Page 5 of The Scottish Bride
“But Sire, the physician forbids you to ride or hunt.”
“Get me the damned bird! I will hunt again when I feel better. See it done.”
“Aye, sire. Also, the knights you summoned are waiting outside.”
“Let them in.”
Waiting, Liam shifted his weight to his right leg, easing the ache in his left knee; imprisonment had slowed his recovery after the attack that had nearly killed him.
A door opened at the periphery of his vision. Two knights entered, chain mail chinking, one in a red surcoat emblazoned with Edward’s golden lions rampant. The other knight wore a bright blue surcoat embroidered with three golden sheaves. Liam knew that insignia too well.
Each man dropped to a knee, greeting the king, then stood as Edward conferred quietly with them. Liam clenched his jaw and watched the knight in blue—Sir Malise Comyn, the one who had taken him down, causing him to stand in chains in this room.
Tall, blond, and handsome with a deceptively angelic face, Sir Malise was first cousin to Sir John Comyn, murdered claimant to the Scottish throne. Malise had given his fealty wholly to Edward, pandering for favor, Liam remembered. After his cousin Sir John’s murder, Malise aligned himself further with Edward by demanding vengeance.
Liam knew Comyn’s arrogance and his sword arm too well. The blow to his head from the flat of the man’s sword had healed and his knee was healing too. Christopher and others were gone, deaths that should darken Malise’s soul. Yet the man did not even glance at Liam now, as if none of it mattered.
“The lady of Dalrinnie?” Comyn said. “Sir John’s widow. I know her. I can do this for you, Sire.”
“Be quiet. Stand over there.” The knights obeyed, stepping back. Despite age, Edward of England had a powerful presence, a calculating lawyer’s mind, and a petty nature that had ripened to a dogged, relentless brutality toward the Scots.
Edward turned on Liam again. “Seton! Do you agree to find this lady and fetch what she possesses?”
“I am thinking about it.” Liam shrugged.
“Ingrate,” King Edward snarled. “I ought to marry you to this old crone. That would be an unpleasant punishment, I vow.” He laughed, short and harsh.
“Sire. Your Grace. If I may,” Malise Comyn said, “I know this lady, as I said. I will do this for you. You cannot trust that man.” He jabbed a thumb toward Liam.
“I have not yet decided what you are to do, Sir Malise.”
“I implore Your Grace—”
“Silence!” Edward held up a hand. “Seton! If you are a canny Scot, and I think you are, you will renew your loyalty to the Crown. Scotland is a losing cause. Fetch this woman’s book and prove your worth again. Earn the right to command Dalrinnie.”
Liam huffed. “A book in return for a castle?”
“Or you could be dispensed with, here and now.”
Sir Malise shifted a gauntleted hand to his sword hilt. “Sire, let me help.”
Skin prickling, senses on alert, Liam felt the trap closing. Too many Scots who were lured into king’s peace seemed to provoke the king’s ire immediately afterward.
“Sir William knows Selkirk and that damnable Ettrick Forest, full of rebels. That could be invaluable.” The king peered at one of the parchment rolls on the table. “You have family in Dumfries and Selkirk?” He smiled. “A monk, an abbot, an abbess?”
Ah, there it was. Liam fisted a hand, iron chinking. His brother, his uncle, his sister—along with another brother andsome cousins, all the kin he had left. “They are dedicated to the service of God and the Church. They pose no harm to anyone.”
“Every Scot poses harm. You do know we recently captured Robert Bruce’s kinswomen.” When Liam did not answer, the king continued. “I ordered cages made for some of the Scottish ladies. One cage is still empty. The old lady of Dalrinnie would fit in it if she does not give up the thing I want.”
Locking an elderly lady in a cage was not beyond this king. Liam waited.
“You know the region. And Bruce’s plans. Get the book, bring that and news of Bruce with you, and you may enter our good graces again.”
“I know nothing of Bruce’s actions.”
“But you can find out easily enough. Especially if a certain abbey and convent were to burn,” he said, “with all inside.”
“The Church might want an explanation from you,” Liam said. “God, too.”
