“For what?”
“For not judging.”
She smiles. “I have no reason to judge. All I ever want is for you to be happy. That’s worth more than a million crowns.”
Chapter Eleven
Ben
Two weeks previously
“You want to take the road from the east.”
The room is silent. Waiting. There’s more here now than Majjie and Alek, more people wanting to know all the secrets I can tell them.
“There’s always a change of shift around nine thirty. That’s when the perimeter is at its weakest. If you come from the east and take the Innis Road, the cameras won’t pick you up.”
“What about when we’re on the property?”
“There’s a huntsman’s lodge in the trees that’s disused. No one will check it overnight. Someone can stay in there and you should be able to use the forest as cover before sunrise the following day. Don’t go on to the property overnight as there’s more chance of you being picked up by guards.”
There are nods and a few looks passed. My hands hang between my legs and I try not to twitch or look at the door. Just a few more hours.
“What date’s the queen’s birthday?” Majken asks. She been the only one to speak to me.
“February the fifteenth.”
“And you think they’ll be gathering there for the birthday? No banquet or event? We don’t want tons of security around.” It’s Majken again and I wonder if there’s been some agreement that only she will ask questions.
They don’t trust me.
I don’t trust myself.
“It’s low key. Paden’s not got long left to live. No big events are going ahead after Burns Night.” My voice is level but my heart is pounding. I urge it to calm, afraid that everyone in the room will hear and guess that I’m planning something.
Majken looks round the group. “And we’re absolutely certain that Lachlan won’t be there? We have to keep him safe.”
“He’s scheduled to be in Norway. Those plans are unlikely to change at this stage.” It’s a man in a suit with no tie who speaks in heavily accented English. I recognise him, but I haven’t yet been able to place him. I know his habits though; I know how long he’ll stay, what time he’ll likely leave the following day and what his role is. He’s an informant, passing on information from the Norwegian leaders who want to secure the deal with Scotland that they’re not going to get from Blair. Then Scottish oil can be sold to them, the capitalists who have been lurking like sharks around the wee country for all this time, waiting for a chink to feast on.
It’s all about the money. Always is.
This man’s a fixer. He’s also passed on weapons and the materials needed to make the explosives that they’re going to try to attack the castle with.
Try.
They won’t succeed.
“Ben, what’s made you come over to our side to help?”
“Our mother.” It’s a lie, but it’s one they’ll believe without asking any more questions. I never knew that her politics lay this way; I don’t believe they did, but Majjie does and that’s why I’m here now.
As long as I was with Blair, I was a target for questions, their demands and Majken and my father would be pawns in their game. Who did I choose? The woman I loved or my sister?
“His story checks out.” Alek glares at me. He’s made several threats, tried to lock me in a room for a couple of days, which didn’t work out when he found me in the kitchen eating his supply of chocolate. He still has no idea how I got out, but then in their eyes I was just a soldier, common cannon fodder.
Not a sniper. Not a spy. Someone who was just paid muscle.
“You realise Blair won’t exist anymore after this?”
