Highland Vengeance Read Online Free PDF Page B

Sinclair, is the
devastation as great to your clan as I have heard?” The king
asked.
    “ It is,” he said
simply.
    “ I know you have come
because of this treachery from the MacKay clan but I wonder just
what it is that you wish of me?” King James said.
    “ I need an army to take back
my land and avenge my father’s death. I wish to secure the Highland
territory that is owned by the English. There are hundreds of
abandoned men with no laird to rule them. They need order and
leadership. I can train them and then we can conquer the MacKay
clan with ease.”
    “ First of all, you speak as
if this land is mine to give you. Second, how do I know that you
will not turn this powerful army against me and take over my rule?”
The king asked.
    “ You know I will not ask
other clans that could lose their land also, to fight with me. I
only want the men for numbers, not the land. And I can only give
you my word that there is no plan to battle your army,” Camden
spoke with passion now. He needed the king to comply.
    The Highland warrior watched as the
young wife of the king leaned over and spoke softly to her husband.
Camden was not sure but he thought the English Princess could not
have been more than sixteen years. The beautiful child bride
continued to talk to her husband and then slowly the king began to
smile. Whatever she was saying to him had certainly made him
happy.
    “ Laird Camden, I have been
concerned about this lawless Highland territory for some time now.
Your leadership is greatly needed there and if you can somehow
manage to gain their loyalty, it would serve you significantly when
you take back the Sinclair land. I can’t secure the promise of this
territory but my wife has informed me that it belongs to her second
cousin, a young girl. It can be yours if King Henry agrees and you
agree to a marriage.”
    So this was why the king had been
smiling, an English bride, he thought to himself. Camden was at a
loss for words and then he quickly nodded his head in agreement to
the terms.
    “ How quickly can this
marriage be arranged?” Camden said curtly.
    “ I will send word to Henry
and if he agrees then you will need to go and get your bride,” King
James smiled.
    “ My men and I will be
staying outside the city walls, please send a messenger as soon as
you receive word. I thank you greatly for your compassion and once
again I give you my word that there will be no attacks on
Edinburgh,” Camden vowed.
    The large warrior turned and began to
leave the hall when the king asked him one more
question.
    “ Laird Camden, after you
secure the Sinclair land, what will be done with your bride’s
land?” He asked.
    “ My first in command,
Broderick Kincaid has no family and is in need of a holding to
rule. He has far surpassed being under my leadership. He will
become the laird of his own clan,” Camden answered.
    He left the castle and found his men
waiting exactly as he had left them. The five men were still seated
atop their horses and the people surrounding them were still openly
gaping at the soldiers. The night sky started to turn the fall
weather even colder and the men rode swiftly out just beyond
Edinburgh. They made a small camp and Camden started to explain
what had happened inside the castle’s keep.
    “ But Laird, an English
bride?” Liam asked incredulously.
    “ Was there no other way
then?” Broderick asked his laird.
    “ This is easier than I
expected,” Camden said to his men. “I would gladly marry a little
English girl in order to take back what is mine.”
    “ Aye laird, this is going to
be easier for us, we aren’t the ones that are gettin’ married,”
Broderick smiled.
    The rest of the men enjoyed the
amusement at Camden’s expense.
    “ Broderick, you are coming
with me to speak with the men who live in this English territory. I
will need to gain their loyalty and trust. The rest of you will
wait here for word from the king to find out when I can retrieve my
new wife,”