Page 83 of Long Live the King

“It seems so, but ye haena met yer son yet.”

“Aye, but I hae met ye, Magnus, I hae fought alongside ye. I hae seen how heavy the crown sits, ye are auld, I am young, and?—”

I chuckled again. “I believe there is a decade between us, perhaps less, ye make me sound ancient.”

He teased, “Tis yerexperience. I hae seen the gravity of yer throne, and I worry about Archie growin’ tae become a man who will be king — he will hae tae fight in the arena? Would Ben be his sword?” He scoffed. “Ye are right, I haena met m’son yet, but I daena want him tae be a king in this world. Not if he must fight for it, but I am not selfless, I ken that Fraoch has chosen not tae hae sons. He has pledged his allegiance and daena want tae bring sons intae it?—”

“Tis not the only reason; he lost a son, now he and Hayley hae chosen tae go without. But aye, brothers and nephews are a threat. Ye ken, it has always been that way.”

His hands were folded between his knees. “But tis not my way, Magnus, ye ken this. Ye hae brought me intae yer family, I hold a sword for ye, but I ken ye would draw yer sword for me as well. I ken if I hae sons they would carry the bloodline of Donnan, but Donnan picked ye tae follow his line, and yer bloodline also carries the blood of Lady Mairead?—”

“She is a formidable champion.”

“Aye, if I decided tae claim yer throne who would I hae in my corner?”

“That daena assuage my concerns or set my mind at ease, Lochinvar, ye might make alliances.”

“But tae what end?” He shook his head. “Ye hae given me a home and a family for the first time in m’life, and until all the lecturin’ this week, ye hae given me respect, and because ye arna verra good at fightin’ in the arena, I get tae be a hero as well.”

I laughed.

He said, “I will hae ten sons, we will give them the titles of dukes, they will be rich and hae power, yet they winna need tae fight tae keep their throne. They will be raised alongside Archie and Jack, they will think of them as brothers, they winna wanttae usurp him. We are a clan and we will fight taegether tae keep the throne safe.”

I said, “It’s just that history shows, brothers may decide on treachery.”

“History is also full of brothers who hae fought alongside each other for common goals, ye forget this because uncles and cousins hae fought ye, but treachery is the aberration, not the norm.” He shrugged. “Ye are greatly overthinkin’ the fact that I hae taken a wife.”

“But that brings me around tae the beginning part, keepin’ her safe is likely tae break yer spirit.”

“Aye, I ken, but what good is a spirit that inna tied tae earthly love, Magnus? I deserve the warm bed, I will take the heartache in trade for a slice of her pie.”

I laughed. And said, “Good, and I will do all I can tae help ye as ye keep her safe by yer side.”

He said, “So how much of the speech hae ye memorized?”

“Near none. I ought tae get tae it.”

He left tae go tae his rooms.

CHAPTER 34 - ASGALL

THE CHAMBER OF ASGALL I, SCONE PALACE, 1296

Iwas sitting in my medieval office, thinkin’, when Bernard knocked on the door. “Come in!”

I nodded toward m’chamberlain, askin’ him tae send the chamber boy in tae build up the fire while Bernard took the leather chair across from me. I wished the chairs were more comfortable, but I had tae keep the comforts of one time away from the comforts of another. This was the curse of time travel. Some might think the issue would be the relationships ye lost as ye jumped through time, living twice as long as another man, but people were replaceable. I could find a beautiful woman in the eighteenth century and bring her with me tae the thirteenth century, and wearing appropriate clothes for the time period, she could blend in enough. Nae, the curse was the inanimate objects that wouldna blend — a proper pair of boots, a water filter, a lightbulb, a cigarette. Och nae, how I missed cigarettes. I tapped my finger on the desk, irritated. I wanted tae smoke, but couldna until this meeting was done.

Bernard opened a leather folder and spread out some pale white sheets of paper. They were from the future, out of place, but he was cautious enough. “As your real estate agent.”

We both laughed.

I said, “What hae ye found?”

“A parcel of land in what will become Los Angeles, for a good price.”

“I am not verra liquid…”

“If you sell the Winterborne Estate in 2050, you’d have more than enough.”

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