Highland Lover: Book 3 Scottish Knights Trilogy (3 page)

“His grace, the King,” Jake replied.

Aware of Coll’s stunned silence, Jake watched the second lad climb the ladder as lithely as the first. Returning his gaze to the coble to see a tall, slender man grab the ladder next, he felt his jaw tighten again.

Having counted the men in the boat, he knew that this one had to be Henry of Orkney. Jake had known him almost from Henry’s birth and liked him. He did not want the wicked weather to plunge the earl into the
ice-cold sea, where he might drown before others could reach him.

However, Henry could swim. And Henry was not Jake’s first priority.

“Am I to know who those lads be, sir?” Coll asked.

Jake hesitated. But he had known Coll for over a decade and trusted him. Moreover, they’d be following the
Maryenknyght
to her destination. And accidents happened, even to men who had lived their lives aboard ships. If aught happened to him, Coll should understand the exact nature of their mission.

Knowing that the wind would blow his words away before they reached ears other than Coll’s, and that the men were heeding their oars, Jake leaned nearer and said, “Wardlaw said nowt to me in St. Andrews about any second lad, Coll. But one of those two lads will inherit the Scottish Crown.”

In the uncertain moonlight, he saw Coll’s eyes widen. “Jamie Stewart?”

“Aye, sure, for since Davy Stewart’s death—”

“Sakes, sir, that were a year ago!”

“It was, aye. But whilst Davy’s death was still new, James was safe at St. Andrews Castle under Bishop Wardlaw’s guardianship. Forbye, after Parliament proclaimed Davy’s death an accident instead of the murder we all know it was, his grace began to fear for Jamie’s life, too.”

“That explains why the lad has been missing these two months and more,” Coll said. “But how could they have survived so long atop that rock?”

“There is an ancient castle built into it about halfway up.”

“Ye be jesting, sir. Nae one could build a castle there.”

“Believe it,” Jake said. “Sithee, Coll, when his grace recognized the threat to Jamie, he decided to send him to our ally, the King of France, for safety.”

“Aye, well, ye need not tell me who his grace fears might harm the lad,” Coll said with a grunt. “Only one man can be sure to benefit from such, and that be his murderous uncle, the Duke of Albany. But if aught happened to the laddie, would not the country rise in fury against Albany afore he could seize the throne?”

“Likely they would have, had Jamie died last year soon after Davy,” Jake agreed. “But he did not. Recall, too, that folks expected Parliament to declare Albany responsible for Davy’s death. Instead, the early winter prevented many of the Highland lords from reaching Perth, allowing Albany’s allies in Parliament to declare Davy’s death an accident. They could not, however, vote to make Albany Governor again, because the King was too distraught to agree.”

Coll nodded. “But Parliament will meet again afore Easter, and Albany has had time to persuade his grace. What be our place in this business, sir?”

“We are merely to report back to Wardlaw when Jamie gets safely to France,” Jake said. “And perhaps to do what we can to aid that ship if aught goes amiss.”

After watching men rush to help the first child aboard and wrap him in blankets, Alyson went back down to her tiny cabin. Since the country had been speculating for months about the fate of their eight-year-old prince, she immediately suspected who one of the two children might be.

The business that Mungo and her husband, and doubtless the Earl of Orkney himself, had in France was likewise
more understandable. Was Henry not head of the wealthy and powerful Sinclair family, which had long supported kings of Scots even when many Sinclairs had disagreed with them?

Indeed, from the outset, she had wondered why, when they were on Henry’s business, they were sailing on a storm-battered merchantman. Henry owned dozens if not hundreds of finer ships. She also knew that if she was right and James Stewart
was
their primary passenger, she dared not linger to see who else was with him.

She would be wiser to proceed with caution until she learned more.

When they raised anchor and headed south with the wind behind them, it was less thunderous, and she slept well on Ciara’s swaying hammock until morning.

Alyson wasted no time after waking before going on deck, where with overcast skies and rain threatening, one of the first things she saw was Henry’s tall figure emerging from the master’s cabin. He showed neither surprise nor delight at seeing her but greeted her cordially.

“Good morrow, my lord,” Alyson replied.

“In troth, ’tis a dismal day,” he said with a wry smile. “Forbye, I must tell you how sorry I was to miss your wedding to Niall.”

“And are even sorrier to see me here now,” she said. “ ’Tis true, is it not?”

With a rueful look, he said, “It is, aye, though in courtesy I should not say it.”

“With respect, sir, you may always speak the truth to me. I admire candor. What others call tact or cosseting often results in misunderstanding of one sort or another. Do you not agree?”

His blue eyes twinkled. “
I
might, but others would disagree, madam. Most people, in my experience, don’t appreciate honesty as they should.”

She smiled but said, “That
was
young Jamie Stewart I saw come aboard from the coble last night, was it not?”

“You saw that, did you?”

“I did, aye,” she said. “In troth, Niall ought not to have let me come.”

“Niall didn’t know,” Orkney said. “Very few people do. I sent my secretary to Danzig to arrange quietly for this ship simply because it had not sailed in Scottish waters before and was unlikely to be known as one of mine.”

“I see. Am I right to deduce that we are taking James to France? Or have you another destination in mind?”

He glanced around before replying in a lower tone than before, “We do sail to France, Lady Alyson. But this ship’s captain and crew are Prussian. So, although we’ll address both boys by their given names, we’ll say little about them to others.”

“Doubtless that is an excellent notion, sir. However, I trust that you won’t keep two such lively lads cooped up below, in that wee cabin opposite mine.”

“They slept on pallets in the master’s cabin last night, with me, and are still asleep,” he said. “Likely, I’ll turn Mungo and your husband out of the cabin next to mine and order
them
into that smaller cabin below. I did not do so last night for fear of waking you and your woman.”

“I see,” she said. “But if you want no undue attention drawn to the boys…”

Henry frowned, saying, “I thought that as Jamie has been living rough these past months, I could at least give
him the more comfortable cabin. But I should not. Still, one dislikes…” He paused thoughtfully.

“In troth, I have been trying to imagine how Ciara and I might earn our place on this ship, sir. Since you are unhappy to have us…”

“Not unhappy, my lady, nor is it of use to repine now if I were.”

“I was thinking that whilst we travel, we might help look after the boys.”

His relief was visible. “I’ll accept that offer,” he said. “After more than three months on that rock, my ability to devise new entertainments has abandoned me.”

Satisfied that she had eased his concerns, Alyson went to tell Ciara that their voyage would no longer be as tedious as it had so quickly begun to seem. What Niall or Mungo might say to it all, she did not trouble herself to consider.

When a seaman brought food to her cabin so she and Ciara could break their fast, he told them that Orkney had also ordered food for the boys and had ordered their belongings moved to the cabin across the way. Alyson assumed that the earl would soon shoo the boys out of his cabin and summon his secretaries to see to what business they could as they sailed.

When the seaman returned to collect the remains of their meal, he affirmed that assumption. “Them two lads be on deck now, m’lady,” he added. “It be still blowing a gale, but they dinna seem tae mind.”

Alyson gave the boys time to acquaint themselves with the ship before she donned her cloak and went up to find them at the railing, peering down at the sea.

Addressing James, whose current title was Earl of
Carrick, she said, “I am Alyson MacGillivray, my lord Carrick. Orkney has suggested that, if you do not object, we might devise ways of entertaining ourselves together whilst we sail. My husband, Niall Clyne, serves as one of Orkney’s secretaries. My woman, Ciara, is with me, and our cabin is across from the one that you and your friend will occupy.”

“We decided that people should call me James whilst we are all on this ship,” he replied, looking her up and down as if he were assessing her but without any sign of impertinence. Then, he added matter-of-factly, “Orkney said ye were beautiful, my lady. I believe he understated that fact considerably.”

His seriousness invested his words with charm that surpassed that of most adult males she had met and drew a smile from her as she thanked him.

He was a sturdy-looking lad with a mop of dark auburn curls, doubtless inherited from his Drummond mother, since most Stewarts were fair and blue-eyed. His were dark brown, with long, thick eyelashes. He would be nine at the end of July, but he had spoken with solemn dignity far beyond his years. When she smiled at his compliment, he smiled back rather wistfully.

Then, as if recalling his duty, he gestured toward his companion and said, “This be my friend, Will Fletcher. He isna used tae the Fletcher bit yet, though. We began calling him so on Bass Rock, ’cause they had three other Wills there. Sithee, Will’s da was a fletcher, so calling him Will Fletcher seemed a good notion.”

“It sounds wise to me,” Alyson said, smiling at Will, who bobbed a bow in return. He looked a year or two older than Jamie, had darker, curlier hair, and a demeanor
nearly as solemn. “Your father made arrows, did he, Will?”

“He did, aye, m’lady.”

“A cousin of mine is a highly skilled archer, so I know about fletchers. How did you come to be friends with James?”

“Me mam were dead, and when me da fell out o’ an apple tree, he died, too. I didna like the tanner we worked for in Doune, so I joined up wi’ Jamie instead. D’ye ken how long we’ll be aboard this ship, m’lady?”

“That likely depends on the weather,” she replied. “The winds have been unpredictable, so we cannot count on their goodwill. Would you two like to go below with me and see your cabin and mine?” When they nodded, she said, “Did you bring aught with you to occupy yourselves?”

“I have a chessboard and pieces tae play chess or dames,” Jamie said. “Orkney and I taught Will tae play, too. So if you know how…”

Alyson grimaced. “I know the moves, but I fear that either of you will beat me easily. Still, it will be good for me to learn more.”

“Aye, well, I can teach ye, m’lady,” Jamie said. “Mayhap Orkney will, too, or your husband, Master Clyne.”

Alyson nodded as she passed them to go down the ladder. In truth, she had barely spoken with Niall since they’d arrived at Leith Harbor to meet Mungo. And now that Orkney was aboard, she doubted she would see much of Niall at all. Orkney’s business would keep him and Mungo busy, as it usually did.

Unstable weather continued as they traveled south. By Tuesday, their fifth day at sea, the wind had picked up again, and Jake thought the merchantman’s captain was letting it push the ship dangerously near the English north coast.

Although England, France, and Scotland were enjoying a rare truce, he had no faith in truces. Moreover, he had heard men say that pirates prowled that coast.

Chapter 2