Alana gazed past her. Some campfires were lit, cook pots hanging over them. Bruce’s tent was in the camp’s precise midpoint, surrounded by a sea of hide tents, his yellow-and-red banner flying above it in the gathering dusk. “I must speak with the king,” she said.
Meg started. “He is with his commanders, my lady. Ye cannot interrupt.”
No, she could hardly interrupt. And then she saw a group of men leaving Bruce’s tent. Iain was with them. She trembled with nervous anticipation.
He saw her and quickened his stride. Alana waited for him to cross the camp, not moving until he had reached her. “Is something amiss?” he asked immediately.
“Iain, when can I speak with the king—about my reward?”
It was a moment before he spoke. “Ye wish to press him for Brodie?”
She had a flashing image of herself as mistress of Brodie—receiving Alice and Iain there. “Yes.”
“Let us go. Bruce is in a cheerful mood. If he will see ye now, this would be a good time.” He took her arm.
Alana glanced at him as they walked toward Bruce’s tent. “You approve?”
He smiled slightly. “Brodie belonged to yer mother. I approve.”
Alana faltered. His smile was warm and she realized he genuinely wished for her to have Brodie.
“Why are ye surprised, Alana?”
“Sometimes,” she said carefully, “I feel as if you truly care for me.”
He gave her a quick, odd look.
Two soldiers stood guard outside Bruce’s tent. They moved aside for Iain without hesitation. Becoming terribly nervous, Alana waited outside as Iain went in. She ignored the two soldiers, who glanced curiously at her with some guarded male appraisal. She was accustomed to being regarded with fascination and fear, but no one in Bruce’s camp knew of her abilities. She was being looked at as an ordinary woman.
It was so pleasant.
Iain opened the flap and gestured. Alana summoned up her courage, and hurried inside.
Bruce sat with two other knights at a small table, drinking wine. He smiled widely at her. “I always have time for a beautiful woman, Mistress Alana,” he said.
Alana curtsied. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
He gestured for her to take a seat; the table was flanked with two benches, as well as his chair and a stool. Alana took the stool. Iain stood behind her, and Bruce handed her a cup of wine. “This is Gilbert Hay and Sir Robert Boyd,” he told her. “Two of my most loyal friends.”
Alana nodded at the men. Their stares were direct and very intent. But then, they knew she was Buchan’s niece.
“Are you feeling better today?” Bruce asked. “We worried about you, mistress, having to travel in the cold after your recent ordeal.”
“It seemed warmer today,” Alana said.
“It is always warmer when one travels south,” Bruce said. He drained his wine and set the mug down. “Iain tells me you have come to request your reward.”
Alana was grateful Iain had spoken so forthrightly. “Will it displease you, Your Grace, that I am so bold?”
“Nothing you do right now could displease me, mistress. You are high in my favor. Speak your mind.”
There would never be a better moment, she thought. “Brodie is all I have left of my mother and the great le Latimer family,” she said. “Your Grace, my father abandoned me before I was born. He was betrothed to Joan le Latimer even as he pursued and won my mother. He told me himself, recently, that he loved my mother, but could not go against his father, and did not even think of doing so. His wife, Joan, knew of me from the beginning, and because she had no kindness in her heart, I was abandoned, forgotten.... I was raised as a commoner by Lady Fitzhugh, and given over to Duncan of Frendraught as his ward. I have had nothing from my father my entire life, and I have had nothing of my mother’s or her family’s, either. But I covet Brodie. I covet Brodie with my entire being, my entire heart. Had my father cast off Joan and married my mother, Brodie would be mine.” Bruce was listening intently—everyone was—and his expression was hard to read. “Duncan has many estates. Godfrey will inherit all of them, as he is an only son. I am asking you for Brodie Castle.”
Bruce poured a cup of wine and stood. He held it up. “I do not think you are asking for too much. It is a small stronghold with little significance, except as an outpost for Elgin and Nairn, once they are rebuilt. And I have given Nairn to Iain. So aye, Mistress Alana, I will give you Brodie, for your courage and loyalty, because you are our true friend.” He saluted her with his cup and drank.
Alana began to shake uncontrollably. He would give her Brodie, just like that?
Brodie was going to be hers!
