But Magnus was betting heavily on the fact that Ambrose would never find Diantha. In his mind, she was at the safest place she could be—in a warriors’ village surrounded by one hundred of the most highly trained fighting men in all of Scotland. Magnus had not seen Ambrose or Conan since the day he left Culroy, and they’d never visited the Ludus Caledonia as far as he knew.
He kept telling himself that he had nothing to worry about, but deep down, he wondered if that was the truth. When he should have been heading back to his cottage to sleep, he found himself going back to the arena.
He would find solace and balance where he always found it—
In training.
Chapter Eleven
“Get out of the dirt, ye big ox!”
Tay was lying on his back as Magnus yelled at him. It was late morning at the Ludus Caledonia and the advanced warriors were getting in some training before the novicius took over the field. Currently, it was Tay and Magnus against Galan and Bane, who were getting in some practice as well.
As Lor sat on the side of the arena with his toddler son because his wife wasn’t feeling well, the four warriors went at it beneath the searing summer sun. Clouds of dust were kicking up as the men worked on a battle exercise that had them shackled to one another.
Magnus and Tay were shackled together, and Bane and Galan were shackled together. It was an exercise meant to teach them teamwork. While Magnus was light on his feet, Tay could be clumsy—his strength was, literally, his greatest asset and as Magnus had backed them away from Bane and Galan, Tay had tripped over his own feet.
Down he went.
Now, Magnus was forced to fight Bane and Galan by himself, using a wooden gladius that was chipping because Bane was striking at him so hard. The shield in his hand was protecting Tay as the man rolled to his knees, but Galan was too close to the scuffling and Tay was able to grab an ankle and throw the man right off his feet.
Galan went down, yanking on the chain that linked him to Bane, and Bane nearly went down as well. That was all Magnus and Tay needed to charge Bane and shove him over onto Galan.
With their opponents on the ground, Magnus and Tay stood over them and gloated.
“Tell me I’m the greatest warrior ye’ve ever seen,” Magnus demanded, gesturing to Tay. “Dunna worry about the Ox. I’m better than he is. Tell me!”
Bane sighed heavily as he rolled onto his buttocks, fumbling with the shackle he had on his left hand.
“Ye’re the most overbearing and obnoxious warrior I’ve ever seen,” he said. “But ye have a gift, Chicken. There is no denying that.”
Magnus started laughing, disengaging the pin from his shackle and letting it fall off his wrist. Lor came over from the sidelines with his towheaded son, who ran right to Bane and wanted to play with the heavy gladius. Bane let the boy have it and Nikki hugged it to his body, thrilled with the weapon. Lor shook his head at his son.
“What chance did the lad have?” he asked, a rhetorical question. “His mother trained as a warrior, his father is a trainer of men, and his grandfather is a clan chief. The lad was born with a sword in his hand. Soon enough, he’ll be out here with us.”
Nikki began to drag the sword around because it was too heavy for him to lift, but he made a valiant attempt. As Galan and Tay collected the shackles and carried them back to the servants who manned the armory, Magnus and Lor and Bane watched Nikki fight imaginary warriors.
“Is that what ye want for yer son?” Bane asked. “Do ye want the lad tae fight on the floor of the Fields of Mars?”
Lor grinned as he watched the child lug the sword around. “Why not?” he said. “What’s the difference if he fights here or in the Highlands for his clan?”
Bane looked over at him. “Will ye give him a choice?”
“I will. Will ye give yer sons the same choice?”
Bane shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “Ye know I canna. They’ll know of their clan, but it’s not a place they can ever return tae. But ye…ye can return tae the Highlands and yer wife’s clan.”
Lor’s gaze lingered on the child a moment longer before looking at Bane and Magnus. “This is my clan,” he said. “We’re all part of the same clan. Ye’re my brothers and I’d fight tae the death for ye, so that makes us family. I’m proud tae have Nikki fight for this clan. He was born here, ye know. ’Tis his home.”
Magnus was listening to the conversation, a conversation he would have ignored under normal circumstances because things like clans and families and children meant nothing to him. He agreed that the Ludus Caledonia was his clan, as Lor said, because they were more of a family to him than those of his blood who had long abandoned him.
“One doesna need tae be related by blood in order tae be family,” he said after a moment. “I’ve learned that.”
Lor and Bane looked at him. “That is true,” Lor said. “We all have our backgrounds, our families that we’ve left behind.”
Magnus looked over at them. “Ye never asked me what my background was or if I have family I’ve left behind.”
Lor and Bane continued to look at him, wondering why he should make such a statement, especially at this moment. They’d just finished training, a lighthearted but serious exercise, and were preparing to move on with their day. But this comment was unexpected, and would have been unexpected at any time because the answer to it was something that Magnus had always kept closely guarded. It seemed like an odd time to bring it up.
But Magnus evidently didn’t feel that way.
Lor finally shrugged.
“Does it matter?” he said. “If ye want us tae know, ye’ll tell us, but ye’ve made it clear that ye dunna want tae speak of yer past. We respect that.”
Magnus didn’t say anything for a moment. His gaze returned to the little boy playing in the dirt as his thoughts turned to the past he never spoke of. He’d done very well at forgetting it until he saw Lady Ayr in the apothecary’s shop.
Now, it was heavy on his mind. Speaking of it to Diantha had done something to him. It had been a cathartic moment, more than he’d realized it would be, and she had been kind and interested in his origins. She hadn’t passed judgment. Perhaps that’s what he had always been afraid of—men passing judgment.
But he had come to know Lor and Bane very well over the past several months, ever since he had been brought to the Ludus Caledonia. He knew all about their backgrounds, the tragedies and triumphs, but they knew nothing about his. They were all close friends, but he knew they could never be truly close unless they knew all about him. For the first time since knowing them, he felt like lowering his guard.
Perhaps letting friends in on his past was a good thing.
“Ye’ve not heard about me and my background, then?” he finally asked. “If ye have, ye can say so. I willna be angry.”
Lor and Bane both shook their heads. “We know ye came from Glasgow,” Lor said. “That’s all I’ve ever heard.”
Magnus was still looking at the boy as he spoke. “My father is the Duke of Kintyre and Lorne,” he said quietly. Then he turned to see their reactions. “My father is the youngest brother of the King of Scotland. James is my uncle.”
Lor and Bane were staring at him as if waiting for him to admit he was lying. But Magnus simply nodded his head.
“It is true,” he said. “I wouldna lie tae ye about such a thing. I know we spend a good deal of time playing tricks on one another, but this isna one of those times. I may be a prideful lad, but I dunna need tae lie tae my friends in order tae impress them. My father really is a duke and my uncle really is the king.”
Lor’s eyebrows lifted in astonishment. “Then what in the hell are ye doing here?” He asked the obvious. “Magnus, ye should be living in a fine house with yer own army. Ye’re of royal blood, lad.”
“I’m also a bastard,” Magnus said quietly. “My mother was a lady-in-waitin
g for the duchess, and I was raised by my mother’s family as an infant and then given over as a hostage tae my father’s cousin. That was where I spent my entire life until seven years ago when I was released. Being directionless, with a father who wouldna accept me and a mother I dinna want tae burden, I learned tae fight at the Ludus Antonine. If ye wanted tae know the truth, now ye do. When I said one doesna need tae be related by blood tae be a family, I meant it. Ye’re the only family I have.”
It was a sad statement, though Magnus wasn’t looking for pity. It was simply a fact, but it explained why Magnus was such a prideful man. He needed that reassurance that he was good enough, that he was accepted and loved for who he was. He would always be that discarded bastard, but at the Ludus Caledonia, none of that mattered. Lor and Bane immediately went to him and Lor reached out, putting a hand on Magnus’s broad shoulder.
“’Tis their loss, lad,” he said softly, warmly. “I’ll take a duke’s bastard as my brother and be the richer for it.”
Magnus smiled weakly, perhaps a little uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to such sentiment. “It seems we have something in common,” he said. “Ye told me once that yer father was a Norse king who loved yer mother. It seems we’re both royal bastards, from different paths in life.”
“And I’m a bloody peasant,” Bane snorted, breaking the spell of the warm moment as Magnus and Lor chuckled. “’Tis true! I’m no better than a weed growing out of the dirt compared tae the two of ye.”
“At least ye have yer beauteous looks,” Lor said. “Ye were able tae attract a wife with that face even if ye have nothing else tae offer her. Speaking of attracting a wife, what’s this I hear, Magnus? Ye have a woman living with ye now?”
Magnus cleared his throat as the focus swung back on him. The subject changed and he wasn’t sure he was prepared to discuss it. How could he discuss something he didn’t fully understand himself?
“Aye,” he said after a moment. “I told Clegg about her and he has given permission for her tae remain with me.”
Lor and Bane were expecting more of an answer. “And?” Lor said. “Tell us more about her. My wife says she’s Spanish.”
“She is,” Magnus said. He paused a moment before continuing. “I told ye that I was held a hostage for many years. She was a hostage also, but she escaped and came tae me for help. I couldna deny her.”
“A hostage with the same captor?” Lor asked, puzzled.
Magnus nodded. “I dinna tell Clegg any of this, so keep it tae yerself,” he said, lowering his voice. “I was the captive of Ambrose Stewart, Duke of Ayr, for many years. He kept me at Culroy Castle as insurance against my father doing anything…foolish. My father has known a contentious relationship with his brother and was constantly in a state of rebellion. Diantha was at Culroy Castle, too. Only in her case, the duke held her against her will and planned tae marry her tae his son, who is a vile excuse for a man. She escaped and has asked me tae help her earn money for passage back tae Navarre.”
Now, the story was starting to make more sense. “I see,” Lor said. “What is she doing tae earn money?”
Magnus shrugged. “She is educated,” he said. “She wants tae teach men tae read and write for a small price.”
“A teacher, is she?”
“Aye.”
“Is that what ye’re telling Clegg?”
“What do ye mean?”
Lor glanced at Bane. It was clear that they were both thinking the same thing.
“Magnus, we’ve known ye a while now,” Lor said quietly. “Every woman at the Ludus Caledonia wants a piece of ye, and now ye have a woman living in yer cottage. Ye needna lie tae us about her. If she’s warming yer bed, we’ll not judge ye.”
Magnus’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never lied tae ye,” he said. “If she was warming my bed, I’d tell ye and be proud of it, but the truth is that she’s not. She’s tending my cottage and doing what she can tae earn money. She’s…she’s not like the women I’ve known. She’s…different.”
“Different?” Bane repeated, confused. “Different how? Does she not like men?”
Magnus snorted. “I havena asked her,” he said. “But I hope she does.”
That piqued the curiosity of both Lor and Bane. The way Magnus said it led them to believe that there was some interest behind that statement.
“Is that so?” Lor asked, his eyes glimmering with mirth. “Do ye intend her tae warm yer bed after all?”
Magnus was feeling cornered. He almost pushed them away, but something stopped him. They knew how to woo a woman in a way that he didn’t. They had wives, after all. They knew something more than he did. All he’d ever done was flex his sweaty muscles and women fainted at his feet.
He didn’t want Diantha fainting at his feet.
He wanted something more.
“Not now,” he said after a moment. “What I mean tae say is mayhap I do, but honorably.”
“What does that mean?”
Magnus was starting to become exasperated because he was embarrassed to say what he was really thinking. It was difficult to put into words.
“It means just what I told ye,” he muttered, looking at the two of them. “Since when have I ever had a woman in my bed honorably? They pay the price and I permit them the honor. I suppose that makes me nothing more than a whore. I take their money, they have their way, and I’m the richer for it. I thought that was all I wanted until…”
Lor and Bane were hanging on his every word. “Until what?” Bane pressed.
Magnus sighed heavily and scratched his head. “Well…how did ye woo yer wives?” he asked. “What did ye do that told a woman that ye thought she was special above all others?”
Bane was trying very hard not to grin, but Lor wasn’t so lucky. He had a full-blown smile on his face. He patted Magnus sweetly on the side of the head.
“Marriage, my fine lad?” he said, delighted. “Do ye want tae marry this Spanish lass?”
Magnus frowned. “I dinna say marriage,” he said. “All I know is that she’s different. I’ve never met a lass like her. I dunna want tae do the wrong thing. I want her tae like me, too.”
“Then do all of the right things,” Lor said. “Say nice things. Bring her flowers. Tell her she’s lovely. Women like those things, Magnus. Not just yer sweaty muscles.”
That was all new territory for Magnus. Those were always things that other women did for him, not the other way around. “That’s all?”
Lor nodded. “Usually,” he said. “Unless ye’re Isabail and ye’d rather be gifted with a new dirk instead of jewels. My wife was more of a challenge.”
As he snorted, Bane spoke up. “Is it that ye want tae court her, Magnus? Or just be nice tae her?”
Magnus shrugged. “As I said, I dunna know,” he said. “The lass has had a difficult life. I think she needs someone tae be kind tae her.”
“And ye want tae be the one.”
“I think so.”
“Then ye need tae consider something else,” Lor interjected. “If ye want tae be nice tae her, and ye want her tae like ye, most women dunna like competition.”
Magnus looked at him curiously. “What competition?”
“The half-dozen women ye cavort with after each victorious bout,” Lor said honestly. “If ye want the Spanish lass tae warm tae ye, I suspect she willna take kindly tae that. Now, the question is—can ye give up the gangs of women for just one, Magnus?”
Magnus hadn’t really thought about it, mostly because the women after the games didn’t mean much to him other than income. That’s really all they ever were—a means to an end. But it had been their adulation and worship that he needed, too.
He wondered if one woman could supply all that he needed.
Lor and Bane were about to go in for another round of questions when Magnus discreetly waved them off because Tay and Galan were re
turning. Therefore, further interrogation on the subject of the mysterious Diantha would have to wait.
But come it would.
Chapter Twelve
Diantha wasn’t surprised when she awoke in the morning to find Magnus gone.
What did surprise her was the disappointment she felt.
It was her second day at the Ludus Caledonia, and already she felt as if she’d lived there forever. She was looking forward to seeing Isabail and Lucia, to cleaning Magnus’s cottage, and to finding her place among the warriors and women of the Ludus Caledonia. She knew she could fit in here if she tried, and she intended to try very hard.
The Ludus Caledonia wasn’t like any other living establishment, like a castle or manse, where there was a hierarchy based on blood and tradition. It seemed to her that anyone could be anything in a place like the Ludus Caledonia, which was how Magnus had been able to make himself a top warrior in spite of his past.
He’d been able to thrive with no one holding him responsible for his past.
Rising from Magnus’s bed just after sunrise, Diantha bathed quickly in cold water from the night before and with the bar of soap Lucia had given her. She dressed in the brown broadcloth that Magnus hated, but it was very serviceable for what she needed to do.
Today was going to be a great day.
Yesterday, she had cleaned as much as she could, but today she was going to do more. She was also going to ask Isabail and Lucia if they could help her find men to teach. The sooner she got to earning money, the better. The sooner she would be able to return to Navarre.
But return to what?
Thoughts of her father had been heavy on her mind. Last night, she’d even dreamed of the tall, golden walls of Santacara, wondering if it still belonged to her father. After all these years, she couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t come for her, but deep down, she suspected that she knew. Only death could keep him from her.
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