Page 69 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

“That’s quite enough, the both of ye!” Laird Labert thundered. “Sit down and act like civilized lairds, and nae like heathens from a savage land.”

Bruce glared at Domnhall for another minute, and Domnhall glared back. Then they both looked away at the same time and took a seat in front of the desk. Laird Labert sat down as well.

“Thank ye for coming so quickly, Domnhall. Ye can appreciate that we have very little time. But there is something ye should ken. Leo does nae only have Elspeth. He has the Honors of Scotland.”

Domnhall was dumbstruck, just as Laird Labert had been a few minutes ago. “How did he manage to get his hands on them?”

“We have Bruce and Elspeth to thank for that.”

Domnhall shot Bruce another look of disgust but held his tongue. “Do we ken what he’s planning to do?”

“Nae yet,” Laird Labert said, “but I have men infiltrating the nearby village. We should have information soon.”

“We’re wasting time,” Bruce insisted. “We need to get men and charge on Dunnottar. I am convinced that once my people see me they will turn on Leo and support our cause.”

“That may be true, but gathering an army would be foolish,” Laird Labert said.

“We can use Bruce’s claim to our advantage,” Domnhall said. “If his men are indeed loyal, we only need to show them that he is alive and willing to claim his lands back.”

“A mutiny?” Laird Labert nodded, a smile spreading on his grim lips. “Aye, that could be the answer. It will nae strike suspicion and will have the element of surprise we desperately need. While Leo is distracted, we can rescue Elspeth and the Honors.”

“Will he keep them a secret, though?” Domnhall wondered out loud. “I think he will if his aim is to hand them to the English to gain favor. It will nae endear him to his fellow lairds if it is common knowledge that he had the Honors and sold them off.”

“Hmm, I believe yer right.”

Bruce could see the two men thinking at lightning speed. Great strategists both, they reveled in picking at a problem until they had a suitable solution. Bruce was just as bright, but he did not have the patience for long periods of meandering thought and planning. He was a man of action and was itching to borrow a horse and ride off to Dunnottar himself.

He was about to interrupt and get a word in edgewise when the door burst open and all three Labert boys came tumbling in nearly tripping over each other. “Da!” Charles said, gasping for air. “There’s news.”

“It’s horrible,” Edward said.

“Ye have to read it. It’s urgent!” Daniel thrust a piece of paper under his father’s nose.

Laird Labert took the missive and read it. His face fell, and his lips resumed their grim nature. “Have them saddle the horses,” he instructed tersely to his sons. “We leave immediately.”

Laird Labert got up and opened a drawer. He tucked a dagger into an inside pocket then, distracted, he sat back down and pulled a blank piece of parchment and quill, and began writing furiously. Bruce took the discarded piece of paper and read, his eyes widening in disbelief and his heart slamming against his ribcage in an attempt to dash itself to pieces.

“What is it?” Domnhall asked, snatching the paper from Bruce. He read it rapidly and cursed. “Damn him!”

Damn him indeed. Bruce watched the invitation to Leo and Elspeth’s wedding wind its way to the floor where it rested like an innocent piece of paper when in truth it had been a dagger that had pierced his heart.

“He cannae do this!” Domnhall paced the floor, his arms flailing in his agitation. “Why would he do this?”

“Because he is going to crown himself king,” Bruce said, quietly. All the restless, unquiet in him before had zeroed in on one goal and focused him like nothing else had. He could see everything clearly now: the past, the present, and what he hoped was their future. And it gave him hope. “Leo’s biggest grievance in life has been his assumption that people dislike him for his part-English blood. It’s an obsession with him. The only reason he accepted Elspeth’s help in the first place was so he could use her as a pawn and declare Blair Atholl disloyal and take over caretaker duties of it, effectively expanding his control. But he does nae need that now. All he needs are the Honors and a pure Scottish wife from noble stock to provide him legitimacy.”

“The clans will nae approve.” Domnhall shook his head. “They will revolt.”

“Leo does nae need their approval,” Bruce smiled sardonically. “He just needs their acceptance, just like they’ve accepted English rule. And if the clans unite against him he can call on the might of the English to crush any revolts. Because the English will be providing their full support. Leo is nae coward but he is nae fool to take on such a big risk without being sure he is backed by the highest power in the land.”

“Bruce is correct,” Laird Labert said, finishing his letter with a flourish. Standing up, he pulled out a black candle from his drawer and set it melting on the candle flame. The flame spluttered, guttered, and danced about the wax, delighted in its consumption of something, anything. Laird Labert let the wax drip and pool on the folded letter then applied his ring seal. Once the wax had solidified, he handed it to his eldest son. “Charles, I am entrusting ye with this. Deliver it to General Forester in Edinburgh posthaste. Do nae hand it to a man at arms or a guard, give it into the hands of the General, and do nae leave until ye get a favorable answer. I’m trusting ye, son. Ye are the next laird of Balquhidder, and our allies need us. Guard it with yer life, and do nae fail yer father.”

Charles accepted the letter, his expression serious and a sheen of pride in his eyes. “I will nae disappoint, father.” He hurried out of the room.

“We should leave as well,” Laird Labert instructed. “There is nae time to lose. Sunday is only four days away, and we must rescue Elspeth before that happens.”

Bruce was grateful to get going. He got up and joined his allies. They would stop the wedding if it was the last thing they did.