She hadn't meant to seek out the help of the MacKenzie laird at all.
Standing in the middle of the dining hall, Ammi was suddenly acutely aware of the eyes staring at her. From the daring persona she had taken on earlier, the blonde suddenly felt gazes pinning her every corner. Shivering from the chill that crept into the evening Highland air, Amhuinn had trekked far from where she and Tamhas had built their residence over the past four years. Entering the MacKenzie Keep, the warm air that engulfed her was a welcome one. That, and her steadfast resolve to gain help in retrieving her brother from the clutches of the Kincaid clan.
But now, after she had announced her request to the laird, she was now very aware that she was where she did not belong. The chatter which had almost deafened her when she had entered had no fizzled down to curious murmurs from the back of the hall. Interest gazes mingled with wary looks made her shuffle uncomfortably.
As if he had noticed her discomfort, the laird addressed the hall in the booming voice Ammi remembered him using when he had stumbled across the humble abode she and Tamhas shared in neutral territory between clan lands.
Requesting them to resume their meal, Amhuinn looked up just in time to see the curly-haired laird motion at another, a dark haired man with a plaid similar to the MacKenzie laird's around his waist. The man pressed a kiss to the very obviously pregnant red-head female next to him, before running towards the laird, his eyes warier than anyone else's as he came to a stop next to the MacKenzie, who addressed her at that point. "Miss Kincai-"
"Amhuinn, please. Or Ammi." she interjected. "I do not want to be related to the brutes whose clan I was born into."
His brows furrowed, and he exchanged a curious look with the dark-haired man again before returning his attention to Ammi. "Miss Amhuinn, then. This is my first-in-command, Commander Connor Gilroy." he introduced, motioning at the male, who tilted his head towards Amhuinn. The blonde did the same, but her blue eyes never left the other's green eyes. While he was mesmerizing, it was in a dark, broody manner that Amhuinn couldn't quite appreciate. "Would you come with us? I think this discussion would take better place in a smaller room."
Amhuinn nodded, eager to escape the scrutinizing gazes of the MacKenzie clansmen. Following as the other male's exited the hall, she picked the skirts of her brown dress up, falling behind their steps as they wandered down the hallway towards the main stairwell, going up one flight of stairs and then turning down another, granite hallway. The draft in the Keep was something quite common of an ancient castle built by bricks. The construction when the castle was built was archaic, with ventilation not as good at keeping out drafts as the ones recently built were. After four years of staying with trees as your walls and the stars as your light however, Amhuinn shrugged off the shiver that ran through her bones.
The MacKenzie pushed open a door just ten feet or so down the hallway, and she entered what appeared to be a cozily kept room. It was about twenty feet or so wide and across, with sconces that lit up the area in the quickly darkening evening. Amhuinn could feel the warmth immediately embrace her with it's long fingers, and even her damp feet could feel the warmth from the carpet seeping in. Watching as the red-head laird headed straight for the drinks cupboard on the left of the entrance, positioned next to a study table, she cocked her head when he grabbed two glasses and started pouring. The first-in-command moved to their right to settle himself on a settee, whilst the laird moved towards her.
"Here, have a drink Miss Amhuinn. It musta been cold oot there." he offered a glass which was now half-filled with brandy, towards Amhuinn. Caught by surprise, the blonde blinked, but took it gratefully. Her cold fingers brushed his warm ones as she took the glass from him. At that point in time, Ammi couldn't tell if the electric that shot in her was from the touch, or from the warm way in which the MacKenzie laird gazed at her, before he asked. "So, what seems to be the problem?"
The one question made Amhuinn quickly gulp down the brandy, eyes widening when it burned down her throat. Eager to get her story and the assistance she needed however, she waved away Connor and Hammond's queries of concerned, and launched into the story of her brother.
"Tamhas has always been verreh brash in his actions, but he's my brother, and I canna leave him." Amhuinn explained, her grip tightening around the goblet Hammond had passed her. "He had said he wanted to seek out more food fer me to cure fer winter, but he never returned since he left yesterday noon."
"Do you have any idea where yer brother would've went, Miss Amhuinn?" Connor asked in turn
"Kincaid clan." Ammi replied grimly, still staring at the swirling golden liquid. She missed the look Connor and Hammond exchanged, as she went on. "When we were exiled from the clan, I had left something.... verra, verra important back there. Tamhas has been trying to get it back fer me, but he's never been successful. I'm guessing he may have returned there again, but the Kincaid's may have not let him go this time."
Watching as the blonde maiden looked obviously worried, the two friends exchanged looks again, equal parts contemplative yet concerned. Hammond had been taken by Amhuinn Kincaid back when they first met her when they had been en route back to MacKenzie clan with Connor's then soon-to-be-bride. At that point in time Amhuinn had been a fiery young lady who had no qualms scolding her brother, even though Tamhas appeared older then she was. Hammond had been amused and at the same time intrigued, how the two siblings survived on their own out there. In fact, he found himself intrigued about all that related to the blonde maiden. The circumstances that led her to be staying out in the woods, the limp that she carried, and the way her blue eyes shaded themselves from being read.
When she had entered, the first thought in his mind was, despite how bedraggled she looked, Amhuinn still had a sense of beauty upon her that acted like a punch in his gut. What caught him most off guard however, was how her blue eyes were beseeching for help. From the hardy girl who he had met in the woods a year ago, the Amhuinn Kincaid he saw now was very different. Not to mention, he adamant dislike for her previous clan. Sure, the fact that she was exiled was enough to supposedly put him on his guard, for he should be putting his clan's well first. Hammond couldn't bring himself to believe that the blonde haired girl now in his private quarters, would have done anything so bad to warrant an exile however. So what exactly had happened?
"Miss Kincaid-" Connor started.
"Amhuinn, please." she interjected again in that same adamant tone that made Hammond wonder, and at the same time stirred his senses. The blaze in her eyes made them seem icy cold, and blazing hot at the same time. Connor cleared his throat, inclining his head to apologize, before continuing.
"Miss Amhuinn, if ye would please give me and my Laird some time to discuss? Ye must be cold as well. Do allow us to offer ye oor quarters, for ye to warm up and change into some drier clothes." Connor offered. Hammond would never cease to be amazed at how much being married had changed his first-in-command from that brutish lad he had before.
Amhuinn appeared as if she was about to reject. However, when a shiver rattled her body again, she knew better then to be stubborn. Instead, she nodded. Connor headed out to summon a maid to escort Amhuinn, leaving the two of them alone for a brief period of time.
Unable to resist his curiosity, the redheaded laird looked again at the blonde maiden still staring at the swirling amber liquid, and asked, "If I may ask, Miss Amhuinn. Where did ye get yer limp from?"
She was taken aback by the direct question, and for the first time since she had insisted on getting his help, Amhuinn looked up. Almost instantly, she found her breathe taken away. In the bright lights of the dining hall, filled with chattering clansmen, smells of food and the eyes staring at them, plus her resolve in helping her brother, the blonde had not noticed exactly how enchanting the laird could be. While he looked as unkempt and as roguish as any other Highlander male she's met so far, there was a sense of gentility that surrounded Hammond MacKenzie.
In the dimmer lights in his private work quarters, despite nothing changing in his appearance, her breathe caught when she noticed him looking directly at her with his amber eyes, genuine concern in them that accompanied his question. She had to take collect her breathe for a minute before answering. "The Kincaid clan are not the most forgiving of people. I committed a crime, and they subjected me to the punishment they deem appropriate."
Her answer did not offer much, and only served to stoke Hammond's curiosity more. Before he could satiate the curiosity, Connor walked in with a young brunette maid with a smile on her face. "Miss Amhuinn, this is Fiona. She serves as my wife's maid, but she'll see to ye for the evening. I have also arranged fer a meal to be sent to yer room, which ye can partake in once ye have freshened up."
Nodding her thanks, Amhuinn walked out of the quarters. The moment she exited, Hammond teased his friend. "I should hire ye as my valet. Yer efficient lately."
"Have ye gone daft, Hammond? Ye can't dress yerself now? Don't turn into one of them dandies in London, please." Connor retorted with a laugh and a raised brow at his laird, falling into the settee again before broaching the main topic. "Ye want to help her, don't ye?" He laughed when Hammond gave a reproachful look. "Ye never have been able to turn down someone who needs help. It was why ye had fancied yerself in love with Evie's maid, Amelia."
"I was just-" Hammond tried to argue.
"Don't fash yerself. Ye had romanticized the whole idea of saving a maiden from a lifetime of servitude. Ye didn't expect her to rebuff ye with her dead husband's memory." Connor teased. Hammond shut up, and took a great swig of his brandy. The commander laughed. "I willna argue with ye, but ye have ter think of oor clan's safety first. What do ye know of the Kincaid's?"
"They live by themselves, mostly. The Kincaid's are a clan who doesna like to seek or offer help ter any other clan. Not much is known of them, save fer the fact that the previous laird, Fergus Kincaid had died without an heir. The circumstances of his wife's death was also unclear. The leadership of the clan was then passed on to his first-in-command, a Dougal MacCallan. How the new laird is like, no one knows fer they do keep to themselves."
Connor's face scrunched up at the information. From the sounds of it, the Kincaid clan was not one to be messed with. Both laird and commander knew that inciting the rage of the clan would possibly rain down problems on top of what they already have with their own set of issues. "How is oor status with the Drummond's?" Hammond asked.
"Stalemate. The laird had offered us a temporary truce, provided we do not cross into the other's lands." Connor replied.
"Do we know why the sudden change of heart?" ammond asked, suspicious now. Their rivalry with the Drummonds went as far back as the time of his great-grandfather, but if he was to be entirely honest, by now none of them think it was worth continuing a squabble over a few stolen cattle. The skirmishes would've died down had the Drummond's not caused the death of his mother, and indirectly his father as well. It was a tiring rivalry, but Hammond still harbored bitterness for the loss of both his parents.
Connor shrugged in response to Hammond's question. "No one knows. I'm guessing it's because they do feel quite bad in being the cause of your mother's death four year's ago."
Hammond's features hardened at the reminder. The day his mother died had been sorrow throughout the MacKenzie land's, and when Quinlan MacKenzie had followed Ailsa's passing in the six months after, Hammond had been devastated. From that day onward, he had made a promise to himself to be a gentle brother to Gillian, but aboveall to exact the blood taken from him by the Drummond's.
Yet he could also see the toll it was causing on his people. Right after he had brought Evie back to MacKenzie Keep and after Connor had wedded his redhead cousin, the amount of times they locked in battle had died down as the day's passed, up till today when he Connor finally told him what the Drummond's had issued.
Technically, it was a good chance for them to recoup their losses. And it being close to winter, everyone would be busy trying to ensure they had enough food stores to last them the cold days, instead of fighting.
But would they have enough left in them to help Amhuinn? In his heart of hearts, even more then just his usual desire to help, Hammond wanted to change the haunted look in her angled, almost angelic face, further enhanced by her sun-streaked blonde hair.
"We can, if it is just a infiltrate and fetch mission." Connor spoke up, as if reading his mind. Turning to face his dark headed best friend, Connor wore a smile as he continued. "I can bring my quietest men to the Kincaid land's, find out where Tamhas Kincaid is, and bring him back. It would require close to no bloodshed at all."
Hammond turned the suggestion offered by Connor in his head, weighing the pros and cons. His men, trained by Connor and himself, were skilled at both combat and dealing damage. They had a handful of them who were particularly skilled at stealth, yet if they went according to how Connor explained it, he didn't see why not. "See that none of them are led back to our lands. Do not wear our plaids when we're near their lands. We don't need more people pillaging our lands and villages."