“I said nay.” Firm authority rang out of the king. He looked at Brodick.
“Ye claimed yer bride?”
Brodick lifted his chin as high as McQuade’s, but with a far different emotion. “Aye, three months ago.”
The king didn’t respond for a long moment. McQuade began to shake his fist again.
“Ye see?” McQuade stepped closer to the king. “The man is power hungry. He’s setting himself up to challenge ye.”
“That’s nae true.” Brodick glared at McQuade. “Watch yer insults, man. I’m nae a traitor and willnae hear any man say I am.”
“Enough!”
The king’s guards reinforced their monarch’s order with lowered pikes. McQuade shook with his rage, but the man stepped back in the face of cold steel leveled at his belly.
“The pair o’ ye will remain with the court for the summer. I’ve not the time to deal with yer fighting.”
“I’ve got a new wife that’s breeding.”
The king lifted an eyebrow. “If her belly’s full, she dinnae need you anymore. Ye’ll stay.”
Brodick clenched his fists. Even the guards behind his king didn’t settle his temper. Jamie waved a finger at him. “I’ve need of ye, McJames. This court is full of tale-spinning lords who want to keep raiding each other over things that can never be changed. Yer clear thinking will be welcomed.”
“My King—”
“I’ve spoken, man.” Jamie’s voice rang with a royal decree. “And ye will serve me for the summer. I’ll send ye home in time to see yer son born.”
McQuade snickered.
“And ye, McQuade, will remain in the outer hall awaiting my summons.”
“Yer Majesty—”
“Ye have that correct, man. I am yer king and I nae appreciate ye spinning tales in my ear like I’m some lack-wit. There’s men out there who have waited months to have their issues settled. Quarrels that can be resolved, unlike the question of a bride who was lost decades ago. Good God, man, stealing a bride is as Scottish as a kilt. Ye should have planned things more secretively if ye didnae want someone to try and lift her out of yer keeping before the consummation.”
Jamie lifted his chin, looking every inch the king.
“Go and ye had better be waiting in the outer hall when I summon ye.”
“’Tis an insult, even coming from me king.”
Jamie pegged him with a hard stare. “And ’tis also better than being locked into shackles for bearing false witness against a fellow lord.”
McQuade snapped his mouth shut. He glared at them both before staring at the points of the pikes. He lowered his head before storming from the room.
“That man is going to hound ye until he’s dead.” James shook his head and reached for a goblet. He took a long drink from it, his guards resuming their positions of vigilance behind him. “No doubt his sons have been raised to detest ye as well. ’Tis a good thing ye didn’t let him get wind of yer impending nuptials. He’d have stolen the bride if he’d known.”
“He might have tried.”
Jamie laughed. “Aye. He’d have done that sure enough.”
The king snapped his fingers and a servant offered goblets to them all. Brodick took it but he wasn’t interested in the French wine. He had no taste for the strong brew. It made mush out of a man’s thinking. Jamie scoffed at him.
“McJames prefers small beer.”
Brodick let the servant take the goblet. “Ye remember.” He was slightly impressed. The last time he and Jamie shared a drink was a full ten years past.
“I’d have been dead years ago if my wit wasnae sharp. There’s plenty o’ men that dinnae want me succeeding the throne of England.” The king waited until the servant returned with another drinking vessel. This one was a tankard far better suited to small beer. Druce looked ready to weep until he noticed the second servant with two more tankards.
“I really do need ye, man. We’ve delegations from every royal house on the continent. This is a summer when Scotland needs her earls at court.” James pegged him with a firm look. “I need ye here, and I’ll keep McQuade on a leash so you’ll nae have to worry about him harassing yer people.”
“What about the man’s sons?” Druce asked.
The king nodded. “I’ll summon them to wait with their father. A few months cooling their heels in my outer hall should teach them to carry tales. But I’ll nae promise that it will keep them from raiding ye in the fall.”
“I need no help with running him back to his own land.” Brodick looked at Druce and Cullen. Both smiled unpleasantly. The king grunted.