"What say you, Sir Oscar? Am I not right?"
"I am a man of peace, Earl Roderic," said Sir Oscar Redmain gravely. "I
have no enemies but the enemies of my king and country. And methinks, my
lord, that a loyal subject of the King of Scots is but a traitorous
hound if he stoop to take arms in favour of either Easterling or
Norseman, and against our good friends of England. You, my lord, may
perhaps pay fealty to King Hakon of Norway, as well as to his majesty
Alexander of Scotland. It is not all men who can make it so easy to
serve two masters."
"A traitorous hound, forsooth! You surely mistake me, Sir Oscar," cried
Roderic, reddening at the reproach. "I said not that I paid truage to
any king but our own King of Scots, God bless him! And though, indeed,
King Alexander is but a stripling, knowing little of kingcraft, yet,
even though he were a babe in arms, he and no other is still my
sovereign lord."
And at that he raised his goblet to his lips and drank a deep draught of
wine. Then, lightly turning to the lady of Rothesay, and helping her to
cut up the venison on her platter, that she might the more easily take
the small pieces in her dainty white fingers, he said:
"After the rough roving life that I have been leading these many years,
my lady, 'tis truly a great joy to come back once more to the peaceful
Isle of Bute.
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