Alana did not glance at Iain. Oddly, as much as she loved Iain, she felt ashamed now. She had violated her family’s trust. “Does it matter? Godfrey, I am here to help. Robert Bruce gave Iain Nairn.”
Godfrey was shaking. “Nairn? Nairn is in ashes! And yes, it matters, Alana!”
She was holding her reins so tightly now that her mare tossed its head in protest. She relaxed her grasp. “Godfrey! King Robert has decided to take Brodie after all. I begged Iain to let me come and speak with you! I do not want to see you or the men here hurt. Please, Godfrey, he will attack and take Brodie by force, unless you surrender.”
Godfrey gaped at her.
He was shocked, more so than she had predicted. She looked at Iain. “I need to speak with him privately.”
His eyes widened. “Ye will not go in there by yerself! He will never let ye leave, and then I will not be able to attack!”
“He will not hurt me, Iain.” She faced Godfrey. “Godfrey? Can I come inside to speak with you—as your friend? I do not want anyone to die today!”
Godfrey’s face was a mask of shock, anguish and anger. He nodded.
Iain seized her shoulder. “No. Godfrey!” he shouted. “I command Nairn, and I will command Brodie, too. I will not allow Alana to go inside. Surrender Brodie and avoid great bloodshed today. Otherwise, I will attack.”
Alana did not know what to do. She felt certain if she could speak privately with Godfrey, as difficult as it would be, she could convince him to surrender.
Godfrey was shaking. “You are withhimnow? Is it true?”
Alana wet her lips and nodded. “We are lovers,” she said.
Godfrey turned red. “God! So did you ride off into the night to be with him? Is that what happened, Alana? You chose your lover over me? Over Brodie? Over yourfamily?”
“I still care about Brodie the way that you do,” she began.
“Liar!” Godfrey shouted. “You rode off to be with him after, what? One night at Nairn?” He was furious.
Alana was not going to discuss her relationship with Iain. “You know how I feel about Brodie,” she cried.
“Do I? I thought I did! I thought I knew you! The woman I knew would never hand Brodie over to the enemy!”
Iain wasn’t her enemy, yet she did not dare say so. Nor did she dare tell him the truth—that the moment he surrendered, Brodie would be hers.
“Godfrey!” Iain shouted. “I am losing my patience, and my men will attack at dawn if ye do not surrender.”
Godfrey looked wildly at Iain, with panic and fear.
“Godfrey!” Alana said. “I am begging you! Iain will attack and he will destroy Brodie if he has to. You know that is his way. He will have Brodie, even in ashes, just as he now has Nairn. So please. Surrender to him.”
Godfrey looked at his archers and suddenly every bow was drawn again, the dozens of arrows pointing at her. Alana froze as she heard Iain’s men unsheath their swords.
“Don’t fight,” Alana cried. “You are my friend! I do not want you to die!”
A terrible silence fell. The only sound to be heard was the horses blowing, their bits jangling, their saddles creaking.
Iain broke it. “My army is in the woods. I am three hundred strong. Ye have thirty-five men.”
Godfrey gave Alana a disbelieving look. She winced. He straightened and stepped back from the crenellations. He did not look at Alana now. His voice rough, he said, “Open the gates.”
* * *
ALANARUSHEDINSIDEBrodie’s great hall behind Iain and forty or fifty of his men. It was several hours later. Iain’s army now surrounded the castle, while his men were occupying the walls.
Godfrey was sitting at the table there, his hands clasped upon it, staring in a strange, almost horrified manner at the hall’s threshold. A handful of serving maids stood behind him, each one ashen and afraid. As Alana entered, she finally saw Eleanor, who came rushing toward her from the shadows.
Alana hugged her grandmother hard. “I have been so worried about you,” Eleanor said.
