The Magnificent Rogue (30 page)

“So I’m supposed to take the shillings away from my own people?”

“They’re not your people anymore. You belong here with us. In spite of what you say, you know that as well as I do. Besides, there will be plenty of work for
everyone. Gavin says the wool trade is like a thirsty giant. The whole world wants woolen goods.”

“That is true.”

“Then you will do it?”

“No.”

Kate frowned as hope plummeted. “Why not?”

“No village woman would listen to me. They don’t like me.”

“I thought of that possibility.”

“It’s more than a possibility,” Deirdre insisted.

“They don’t have to like you. They only have to respect you and not be antagonized by your manner. I chose women who seemed confident enough to speak their own minds to you. I believe that may help. If I’m wrong, we’ll choose five other women.” She added, “And I’ll be there at first to smooth any feathers you might ruffle. You’re a fine woman. They need only to know you as I do.”

Deirdre was silent for a time, thinking. “It won’t work,” she finally said flatly.

“It will work. I want this for Craighdhu.”

“And so it must come to pass.” She shook her head. “It would drive me mad to teach those fumble-fingered fools.”

“They won’t be fumble-fingered forever. You’ll demand that they get better, and they’ll do it.”

“They’ll walk out after the first lesson.”

“If they do, they’ll come back.”

“Why should they?”

“For the same reason you would. It’s a chance to be of value, to be respected for their own talents, to be sought for their skills. It’s not often a woman is given the opportunity to earn, instead of being given, her place in the world.”

“Not every woman wants that.”

“Then we’ll teach them to want it.”

“So that their men can take it away from them?”

“That won’t happen on Craighdhu.”

“Man’s nature is the same the world over.”

“Do you think Robert would permit their husbands to treat them as your husband treated you?”

Deirdre was silent again. “Perhaps not.”

“Then will you do it?”

“What about the looms?”

Hope flared bright. “Ian Mactavish is talking to the carpenters tomorrow.”

Deirdre snorted. “What does he know about building looms? I’ll have to go and choose the wood and tell them how to do it properly.”

Oh dear, Deirdre was starting already, but Kate had won so much, she didn’t wish to jeopardize success by arguing. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate your help.”

“He won’t, but he’ll have it anyway. I can’t have those helpless ninnies working on bad looms.” She turned back to her loom. “And four hours a day will not be enough. They’ll have to work at least six. Even so, it will take at least three years to make them even adequate, five for them to compete with the trade.”

Kate would not be here in four years. She would not see this seed she was planting grow, she realized with a pang. Well, Craighdhu would be here, and wherever she was, she would know she had enriched it. “I want to have them ready in four. Is it possible?”

Deirdre turned back to her, and a faint smile lit her face. “Oh, yes, give me real women and not ninnies, and it’s entirely possible.”

Edinburgh Castle

“Of course, it could all be a ruse. This Sebastian Landfield seems none too stable.” James frowned. “But I could not let the matter go unquestioned.”

“No, you were right to send for me.” Alec Malcolm
lifted his goblet to his lips. “And at least some of what Landfield said is true. I encountered MacDarren on my way here and met this Kathryn.”

“You did?” James’s frown deepened. “Is she as winning as Landfield said?”

Malcolm thought back to that meeting. Comeliness in a man or woman meant nothing to him, but he had realized as a child that others found a pleasant exterior important. He had always found it odd, but had soon learned to mold their weakness to his advantage. When he had met Kathryn MacDarren, he had assessed her as he did everyone else, weighing her for threat or pliability. He had been more aware of the intelligence and directness of her regard than her beauty. “I suppose she’s comely enough. And I would say she is no fool.”

James swore beneath his breath. “That’s not good news.”

“It’s neither bad nor good until we find out the truth. You’ve brought this wet nurse, Clara Merkert, here?”

James nodded. “The troop I sent to fetch her arrived two days ago. She’s in the dungeon.”

“Has she been questioned?”

“She claims she knows nothing of any child born to my mother. She says the girl is the offspring of a minor nobleman and a strumpet of the town. However, it seems suspicious that the woman comes from a village near where my mother was permitted to go to take the waters.”

Malcolm chuckled. “And where she was persuaded to take Shrewsbury as well.”

“As you say, we do not know if that is true,” James said. “Everything was going so well. I detest all this trouble.”

“That’s why you sent for me.” Malcolm’s tone was light. “To take all your troubles away,”

James’s frown vanished. “I truly missed you, Alec,”
he said softly. “I was very angry at you when you left me.”

“I couldn’t stay in Edinburgh forever. I have my borders to guard.” He met James’s gaze. “If you would remove MacDarren as a threat to me, I’d feel safe to visit you more frequently here at court.”

“You know I can’t move against a nobleman as powerful as MacDarren without just cause. You must settle your own disputes.”

Alec had known that would be James’s reply. James enjoyed the dominance Alec wielded over him, but he never let it interfere with his own ambitions or well-being. “Then you must do without my company.”

“Are your petty little forays more important to you than me?” James asked peevishly.

Malcolm felt a flare of impatience. He knew the answer James expected, and if necessary he would give it to him. It wasn’t necessary, he decided. He could please himself and give James a glimpse of the dominance he craved. He replied, “Yes, of course, they’re more important. I will fit you into my life when it is convenient to do so.”

James’s cheeks flushed with anger. “You go too far, Alec.”

“That is precisely why you enjoy me. I will have no more of this whining.” He changed the subject. “Have you put this woman to the torture?”

“Not yet. I was waiting for you.” James’s tone was still offended. “You have a great talent for causing hurt.”

He’d like to slap the sulky brat’s face, but it was time to soothe instead of punish. “Only for your ultimate benefit.” He smiled warmly. “You know I care for you.”

The boy snatched the bone thrown to him like a starving dog with a leg of lamb. “Truly?”

“Did I not travel over the mountains and come to you in the dead of winter?”

“It’s just that you’re so harsh with me at times. It’s not at all kind when I have such great burdens.”

“Well, I’ll lift one burden from your shoulders now.” He finished his wine in one swallow and set down his goblet. “How old is this Merkert woman?”

“Near her fiftieth year.”

“That’s not too old for the rack. I’ve found when subjects near their sixtieth year, their bones tend to crack more easily and the whips are more efficient.”

James made a face. “I don’t want to hear about it. Just do it.”

“I’ll want only my own people in the dungeon, and no interference.”

“Whatever you like.”

“Those are the words I want to hear.” He rose to his feet. “See that you remember them … later.”

James’s face lit with eagerness. “You will come to me tonight?”

“How could I resist you?” He immediately balanced the sensual softness with a hard edge. “But I must attend to more important things first.” He moved toward the door. “I’ll attend to your personal needs when I have the time.”

As he walked down the corridor, he analyzed his meeting with James. On the whole he thought it had gone very well. He had reasserted his dominance over the boy and would reinforce it on a physical level later. Now, he must determine whether bringing this Merkert woman here was only a ploy to get him back to Edinburgh, or if there was a valid threat to James. The entire tale sounded preposterous, but if there was a particle of truth in it, the situation had definite possibilities.

It was only a question of how he would bring those possibilities to fruition.

“I want at least six sheep.” Kate’s brow wrinkled in thought as she finished the mutton on her trencher.

Gavin’s lips quirked. “By the Saints, you must be hungry tonight.”

She waved the comment aside. “I’m serious. I think we should purchase six fine sheep from the Irish and start our own herd.”

“May I remind you that the island can’t support these herds of sheep?”

“But if they get rid of their cattle, the crofts on the mainland can. I’m sure the reason they haven’t run sheep before is that all of Craighdhu is accustomed to thinking of sheep in connection with the trade.”

Gavin chuckled. “It’s not enough that you’ve turned the village upside down with your weavers, you must turn us all into shepherds.”

“Not at all,” she corrected. “We’ll start out slowly, but by the time my weavers are ready, I’d like to be able to supply them with our own wool.”

“Tell me, aren’t the weavers enough to keep you busy?”

“Deirdre has them well in hand now. I only have to be there in case of disputes.” In truth, the weaving lessons had gone better than she had dreamed possible. The women of the clan had shown an astonishing determination and patience, and Deirdre’s enthusiasm had begun to sweep them along in her wake. Six hours of lessons had become eight, and the housekeeper often stayed late at the weaving cottage with one or the other of the women. Kate had great hopes the enforced intimacy would reap benefits for Deirdre as well as Craighdhu. “It’s time I turned my attention to something else. There’s no reason why we can’t convince the members of the clans on the mainland that they don’t have to go to Ireland to enrich themselves.”

Gavin threw back his head and laughed. “No reason at all.”

He was laughing, but she had only stated her firm belief. She could not understand this male way of thinking that it was necessary to search the world for
what could be found at home with a little effort. She supposed it was men’s nature to seize and women’s to nurture and build. But, by God, given the chance, she could build. She could show them all what could be done with Craighdhu.

Craighdhu had taught her much in these last weeks. She had learned to subdue her temper, to listen, to think before she spoke. She found the people of Craighdhu to be honest and blunt, with a dry wit and a belief that no one on earth was better than a Highlander. At first they had treated her only with the respect they would give the wife of a brother, and she’d been forced to earn all else given to her. She found that challenge as exciting as Craighdhu itself, but to continue to meet that challenge she must work harder, learn more, do more. That hunger was growing more intense with every passing day, and her time here was growing shorter. “Then will you get me my sheep?”

“You’ll have to wait a bit or else ask Ian.” Gavin looked down into the depths of the wine in his goblet. “I’m going away tonight.”

“What? Where are you—” She stopped as she realized his purpose. She had been so involved in her own new life, she had almost forgotten Gavin’s determination regarding Malcolm’s daughter. “No, Gavin, please.”

“Jeanie needs me.” He looked up and smiled. “And I need her.”

“It’s clear Robert thinks it’s too hazardous.”

“Less so now that Alec is in Edinburgh. I’ll never have a better chance.” He lifted his glass in a mock toast. “Wish me good fortune, Kate.”

He was not going to be dissuaded, she realized. “How will you do it?”

“I’ve been paying retainers in Malcolm’s house for years to arrange meetings and to send word of Jeanie. Stop looking so frightened,” he said soothingly. “I’m just going reiving. It won’t even be as dangerous as stealing one of Cavendish’s horses.”

“What about her brother, Duncan?”

“Duncan likes me, and he has no fondness for his father. I’d wager he won’t come thundering after us.”

“I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “Where do you intend to take her?”

“I think Ireland. I know people there who will hide us.” He paused. “But first I’ll bring her here for a day or two and make my peace with Robert. That’s one of the reasons I’ve waited this long. Robert should be back within a few days, and I’ll be able to see him before we have to leave for Ireland.”

Relief surged through her. She had feared for a moment she would never see him again. She had not realized until this moment how very dear he had become to her. “You believe he’ll be terribly angry.”

Gavin nodded. “He’ll be afraid for Craighdhu, you see. That’s why I waited until he was gone. I feared he would try to stop me … or help me. I’m putting Robert into a dreadful coil. I’m endangering Craighdhu, but I still belong to him. I’m one of his own.” He grimaced as he rose to his feet. “But I can’t worry about him when I have troubles of my own.”

“When can I expect you back?”

“In no more than four days. All I ask is that you have a chamber and a warm welcome prepared for my Jeanie.”

“I’ll have the chamber in readiness, but I can’t promise to take this woman to my heart.” Kate’s lips compressed. “She must be very selfish to endanger you in this fashion.”

He shook his head. “You’ll change your mind when you meet her.” He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Pray for me?”

“Of course,” she said gruffly. “Though anyone who is so foolish doesn’t deserve it.”

“But it’s the foolish who need prayers most.” He turned and walked out of the hall.

•    •    •

Edinburgh

He must be careful not to reveal the excitement surging through him, Alec thought as he approached the door of James’s chamber. The king must see no sign that would arouse his suspicions. He must be the dominant taskmaster and then the gentle soother of body and spirit James required. Jesus, it was going to be difficult. Who would have guessed he would have been given this chance? Of course, it was too bad the woman had died—a live witness was always better in these cases—but still he had the confession. It would be enough. He would
make
it enough.