Kieran caught Vivien’s eye, causing her to blush profusely. She cleared her throat as though she had swallowed incorrectly, hoping that Reginald had not noticed the glance and her reaction.
Thankfully, Reginald’s attention was on drinking his second glass of wine.
Vivien reminded herself to be more careful of how she behaved. This situation was fraught with danger, built on a house made of cards. One false move and it would all come crashing down around their feet.
They ate in relative silence; Reginald was not one for small talk – especially not when it came to someone Vivien knew he considered to be beneath him in both class and equality.
“Thank ye for the dinner, Lord Stone,” Kieran said, as the servants began clearing the table, “But I have yet tae understand why ye so politely asked me tae attend?”
“Down to business it is then, Laird MacBride.” Reginald twirled his wine glass between his fingers, contemplating the dark liquid through the crystal. “I have a proposition for you,” he finally said.
Kieran quirked an eyebrow, not saying anything. Finally, Reginald sighed and continued, “I do believe we can be of use to each other. You have proven yourself to be interesting – shall we say – a force to be reckoned with. I heard of the attempted attack on your castle; such a tragic thing to happen to you. I believe it was unprovoked?”
Reginald’s gaze did not waver from Kieran’s; Vivien could almost see the tension between the two men. It was almost a palpable, breathing thing.
“Aye, that it was. Ye would not happen tae ken who was behind it?” Kieran asked innocently.
Vivien could see that Reginald was not fooled by his display of innocence; his eyes narrowed into slits before he sighed heavily and replied, “I cannot say. I wonder who would want to attack you. Could you have enemies you do not know of?”
“Nae, they were Englishmen. I have nae enemies of our fellow countrymen. It is a peculiar incident.”
“Indeed. And so remarkable how you countered their attack. Almost as if you had the insight to their plans in advance.”
Vivien held her breath; she had an inkling that Reginald must suspect that someone had fed information to Kieran. He had been far too well prepared for the attack. While she was glad that all had gone according to plan, Vivien feared that Kieran’s show of power and insight may well have been too well done. In hindsight, his over-preparation could well cause more complications than it should have.
“Nae, we just noticed unknown men advancing on us, so we took the precautions we would always take in such a case,” Kieran shrugged, his tone of voice bland, verging on disinterested.
“Very good job. I must say, your tactics really are quite impressive. So, the point of tonight – the proposal I want to set before you – is the following,” Reginald paused, taking a sip of his wine.
Vivien sat in stone-cold silence, doing her best not to move or breathe too loudly. For now, it seemed like her husband had forgotten she was even in the room. If he realized she was privy to this conversation, he might well have her leave the room. Vivien needed to know what was happening; she needed to understand why Reginald did the things he did and just exactly what his plans were.
“I was posted here, on behalf of the British Crown, to encourage the English presence in Scotland. It is a very political position, with a great deal of intricate details, laws, such things, that aren’t necessary for you to know.”
“Aye.” Kieran continued to hold Reginald’s gaze unwaveringly.
“My purpose is to aid our troops’ expansion into the Highlands. I have a keen mind when it comes to battle tactics.” Vivien snorted out loud, her eyes widening in panic at her derision of her husband’s lie. Thankfully, Reginald was far too invested in staring Kieran down than reprimanding her, she assumed.
“As such,” he said, as though nothing had happened, “It is my job to scout out strategically lucrative positions throughout the Highlands for our troops to occupy. For the fortification of the United Kingdom, you understand. This benefits all of us, not just England. We are, after all, one nation, united under one King.” Reginald smiled as though it brought him so much joy to be able to say that.
“Aye, that we are,” Kieran nodded, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown. He was probably wondering the same thing as Vivien – what on earth was Reginald getting to?
“My proposal is very simple. I will offer you and your clan my personal protection, on behalf of the crown, in exchange for information.”
“Information?” Kieran asked; Vivien was by no means fooled. There was no reason for Kieran to need protection from his only enemy.
“Yes. Information on our neighboring clans and settlements. Anything, everything, that you know would prove very useful. It helps immensely when we have a man on the inside so that we can better our relations with our people. You understand? We need to know what their internal politics look like, their armies, their stores, positions, alliances… like I said, so much information that others think means nothing will mean something to the crown.”
“I am sure it will,” Kieran scoffed, “You’ve got the wrong man, Lord Stone. I am nae turncoat; I dinnae buy the horse dung yer selling. My clan, my people, dinnae need yer protection. In fact, I will wager that right now, ye need me as an ally far more than ye realize. Yer armies are weak, pathetic.Broken. Ye cannae protect yersel, let alone anyone else.”
Kieran pursed his lips for a second, a smile tugging at his lips.
Vivien expelled her breath quietly; she prayed that Reginald would not put together what Kieran had really been saying. She felt the panic rising in her throat as Reginald broke his stare down with Kieran to look at her. Vivien felt the blood rushing out of her face, the dizziness setting in slightly. Reginald contemplated her for a few moments, eyes narrowed to mere slits, before turning his attention back to Kieran.
“I do think you have incorrect information there, Laird MacBride. But I do recommend that you consider my proposal seriously.”
“I have,” Kieran replied, smiling sardonically, “I am afraid I am not interested.”
Kieran made a move as though he were about to stand up, only for Reginald to start speaking again, “Are you sure? I believe that, given the right reason, any business deal can be struck. And I do believe I have something you want.”
