CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
As soon as MacKenzie turned, Angus took full advantage of his distraction. He grabbed the hand holding the dagger and pushed back, then twisted so that MacKenzie’s arm was behind him. The man was as battle-hardened as Angus, so the key to diffusing the situation was to talk sense into the man rather than fighting it out.
Angus had no sooner entered the castle when they had been set upon by the MacKenzies, who were obviously waiting for them. Rorie would not listen to reason, so they had been standing off until he made the imbecilic mistake of putting his blade to Angus’s throat.
The noise from the inner chamber sounded like Annabella, but Angus could not be sure. He prayed she was still safe in his chamber, but somehow he knew it was she who spied through that opening in the wall. At the moment, no one appeared interested, so Angus took the chance to disarm Rorie.
“Release me,” Rorie said.
“Only if you agree to put your blade away, tell your men to stand down, and listen to me.”
“When you admit to your deceit and are prepared to pay the consequences, only then will we stand down.”
“Do not be a fool, MacKenzie. I know you are upset at the turn of events, as I would be. But if you were in my shoes, you would do exactly as I have done. Instead of trying to remove my head from my shoulders, you should be asking for my assistance in preventing the Sutherland lass from marrying the Black Douglas. You have a much greater chance of success if you have us as allies.”
“You have just pledged fealty to the Stewart! You cannot be trusted to ensure she is kept away from harm if it means standing up to the king.”
Angus leaned in close to Rorie’s ear. “I am the best chance you have at protecting her, MacKenzie. Now, you either work with me, or we end up killing half of each other’s men and you are still no further ahead.”
Damned man had let his fury overtake his senses. He needed allies, not more enemies. It was true that Angus would need to view situations from more than the immediate angle in the future, and aiding MacKenzie would certainly mean he may have to stand against the king. But he was willing to do that when it was right and just to do so. Now was one of those times.
“Do you yield, MacKenzie?”
The man took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was large and strong, and Angus was pretty certain a battle between the two could go either way.
“Aye, MacDonald. But if you do not help me protect her, I will, as you say, remove your head from your shoulders—with pleasure.”
“I will release you now, and you will sit and listen.”
MacKenzie nodded his agreement. It was enough for Angus to take a chance on the man’s honour. He had dealt with the elder MacKenzie enough times to know that this lot were fiery. When their blood was up, a smart man would give them a wide berth. It appeared the same fire ran in Rorie’s veins.
Angus relaxed his hold on MacKenzie, but not before forcing his dagger from the man’s hand. Once free, Angus watched him carefully to ensure he did not dive to retrieve the blade.
Rorie turned. “Now what?”
“Now we sit,” Angus said, and waved toward the extended table, “and figure out how to protect your woman.”
Rorie pulled a chair out from the table, scraping the stone floor in the process. He sat down hard, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. When he looked up at Angus, there was despair in his eyes.
“I cannot lose her,” he said. “She will never survive the Douglas.”
Angus grabbed a chair and sat across from the troubled man. “I do not know how any woman could survive him.”
“But you allowed the king to choose her over your woman.”
“I did not allow anything. It was not my doing one way or the other. I was offered an opportunity to free Annabella from a horrible fate, and I took it. How can you blame me for that?”
Rorie placed his head in his hands. “I don’t understand how Sutherland can let her go. The alliance between the king and Ronan is fragile at best. Ronan has tried, but there have been too many instances where the king has not listened to any of us when he wants something unreasonable.”
“Like men for his campaigns,” Angus said.
“Aye, like men and coin. Ronan is as frustrated as the rest of us, but I do not know what he will say to this arrangement. Muren had been promised to me, and I agreed. But the king’s word is law and he can break that betrothal if he wishes, whether or not Ronan goes along with it.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Angus asked.
Rorie looked up at him with a frown. He raked his hands through his hair. “Aye, there’s more. I’ve sort of fallen out with Ronan.”
Angus shook his head. “I do not understand. You are to marry the man’s sister. How can you have fallen out with him?”
