regshoe

These chapters absolutely wrung my heart. (Wring? They still do, no matter how many times I reread them.) From Ewen's anguished 'Judas' to the ardent handholding to the heightened emotion that never crosses the line into sentimental stodge... I love this bit. I like how very early on Broster mentions that Keith is a fundamentally passionate and impulsive, and here we get to see him in all his glory, being both passionate and impulsive, even if he doesn't understand on what is driving him to such extremes. For a military man who has likely been with the army since he was sixteen (when he would have been an ensign, I assume), and who has held a commission since the age of eighteen or nineteen, he seems very willing to throw that away for the sake of his honour and Ewen, even going so far as to insult a commanding officer and put himself in danger of court martial, the one thing that any self-respecting army officer should fear. And yet he still can't pin down just why he's doing this, and in fact tries to distance himself from whatever feelings he may have by thinking Ewen would've been better off dead on a mountainside. Oh Keith. What a numpty.

Poor Ewen. Between being left in the hands of Guthrie to being left in the hands of Greening, he's had an awful week, and I wonder how much of his broken-ness comes as much from his believed betrayal of Lochiel as much as his (perceived) betrayal by Keith. For one bright moment his faith in humanity that had been sorely tested these last few weeks had been restored, only for that fragile faith to be dashed to pieces by someone's lie. I find Ewen at the end of his tether to be quite fascinating: with his gentle spirit broken he will lash out at Keith but he is never cruel in the way that some might be in such a circumstance. He's snide and sharp, but he doesn't really attack Keith on a personal level, more on what he's done, which speaks greatly to his character. And Keith, doing all that he can to prove himself to Ewen! Their reunion, though brief, is so tender and sweet, and I love how quickly they move past their upset to focus on each other again. Ugh, these two.