When Katie arrived back, William had moved all their men into the woods.

"What news?" asked William as he swung his sister down.

"Longshanks has gone to France to press his rights there and left his sodomite of a son to fight us in his stead."

The men laughed.

William nodded and sat down. He sat still for a long time then picked up a stick and began drawing patterns slowly in the dirt.

"What are ya doing?" asked Campbell.

"Thinking," said William as he continued studying the diagrams.

"Does it hurt?" Campbell asked in awe.

Katie chuckled as she took a drink from the bottle of ale Hamish offered her.

William studied his drawings for a long moment then looked up. "What do we do when Longshanks sends his whole northern army against us? They have heavy cavalry. They'll ride right over us."

There was a long moment of silence.

"We'll make spears," said Katie quietly.

All eyes went to her.

"A hundred spears. Fourteen feet long." She looked at William. "It'll work."

"Fourteen feet long?" asked Hamish.

"Aye."

"Volunteer coming in!" shouted a sentry.

Katie didn't rise but the other men around her stood.

A small man was brought in and unblindfolded. He stared at William and looked him up and down. He was a slender, handsome man with bright green eyes. "Him?" he said in a loud voice. "That can't be William Wallace! I'm prettier than this man."

Eyebrows rose all around as the man talked to himself and then seemed to listen to some unheard voice.

William glanced down at Katie.

Her eyes where twinkling.

The man finished listening. "All right, Father, I'll ask him!" He looked at William. "If I risk my neck for you, will I get a chance to kill Englishmen?"

"Is your Poppa a ghost or do you converse with God Almighty?" asked Hamish.

"In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

Katie burst out laughing and stood to her feet. She leaned against the tree and studied him. "You are a funny one and there's no mistake!"

The man, Stephen by name, listened again. And nodded. "The Almighty says don't change the subject, just answer the fucking question."

"Insane little Irishman!" muttered Campbell.

Stephen whipped a dagger form his sleeve and put it at Campbell's throat. "Smart enough to get a dagger past your guards, old man."

Katie and William's swords rested on the Irishman's throat.

"That's my friend, Irishman," William said quietly.

"The answer is yes," said Katie with a grin. "You fight for my brother and I, you kill the English."

Stephen grinned and happily tucked away his dagger. "Excellent! Stephen is my name. I'm the most wanted man on my island. Except I'm not on my island, more's the pity."

"Aye." Hamish threw an arm around Katie's shoulders. "But you get to be with Hell's angel and Heaven's demon!"

Stephen grinned as he looked at Katie. "Now the Almighty says that is a good thing!"

Within a week, William and Katie's name was spread thick across the countryside and the stories of their two victories had grown by leaps and bounds. Even inside the palace grounds at London, the tale was told.

Isabelle and Nicolette where sitting quietly by the fire in a large sunny room where the Prince was trying on new clothes. The Princess and her handmaiden where talking quietly in French.

"When the King returns, he will bury him in those new clothes. Scotland is in chaos. But your husband is secretly sending an army north."

"How do you know this?"

"Last night I slept with a member of the War Council."

"He shouldn't be telling secrets in bed."

"Ah, oui! Englishmen do not know what a tongue is for."

Isabelle laughed quietly. "And what of Katie?"

"She is well. They say that as she rides, it looks as though her head is afire and every Englishman dreams of her nightly."

Isabelle smiled. "Methinks Robert the Bruce dreams of her more than any."

"The English are advancing an army toward Stirling!"

Katie, William and their band where waiting at the top of a small hill while the runner reported.

"Do the nobles rally?" William held his horse's head as he looked at the runner.

"Yes," said Katie. "What news of the nobles?"

"Robert the Bruce and most of the others will not commit to war. But the word has spread and Highlanders are coming down on their own, by the hundreds, by the thousands!"