Highlander's Reckoning by Emma Prince

Author:Emma Prince [Prince, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Highland
Published: 2015-03-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“I can see the Bruce’s hand in this castle,” Robert said from the battlements.

Garrick nodded in agreement. “That was my exact thought the first time I saw this place.”

Daniel had forgotten that Garrick had passed through Loch Doon once before. He was with the Bruce’s army as they fled to the Outer Hebrides and eventually Ireland. So much had changed since then. It was only a few years ago that the cause for independence looked hopeless, and that the Bruce’s claim to the Scottish throne would go unfulfilled.

And just two years later, here Daniel stood, watching over the Bruce’s ancestral home, preparing a decisive blow against the English in the name of Scottish freedom. And in the name of Sinclair revenge.

“Leave it to him, the wily devil, to build the most defensible, impenetrable castle in all of Scotland,” Robert went on. “The eleven-sided curtain wall, the stone tower keep, the portcullis. And then there’s the fact that he built it on a bloody island!”

“How was Gilbert Kennedy?” Burke asked.

Daniel shrugged. “Easy enough to deal with. He was more incompetent than disloyal, though it still irks me that he agreed to pay Warren a protection tax.”

All four of them tensed. They’d all seen the lasting effects of Warren’s warmongering, greed, and cruelty.

“We’ll just have to collect a tax of our own against Warren,” Garrick said darkly.

“How go the plans?” Robert interjected. Leave it to his eldest brother to try to take charge despite the fact that Daniel had everything under control.

“We gave Jossalyn the task of creating a map of Dunbraes with as much detail as she could manage,” Daniel replied. Having Jossalyn at Loch Doon was going to be a huge advantage. She’d lived in Dunbraes, plus she knew her brother and how he operated.

“She’s still adding to it,” Garrick said.

“And what of the Bruce? When will he join us?”

“I’d guess he and his army will arrive in a week, two at most,” Daniel said.

“Good. We can work on planning until then. But we’ll need his forces if we hope to wage a powerful enough siege to bring down Dunbraes.” Robert couldn’t help it. He was a Laird. It was as natural as breathing for him to take charge.

The group fell silent for a moment, and Daniel took the opportunity to launch into a slightly more uncomfortable topic.

“I assume you’ve all…explained things to your wives?”

“You mean about sieging Dunbraes? Aye, of course,” Burke replied with a furrowed brow. The other two nodded as well.

Burke’s frown deepened. “Don’t tell me you haven’t told Rona, Daniel,” he said disbelievingly.

Suddenly Daniel was reminded that he was the youngest and that these three had always enjoyed bullying, baiting, and needling him.

“I…haven’t found the right time yet. But I plan on telling her tonight.”

“Why did you keep it from her for so long? What does she think you’re doing here, or what we’re all doing here for that matter?” Garrick asked with a raised eyebrow.

Daniel fought the urge to shrink defensively from his family’s hard stares.

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