EIGHT
The council meeting dragged on in a series of debates, which ranged from stories the lords had heard about Donald to the difficulties of tithing their own people. This continued until the sun sank low on the horizon, and Rudolf could smell roasting meat from the fire pit on the shore. The fishing boats returned to ferry them across the loch, and Rudolf found himself in the same boat as Lord Ronin, one of the men who had stood beside Calum in the vote about Portia. At first, Rudolf wondered at the man's motive, but Ronin soon enlightened him. Just as Lewis had said, he was a man with many unmarried daughters, and an opportunity to sell them to an eligible bachelor like Rudolf was something Lord Ronin did not intend to miss.
Thankfully the boat trip was short, and Rudolf managed to a
