“Oh aye,” Lannrick said, amusement clear in his voice. “But ye did order us nae to stop to so much as to take a breath until we got to the great hall.”
“That ye did,” Thomas agreed, sounding equally amused. “And so we obeyed.”
“What the devil is going on here, James?” the MacLean demanded, striding toward them.
“He’s a traitor,” James growled. “He’s nae welcome here.”
William’s neck heated with shame once more.
The MacLean jerked James toward him by the man’s plaid. “As far as I ken, I’m still yer laird and David is still yer king. I say William is welcome, as does yer king. To defy me is to be banished from the clan, but to defy yer king is yer death. Do ye wish to continue down this path? I can send one of William’s comrades to retrieve the king from the great hall where he is dining and let him ken ye tried to kill a member of his personal guard.”
A long silence stretched through the darkness, and the disgrace William had long felt suddenly scalded him along with anger. No matter what he did, the sins of his father and brother would never be forgotten, and they would be considered his own sins forever. Why had he thought it could be different? His father had died fighting against the king, and his brother had fled to the king’s enemy some time ago, so he might as well be dead. William had thought one day he would live here peacefully again, but this was no longer his home.
“Dunnae fash yerself, James,” William said to the man’s stubborn silence. If he’d been in James’s place, mayhap he would have felt the same way. “I’m only here at the king’s behest. This is nae my home any longer.”
“That is likely the only thing we agree on, Wolf,” James replied. “It seems, Laird, that the problem is solved.”
The MacLean shoved James away. “Nae to my satisfaction. I am yer laird. Ye seem to have forgotten that when ye refused to obey my command, so I dunnae have need of ye on my council or as a clansman any longer.”
“Alex,” James said, his astonishment clear in his voice. William was shocked, too. He could not believe that the MacLean would go to such a length for him. Or perhaps it was more to keep order in his clan. Yes, that seemed more likely.
The MacLean stared at James, his gaze hard and cold. “Collect yer things and leave my lands. If I see ye in the morning, I’ll tell the king ye defied him, and I’d wager ye’ll be missing yer head by midday.”
“Ye’ll see, Alex,” James said, pointing a finger at William. “’Tis only a matter of time until he follows in his father’s and brother’s footsteps. And when he does, ye’ll come searching for me, begging me to return to counsel ye.”
“Dunnae hold yer breath,” the MacLean said. “Now, away with ye before I take yer head off myself just to shut yer mouth.”
“Come on, men,” James ordered, and the warriors followed James away.
“Thank ye for yer trust,” William said to the MacLean.
Alex turned to him, his searching eyes glinting in the moonlight. “I dunnae place the sins of yer brother and yer father upon yer head.” He clapped William on the shoulder. “Give it more time. The others will come around.”
“The only way these men would ever trust me again is if my brother and father were found innocent of betraying our clan and the king, and we both ken that my father died a traitor and my brother lives as one. These men think I have treason in my blood.”
“It dunnae matter what they believe, William,” Thomas said, speaking up. “Ye ken what is in yer heart, and so does God.”
William nodded. Thomas would know better than anyone. He fought for King David now, but there was a time when he’d been loyal to the Steward, driven to it by a twisted past. “How do ye do it?” he asked Thomas. “How do ye ignore what people say about ye? How they look at ye with distrust?”
“I see it. I hear it. But I caused it. Ye, ye did nae cause yer woes, so ignore them or ye will go mad trying to change their minds. Some minds kinnae be changed.”
“’Tis good advice,” the MacLean said. “Now come. The king sent me to fetch ye when these two showed up at the great hall without ye. He’s eager to talk to ye.”
“Do ye ken what this is about?” William asked, falling into step beside Alex, who was already turning toward the castle. King David had been unusually vague in the summons he’d sent. Usually, he gave at least a hint at what mission was to come next, but the missive that had brought William here had been a simple command to present himself within a fortnight.
“Nay,” the MacLean replied, glancing at him. “The king has always been a most secretive man. He claims it’s how he has kept his throne. The only man I’ve ever kenned him to confide in is Iain MacLeod. But I’ve heard even the MacLeod say that though he’s King David’s closest friend, he’s nae privy to all the king’s endeavors.”
“Well, if he summoned all three of us here,” Lannrick said, “surely that means he’s pleased with how we work together. Mayhap he’s going to reward us.”
“Twice I’ve seen the king reward a warrior he was pleased with,” William said, cutting his gaze to Alex. “Both times the warrior in question ended up wed when he did nae want to be.”
The MacLean chuckled. “It turned out verra well for me. Are ye saying the Savage Slayer—”
“Brodee,” William interrupted, feeling a special allegiance to his closest friend. “He dunnae care to be called the Savage Slayer,” he finished by way of explanation as they reached the top of the seagate stairs.
“Noted,” the MacLean said, and they made their way into the inner courtyard of the MacLean stronghold. “Ye ken I did nae mean anything by it. I like Brodee. I thought he was rather proud of the moniker he’d earned as the king’s right hand.”
William shrugged. “I think it once served a purpose for him but no longer does since his wife tamed him.”
