Page 17

It was difficult to understand everything that was happening, but Fergus was certain that Douglas was up to something. There was always a plot being formed, and Fergus knew that Douglas was planning his downfall just as Fergus was planning Douglas’s. It was a matter of which man was going to strike first.

The men didn’t seem to mind the news that they were going to be staying in the estate for another night. There was still more wine to be drunk, and they hadn’t yet worked their entire way through the food stores. But when night fell, and Fergus was speaking with his companions, something caught their attention. There was a blaze in the distance, a bright orange glow that burst into life, and then another followed, and then another. They became specks in the distance, and it was difficult for the naked eye to see, but the night was so dark, and these flames were so bright it was impossible to miss them.

“What are they?” someone asked.

It didn’t take Fergus long to figure it out. The locations were familiar to him after having seen them on Laird Wallace’s map, and the blaze reminded him of the stories he had heard from the most vicious Vikings.

He stormed toward Douglas, who was in the kitchen, taking a glass of whiskey and a plate filled with meat out of the room. He stopped short when Fergus approached him.

“Why is this place nae on fire?” Fergus asked.

Douglas narrowed his eyes. “What are ye talking about?”

“The fires. It’s the laird’s daeing, aye? It’s another message he wants tae send tae the English. Dinnae try and deny it. I know how he thinks.” Fergus put his index finger to the side of his head as he said this. “He must hae ordered ye tae dae the same when he returned here, sae why is this place nae on fire?”

“I dinnae hae tae explain myself tae ye,” Douglas said, moving to push past Fergus, but Fergus wasn’t going to let him get away with this that easily.

“Are ye telling me that ye are disobeying a direct order from our laird?” Fergus asked, barely able to believe his luck because it seemed as though Douglas was going to be responsible for his own downfall without Fergus having to do anything.

“It was nae an order. I happen tae think that haeing a claim on an English estate is also terrifying. Besides, the men fought hard yesterday, and they could use some more rest. We hae yet tae loot everything this place haes tae offer as well. One less fire will nae make a difference.”

“Maybe nae tae the English, but what about tae Laird Wallace?” Fergus asked.

Douglas bristled at this, and he clenched his jaw, speaking through gritted teeth. “I will justify everything I dae tae the laird,” he said. “It’s nae yer business. Keep tae yer own mind and worry about things when the laird tells ye tae.”

“Oh, I will,” Fergus said. “Dinnae worry about that, Douglas.”

A smile spread across Fergus’s face as he poured himself a mug of wine and drank from it deeply. It tasted sweeter when a soul was satisfied, for it seemed as though the pendulum of luck was swinging in his direction. He couldn’t wait for the moment when he was back at home, ready to tell Laird Wallace that Douglas had seen fit to go against Laird Wallace’s order. It was almost too good to be true, and Fergus couldn’t understand what Douglas was thinking when he decided to go against Laird Wallace’s wishes.

It made Fergus think that perhaps the time had come for him to put his plan into motion. Once Douglas proved himself unworthy of the laird’s attention, the laird was unlikely to mourn his passing as greatly as if he still loved him. It was finally time for Fergus to take his place as the laird’s trusted man, ousting Douglas from the clan entirely. A better day there had never been.

Fergus walked outside and looked to the horizon, where he saw the fires burning, knowing that Douglas’s fate was being burned up just as much as anything else in that inferno. Douglas would just be a note in his memory. When Fergus became king, he would make sure that nobody remembered Douglas as anything more than a coward who had tried to stop the march of progress.