Medieval Ever After (95 page)

“Close. He has asked me to serve him in a way that would take me to the Lowlands,” Daniel replied, pleased with the lad’s sharp perception.

“The Lowlands?” Will wrinkled his nose in distaste, and this time, Daniel couldn’t quite stop the smile that itched at the corners of his mouth.

“Aye. I am to take charge of Loch Doon, King Robert’s family keep.”

Will’s eyes rounded. “King Robert is personally asking you to oversee his castle? Just you?”

“Aye, he is. It is a great honor, so I must obey the King’s command with all haste.”

Though Daniel gave no hint with either his voice or his features that he was stretching the truth, Will’s eyes went from rounded wonder to narrowed suspicion.

“Then why did the King send you so many letters? Why have they been coming for months?”

“Good, lad,” Daniel replied with a wry smile. “I have been delaying, in part because I wanted to make sure I am doing my duty to both you and your father. I made a commitment to see that you were properly trained, and I can’t very well break my word.”

Will nodded soberly. At least Daniel could be sure that his lessons about honor, duty, and the importance of keeping one’s word would stick with the lad.

Daniel sighed and let his eyes take in the young man in front of him. He still thought of his little cousin as a boy. Daniel had been here at his uncle William’s keep for almost ten years. That realization struck him. He had only been a few years older than young Will was now when he left his family back at Roslin Castle to help run his uncle’s keep and train his cousin.

It had been hard to give up his youthful adventures and freedom, especially when it meant leaving Robert and Garrick, his two older brothers, and his cousin Burke, who was like a third brother to him. But when his uncle William had unexpectedly fallen from a horse, rendering him nearly completely invalid, he knew it was his duty to look after his uncle and young cousin.

Will had barely understood why he could no longer play with his father, and why his distant cousin was now not only running the keep, but training him in the responsibilities of leadership as well.

But that was almost ten years ago, Daniel reminded himself. Will was no longer a wide-eyed little boy. In fact, just in the last year, Will had grown nearly a foot. Of course, the rest of him hadn’t quite caught up yet. He was thin and uncoordinated, but he showed promise with the sword, and his mind was sharper than his blade. Though part of him didn’t want to admit it, Daniel was actually confident in Will’s ability to take over running the keep in his father’s stead.

“Perhaps I have fulfilled my commitment to train you already,” Daniel said quietly.

A look of panic crossed Will’s still-smooth face. “I’m not ready to be in charge.”

“You’ll never feel fully ready, lad,” Daniel said, tousling Will’s blond curls. “But every man must step out on his own one day.”

Hell, he made it sound easy and noble, even while he was dodging his King’s orders.

Will’s eyes drifted to the fire, and a somber silence settled between them. But then Will jerked his head back up and shot a sharp look at Daniel.

“You said
part
of the reason you were delaying was because of your commitment to train me. What is the other part of the reason?”

Daniel cracked a smile. The lad would be a truly great strategist one day. “I will also be married,” he said simply.

“Married?”

Daniel erupted in laughter at the look of horror that contorted Will’s face.

“Aye, married. It suits the King’s plans, so I must follow his command.”

Daniel suspected that Will was only just starting to awaken to the draw of the opposite sex, so to tease him, he added, “One day you may find the idea of marriage slightly less repugnant, lad. Perhaps with someone like Sarah, the pretty blonde serving lass your eyes seem to follow?”

Will turned deep red and averted his eyes to the fire, which brought another hearty laugh from Daniel.

“So, you have now assessed the new situation. What is your plan?” Daniel said once Will’s color began to return to normal.

“I suppose I shall have to run the keep myself—with Father’s advisement, of course,” Will replied matter-of-factly.

Daniel smiled inwardly. “Good. And what will that entail?”

Though he trusted in Will’s sharp mind and the lessons he had bestowed on the lad, he wanted to be sure that he could leave with confidence that he wasn’t abandoning his family unprepared.

“The men and I will keep up our training in the mornings. I’ll consult with Father about the disputes that arise from the villagers and farmers, as you have done with him. Margaret can continue to run the household affairs until…”

“Until you are married,” Daniel interjected with a wicked grin.

“Aye, until that day.” Already, Will sounded calmer about the thought. “And what is
your
new plan, Uncle Danny?”

Daniel sighed. “I’ll speak to your father tonight about these developments. Then I’ll leave on the morrow for the Lowlands.”

Will’s face fell ever so slightly. “So soon?”

“As you have so astutely noticed, lad, I am already overdue in following the King’s orders. Storm or no, I’ll make haste to the south to face my responsibility.”

“Alone? Shouldn’t you take some of the men-at-arms, or at least a small retinue?”

“Nay, I’ll not deprive you of your men.”

Just as was Daniel’s intention, Will’s chest puffed slightly at the mention of
his
men.

“Besides, I won’t need them,” Daniel went on. If he was worthy of being hand-selected by Robert the Bruce to take charge of Loch Doon, bring an errant Laird to heel, secure a shaky alliance with an arranged marriage, and lay the foundation for a siege against their enemies, Daniel didn’t need an army, or even a dozen men.

Brute force was never enough. Daniel had learned that the hard way, over and over, as the youngest of three brothers. He had never been big enough or strong enough to match them, so he had learned to develop his force of will, determination, and unbending stubbornness instead. Though he was often on the bloody side of his scuffles with his brothers and older cousin, they had learned to respect his unerring willpower and grit. He would just have to apply that fortitude to Loch Doon, Laird Gilbert Kennedy, and even this unwanted Lowland bride of his.

“So, now all that’s left is…to not look back.” Though Will raised his chin and met Daniel’s eyes, Daniel didn’t miss the sadness in the lad’s voice.

“When we are thrown into a new situation, we can’t keep living as if nothing has changed,” Daniel said quietly, “but that doesn’t mean we forget or abandon what is most important.”

Without warning, Will launched himself into Daniel’s chest, wrapping his arms around him in a fierce hug. For all that Will had grown and learned in the last ten years, he was still the same boy Daniel had hugged for the first time not long after William’s terrible fall.

“You can write to me whenever you like,” Daniel said softly. Then, disentangling himself, he gave the boy a serious look. “And I expect you to keep things running smoothly here. The keep is your responsibility now.”

Will nodded bravely, assuming the expression of a serious leader as if he were donning a cloak. Soon enough, Daniel thought with a mixture of sadness and pride, the boy would be a man, and he would no longer have to act like a leader—he would simply be one.

The following morning, a gray dawn broke. The snow had abated somewhat, but flurries still swirled around Daniel as he swung into the saddle and spurred his horse through the open gates. He knew that Will gazed down at him from his father’s window, but Daniel didn’t look up. They had said their goodbyes already, and despite his longing to stay with his uncle and young cousin, he had to face his responsibility to the Bruce.

Fresh snow blanketed everything, but he was familiar enough with the landscape to know his route. He guided his horse southwest to face the duty that awaited him. There was no more time for hesitation or delay. He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and set his mouth in a grim line, willing himself to meet his fate.

HIGHLANDER’S RECKONING

CHAPTER TWO

“Today! Today is
the day!”

Rona jumped as her chamber door flew open and banged against the wall. Her father hadn’t even bothered to knock in his agitated state.

“What is today, Father?” she said as he strode to the side of her bed, where she was stuffing her feet into her boots.

His eyes quickly scanned her simple wool dress of earthy green, her thick winter hose, and the worn leather boots she was lacing up.

“No, this will never do,” he muttered, a frown on his face. “Agnes!” he bellowed out the open door.

“Father,” she said, taking the stern tone she often used with him. “Explain yourself. What is today, and why won’t my appearance do? Do for what?”

His eyes focused on her, as if seeing her for the first time. “Today your husband arrives!”

Rona’s chest squeezed and at the same time, her stomach fell to the floor.

Her
husband
. What a strange and intimate word to use for someone she’d never met. She had known for months that she’d been promised to some Highland barbarian by Robert the Bruce, the self-appointed King of Scotland. The longer she went without word of the stranger’s arrival, though, the less real it all seemed.

Initially, it had been a horrible shock to learn of the King’s plans for her. Of course, she expected to marry and was prepared for an arrangement based on political maneuvering rather than love. But she had always assumed that her father would be the one to arrange her marriage, which meant that she would have a heavy hand in its planning. She had learned from an early age that her father loathed conflict. With the right application of her strong will and quick temper, she always expected to have at least some say in whom she married.

But then word had come from Robert the Bruce this past fall that he was taking Loch Doon away from her family and giving her in marriage to some Highlander. Of course, Loch Doon was the Bruce’s to give or take—it was his family’s keep, after all. The Bruce, alongside his father, had built the castle by hand more than a decade ago.

That thought never ceased to amaze Rona, considering the fact that the castle was built on a small island in the middle of a loch. They had rowed every stone that now surrounded her onto the island. Then they’d painstakingly built the imposing eleven-sided curtain wall that protected the tower keep and the other structures within the castle.

Aye, the Bruce had every right to Loch Doon. He had seen fit to place her father, the Laird of the Kennedy clan, in charge of the castle while he was away fighting for independence, and now he had chosen to give it to some third son of the Sinclair clan. But what right did the Bruce have to give
her
to that Highlander?

Just then, Agnes, huffing and red-faced, burst into her chamber.

“Aye, Laird?” the aged nursemaid puffed in response to Rona’s father’s bellow.

“Daniel Sinclair arrives today. He rides toward Loch Doon village as we speak. He sent a messenger ahead, but he could be here shortly. Rona needs to be prepared.”