At least Eoghan had the good sense to look chastised.“Aye, my apologies.‘Tis inappropriate, to be sure.Your biggest problem is while we and her family are used to her wild ways,” he said as he flicked his finger back and forth between them, “no one else is.And she seems more wild than ever, even married.‘Tis dangerous.Ye dinna want her offending the wrong person and risking either of ye with her actions.”
William pursed his lips, and they fell silent for a moment.He thought the conversation was done when Eoghan spoke again, his voice low.
“’Tis odd, her wild ways.I’m no’ the only one wondering about that, cousin.”
The warning was not lost on William.‘Twas the same that made his stomach clench and his chest heavy.If her behavior concerned a lighthearted man like Eoghan, then what might others, those with less understanding and more apprehension, be saying in the shadows?
Chapter Eleven
Cormagenteredthemainhall with Robb and Bernard right behind, matching stern expressions on their faces.
William immediately sat up, ready for whatever had his father and uncle worried.
“Please excuse us, Eoghan,” Cormag requested.“I must have a word with William.”
Eoghan rose and, with a slight bow, withdrew with his platter of food and tankard.
Forgetting about his half-eaten meal, William stood with his father.
“Come, William, to my study.We must have a word about the Morays.”
This does no’ bode well,William thought as he fell into step, following his chieftain.
Once they were through the door, Cormag secured it, then settled his broad frame into the chair at the far end of the narrow study table.Surrounded by high-backed chairs, it served as an ideal war room, and that was the sense William had when he sat opposite his father.
“I’ve had a message from King Causantín in Edinburgh.He is concerned about the Morays and would like us to meet with Malcolm Moray at the lord’s seat near Aberdeen.He’s sent a letter for ye to give to Malcolm, but the king has designs that ye assess Malcolm and the Morays whilst ye are there.He would know if the Morays will support him or continue to cause strife.”
Cormag’s icy blue eyes took the measure of each one of them.Then he reached into his leather jerkin and withdrew a scroll, tied with a thong and sealed with a magenta seal.
Bernard took the scroll and held it lightly between his fingers.“And with this missive, we are to walk into Moray lands unscathed?”Doubt coated every word he spoke.
The tendons in Cormag’s neck tensed.It was evident he agreed with his brother’s assessment, even if he said differently.
“Aye, if ye enter peacefully, a small party, and instruct his men that ye have a missive from the king.Even the Morays must know they canna attack those who represent the king.”
“Ye have a high evaluation of the Morays,” Robb commented under his breath.His face still bore the haunted shadows of his father’s death and ate at the lines around his eyes.Robb bore no love for those who supported the mad king.
William did not disagree.It seemed like a mission set on failure.
“Who is to go with us?”Bernard inquired.
“No one.Merely ye three, and Robb’s brother, Iain.”
William’s eyebrows cinched.“What of Ailbert?”
“He leaves on the morrow, for the MacIntoshes,” Cormag explained.“Another emissary, this time from us, to pay our respects and see where they yet stand.They have decided Lucas’s brother, Boyd, should step in as MacIntosh chieftain, and we should pay homage.And Lucas’s son, Daric, expressed an interest in Muire.”Here, Cormag flicked his eyes toward Bernard, who nodded solemnly.
Something in William’s chest tightened, though the prospect of his sister being married to another clan was to be expected.Cormag had no daughters to marry off.
“Your brother is to escort Muire and extend the offer of continued friendship and alliance,” Bernard answered in a level tone.
Muire was to be another marriage arranged to appease the unity of the Highland clans.
Bernard adored his daughters.William had to wonder how wellthatconversation between Cormag and Bernard had gone.Likely, not too well.
But it was the ironic position of parenting, William was learning.That if mothers and fathers raised their children as they should, then they had to let go of the things they loved most.It seemed a horrible reward for years of parental service and love.He flicked a quick glance at Bernard.
How did his father do it?
