn't touch her. That might've had something to do with Luag's hand being possessively around her waist.

Gehrig took Steam and climbed on, while Igor followed her and Luag, gesturing for them to follow the horse. It had all the provisions, so obviously they were going to go along peacefully. Besides, Luag had backed away and allowed the horse to be taken.

What did these men think of their erstwhile clansman? Did they scorn him? It was impossible to tell, with their stoic exteriors.

It didn't take long at all to reach the camp. Igor tied the horse with Luag’s soldiering bag up with the rest of the horses and then moved on. Katherine was glad she had her backpack. Just like PenUlt’s website said, she had all the necessities right there on her person in an emergency.

"Gae and tell Donald Luag is here and wishes tae see him," Gehrig told a boy, then turned to Luag. "Ye will pardon me for not offering ye refreshment."

Apparently this was a joke, because Luag chuckled a note.

Gehrig moved his mouth the tiniest bit toward a smile.

The three of them stood there in silence amid the busy camp with people passing by, pointedly ignoring Luag. Some of them moved their mouths the slightest as Gehrig had, but no one said anything to Luag.

He took it in stride, standing there just as stoically as Gehrig was.

Katherine was glad for his hand on her waist. Because she was with ‘the man who must na be greeted,’ no one said anything to her, either. There were no catcalls, which were what she could normally expect when entering a camp full of strange men.

Suddenly, everyone parted ways, forming a column of people to the left and the right.

Laird Donald all but strutted down the resulting aisle, his face full of fake surprise.

She half expected a fanfare to sound.

Donald stopped a few feet short of Luag, looking Katherine over with interest that was obvious to her, but perhaps not so much to Luag, which worried her a bit.

Lauren had been at this man's mercy and had told Katherine all kinds of horrors.

This man was not to be trusted. How could Luag not see that?

At least he probably wouldn't kill her. She didn’t possess what he wanted: Lauren’s druid dagger. What he likely would do to her was much less pleasant to think about. She didn't want to show weakness, but she cowered away from the man nonetheless.

This got her an amused eye from the Laird o' the Isles, but the lion's share of his attention was focused on his nephew. "After ye snuck off in the night all those years ago, I did na think tae ever be graced again with yer presence, nephew."

Well, this was Luag's chance to speak. Katherine hoped he didn't waste it.

He didn't. "Uncle, after living for years in a backward toon among those whom I had tae instruct in hand-tae-hand combat, I hae seen the error o' my ways. I hae bought my wife Katherine with me back tae ye who will be king." With this, Luag bowed his head to Donald.

The Laird gave Luag a smile of thanks, but Katherine wasn't fooled one bit.

The horse was too far away for her to run. How was she going to get Luag away so he could live long enough for Kelsey to help them?

Making a show of clinging to Luag, she whispered, “I'm gaun'ae run off. While they are distracted, ye can get away."

Luag grabbed her wrist and held it as tight as the vice grip of his legs had been earlier. He was more of a fool than she thought. Barely audible even to her, he whispered, "All will be well sae long as we show faith in Donald. Ye hae tae trust me, lass."

"Ye, I trust. 'Tis yer uncle I dinna."

Donald was still smiling at Luag in thanks, slowly walking around the two of them, looking them over. Perhaps Luag saw a doting uncle checking out the amount Luag had changed over the past ten years.

Katherine saw a man sizing them up as animals and calculating how soon they would be ready for the slaughter. She didn't want to be right. Not this time.

Donald's countenance turned cold when he had circled all the way around and come face-to-face with Luag. He held his nephew's gaze a few seconds, sternly rebuking him with only his eyes before he called out to his men, "Prepare tae hang him as a traitor," and stepped back another few feet out of the way while a bunch of highlander warriors encircled them with pikes raised high and daggers pointing at them.

Katherine grabbed onto Luag as if to embrace him for the last time as her husband before his death —all so that she could whisper with her mouth right up to his ear so no one would hear. "Ye should hae let me run."

The two of them were marched to a rope which had been slung over a tree above their own horse.

The highlanders forcefully pulled Luag away from her.

She tried to hold on, but they were too strong. They put Luag on the horse right in front of his soldiering bag as if he were going to ride off to battle, but then they put the noose over his neck.

The fool man was stoic and still all the while. He didn't fight back. He didn't lift a hand against his precious clansmen, whom he was so loyal to, that the idiotic fool didn’t mind being killed by them.

Letting her face show the anger she felt, she signed to him, "Ye had better not get me killed tae, or I wull hound ye all the way tae Hell afore I gae up tae Heaven."

The barest hint of a smile showed on Luag’s face just as Donald strode up to swat the horse into running out from under the hanging man, allowing him to drop and be strangled.

She had to admire it, such stoicism in the face of the ultimate danger. She didn't think such manliness existed in her time anymore, not that she had seen, not in civilization. Perhaps in the third world that still existed, but despite being the top salesperson for a survival company, she never intended to go to the third world. This year in 1410 Scotland had been more rustic charm than she'd need in her lifetime.

She was only the head salesperson because of her charisma and her business sense. She went after the CEOs of the huge retail companies that carried PenUlt's products. She worked in a skirt and heels every day, trying on the products for the charm of it but never actually having used them before now. She had coworkers who went out into the wilds of Latin America and survived without human contact for weeks. She'd had no intention of ever doing anything like that before she was tricked into coming here by the druid trapped in her friend Lauren's dagger.

Glad she had the survival backpack on, she reached into the pocket under her left armpit and put her hand around a strobe signal light equipped with a siren.

It would shock Donald out of slapping the horse and give her time to jump up behind Luag and remove the noose from his neck so the two of them could ride away on steam—

Donald stopped with his arm up in the air before she even had a chance to pull the strobe siren out. "Verra wull done, my faithful nephew. Even after ten years in the company o’ those lowlanders, ye held on tae yer MacDonald heritage." He took the noose off Luag's neck and helped him down from the horse, then handed him the reins, walked him over to Katherine, and left the two of them together. "’Tis wull ye hae coome back, nephew. Gehrig will show ye tae yer tent. Food will be brought tae ye, and then please join me in my tent for war council."

Luag helped Katherine up on Steam behind him, then followed Gehrig to the tent Donald had set aside for the two of them.

Katherine leaned up against Luag’s front so that she could whisper, "I dinna like this. Let us just gae."

"If ye want tae gae, ye can take the horse, but I’m staying."

"I canna take yer horse and leave ye here." She sighed. "I'm staying. I just want ye tae ken I dinna like it."

"Ye hae already made that known tae me, lass. Dinna think I wull forget."

Their camp tent was just a large plaid thrown over three low bushes. Apparently it was an honor to be awarded this much privacy, because all around her she only saw sleeping billets on the ground. In the whole camp, only a dozen such tents stood proudly.

"I suppose most o’ the men dinna bring their wives with them."

"More dae on the mainland, but not as many among us island folk." Luag dismounted and held out one hand to help her down and the other to indicate she should enter the tent first.

She crawled in. All that was inside was an extra-wide billet and an earthenware jar, for which she was grateful. She heard Luag entering behind her and rolled aside to give him room on the billet.

Luag climbed on top of her and kissed her!

It felt wonderful.

But what did he think he was doing?

And then she saw that Gehrig was watching through the entrance before it closed behind Luag and understood. She had the answer to her question. As soon as the flap closed, she pushed him off her.

He went willingly, but he sat right next to her on the billet and put his arm around her, pulling her close against him.

She let him, but she turned and gave him a look that told him he’d better have a good reason.

Their faces were inches apart, so he could whisper the tiniest bit and she heard him. "They wull come back with food, aye?"

"Aye. Sae we hae tae sit like this until then?"

"Or risk them deciding ye are na in truth my wife."

That didn't bear thinking about, so she relaxed against him, instinctively knowing tension was a giveaway for anxiety, whereas being relaxed was a sign of confidence. Confidence had won her more benefits in this world than anything else had. Even false confidence.

She whispered, "Sae are ye gaun'ae gain the confidence o’ everyone at the war council and then convince them Donald's plans are na tae be followed, or what? Ye dae hae a plan?"

He whispered right next to her ear, sending shivers across her back. "I hae been thinking that ower. I will need tae work on them in private one-on-one, rather than everyone all at once in a meeting. I dinna ken if ye noticed, but Donald rules by fear, rather than by merit. There are a few key cousins who, if I can sell them on my ideas, will withdraw from his company. I feel that's the best I can dae. It will reduce his forces significantly."

"That sounds good. Last battle, they outnumbered us five tae one, from what Lauren and Jessica were saying."

"Aye, and the lowlanders hae armor and far more horses. Those advantages are na small. 'Twas a close thing at the last battle, even with all these extra forces. My argument will be that in Aberdeen, there will be even more armored knights on horses. Donald can win, but the casualties will be even more significant. How will he hold all the territory out here west, including the islands, once he has spread his forces sae thin?"

They stopped talking when someone arrived with their food.