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“Ye already ken I agree with what ye think happened, what ye foresee will occur, and the course of actionweshould take,” Graham said. It was not lost on Cameron that his brother had stressed the wordwe, and his chest tightened in appreciation.
He glanced at Lachlan and Iain. Of everyone in the room, he expected the two of them to be the people who would disagree or show Cameron where his thinking involved too much hope and not enough logic.
“I dunnae like that she lied to ye,” Iain began, making the knots in Cameron’s shoulders grow tighter. “But,” he said, glancing swiftly at Marion, then back to Cameron, “kenning women as well as I now do they will do all sorts of illogical things to defend the men who have won their affections.”
“Aye,” Lachlan agreed, his gaze resting fondly on his wife. “Now that we all agree with yer assessment of what has likely occurred up to this point, why don’t ye tell us what ye think will happen next and what ye believe we should do?”
Cameron released a long breath and took a second to appreciate this moment of feeling close to all his brothers and sisters. “I asked myself what I would do if I were Finn,” he began. “He kens she is going to reveal the plot against David and who killed Katherine, which will implicate him. So Finn will search out the best person to create an alliance with. As the Ross family is the strongest and Hugo has the most to lose by killing Katherine, I believe Finn will go to them.”
“Agreed,” Lachlan and Iain replied.
Lachlan scrubbed a hand across his face, looking contemplative for a moment. “If I were Finn, I’d go to Ross and Hugo and tell them Sorcha would betray them all.”
“Aye,” Iain said. “I was thinking the same thing. I’d try to strike a bargain with them, proposing that they all name the Earl of Angus as Katherine’s killer. Someone has to pay with his life.”
“That was my thought,” Graham said. “In doing this, Finn dunnae need Sorcha’s castle anymore because he could gain his father’s land upon his death.”
A grim silence fell upon the room, broken only when Iain cleared his throat and said, “The Earl of Ross is cunning, as is his son. They will think upon every possible outcome and set plans in motion for each to come out in his own favor. Even as they make it seem they have agreed to unite with Finn, so that they can ensure he will nae tell anyone of their part in Katherine’s death, they’ll likely send word to King David immediately without Finn’s knowledge—”
“Begging forgiveness for their support of the petition and telling the king that they wish to withdraw their support of it,” Cameron finished, having made the same assumption as Iain.
“Aye,” came a chorus of agreements.
Lachlan made a derisive noise from deep in his throat. “Hugo will still want Blair Castle, though, so he will still wish to marry Sorcha. They will propose this to the king, likely even advise that Finn should be killed, as well as his father, for Katherine’s death. The betrayal will be unknown to Finn until the last possible moment, in case something went wrong. Hugo and his father would nae wish to alienate a possible ally.”
Cameron’s hands curled into fists, hearing what he believed to be true affirmed by his brother. “Exactly. They’ll believe the king will agree, simply to stop the petition, and if the king does agree, I must marry Sorcha now. If she is married to me, she kinnae be made wife of another.”
“Aye,” Iain said. “And I suppose ye are relying upon what they will nae ken so they will nae expect that we will have taken March’s castle and gained his withdrawal from the petition already, therefore weakening the rebellion.” He locked eyes with Cameron. “Ye will propose this to the king at the start, which will make him more likely to accept yer marriage to Sorcha. David is wise. He should see that ye—a man he can trust who fights against those who have shown themselves disloyal—marrying Sorcha is a greater benefit than agreeing to unite her with Hugo.” Iain’s gaze grew flinty, as it often did when he was plotting. “Ye are certain ye wish to marry Sorcha?”
“I’m certain,” Cameron replied. “I’m also certain she’ll nae agree to wed me because she wants to keep me safe from Eolande’s prophecy.”
“Damned seer,” Lachlan growled to grunts of agreement.
Marion tilted her head, a cunning smile twisting her lips. “Then wed her without her kenning it.”
Cameron grinned, relieved to hear that a woman he trusted had come up with the same idea he had. When it had first occurred to him two days ago, he’d had a moment of worry that she’d resent him for tricking her into getting married. But in the face of her life and their future being at risk, and armed with the certainty that shedidwant him for husband, he set the fear aside. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Bridgette grinned. “It should be fairly easy to get her relent to the truth of wishing to marry ye in front of the priest.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “The difficult part will be for her to state anintentionto do so in the future. Without that—”
“And without a joining,” Iain interrupted, leering at his wife, “it will nae be a binding marriage.”
“If ye all can help me with getting her to say the right words, I’ll do the rest,” he said with a wink.
Alex, who had been silent and only nodding his agreement up until this point, met Cameron’s gaze. “If ye are wrong,” he said, “ye will be bound for life to a woman who has betrayed ye.”
Cameron exhaled slowly. “I will take that chance for Sorcha, though I dunnae believe I’m wrong. But I’ll nae ask ye to take it with me. I intend to send Broch to the king tonight with what I ken, as well as with word that I have married Sorcha. I anticipate the king’s first response will be anger—he dunnae like being thwarted—but he is wise, as ye say. And he will be less angered when he realizes my plan will gain him all he desires. He’ll gain the withdrawal of the Earl of March and the Earl of Angus from the petition, but will still keep the Earl of Ross as somewhat of an ally, even if it’s merely a deceit. The king will also have the deaths of two of the men who plotted to kill Katherine.”
“Aye,” Iain said, clapping Cameron on the shoulder. “Well done, Brother. Where shall we start?”
Cameron gave a tight smile. “First, I’ll propose that the king continue to seem agreeable to the marriage of Sorcha to Hugo to keep the Earl of Ross happy. This gains me time and ensures the king dunnae lose an ally. And as I said, I believe Hugo, Finn, and the Earl of Ross will ask the king to allow them to formally come to him to beg his forgiveness for signing the petition.”
Everyone nodded, and Iain gestured for him to continue. “I’m going to advise to the king that he go to them instead, under the guise of traveling to see his lands,” Cameron said. “I’ll also advise meeting them at the Falls of Friar, which is close to the Ross stronghold. The valleys and cliffs around the Falls will offer good cover for me, which I will need as the plot proceeds. If the king is nae to look like he has betrayed his word to the Earl of Ross, then I must appear to have gone against the king’s command regarding Sorcha.”
“Do ye intend to let Hugo actually take Sorcha?” Iain asked.
Cameron’s chest squeezed at the thought, and he barely managed to get out a reply. “Aye,” he said. He paused to clear his throat. “But only briefly. Only long enough for it to look like my desire for her drove me to rebel against the king. Yet David will know what I intend, and he will know I have already taken March’s castle to aid his cause. I’ll also have given him the names of the men responsible for Katherine’s death and delivered Sorcha’s father to him. And I will have done all of this while allowing him to gain the Earl of Ross back as an ally.”
