Page 57 of A Highlander's Vow

Chapter Twenty-Five

The guards whohe had to fight to get into the room attempted to pull them apart. Without success.

“Halt!” The king rose from his seat and pounded on the table in front of him.

Things quieted. The king brushed off his flowing sleeves, sat down, and said to the guards. “Keep guard against the wall.”

He then looked at Gregory. “There are better ways to enter a room, Mackenzie.”

Gregory kept his arm wrapped around Megan and nodded at the king. “I am verra sorry to have burst through the door like that, but yer guards would no’ let me enter.”

He frowned. “I told them to expect ye, based on yer missive.”

“Aye, but they wanted me to wait until this hearing was finished. I was taking no chances.”

The king pointed to Sinclair and Gunn. “These men are insisting that yer wife be taken from ye and given to The Gunn based on a betrothal he signed.”

Without thinking, Gregory put Megan behind him. Megan began to whimper. “Yer Majesty, I am aware that women have verra little say in who they marry, but I have here the vow her deceased husband, Robert Sinclair and I made years ago to marry each other’s widow in case of our untimely death.”

The king placed his hands on the arms of his stately chair. “So ye did marry the lass to fulfill a vow.”

Gregory gazed down at Megan who was now back at his side. “Aye. That I did. However, I have since discovered I love the lass and want her for my wife for the rest of my time here on earth.”

Sinclair started to speak and the king waved him off. “And how does the lass feel?”

Megan peered up at him with her beautiful wide eyes full of feeling. “I love him, Your Majesty.” She spoke to the king but didn’t look away from Gregory.

Gregory closed his eyes for a moment. Then squeezed her slightly and looked back at the king. “Whatever note ye have there that says I doona want to keep MeganMackenzieis fake.” He reached into his pouch. “I have here the marriage certificate signed by Father Matthew who performed the ceremony. Our union has been blessed by the Church.”

The king bowed his head and then looked over at The Gunn and The Sinclair. “I see no reason to annul this marriage.”

The two lairds started to speak at once. The king sat forward and the guards against the wall walked up behind the two men. “Cease! My decision has been made.”

Gregory was surprised to see Megan raise her hand. It would be better if they made a quick exit and left this blasted city. He prayed she wouldn’t say something that gave the king more to think upon.

The king smiled at her as if she was a little girl. “What is it, lass?”

Megan took a deep breath and said, “I have reason to believe Laird Sinclair and Laird Gunn conspired to have my husband, Laird Robert Sinclair, killed.”

The king, Gregory, The Gunn, The Sinclair, and all the guards in the room sucked in deep breaths and turned to her.

“Wife, ’tis no’ a good idea to say something like that,” Gregory whispered while attempting to pull her toward the door.

The king pounded on the table again. “Stop, Mackenzie, the lass has made a very serious charge. I would hear what she has to say.”

Megan walked up closer to the king. Gregory was right alongside her, sweating and watching the door.

She told the story of what she’d heard when they stayed in the inn.

The king glared at the two men. Before he could speak, Gregory raised his hand. “Yer Majesty, may I add something?”

He nodded.

“Since I first heard of Robert Sinclair’s death, I questioned it. I had no proof or reason to believe these men were involved in his death. However, Laird Robert Sinclair was one of the best, if notthebest, warrior I ever trained with. I didn’t see him a great deal over the years, but I did hear praises from men who had battled with him. Sinclair never had an injury that required the care of a healer.

“But this was a minor skirmish and I always had questions about his death.”

Sinclair and Gunn were both shouting, one trying to be heard over the other one.