“He never would have agreed to come. He despises ye, lad.”
“Many people do,” Iain said wearily. “What about you, Graham? What do you think of me?”
Graham shrugged. “Just because I agree that this feud needs to end does no’ mean I agree with everything that comes out of that gob of yers.”
Iain grinned. He liked and admired Graham, a once-in-a-lifetime chief whom others looked up to and tried to emulate. Graham was fair and honest, and if he was your ally, then you were lucky. “All I want is to speak to some chiefs and see if they are amenable to maybe talking to the English about negotiating peace. Just like this meeting.”
Graham eyed him with a skeptical eye. “And ye think they’ll be open to this? Ye’re mad, Campbell.”
“I didn’t say they had to agree with me. Just listen to me. Your support would go a long way.”
Graham seemed to consider, and Iain’s heart beat a little faster. Could he convince Graham that working with the English would help Scotland in the long run?
“Who told ye that the English want to take our weapons and disband our clans?”
Iain hesitated, not wanting to reveal all of his sources for fear it would get back to him, but this was a pivotal moment, and he couldn’t hold back or Graham would not trust him. “Captain Palmer.”
Graham screwed his lips to the side and seemed to think about it. “I’ll no’ say aye or nay right now, but I will say Sutherland speaks highly of ye, and that gives me pause to think on it.”
Iain let go the breath he’d been holding. It was more than he’d hoped for and less than he needed, but he’d take it for now. Knowing not to push too far, he said, “What reason did ye give MacGregor for this gathering?”
“That I needed to meet with him to discuss something important.”
“That’s a wee bit vague. And what do you think he’s going to do when he sees me here?”
“Getting him here is half the battle. Getting him to listen will be the other half.”
Iain rubbed his forehead when, really, he wanted to pound it in frustration. “I’ll have to trust you in this, Graham.”
Graham just shrugged. “We shall see how it goes.”
The housekeeper knocked and opened the door to announce Wallace MacGregor. Iain steeled himself for the battle that was about to come.
MacGregor stepped inside and came to a stop when he spotted Iain. “What the hell is this?” he exploded.
“Welcome,” Graham said as he came forward to meet MacGregor. Apparently too surprised to protest, MacGregor allowed himself to be pulled farther into the room.
Adair, Rory Graham, and MacGregor’s second in command, Tavis, stepped into the room and shut the door. Rory planted himself in front of the door and crossed his arms. Adair positioned himself on one side of the room and Tavis on the other side.
MacGregor glared at Iain, then at Graham. “What nonsense is this?”
Iain tensed. Once weapons were drawn, nothing would be accomplished, and any chance of peace between the Campbells and MacGregors would be gone.
“Campbell wanted to meet with ye, and I knew ye would never agree if ye knew ahead of time,” Graham said.
“Of course I wouldn’t have agreed! The man is anijit,and I will no’ give him any of my time.” MacLean spun around to walk out the door, saw Rory glowering at him, and paused.
“Be reasonable, Wallace,” Graham said as he took a seat. “The two of ye need to come to terms. This ridiculous feud needs to end.”
“The hell it does.” But MacGregor’s voice had lost some of its heat. It had been a long time since Campbell had faced MacGregor, and he appeared older, more tired, weary. However, Iain refused to be fooled by the man’s appearance. His hatred was just as sharp and dangerous as ever.
“All Campbells are murderers!” the man suddenly bellowed.
“Don’t be a fool, MacGregor. Sit down.” Graham indicated a chair opposite him.
“Nay. I’ll be leaving.”
“Ye’ll no’ be leaving.”
