Draco A Medieval Scottish Roma - Jayne Castel Page 0,30
started to race.
Traitorous bastard!
With great difficulty, she continued to hold Edward’s eye. Lying didn’t come naturally to her, especially before a man with such vulpine intelligence.
It matters not, she counseled herself. Ye cannot betray William to him.
“Galbraith is a liar with a grudge,” she replied after a pause. “It is I who speaks the truth.”
“Well then … allow me to enter your stronghold. I shall check for myself.”
“You don’t rule here, Edward,” Gavina reminded him, her voice hardening as anger quickened within her. Her simmering temper made the French flow easily from her lips. “And since you have brought an army with you, I shall not be welcoming you within the walls of Dunnottar.”
He stared back at her, and for an instant, Gavina felt a thrill of victory. Surprise had flared in those ice-blue eyes. He hadn’t expected such a response from her.
Edward’s mouth pursed. “I tire of Scottish women and their sharp tongues,” he growled. “Your husband must have found death a welcome escape.”
Gavina swallowed a laugh. Indeed, she’d seen the simpering women among Edward’s retainers in Stirling. It appeared English men liked their women even meeker than Scottish men did.
The urge to argue reared within her, yet Gavina swallowed it down. She’d won a small victory in this barbed exchange, but she’d not press her advantage.
“It seems that we are at an impasse, My Lady,” Edward said when the brittle silence between them drew out. Beside Gavina, Cassian wisely continued to hold his tongue. Nonetheless, he was a solid, steadying presence at her side. “If you won’t let me see for myself whether or not you’re shielding that enemy of the English, I have no choice but to name you my enemy as well.”
Gavina stared back. She didn’t break his stare, even if his words made her belly tremble.
Be strong, she counseled herself. Don’t let him intimidate ye.
It was hard though. Edward’s tone was now as icy as his gaze. Although he spoke with a slight lisp, his voice was powerful. There was a reason this man had managed to take half of Scotland, why he’d even taken Dunnottar in the past. He was a warrior king, and he didn’t take kindly to being defied.
When she didn’t answer him, Edward continued. “However, since I am in a merciful mood, I will give you one last chance. You have until sunrise tomorrow to deliver William Wallace to me.” He paused there, letting his words sink in. “But if you don’t, I will lay siege to Dunnottar. I swear I will smash this fortress to dust and burn every last one of you alive.”
His words, uttered without a trace of emotion, made Gavina start to sweat. Nonetheless, her gaze didn’t falter.
Another frosty silence stretched out between them, and Gavina realized that the parley was indeed at an end. There was nothing left to say.
Pulse racing, Gavina reined her palfrey around and urged it back to the path up to the gates. Wordlessly, Cassian followed her.
And all the way up to the gatehouse, she felt Edward Longshanks’s gaze boring into her back.
Gavina’s palfrey clattered into the lower ward bailey. Drawing up her mount, she swung down from the saddle to see a crowd amassing before her. Men and women—mostly guards and servants—watched her, their faces both pale and hopeful.
The Wallace was among them, a fierce presence towering over those standing by him.
Elizabeth pushed her way to the front, Robbie perched on a hip. “What happened?” Behind Elizabeth, both Heather and Aila approached, their faces strained.
Gavina didn’t reply immediately. Instead, her gaze shifted to where William Wallace now drew close. The crowd parted to let the big man through.
Swallowing hard, Gavina tried to shake off the dread that now pressed down upon her ribcage. Edward was terrifying when riled. And when he’d uttered his threat, she’d believed every word.
When the English had taken Dunnottar in the past, they’d only laid siege to the fortress until the gates were breached, only killed those who fought them. Everyone else had been spared. Gavina remembered David railing at his brother as the English rounded them up like sheep. They’d locked Robert, David, and Donnan in the dungeons for a spell, until all three swore that they’d cause no trouble for the garrison that was now in place.
Looking back, they’d been relatively merciful. But there wouldn’t be any mercy shown this time.
In defying Edward, she’d made an enemy of him.
Her gaze settled on the outlaw when he stopped a few feet away.