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“Ye ken what ye were sayin’, daena lie, daena pretend tae be doin’ what ye are nae. Tis a deception I am growin’ weary of watchin’.”
He yanked her chair again and returned to his seat.
Lady Mairead smoothed her hair.
Minister Donahue said, “The only option Magnus has to rule as the legitimate king is to kill Samuel in the arena. Samuel has supporters and they will not accept Magnus’s rule without a show of force and power. I will tell you though, he is injured. He hurt his shoulder in a training exercise yesterday.”
Magnus met my eyes.
Yes.
Aye.
He said, “Then I challenge him tomorrow.”
Minister Donahue said, “You are ready to fight?”
“I am ready enough. Twill be by sword?”
“If you request it.”
Magnus nodded.
Minister Donahue said, “It’s done then. I’ll let Mairead know the details.” He straightened his coat. It was adorned with braids and fur and medals of some kind. He seemed pretentiously important, like a cartoon-character general, but I was so glad he was on our side. He seemed convinced he could get things done and that made me feel a little better about all of this.
He shook Magnus’s hand again, warmly. “I can’t wait to tell my Margaret about meeting you again, she has been all aflutter since you said ‘Aye’ to her at the Equinox Gala. What a lovely night that was... Until all the drama occurred, of course. But we are setting it to rights now. I will be very glad to see Samuel taken care of. Just between us, he is an evil man.”
He clasped Lady Mairead’s hand in both of his. “Always good to see you, Mairead. Thank you for bringing the king home.”
Then he left.
Magnus returned to his seat and gestured for me to come sit beside him. I did gratefully.
Lady Mairead sat back down across from us.
He squinted his eyes causing her to squirm under his gaze.
She asked, “Ye are sure ye are ready tae fight on the morrow?”
“Aye.” He watched her a moment more. “Answer me this, Lady Mairead, how many chairs do ye have in this apartment?”
She looked around at the furniture and artifacts. “Quite a few.”
“Next time ye invite me and Kaitlyn tae yer home I would like a seat. Also, in all of this — what is this?”
“I think of it as my collection.”
“In all your collectin’ ye dinna have the forethought tae make sure Kaitlyn would have some clean clothes tae wear? Before ye invited Bella tae dinner?”
“I daena just have her size—”
“I am askin’ ye, as your son, tae show me and my wife respect. I apologize for losin’ my temper in front of Minister Donahue, but I canna continue tae allow ye tae treat her this way. You must do better, and twill be easier tae practice doin’ it now than when I am king and I demand it.”
She said, “I meant nothing by it, I—”
“Ye have been schemin’ for so long ye have lost track of doin’ it. Ye should apply yerself tae rememberin’ that I deserve better treatment after all that ye have put me through.” He stood. “Kaitlyn and I are going tae our room tae rest for the morrow.”
She said, “Let Tyler ken that I will arrange tae have someone accompany him tae Florida tomorrow afternoon.”
