“My nephew controls much of western and northern Scotland,” the king went on, “while March controls the eastern marshes and a bit of territory in northern Scotland. Oh, but I have forgotten William Douglas, the Earl of Douglas. He controls the central border and some of the western borders as well, and also some lands in the central lowlands of Lothian. These men made decisions a king makes when I was absent. It’s difficult, I ken, when one has felt like a king, to become a mere man once again.”
Graham expected Isobel to simply agree. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. “Possibly, but theyaremere men.Yeare their king, ordained so by God. They must bow to yer commands and wishes.”
King David smiled. “I like ye, Isobel. Ye are a woman, but ye see things as a man who is faithful to me should. They supported me, and they claim they still do. I have needed their support as I regain my power and draw my allies near. I’ve found,” he said, leaning very close to Isobel, “that I prefer those close to me not to be nobles because the common people dunnae want to be me. They only want to support me.” His voice was so low that Graham would not have heard it if he had not been standing so close to Isobel. “I do believe yer father, and it seems March and possibly the others I mentioned, wish I preferred them close. They want a puppet king again, nae a fierce one with his own mind.” The king’s face twisted viciously. “I’m no man’s puppet, Isobel.”
She nodded, looking serene, but Graham could see her pulse beating rapidly at her neck.
“I am a warrior,” the king added. “Do ye ken what warriors usually do to their enemies?”
She shook her head.
“They destroy them. But I must be careful,” David said in an eerily calm voice. Graham found himself leaning forward to listen, wondering what the king would say. “I am a warrior, but I am king. My natural inclination is to destroy my enemies, yet I find myself in the frustrating position of nae kenning for certain who all my enemies are.” His breathing had sped up and high color had risen in his face. “I must play a game,” he hissed, and Isobel flinched. “I will relent to certain things to obtain what I need. And I detest, above all, relenting to that I wish nae to, but nae even I, the king, can always escape the chains of duty.”
Graham’s chest tightened with worry. The king was clearly preparing Isobel for news she would not care for, and Graham suspected neither would he.
“What I need,” the king continued, “is the names ofallmy enemies. I believe yer father can give me those names.”
Graham’s body tensed at the look of fear that crossed Isobel’s face.
“Yer father wants ye in exchange for the names, but I’ll nae give him that.”
Graham’s blood pulsed with thickening unease.
“What will ye give him, Sire?” Isobel asked, her eyes knowing and her voice resigned.
The king let out a long sigh. “Ye are perceptive, Isobel Campbell. I must have an ally to supplant yer father in the event that his anger leads him to do something more foolish than he has already done. And this ally must be more powerful than yer father.”
Graham did not like the sound of that. To whom was the king planning to marry Isobel? Graham sought out Iain’s gaze, but his brother looked just as baffled as Graham felt.
The king rocked back on his heels. “I have been in contact with yer grandmother, Isobel,” he threw out casually. Too casually. Graham’s disquiet grew tenfold.
“The moment ye arrived here, I sent a special messenger to her,” David continued, glancing toward the window as if he feared what they might see in his face. He inhaled deeply before turning back. His stony face made Graham curl his hands into fists “And we have struck a bargain.”
Graham looked to his brother once more. Unease had replaced confusion—Iain had not known that the king had done this.
“What sort of bargain have ye struck with the Lady of Brigid?” Iain demanded, anger barely controlled in his tone.
The king narrowed his eyes on Iain. “She has offered me three hundred of her husband’s fighting men to command at will, along with three hundred of her brother’s men, in exchange for seeing her granddaughter safely to Brigid to become mistress of the castle. Yer grandmother is wise,” David said, his mollifying tone telling Graham the king was now making his case to Iain, for Graham knew well that David would not be swayed by Isobel. “She kens as I do that in order for ye to be safe ye must be wed as she is. Aye, she holds the castle, but only with the aid of her husband and her brother, who are both powerful men. Hence, ye must be wed to a powerful man who can protect Brigid, and the man must be faithful to the Scottish throne. Yer grandmother is cunning. She insisted, as part of our bargain, I must allow ye to choose yer husband from three men that ye and I deem worthy.”
Isobel’s eyes widened. “She did?”
“Aye,” the king replied with barely concealed irritation. “It seems the whole reason she made the provision that ye could nae inherit Brigid until ye reached eighteen summers was that at that age ye would be in a better position than yer mother had been to choose yer husband wisely.”
Isobel’s lips parted. “I did nae ken this.”
“Now ye do,” the king said impatiently.
“And if we kinnae come to an agreement?” Isobel asked.
The king’s cold smile became baleful. “Ye can always go back to yer father and marry James of Dunbar.”
Graham knew good and well the king would not allow her to return to her father and be used for the Campbell to strengthen his position, but Isobel did not know the king well enough to surmise this. He was playing a game, as he had said, but he was now playing it with Isobel. It enraged Graham and cold fear for her swept through him. The king knew precisely who he wished Isobel to marry, and suddenly Graham found the idea of her being used byanyoneintolerable. The king motioned behind him to the dais. “Archibald Douglas is my first name for ye.”
Archibald was a decent man, but he was the king’s man through and through. Isobel’s welfare would never be as important to Archibald as his duty to the king. Graham rocked back on his heels, his gut clenching tighter.
“The second name is Rory Danielson,” the king declared.
Graham immediately knew exactly what the David was doing. He was presenting Isobel with three men who would do his bidding unfailingly. Rory Danielson was the son of John Danielson, who was the keeper of Dunbarton Castle. It was a royal stronghold and presence in western Scotland that would have to be under the king’s absolute control for him to crush any rebellion that might rise there. By offering John’s son an important castle such as Brigid, the king ensured John’s continued loyalty.
