I smiled. “Ye ought tae raise arms forme, nae taegether — ye forget yerself, ye are m’subject.”
He snarled.
I said, “I will back ye though. As long as ye are fightin’ my enemy, forme. What dost ye need?”
“Guns and men.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Guns? What dost ye mean, guns?”
He looked confused and shook his head. “Guns? I… meant… I want weapons, that’s what I meant.”
I watched him for a moment, looking for something behind his confusion, but findin’ naething asked, “I will arm ye once Colonel Quentin returns.” I watched him as a flash of recognition passed over his face. “Hae ye met Quentin? He is a black-skinned man. I am lookin’ for him.”
He shook his head but his brow was drawn down.
I added, “When ye are fightin’ king Edward, will ye be fightin’ him in the borders?”
“Aye, we will call him tae the field near Falkirk.”
“And what strategy would ye use? I canna imagine what yer plan would be, ye are but a man with a small army, Edward has a large army—”
“I would use the end-around reverse…” His voice trailed off and he looked confused.
I leaned forward. “Describe it tae me.”
“The men charge while a runnin’ back man goes around from behind, and—”
“Who taught ye this battle plan?”
“I daena ken, I thought of it on m’own.”
“I am awaitin’ my wife, Kaitlyn, she is travelin’ here, as well as my man, James Cook. Dost ye ken them?”
His brow drew down. His eyes shifted as if he were calculating.
“Does any of what I mentioned seem familiar tae ye, William Wallace?”
“Nae, I daena ken these names.”
I calculated.
I felt like he had come in contact with my wife, yet I couldna read his mind. He seemed verra confused and I could only think he was a man with a confused timeline such as mine — such as all of us.
“I will send ye a shipment of weapons verra soon.” I sent him from the room.
Tae Caillean, I asked, “What do ye think of him?”
“I think he sounds much like yerself, as if he has come from far away with ideas and words that are different from our own.”
“I was thinkin’ the same thing. I haena decided if he is a friend and I ought tae arm him, or if he is an enemy and I ought tae kill him.”
“He will be more useful alive.”
CHAPTER 37 - HAYLEY
“How the hell did we get talked into doing this?”
Fraoch said, “Quentin ought not tae, as he is a black man, if he gets in trouble he will hae tae go tae jail. Twould be dangerous for him as he has a prior record. Hammond canna, he daena ken his way around this time, and he wasna in the house. Zach is too necessary for all of us, we canna let him get in trouble. Lady Mairead offered but that is unseemly and she had a party in New York anyway, remember, she said she is ‘verra busy.’ So tis up tae me tae do it, plus m’wife, because she does everythin’ with me because she is a verra braw wife.”
