Page 144 of Laird of Smoke
In one graceful movement, he unsheathed his dagger and set it at Fergus’s throat while with his other hand, he drew Fergus’s sword and tossed it away.He turned to the two guards before Fergus even had a chance to gasp in surprise.
The guards instinctively drew their swords.
Adam shook his head.They could see he had Fergus at his mercy.One wee slip of the dagger, and the laird’s life would end.
“Traitor,” one of the guards bit out.“We should ne’er have trusted ye.”
The other quietly fumed.
“Toss your weapons away,” Adam whispered.
They only tightened their grips.
“Toss them away,” he repeated with deadly calm, “or I’ll slay your laird.”
Fergus tensed.“Drop your weapons,” he begged in a voice strangled by fear.“Do it.”
They reluctantly complied.
“Now return to the keep,” Adam murmured, “unless you want to be slaughtered by the royal guard.”
They hesitated.
“Go,” Fergus said through clenched teeth.
Adam watched them leave.When he was confident they wouldn’t return, he continued toward the king’s encampment with his hostage.
“He’ll kill me, ye know,” Fergus muttered.
Adam told him the truth.“Ye’re too valuable to kill.”
“I should have known ye were a traitor.”
He probablyshouldhave at least suspected it.Hiring mercenaries was risky.
As they drew closer, Fergus tried to bargain.“What is it ye want?Coin?Land?A title?”
“Peace,” Adam told him.“I want peace.”
He stopped near the first pavilion.Reaching into his hauberk with his free hand, he withdrew the linen square and waved it high.
Then he called out, “Your Grace, Laird Fergus of Galloway wishes to surrender.”
Fergus sputtered at that, but he dared do no more, not with a blade at his throat.
Royal guards immediately emerged from the pavilions.The king was summoned from bed to greet his adversary.
Fergus denied having surrendered.He refused to swear loyalty to Malcolm.With false bravado, he said his whole clan would rather burn inside the keep than bow before a maiden king.
Fortunately, Malcolm took the insult in stride.He could see Fergus was in his cups.He was magnanimous in return.He told Fergus none of his clansmen would be harmed, and his keep would remain intact.
Adam suspected the royal army was less than happy about that.They probably wished to fire their new trebuchet at least once.
In the end, the king was pleased.He’d won a bloodless battle.Behaved chivalrously.Lost no men.And the thorn in his side, Fergus of Galloway, had been extracted.
Indeed, Malcolm was so grateful for Adam’s help that the next morn he offered him a purse of silver for his trouble.
Adam’s first instinct was to refuse.He didn’t like the idea of blood money.
