* * * *
Dread descended as Aiden awaited his king’s reply. Aye, he’d recommended a strong force to protect Latharn Castle once seized, but never had he expected the Bruce to select him for the task.
King Robert stepped before Aiden. “You have served me faithfully since we met at Urquhart Castle almost a year ago, a time difficult for many.”
Fighting back the wash of fury at how King Philip IV of France had betrayed the Knights Templar, Aiden focused on the Bruce, remembering his surprise to learn Scotland’s king was a Knight Templar as well. “Aye, Your Grace,” Aiden rasped. “I pray for those still beneath King Philip’s harsh rule.”
“As do I,” the Bruce said, his voice weary, “but now isna the time to discuss a topic of such distress, but toright a wrong.”
Aiden stilled. A wrong?
“Kneel before me.”
Confused,Aiden complied.
The soft slide of steel against leather again sounded. As with Gwendolyn, his sovereign lay his sword upon Aiden’s shoulder. “Be it known that from this day forward, I award you, Aiden MacConnell”— he moved the blade to his opposite shoulder—“the title ofEarl of Lenox.”
On a sharp breath, Aiden jerked up his head and met the king’s proud gaze. “Earl of Lenox?”
The king arched a brow. “I am well aware of the details of your lost nobility. ’Tis your father’s title I now bestow upon you. In addition, once Latharn Castle is seized, you will be awarded the previous noble’s title, Earlof Hadington.”
Gwendolyn gasped.
“And after Latharn Castle is seized,” the Bruce continued, “you will lead a contingent to seize Thorburn Castle. Once captured, your home, lost to the English years ago, will again be yours. You will then be charged with keeping both strongholds safe, and as necessary, supporting my cause.”
Aiden struggled to breathe against the enormity of this moment. After his family had died and he had returned home to find Thorburn Castle captured, never had he believed that one day he would reclaim his heritage.
“Lord Lenox,” the kingboomed, “rise.”
Humbled, Aiden stood, bowed to the man who had resurrected his dream of reclaiming his home and, incredibly, returned his legacy. “My deepest thanks, Sire. I swear that I will serve you with theutmost faith.”
With a satisfied nod, the king sheathed his sword. His gaze moved to Gwendolyn. “’Tis settled. You have stated your desire to be Latharn Castle’s mistress, and to have the stronghold protected by a noble, a formidable warrior with a large contingent to ensure the fortress is kept safe. A request that will be fulfilled upon your marriageto Lord Lenox.”
Marriage! Still reeling from the generous promise of a prize beyond which he had ever dreamed, the Bruce’s words exploded in Aiden’s mind.
He vaguely registered her sharp intake of breath.
’Twould seem that, like her, the king’s decisions came with conditions.
Warmth slid through him at thoughts of her as his wife, of having a lass whom he admired, and a woman who made him want. A look at her crushed his foolish thoughts. The icy paleness of her face underscored her revulsion at the idea. How could she not feel otherwise afterhis deception?
Mayhap there was something he could say to spare her such a fate.“Sire, before—”
“I find the match between you and Lady Gwendolyn beneficial in many ways, Lord Lenox,” the king stated, his shrewd gaze watchful, “doyou not agree?”
Aiden searched for a reason to avoid the king’s dictate to wed, his sovereign’s earlier inquiries about the lass now making sense.
At the time, exhausted and injured, thankful to have arrived safely, and proud of Gwendolyn as he had stood before the king, he’d painted her as a woman of strength, fortitude, and determination. An admission given in the hope that instead of being treated with disregard as the enemy, she would be awarded protection.
God’s sword, why hadn’t he considered the real possibility of such a decision, more so with his friends’ teasing? The Bruce’s fascination with such women was well known. Weren’t his friends, Stephan MacQuistan and Thomas MacKelloch, who were now married to equally spirited women,proof of such?
Though neither had asked for this marriage, and however much she detested him, if he refused to wed Gwendolyn, he couldn’t be sure that whoever she did marry would treat her with the respect she deserved.
Though she loathed him, he still cared for her deeply. “I agree, Your Grace.”
With a nod, the king faced her. “And do you, Lady Gwendolyn, consentto the match?”
A slow pounding filled Aiden’s chest as her eyes darkened with distress, the dismay he’d caused. Bedamned, never had he meant to hurt her, to cast her into a life wed to a man she despised.
