Page 29 of The Rogue’s Redemption

With that, he turned and walked away. She watched as he left the hall, his habitual arrogance wrapping around him again like a well-worn cloak.

“Is all well?”

Nay, it was not, but she forced a smile.

“Aye, Aidan. All is well.”

* * *

“The great Reid Kerr, standing in the shadows.”

Reid watched Douglas approach, knowing there was nothing he could do to dissuade the man. He should have left the hall, but he’d made a crucial mistake. Before exiting, he’d turned back to take one last glance at the woman who had so thoroughly entranced him. Now he could not bring himself to retire. Instead, he tormented himself by watching her banter so easily with Aidan de Sowlis.

“Always,” he said, accepting the mug of ale Douglas offered.

“You were quiet today.”

“I made my clan’s position clear.”

“Reid.” Douglas took a swig of ale. “If we do not accept Caxton’s appointment—”

“We will never have peace with that man as the English warden,” Reid said, watching as Aidan leaned much too close to Allie.

Douglas sighed. “I dislike the appointment as much as you do, but until we have just cause to appeal to the English king—”

“And if he frees the reivers who attempted to kill my brother? It would be chaos, and you know it.” Reid respected the man, as did his brothers, but in this they could not agree.

“I told you, the king knows of the attack on your brother, and he has demanded that we do nothing aside from bringing them to trial at the next Day of Truce. What can we do without the support of our own sovereign?”

“Forgive me, Douglas, if I’ve lost faith in a system that has set more than one murderer free in the past months. The stakes for Clan Kerr are high.”

He risked the warden’s ire, but Toren and Reid agreed on this . . . their position would remain firm. Aye, they wanted peace. The Day of Truce had served both countries well for more than thirty years. But the tide was turning, and too many guilty parties had been set free even before Caxton’s appointment.

“Your family’s alliance with the Waryns—”

“More than an alliance,” Reid said. “They are family now.”

Douglas grunted. “And yet you talk of a border war.”

“Nay, not war—”

“What do you think will happen if we countermand our own king? If we break the Day of Truce?”

Finally, the song was over. Douglas kept talking, but Allie had grabbed his attention once more. Her eyes had shifted from her dancing partner and were darting all around the hall.

Could she be looking for him?

He forced himself to return his attention to Douglas. “If Alexander will not speak to the English king,” he began, “then allow a contingency—”

“Nay,” Douglas said, his voice firm. “I will not, and well you know it.”

Reid drank as both men fell silent. While some of the chiefs agreed with Douglas, they’d all witnessed the increase in raids. There was no denying the audacity of the English reivers was growing, a situation that would undoubtedly worsen under the new warden.

“If the clans decide to boycott the Day of Truce—”

“That will not happen. Not yet.” Douglas stood up straighter. “Clan Kerr will not be swayed?”

Reid looked the warden directly in the eyes. “Nay, we will not.”