Page 62 of Promised to the Forbidden Laird

“Nae. Each patrol will have one officer from either clan. Decisions will be shared.”

“Shared command is nae command at all.”

“Then ye have spent too many years believing wisdom can exist in only one man at a time.”

A few councilors lowered their gazes.

Finlay leaned back. “And when MacIver men learn every weakness in our walls and roads?”

“They already ken enough tae harm us, had that been their purpose,” she replied. “Roy entered Dun Ard through a hidden passage. His men held the hall. The gates stood open before them.”

The memory chilled the room.

“He could have claimed the castle then,” Donaldina continued. “He didnae.”

She felt Roy’s attention settle upon her. The admission was costly not because she doubted its truth, but because speaking it before the council placed her trust where all could see.

Malcolm looked from her to Roy. “And ye believe his clan will show the same restraint?”

“I believe men become loyal tae those who stand beside them before danger, nae those who lecture them after it.”

Rain struck the shutters in a sudden hard sweep. Donaldina placed her palm upon the table.

“The first patrol will ride tomorrow. Six MacNicols. Six MacIvers. They will inspect the northern posts and the roads leading toward the old Gunn lands. Nae man will enter a home, take supplies or question a tenant without a MacNicol officer present.”

Roy nodded. “Agreed.”

Finlay’s eyes narrowed. “Ye speak as though the matter is settled.”

“Nae,” Donaldina corrected. “I speak as though I have offered a plan. The council may approve it or present one more useful.”

Silence followed. She waited.

It was a risk. Councils often preferred criticizing decisions to producing them. By asking for another plan, she forced the men to measure their objections against the danger beyond the walls.

One by one, their gazes returned to the map. No one spoke.

Malcolm broke the silence first.

“One patrol,” he said. “As a trial.”

Donaldina inclined her head. “One patrol.”

“And if there is trouble between the men, the arrangement ends.”

“If there is trouble, we learn from it before Cormac uses the same division against us.”

The old man grunted, though not in refusal. Another councilor raised his hand. Then another. Finlay held out longest. At last, he exhaled and gave one reluctant nod. Donaldina felt the tension loosen between her shoulders.

“The motion passes,” Malcolm declared.

Conversation resumed at once regarding routes, provisions, horses and the choice of officers. Hamish bent over the map with two MacNicol captains. Arguments broke out over which road required greater protection, but their tone had changed. The men were no longer disputing whether cooperation was possible. They were deciding how it would work.

Donaldina closed the supply ledger. Roy remained beside her.

“Ye knew they would agree,” he said quietly.

She kept her gaze upon the council. “I hoped they feared Cormac more than they disliked yer clan.”