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the fact he hadn’t moved faster.
    â€œI’ll be all right. Have faith in me.”
    â€œAye, that I do. I’ll pray for you, my lady.”
    She smiled, sorry that he seemed so insulted that she had easily rebuffed the attack that was to prove her weak. She inched her horse toward his, discreetly looked about to assure herself they were alone, and leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss against his lips.
    â€œMy lady MacAdin!” she heard Sir Harry calling. “We must ride on; it is getting dark!”
    She sat her mount primly again, but could not help smiling mischievously at Ewan once again. “I’ll be all right. I swear it. I love you. I vow my heart to you, always.”
    He lowered his head, inching his horse forward once again. He took her hand, and kissed it tenderly. His gray eyes touched hers with devotion. “Whatever happens, my lady, I will love you. I swear it.” He looked at her as if he were saying goodbye. She could not bear it.
    Heedless of Sir Harry’s anxious calls, she leaned over again and impulsively kissed Ewan one last time. “Soon. I’ll be home soon, my love.”
    They rode from the cover of the trees and parted ways. As they slowly loped down the crest toward the fortress she remembered the words: “The king is anxious to see you today, my lady. He insisted, today. He has much to tell you.”
    And I have much to tell him , Mellyora thought.
    It didn’t occur to her that she might not have the opportunity to tell him exactly what she was thinking, what she wanted, and what she intended to do.
    â€œMellyora, I have carefully chosen this marriage for you,” the king said firmly. He could sense her resistance, it seemed to bound off her like the hot, angry rays of the sun on a summer’s day.
    Time and the passage of years had changed King David little. If anything, he was stronger, more assured, and more aware that being a king often meant maneuvering men. Alliance could be far more advantageous than the strength of hundreds of fighting men. Being a man who had lived through much and gained a certain wisdom regarding people, he never judged a man, a friend or an enemy, by his birth. Certain Englishmen, overly imbued with their own sense of power, attacked his southern borders, but his wife was a Northumbrian heiress, and he had many supporters among her people. Henry I of England had been partially responsible for raising David, he had taught him, he had given him many of his lands, and his wife. But Henry had died two years ago, and the English monarchy was in chaos with Henry’s nephew, Stephen, fighting with Henry’s daughter, Mathilda, for the throne of England. This made the English nobles more powerful as each faction vied for their help in the dispute. Border lords were a danger, they always would be. Naturally, they considered him a danger, and naturally, he was pressing against the line of the kingdom.
    Then again, there were still the Vikings.
    He had never disliked a man simply for being a Viking. God knew, even the royal house of Normandy evolved from Viking contributions. The sea pirates had raided far and wide, into France, England, Ireland, as far away as Russia and the Mediterranean, and certainly into Scotland. The great invasions which had first cast such horror into these isles were now several centuries in the past, but wars with the predators were not so far away that a Viking menace could be taken lightly. In the early years of the last century, his own royal ancestors had been forced to pay homage to the Dane Cnut, who had been recognized king of much of England. And it had just been in the year 1098 when the Norwegian king Magnus III, known as Magnus Barefoot, had savaged his way through Orkney and the Hebrides, held his position, and made a formal treaty with David’s brother. Aye, Vikings were a greater danger than border lords. He didn’t intend to lose any of his land to the Vikings. They