“Upset, aye. You would be a fool not to be unsettled by him,” the king acknowledged. “I admit the man is more cumbersome to drag along behind me than is his sizeable purse. But as it is he who has lent his support to Roscraig these many years, I cannot discount his testimony, nor will I bar him from the court. Besides, I rather prefer knowing his whereabouts.”
“The woman who rides with him,” Glenna asked before she could think better of it. “Who is she?”
The king gave her a little smile. “My dear, you would be better content to mind the health of your father this afternoon, and join Cameron and me at supper. I insist that you join us. Aye, that is a more pleasant thought.” Glenna’s throat tightened as she realized she was being dismissed, both literally and figuratively. The king turned his back to her. “I would see the hall, Cameron.”
Tavish looked at Glenna and nodded. His expression asked her to trust him, and although she wished to demand the king’s acknowledgment, she sensed that this was neither the time nor the place.
“This way, my liege,” Tavish said and walked with the king toward the east tower, leaving Glenna to follow until the men reached the entrance to the hall.
Glenna continued up the stairs to her father’s chamber, where Harriet answered her quiet knock at once.
“He’s sleeping,” she said quietly as she let Glenna pass. “I saw the procession…”
“The king has arrived,” Glenna confirmed as she crossed the floor. Upon reaching the bed, she gathered her skirts and climbed upon the mattress and lay down on her side with her head near her father’s shoulder. She let her hand rest in the angular hollow of his elbow. “Miss Keane is missing, and Frang Roy has been found dead on the cliff.”
Harriet gasped but did not press Glenna for details, and Glenna continued to stare toward the bright square of window without further comment. After several moments, Glenna heard the door close, and the silence in the room swelled around her father’s rasping breaths.
“The king is here, Da,” she whispered. “And a bad man. And I don’t know what will happen to us.”
There was no floor now. Glenna was falling, falling, through one disaster after the other, with no way to arrest her descent. The only champion who might have been able to save her lay at her side, now without voice, without strength of body. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so tired in all her life. She closed her eyes against the frustrated and fearful tears and escaped into sleep.
* * * *
Tavish walked through the hall at the king’s side, discussing with the man the improvements done to Roscraig and the future plans Tavish had for the hold. They spoke of roofs and fortifications and crops; once they arrived at the long windows flanking the hearth, the conversation turned to seafaring industries, ships, and defense of the shores. While the king held forth on the newest advances in artillery fortifications and powdered weaponry, Tavish watched the small, black figures moving up and down the beach in either direction away from the Tower.
The men searching for Audrey.
“—would allow one to fire on an enemy ship from the walls without equipping a ship, and potentially losing the weapon to the depths,” the king was saying. He looked left and right out the window. “Aye, the point there would be ideal for artillery fire. I am very much looking forward to viewing it.”
“My liege,” Tavish began, “the woman with Hargrave,doyou know her?”
“She is his mistress, I presume,” James said, walking to the hearth in order to stare up at the portrait hung on the stones. “At least that is what I’ve distilled from the wild tales being told at court. Vile stuff, I assure you, although ’tis likely the stories are inflated because he’s English. I know of no men who actually crave such blood sport in their bed. This portrait is exquisite.” He turned his face toward Tavish. “The infamous Annesley?”
Tavish nodded, unwilling to yet voice his suspicion that the stony-faced young woman riding behind Hargrave as if she were of the nobility had been posing as a servant at the Tower for an unknown length of time.
What if she had been involved in Audrey’s disappearance?
I want revenge…and I shall begin my recompense with you.
“Cunning man. I am not of the habit of blaming the son for the crimes of the father,” James said carefully. “And I admit that there is a part of me who is secretly hoping you are victorious over the challenges you face. However, I have already collected much information about your past that is forcing me to question the wisdom of allowing you a lairdship, Cameron. Hargrave is not the only man who has spoken out against you.”
“My liege?” Tavish asked, startled by both the king’s candor and the nature of the warning.
“Master Keane complains that you have yet to formally accept the betrothal agreement put forth after your arrival at Roscraig. He claims his daughter has been humiliated by your relationship with Glenna Douglas.” The king cocked his head. “Are you sleeping with her?”
Tavish ground his teeth together. “We have…become close, my liege. But there is no betrothal agreement. Miss Keane and I have been acquainted for some years, and her father sent her in anticipation of my acceptance.”
“I see,” James said with a knowing nod. “Far be it for me to shame a man for the company he keeps—especially when that company is as beautiful as Glenna Douglas. I couldn’t help but notice that Miss Keane was conspicuously absent at my arrival. And now perhaps you can understand why I discouraged Miss Douglas from accompanying us. You already know that Master Keane is held in high regard by the burgess.” The king paused. “Who is now prepared to swear an oath that you caused the death of your stepfather. He claims Dolan Cameron discovered you were not his true son, and before he could disavow you, you killed him.”
Tavish swallowed. “That’s not true.”
“And that it was you who caused the fire that took not only the shop on Market Street, but several of the adjoining dwellings, so that the burgess had nothing to assume for the tolls he says you still owe.”
“No, my liege. I was already at Roscraig when my captain brought word of the fire. TheStygianwas current on her tolls when we left the city.”
The king sighed. “We will not argue it here, of course. But you should know that the burgess has asked that your license be revoked on suspicion of smuggling. He’s requested theStygianin payment for the tolls and as compensation for the buildings consumed in the blaze he claims you set.”
Tavish was speechless for several moments. “I can only hope that I will sufficiently disprove those accusations when I am called upon to do so, my liege.”
