Seduced by a Rogue by Amanda Scott Read Free Book Online

to defy me.”
    “How?” Rob demanded. “You did not want me to take an army with me.”
    “I’d have had you do whatever was necessary,” Alex replied icily.
    “That is not an answer to my question,” Rob said, meeting his gaze. “We have enjoyed peace in the Borders long enough for
     men to grow crops again, after decades of cross-border strife. Now you suggest the Maxwells should stir conflict with our
     own Scottish neighbors? Do you
want
war with Annandale?”
    “Don’t act the dafty,” Alex said irritably. “‘Tis ever your way, Rob, to make outrageous comments rather than deal as you
     should with the matter at hand. You needed only to show our strength. I told all those lairds, in the formal writ I sent out
     last spring, that they had no lawful choice but to submit. Letting Dunwythie so easily defy my authority is just further proof
     of my own error in having entrusted you with such an important task. I had hoped the responsibility of managing Trailinghail
     had improved you. But I fear you are still the same scapegrace you always were. Or perhaps, having inherited land in Galloway,
     you no longer think of yourself as a Maxwell of Dumfries.”
    Gritting his teeth to keep from uttering the angry words that leaped to his tongue, Rob wondered if his brother would ever
     stop flinging perceived errors of the past in his teeth. Aware that Alex often read him more accurately than he could read
     Alex, Rob said, “Mayhap you have forgotten how fast the men of Annandale can assemble
their
army. Having an English garrison in their midst at Lochmaben has given them much practice in acting swiftly.”
    “And so they might have reacted had
I
led an army into Annandale,” Alex retorted. “Did I not explain that
that
is why you were to take only your men with you, and none of mine? My writ of authority should have been enough to show Dunwythie
     that
you
meant business without an armed host. Were I to lead even my normal tail of twenty men into Annandale, it could stir the
     natives to a clash. Nevertheless, if they force me to summon an army of Maxwells to my banner, be sure that I will take enough
     with me to end
all
the impudence in Annandale.”
    Rob said, “I cannot imagine, nor could I from the outset, how you expected me to persuade a man of Dunwythie’s stamp to submit
     to your authority with only a half dozen men. Nor have you yet told me how. As it was, Old Jardine warned that I should not
     take any of
his
men along other than Will, lest
I
stir conflict.”
    “Mayhap you should have ignored him and used your own judgment.”
    “He is our ally, Alex, and he knows the dale. He pointed out that Dunwythie would not allow so many enemies inside his wall
     and that they would be useless outside it, and might even ignite trouble with others in the dale. He made good sense, so I
     took only my own men. At least, his lordship heard me out.”
    “Aye, sure, and then dismissed all that you said to him,” Alex said.
    “Surely, you are aware that he looks upon Maxwells as lesser creatures who, in the past, have twice sided with the English.
     He flatly denies that he owes you either his submission or his fealty.”
    “Dunwythie is said to be a man of peace,” Alex said, as if he were explaining something simple to a child. “You had only to
     explain to him that the law supports my authority, that his grace the King supports it—and explain my right of seizure.”
    “You’ve just said that your warrant explained all that,” Rob said.
    “Perhaps the man cannot read.”
    With Dunwythie’s image still strong in his mind, Rob smiled.
    “Do you find humor in my words?” Alex demanded, frowning.
    “Dunwythie is an educated man,” Rob said. “He knows his worth, and he wields great influence. Even Old Jardine respects him.
     In troth, from all I could learn about him, his influence extends far beyond Annandale. I’m telling you, if you threaten him,
     most of the other barons of Dumfriesshire will