Cassian (The Immortal Highland Centurions #2) - Jayne Castel Page 0,10
puckered. While there were benefits to hiding Wallace and his men at Dunnottar, the outlaw had also just reminded him of the danger his presence here put them all in.
Cassian took a sip of spicy plum wine and shared another look with Draco. Wallace spoke true about the feuding. Both Cassian and Draco had lived long enough to watch the tribes of Caledonia war amongst themselves before eventually forming the kingdoms of Pictland and Alba. The fighting still continued, even after the clans were eventually united under the kings of Scotland. Feuding was a constant, and Cassian and Draco had been involved in a number of them over the years. The clans of this land had never gotten on. And to make matters worse, these days Scotland no longer had a king, a void that Edward of England helped create—and one he was keen to fill.
“Ye forget that Irvine wrote to me recently, bragging about that twenty-foot battering ram he’s had built,” De Keith pressed on. “A traveler from Drum Castle a few days ago confirmed it’s true … apparently it can bring down any gate, no matter how strong.”
Wallace raised a heavy eyebrow. “Don’t tell me ye have been losing sleep over this ‘Battle Hammer’?”
De Keith’s face screwed up before he threw back another deep draft of wine. The laird had been drinking heavily of late, Cassian noted. He wondered if the pressure of ruling Dunnottar was taking its toll on him. The man had been delighted to take over his brother’s mantle. Yet, ever since the English had resumed their campaigning, he’d grown twitchy and paranoid. And now, he spoke incessantly about the weapon his brother-by-marriage had threatened him with.
“Irvine wants Dunnottar,” the laird growled, glaring at Wallace, his fingers clenched around his cup. “He hated that his father tried to weave peace with us … that he sacrificed his sister to a De Keith.”
The laird’s face twisted at these last words, reminding Cassian of just how much contempt he held his wife in. The relationship between them was wintry these days; Cassian rarely observed De Keith show Lady Gavina any warmth on the many occasions he’d seen them together. But, ever since Shaw Irvine’s threat, he treated her with open scorn.
“Ye are like a dog with a bone,” William Wallace spoke up once more. He was watching the laird with a faint look of distaste upon his rugged features. “Not only that, but many men would be happy to have Lady Gavina as their wife … ye are a fool to treat her as yer enemy.”
De Keith drew himself up at that, slamming the now empty cup upon the mantelpiece. His brown eyes gleamed as he stared Wallace down.
Cassian tensed. Ever since the Wallace’s arrival, the relationship between these two men had been strained.
Unlike his elder brother, Robert, David didn’t welcome the freedom fighter’s presence at Dunnottar. He’d never said as much, yet displeasure had been written all over his face on the day Wallace and his men turned up. David De Keith was adept at wearing a mask, but he hadn’t fooled Cassian—and Cassian wagered that William Wallace wasn’t fooled either.
At De Keith’s aggressive behavior, Draco took a step forward, his right hand straying to the dirk that hung at his side. However, he didn’t draw it. Cassian’s gaze narrowed at his friend’s gesture. If things spiraled out of control here, he and Draco might have to fight each other, for he would have to protect his laird.
Reluctantly, Cassian’s hand strayed to the hilt of his own blade.
David De Keith ignored them both.
“I’ll thank ye for not passing comment on matters on which ye are ignorant,” De Keith growled, a nerve flickering under one eye. “The state of my marriage has nothing to do with ye.”
Wallace’s mouth flattened, although a moment later, he waved the comment away as if it and De Keith’s anger held little importance to him. “The fact remains that Irvine and his ‘Battle Hammer’ shouldn’t be yer focus, De Keith. Instead, Edward perches like a carrion crow in Stirling Castle … and we need to know what his next move will be.”
De Keith sneered. “If we wait, we shall see soon enough.”
Wallace stared him down. “Edward is a cunning bastard … we need to be one step ahead of him. And that’s why ye need to go to Stirling, under the guise of swearing fealty. Ye need to gain his trust … and discover how he plans to take the Highlands. If