Page 45 of Dark Side of the Laird
But who would—
I knew exactly who would. The same person I suspected knocked me down those stairs.
14
Logan
The lock unclicked and the door to the king’s solar banged open. Half a dozen guards, armed to the teeth, filled the small space. I bolted out of the chair I’d been brooding in, coming to stand in the center of the room, every muscle coiled, ready to pounce.
“Logan Grant, Laird of Gealach, Guardian of Scotland. Ye are hereby being held for suspicion of treason against His Majesty, King James V of Scotland and remanded to the dungeon until further investigation.”
I clamped my teeth tight in an effort to not have my jaw hang slack at the ridiculous words I’d just heard spewed. Crossing my arms over my chest, I raised a brow at the guard who’d said the words, a man I’d not seen before, though I recognized the night guard who’d challenged me standing two to the left of him.
“On what grounds?” I asked, keeping my voice as calm as I could.
“Treason,” the man repeated.
Not an accusation any man wanted to hear. A shiver of dread raced over my spine. To say I was stunned, well… I wasn’t surprised that someone had made the claim, but I was a bit shocked that James believed it. “But I’ve never been anything other than loyal to King James. What treason have I caused?”
The guard ignored me and unrolled a parchment in his hands. “Ye are stripped of your title of Guardian of Scotland. Gealach Castle will remain in the king’s trust until such time as he sees fit to return it to ye or give it to another.”
“On what grounds?” I said again, louder this time, taking my hands from my hips and fisting them at my sides, touching the tips of the blades at my wrists with my middle fingers. Thank God I had the foresight to keep my weapons on me.
“On the words of a witness.” The guard rolled up the parchment and stuffed it into the breast of his jerkin, as though he feared I’d lunge forward and rip it from his hands.
“What witness?” I pronounced the words slowly, clearly.
“If ye wish to object to these accusations, ye will be given a chance, but as it stands, ye are to come with me. Now.”
Trying to remain calm, I addressed the leader of this nefarious group of king’s guards. “I beg your pardon, good sir, but I believe ye have been misinformed. I am but the king’s humble servant and nothing more.”
“Nay, Laird Grant, there has been no miscommunication.” The man braced his stance and glared at me, an edge of fear in his eyes. “Your accuser has told me himself.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who?”
“I am not at liberty to discuss that with ye at this moment. Men,” he addressed those behind him, who walked around the head guard and toward me.
“Was it MacDonald?”
The man’s eyes shifted, and ignored me, signaling to his men once more.
I spread my legs, battle ready. “Dinna come another foot closer,” I warned. “Else ye want to kiss your arse goodbye.”
But they did not heed my warning, and so I was forced to show them exactly how foolish a move it was. I lunged forward, fist connecting with one man’s jaw before swinging in a circle and connecting my opposite fist with another face, and my foot kicking out to strike a man’s groin. I wasn’t going down without a fight. I wouldn’t stand for false accusations.
The head guard called for more men, and those who were present ripped their swords from their scabbards. With thumbs up my opposite sleeves, I unhooked my daggers and dropped them into my palms, ready for whatever they were going to bring toward me.
If I’d not known better, I might have thought I’d been mistaken for someone else or that some tremendous misunderstanding had occurred. But I knew MacDonald and his tactics. And I now grasped why James was willing to issue such an order. MacDonald would have the king thinking I was a traitor, and James had so much paranoia when it came to me, that he would allow himself to believe it because it gave him a reason to be rid of me.
Since that was undoubtedly the case, I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“Dinna be shy, lads,” I growled.
The cocky bastards grinned as I imagined an overconfident pack of wolves would at a victim of prey they’d cornered. It only spurred me on further. I loved a challenge.
I lifted my blades and took a menacing lunge forward. For a breath they backed away, realizing that they were about to sustain some serious injuries, but, as any warrior, they had to continue with their duties and so they sank back in. The guards came at me from all sides, slashing with their swords. I blocked more than half, but the others were able to slice into me.
Pain blazed from my shoulders, biceps and back but I blocked it out.
