Unbeknownst even to his brother, he had given his love only once and it had been hurled back in his face.Never again would he suffer such humiliation, such pain.Never.
“Do you accept my plan for you, Conall?”
“Aye.”
“Good, then we’ve reached an understanding.Abduct her, wed her, and bed her before you return tae introduce me tae your new bride.I’ve full confidence that you’ll use every amorous weapon in your arsenal tae accomplish your mission—and my revenge against the MacCullochs will have finally begun.You’ll find your bride lodged at a convent just outside Dumfries until the wedding on Sunday.It’s tae be a grand affair, or so my spies tell me.I’d give anything tae see the look on Euan MacCulloch’s face when he discovers the beauteous Isabeau has been snatched away from him.”
“Beauteous, my lord king?”
“Aye, as lissome and lovely as they come, if that’s any consolation tae you.Dark hair, dark eyes, skin like alabaster…” Now King Robert’s expression held a flicker of amusement as he gave a short laugh.“You’re incorrigible, Campbell, the perfect man for the task.I almost pity the lass—och, enough.Will you join me for supper?The morning and a long ride south will arrive before you know it.”
The king brushed past him as if not expecting an answer.Conall could but turn and stride after him from the antechamber into the great hall crowded with courtiers, warriors, and sundry others as servants rushed between tables filling ale cups.
Ale.Just what he needed.He planned to drink a barrel of it.
Anything to dull the realization that his life would never be the same in a few days’ time.
A bride.AFrenchbride.Would she even speak Gaelic?Probably so, if she had been pledged to a Scotsman.
“A dozen of my men, as well as those that rode here with you, will accompany you as close tae Dumfries as it’s safe for them tae travel,” King Robert said over his shoulder as he climbed the steps to the dais, gesturing for Conall to accompany him.“Since Edward regained the town last year, it’s overrun with Scots loyal tae England.One day I vow Dumfries will fall again tae my forces—but for now you’ll be on your own while looking for your bride.”
“On my own…” Conall said under his breath, taking the empty seat beside King Robert at the long trestle table where his closest advisors already sat.
“Aye.It’s better that way.You’ll draw less attention tae yourself.No one will suspect such an audacious act, but a disguise of some sort is probably in order.Mayhap a friar—och, but then you’d have tae trim that midnight hair.”
Conall sighed heavily, more eager than ever to drain his first cup of ale as the king snorted out a laugh.
“Your good humor seems tae have fled, Conall—och, I dinna blame you.It’s a dangerous mission and you might not survive it…though something tells me that you will.Ah, yes, a priest will also accompany you, Father Titus, and wait for you with the others.He’ll perform the wedding when you meet up with them again.Find a church so you can record the marriage, but dinna delay the ceremony even if she fights you.”
“God help me,” Conall muttered, that prospect as unappetizing as the platters of roasted meat being placed before them.
He didn’t want food, just strong drink and lots of it.A buxom serving maid with dark brown curls hastened to fill his cup, her creamy breasts nearly spilling from her bodice as she bent low before him.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”she queried with a saucy smile, though King Robert waved her away before Conall could answer.
“Dinna you ever tire of it, man?Women swarming around you like flies tae honey?You didna say even a word tae her and she was ready tae jump onto your lap!”
Conall shrugged, for even the lasses seemed to hold no interest for him tonight.He found himself thinking about the one that had spurned him four years ago with her honey-gold hair and flashing green eyes, which only made him clasp his cup tightly and drain the ale with one long swallow.
He had sworn to himself never to think of Lorna, for she had wed a brawny blacksmith only days after telling him that the last thing she wanted was to marry a warrior.
“You’ll only die in battle one day—and then where will that leave me?Alone and probably with a mewling babe at my breast and another wee bairn at my feet, and no coin for food or even a roof over our head.”
Och, he had been only eighteen, and certain that he had found the love of his life, only for her to say that she had enjoyed their time together, aye, especially their lovemaking, but she was done with him.Cameron had been gone on a campaign with their overlord, Earl Seoras, the entire two months Conall had wooed her, and he had never once mentioned her after his brother returned—though Cameron had queried him in vain about his sullen demeanor.
Love of his life?Conall laughed wryly under his breath, though he could not deny that the pain of her betrayal lingered still no matter the beds he had shared since.
Outwardly, he was all lighthearted teasing, kisses, and caresses with the lasses, deceiving his brother and all others around him—aye, better that than to reveal he had been such a fool when it came to love.Another serving maid ventured near, her light-colored hair glistening like gold in the torchlight…like honey…and this time he smiled back at her when she bent over to refill his cup.
A warm, engaging smile he’d used so many times that always seemed to bring a heated blush to fair cheeks and a returned smile that showed an eager willingness for whatever else he might have in mind.
“Och, Campbell, I’ve never seen the like,” King Robert mused as his own cup was refilled.“I canna imagine being born as handsome and strapping a man as you—but I’ve done well for myself all the same, aye?”
Conall nodded in deference, sensing a deep loneliness in the middle-aged man seated beside him for a beloved and much younger wife that had been taken prisoner last year by the English, and whom he had no idea if he would ever see again.
Aye, if King Robert wanted revenge against the Scots enemies who sided with England against their own kind, Conall would oblige him with no further objections.No more outbursts.No drowning his dismay in ale or in the arms of a willing woman, though the idea of taking a wife still chafed him.
His loyalty to his king and a free and independent Scotland mattered above all else.
