Courting Favour

John Cospatrick Dunbar, a younger son of the ninth Earl of Dunbar and March and of the formidable Agnes Randolph—Black Agnes—expects neither an earldom nor high office. His mother’s bequest changes everything, placing the troubled northern earldom of Moray in his hands and making the twenty-two-year-old nobleman King David II’s lieutenant in a region where royal commands carry little weight. With scant experience of government, John must rely on courage, quick judgement and diplomacy to confront rebellious magnates and restrain the Lords of the Isles.

Success in the north establishes him as an unusually capable envoy, but his most delicate assignment comes after Robert II succeeds to the throne. Sent to London, John is required to cultivate the favour of John of Gaunt and encourage a durable friendship between the English prince and Scotland. Courtly courtesy conceals competing ambitions, and every concession risks being interpreted as weakness or betrayal. The novel follows a soldier-landowner learning that negotiation may demand more nerve than battle and that royal favour is both a weapon and a danger.