To a Gallows Or a Bathtub
“Order.Order!Quieten down, or I’ll have ye all thrown out!”
Una flinched. She didn’t think she’d ever heard her brother bellow that way. It had the desired effect, however. The crowd in the Great Hall quietened down at once, the noise lowering to a muttered level of whispers and hisses.
There are too many people here,Una thought, heart sinking.It will be chaos.
Kai sat at a raised dais at one end of the Hall. Astrid sat straight-backed and rigid beside him. They were the ones that would pass judgment on what should be done with Struan. Everybody else in the Hall was here to have their say.
We’ll be here until midnight. And even then, not everybody will be heard.
She rose from her own position, a chair set a little lower than Kai’s but still nearby. The place had been carefully chosen, given her honor as Kai’s sister, but no implication of actualpower.
The guards, however, parted to let her by, and she made her way to the high seat.
Kai watched her approach curiously. It sometimes seemed that her brother had no idea what to do with her or what to say to her. It was to be expected, considering all the years they’d spent apart, but sometimes Una felt a pang of disappointment. They’d been inseparable once. What might they have been if all ofthishadn’t happened?
“What is it, lass?” Kai whispered, leaning towards her.
Astrid’s sharp eyes landed on Una and stayed there.
She has reason to want Laird Dickson’s son dead, too,Una reminded herself.And this isherclan and her bloodright.
Astrid is the one I need to convince.
“There are too many people in here,” Una muttered. It was best to start small, she’d decided. “It’s going to be carnage. And what if they riot when they see him?”
There was no need to explain whohewas.
Kai thought this over, a muscle jumping in his jaw. After a moment, he glanced over at his wife.
“Astrid? What do ye think?”
“I think that Una is right,” Astrid continued. “There are too many people in the room, to be sure. But we promised transparency in this trial, did we not? A great many people are invested in what happens to Struan Dickson. We need to keep our promise; otherwise, they may suspect that the Dickson influence is still prominent here. Of course it was my father’s fault to begin with.”
This was a sobering thought.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Una murmured. “But the danger of a riot still holds.”
“It does,” Astrid acknowledged. “Have ye any ideas?”
Una paused, glancing back to scan the room. She could see Thomas in the corner, arms folded and his expression grim. He would be looking for threats and holes in the security, just likeshe was. There was no sign of Kyla, and this worried Una just a little.
She turned back to Astrid, who lifted her eyebrows questioningly.
“We should keep the crowd behind a line of armed guards,” Una said at last. “We bring Struan in through the entrance at the top of the room, near the high seat, and we don’t allow the audience past the halfway point of the room. That way, they can observe without interfering.”
She addressed her comment to Kai, but as always, he looked at Astrid before he responded. She gave the tiniest of nods, and Kai nodded, too.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he said at last. “I’ll give the orders.”
Feeling as though a disaster had been averted, Una moved from her seat, letting out a sigh of relief. She wound her way through the crowd to where Thomas stood.
“All well?” she asked, keeping her gaze on the crowd.
“Aside from the fact that all these people here are going to tear Struan Dickson to pieces the instant he steps out of the door, then yes, all is well.”
“It’s being dealt with,” Una assured him. “Where is Kyla?”
