Read Online Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kathleen Givens
Tags: Fiction, Historical fiction, General, Romance, Historical, England, Man-Woman Relationships, Love Stories, Scotland, Outlaws, Great Britain - History - 13th Century, Knights and Knighthood - England, Scotland - History - 1057-1603
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know where they'd gone, was probably imagining her living somewhere on the Continent. Rachel sighed. London might as well be on the far side of the world. Would that it were, for then the hand of Edward of England might not reach her family. How strange that Isabel now saw Edward daily and Rachel not at all.
Rory MacGannon wiped the rain out of his face and shifted his weight. He made no pretence at patience while he waited before the gate at Stirling castle, nor did his cousin Kieran MacDonald, who walked his horse back and forth.
"MacGannon, is it?" the guard asked for the third time.
"Aye. Rory MacGannon. Here to see Liam Crawford."
"MacGannon." The guard's eyebrows lifted. He slammed the small window in the gate.
"I should have said MacDonald," Rory told his cousin Kieran. "Ye MacDonalds are welcome here. We'd be sitting in front of a fire right now instead of standing in the rain wondering if we'll be sent away in the dark."
"Aye," Kieran said. "It's a better name. My father and your mother would agree, not doubt," Kieran added with a laugh. Ye should let me do all the talking."
Rory snorted. But perhaps Kieran was right. He half-expected not to be allowed to enter at all. He'd been to Stirling several times before, with his parents, but he'd never come on his own. And Kieran, younger by two years than Rory, had never been on a journey of any length without his father or Rory 's.
"What will we do if they dinna let us in?" Kieran asked.
"We'll find somewhere dry to sleep, and curse them over a cup of ale."
"Which will not be necessary," said a voice from the dark.
Rory's worry left him in an instant. His uncle Liam's voice was followed by the man himself as the guard pushed open the small door in the gate. Liam Crawford grinned at Rory and Kieran, then looked behind them.
"Ye'11 be sleeping in a dry and warm bed with a bellyful of good wine. How many d'ye have with ye?"
"Just the two of us," Rory answered. "And horses."
"Aye. I'll send word to get some hot food ready for ye. Give us a moment to get the larger gate open," Liam said and ducked back inside.
As Rory backed his horse away from the gatehouse, he could hear Liam's commanding voice, then a deeper voice answering. At last the gate swung wide, and Liam gestured them through.
The gate was closed by a team of armed men, which surprised Rory. He'd imagined that some of Stirling's guards had deserted in the uncertain times, that perhaps the castle was undermanned. But a quick glance around, even in the dim light of the torches in the wall niches, made him realize that the opposite was the case. Stirling Castle, and the village that shared the crest of the mount, was alive with soldiers. Some wore the royal garb, obviously still loyal to the crown, whoever held it, but the rest were a mix of Highlanders wearing the clothing traditional to their clan, Border men who dressed in their notable leather armour , and, from their accents, men from the south and the southwest. Rory and Kieran dismounted, leading their horses up the pathway slowly, for the rain made the stones slick.
"Why the delay?" Rory asked Liam.
"Ye're lucky it wasna much longer. No one here can decide who's in charge."
"I thought perhaps the MacGannon name caused a problem."
Liam threw him a sharp glance. "It did."
"Aye, everyone seems to have heard of my da."
"They have. And yers as well," Liam said to Kieran. "Notorious, the both of them."
Rory nodded. All of Scotland knew of his father and his uncle Davey, his mother's brother. It was Davey's abduction by Norsemen and his being sold into slavery that people talked of. His parents, Margaret and Gannon, had found Davey after years of searching in Jutland, in Denmark, owned by a Danish miller who had been reluctant to release him. Gold—and the threat of violence —convinced him to let Davey go.
But Gannon was not remembered for his courage and brilliant military tactics in defeating the Norsemen, nor for his persistence in his
Rory MacGannon wiped the rain out of his face and shifted his weight. He made no pretence at patience while he waited before the gate at Stirling castle, nor did his cousin Kieran MacDonald, who walked his horse back and forth.
"MacGannon, is it?" the guard asked for the third time.
"Aye. Rory MacGannon. Here to see Liam Crawford."
"MacGannon." The guard's eyebrows lifted. He slammed the small window in the gate.
"I should have said MacDonald," Rory told his cousin Kieran. "Ye MacDonalds are welcome here. We'd be sitting in front of a fire right now instead of standing in the rain wondering if we'll be sent away in the dark."
"Aye," Kieran said. "It's a better name. My father and your mother would agree, not doubt," Kieran added with a laugh. Ye should let me do all the talking."
Rory snorted. But perhaps Kieran was right. He half-expected not to be allowed to enter at all. He'd been to Stirling several times before, with his parents, but he'd never come on his own. And Kieran, younger by two years than Rory, had never been on a journey of any length without his father or Rory 's.
"What will we do if they dinna let us in?" Kieran asked.
"We'll find somewhere dry to sleep, and curse them over a cup of ale."
"Which will not be necessary," said a voice from the dark.
Rory's worry left him in an instant. His uncle Liam's voice was followed by the man himself as the guard pushed open the small door in the gate. Liam Crawford grinned at Rory and Kieran, then looked behind them.
"Ye'11 be sleeping in a dry and warm bed with a bellyful of good wine. How many d'ye have with ye?"
"Just the two of us," Rory answered. "And horses."
"Aye. I'll send word to get some hot food ready for ye. Give us a moment to get the larger gate open," Liam said and ducked back inside.
As Rory backed his horse away from the gatehouse, he could hear Liam's commanding voice, then a deeper voice answering. At last the gate swung wide, and Liam gestured them through.
The gate was closed by a team of armed men, which surprised Rory. He'd imagined that some of Stirling's guards had deserted in the uncertain times, that perhaps the castle was undermanned. But a quick glance around, even in the dim light of the torches in the wall niches, made him realize that the opposite was the case. Stirling Castle, and the village that shared the crest of the mount, was alive with soldiers. Some wore the royal garb, obviously still loyal to the crown, whoever held it, but the rest were a mix of Highlanders wearing the clothing traditional to their clan, Border men who dressed in their notable leather armour , and, from their accents, men from the south and the southwest. Rory and Kieran dismounted, leading their horses up the pathway slowly, for the rain made the stones slick.
"Why the delay?" Rory asked Liam.
"Ye're lucky it wasna much longer. No one here can decide who's in charge."
"I thought perhaps the MacGannon name caused a problem."
Liam threw him a sharp glance. "It did."
"Aye, everyone seems to have heard of my da."
"They have. And yers as well," Liam said to Kieran. "Notorious, the both of them."
Rory nodded. All of Scotland knew of his father and his uncle Davey, his mother's brother. It was Davey's abduction by Norsemen and his being sold into slavery that people talked of. His parents, Margaret and Gannon, had found Davey after years of searching in Jutland, in Denmark, owned by a Danish miller who had been reluctant to release him. Gold—and the threat of violence —convinced him to let Davey go.
But Gannon was not remembered for his courage and brilliant military tactics in defeating the Norsemen, nor for his persistence in his
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