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Fergus was about to leap forward and throw his brother on the floor, when Grace shouted: “no, Fergus! Remember your promise!”
Grace had noticed Fergus’s body become more and more tense as he was speaking, and she could tell that it was becoming harder and harder for him to hold back from attacking Robert.
With a great effort, Fergus stepped back, but his eyes were blazing with fury.
Robert had also stepped back, but only because he was trying to support himself against the desk. In a moment, however, his lips curled into a thin, disdainful sneer. “You need a woman to tell you what to do?” he asked contemptuously.
“No,” Grace interrupted. “He merely has respect for me, Robert, which is more than I can say for you. You insulted me, you tried to force me into marriage -”
“I gave you a beautiful horse!” Robert protested. “It cost me a fortune!”
“Thank you,” Grace said, her voice full of derision. “But it hardly makes up for snatching me away from the man I love, and then trying to kill him! You can have your horse back; I want nothing from you.”
“Can we calm down a wee bit?” Fergus asked, spreading his arms as he recovered his wits a little. “I want to offer you a deal, Robert.”
“Speak.” Robert said, shrugging dismissively. It was clear that he had decided to refuse Fergus’s terms already, before even hearing them.
“If you swear not to make war on our neighbors and give up all claim to Grace, we will let all of your transgressions against me be forgotten.” Fergus kept his voice calm and even, despite the fact that he was still trembling with fury.
“And if I don’t?” Robert looked his brother defiantly in the eyes again. “If I reject all your terms, what will you do then?”
For a moment, Fergus hesitated. He admitted to himself that he had expected Robert to back down quickly, and had not fully thought out an answer to his question. However, he had reckoned without Grace.
“If you don’t,” she interrupted, “there are many of your own guards who will see to it that you are caught and imprisoned. There are four men just outside the door itching to do just that. We stopped them from coming in, but it would only take a moment for me to open the door.”
“And if you will not listen to us, will you listen to our mother?” Fergus asked. He felt irritated and frustrated. What would it take to make Robert see sense?
Robert almost spat on the floor. The mention of his mother had made him almost incandescent with rage. “I carenothingfor our mother!” he roared. “Do you know what she said to me last time we spoke?” He took a few steps closer to Fergus. “She asked me why I was not more like you,” he spat, his scornful glance raking his brother from head to toe and back again.
Fergus could not believe the hatred he saw burning in Robert’s eyes. He realized that this was a deep well of resentment that had been filling up for ages, and was now beginning to overflow.
“Yes!” Robert yelled. “More like you! And do you know something? She is right! I would like to be more like you. In fact, I would like tobeyou! Because you are Fergus the hero, Fergus the handsome, Fergus the brave, Fergus the strong, Fergus the fortunate, Fergus who is loved by all the ladies, Fergus the fabulous, the magnificent, the great! Everybody loves Fergus! One day they’ll probably make him king!” He paused for breath. “Nobody cares how I feel. Nobody respects me. Oh, yes, they pretend to, but I can tell the difference. As soon as they are out of my sight, I know I’m being laughed at. Do you know why I wanted you out of the way? Do you, Fergus?”
“I think I can guess,” Fergus replied grimly. “You’re jealous.” He stood up straighter and thrust out his chest, squaring his shoulders.
“Because if you were not here, people might listen to me,” Robert growled. “I might be given some respect.”
“Yes, you might,” Fergus agreed, “but then again you might not, because respect is not given away freely. It has to be earned through hard work.”
Robert gave him a scornful smile. “Oh, so it is Fergus the wise now,” he sneered. “Just be quiet now, brother. I have had more than enough of you.”
“I will be happy to go, Robert,” Fergus answered, “but you have not answered my question. Do you agree to my conditions?” He knew what Robert was going to say before he spoke, but he had to ask anyway.
Robert sighed, then passed a hand over his eyes, and for a moment, Fergus thought he might have been wrong. Perhaps Robert was going to accept his proposal after all.
Then suddenly, several things happened at once. Fergus felt himself being pushed backward by a hand on his shoulder, and in the same moment, Grace screamed. There was a blur of color and movement in front of him, and he saw Robert stumble backward, propelled by Grace, who had thrown herself between them.
It was only at that moment that Fergus saw the gleam of the dagger in his brother’s hand, and the smear of blood on the blade. Suddenly he realized that Grace had put herself in harm’s way, and possibly saved his life.
Grace had seen the dagger as soon as Robert produced it from his pocket, and she had dived forward without even thinking; her body acted without engaging with her mind. She saw him moving away from her and felt a small sting in her left shoulder, but a split second later the view became jumbled and blurred as her body hit the ground with a bump that made her whole body shudder.
Fergus leapt over her and gripped Robert’s right hand with his left, then swiped the dagger out of it. It flew through the air and skittered across the room out of harm’s way.
At that moment, William, Callum and the two guards burst in, having heard the commotion. The two uniformed men strode across to Robert and took hold of him roughly, while Callum stood by the door, watching as Fergus bent down to check on Grace.
The wound on her shoulder was bleeding profusely, but she seemed to be in no pain, for she was making no sound. Fergus shook her gently, inspecting her features anxiously. For a fleeting moment, it crossed his mind that she might be dead, then she smiled at him.
“Fergus,” she murmured. “Are you -”
