I had the run of the place, but lit

I had the run of the place, but little in the way of entertainment.”
Fiona folded her hands in her lap. It seemed he would make a tale of this and interrupting would not serve her purpose.
“’Twas a quiet life, but many days, your mother came to talk with me. I had other visitors too, but only a few sought to keep me informed of what was happening outside my prison walls. For it was a prison.”
His cheeks flushed, and he stared off for a moment as if struggling with the memories. His voice was heated when he next spoke. “Five years, I lived like that, all but shackled within my own property, knowing all the while that Douglas was lining his own coffers with my gold and stealing land from those loyal to me to bestow upon his own clan.”
She swallowed against a tide of unease. Her father had been loyal to Douglas until the day he died. She knew better than to remind the king of that now.
“But your mother was always honest with me, and so it was to her I turned when I devised a method of escape. Have you heard this tale before?” He eyed her with fresh speculation.
Fiona shook her head. “No, never.”
Now he smiled a tiny smile. “Well, as I grew into a young man, some of my lady visitors were, shall we say, less savory than your mother. Douglas thought to keep me occupied with trollops, thinking the distraction would keep me satisfied and not longing for my throne. It did not work, of course. By fifteen, I yearned to grasp the reins of the country I was born to rule. And so, one evening, your noble mother dressed herself like a lowly wench and came into my room. She brought me a whore’s outfit, with a wig and rouge and powder to disguise my face.” He chuckled now. “I made a fine-looking wench, if I do say so myself.”
Fiona could not imagine his appearance, for the man before her now was anything but feminine. She murmured a noncommittal response, and the king went on with his tale.
“Once disguised, your mother helped me sneak past all the guards and into a cart Cedric had waiting in the courtyard. We rode out of there and straight to Stirling, where the Campbell army waited, along with many of those eager to see me wrest my throne from Douglas’s greedy clutches. Had it not been for Cedric and your mother, there is no telling how history might have been written.”
Fiona had heard rumblings of how the king had escaped those long years ago, but nothing quite like this. She’d had no idea her mother had been so intimately involved. How was that possible? She wiped her fingertips across her forehead.
“Your Highness, may I speak my mind?”
“You may.” He crossed his arms.
“My parents must have been married by this time, yes?”
The king nodded. “They were. You and your brothers were born as well. Have you no memory of being at Tantallon?”
Fiona had the vaguest recollection of moving into Sinclair Hall but none at all of where they’d been before. She shook her head.
“’Tis no surprise. You would have been a wee lass. You lived there with your mother, but your father was often away, tending to Douglas’s dastardly business.”
A cloud passed by his face. “Your father was a traitor to the crown, Fiona, but I have no quarrel with you or your clan so long as they prove their renewed loyalty to me. I admit, when Cedric asked me to enforce this betrothal between you and Myles, I hesitated. He assured me that with Hugh gone, the Sinclairs would once more become faithful servants of Scotland. May I have your word on that?”
Fiona swallowed, and perspiration dampened her gown once more. This was what her brothers wanted. They had given her over to an enemy just to prove their devotion to King James. She realized now that John had been right all along and that her sacrifice guaranteed the future safety of her clan.
A surge of certainty and pride swelled within her. She nodded. “Yes, Your Highness. I pledge to you our faith and loyalty. We are your humble servants.”
The king smiled and patted her hand. “Good. Then I shall be most happy to make Sinclair Hall a stop along my grand tour in a few weeks’ time. I’ll set sail at the end of the month.” He set his hands upon his knees and looked her over. His eyes assessed, but not leeringly; rather, it felt as if he were seeing her for the first time. “I believe your mother is smiling down on you right now. She would be most pleased that we are friends.”
Fiona felt tears of gladness swell in her eyes. “I believe she is, Your Highness. I am honored that you would consider me as such.”
“Good, then since we are to be friends, you will not be too peevish when I tell you I have need of your husband at Linlithgow for a few weeks.”
“My husband?” What an odd, hollow feeling the thought of his absence brought forth.
“Aye, I want the Campbell men to travel with me, but I’ll return your beloved soon enough. Matters of the state must take precedence over matters of the heart.”
“Travel with you? Today?” She could not hide her surprise and dismay, and the king chuckled.