Page 86 of Sinful Scottish Laird
A tiny light of possibility opened in Cailean’s thoughts. He was almost afraid to hope. He stood up and began to pace. “What of the trade with the Norwegians?”
“Aulay,” his father said, as if it were all so very simple. Cailean shot him an impatient look and his father chuckled. “Diah,Cailean—you’ll no’ be forever gone, will you?”
“I canna bring her here,” he said flatly. “In the best of worlds, if she agrees to marry me, I canna bring her here.”
“Aye, you can. No one will touch her at Balhaire. I’d no’ go to Auchenard, no’ while the Jacobites are about, and no’ after the English captain has been there. But she may come here, and she and her family will be welcome.”
Cailean’s mind began to churn. He linked his fingers, ran his hand over his head. “There is the matter of her son. He’s a viscount. His education, his connections must be made in England.”
“Aye, they must. But he’s a wee bairn, Cailean. Cat said his tutor has come to Auchenard with him. Will he no’ come to Balhaire? When he’s older, he might return to England for his training, aye?”
Cailean desperately wanted to believe there was hope. He glanced at his father, and a swell of love washed over him. “How can I leave you now,Athair?” he asked plaintively. “You need me, aye?”
His father smiled fondly. “I canna move as well as I once did, aye, it is true. But I’ve four other children besides you, Cailean. Any one of them might act in my stead. We’ll do well enough without you for a time, and you need no’ worry over me yet.” Arran Mackenzie slowly came to his feet. “My advice is to go now, lad. Donna think too long or you will think your way out of it, aye? Go while the fire burns.”
The fire, so to speak, was suddenly burning brighter than it had in days.
* * *
ITWASASTONISHINGhow quickly a man with determination could arrange things. Cailean gave no thought to the dangers he faced. He could think only of stopping Daisy before she married.
He sought out Aulay, who was preparing to sail back to Norway. “I need passage to England,” he said.
“Are you mad?” Aulay demanded. “There’s too much to be done to romp off to England.”
“That I know, as well as you. But we’re sailing south.”
His brother groaned but instructed his first mate to off-load the goods they meant to trade.
Cailean next sought out Willie Mackenzie. The man was more than happy to look after Arrandale and Auchenard for the princely sum of ten pounds. Cailean brought Fabienne and Odin to Balhaire, and as he walked from the great hall that day after saying goodbye to his family, Fabienne, napping before the hearth with other Mackenzie dogs, scarcely lifted her head.
Remarkably, within a fortnight of speaking with his father, Cailean had arrived at Norwood Park, the northern estate where his mother had been raised and where her marriage to his father had been arranged. They all knew the story—his mother had fled Scotland soon after she’d married, but her father had sent her back to Balhaire three years later to determine if Arran Mackenzie was plotting against the throne.
The idea was laughable—there was not a better man than Arran Mackenzie. Which, thankfully, his mother had also realized. Unfortunately, her father, Lord Norwood, and her oldest brother, Bryce Armstrong, were not good men. Lord Norwood was the traitor, and he was convicted of conspiring against the Crown. Bryce Armstrong was stripped of his hereditary rights. His mother’s half brother, Knox Armstrong, was made Lord Norwood and given all that entailed.
Cailean arrived at Norwood Park in the midst of a soiree, which, his mother had warned him, was not uncommon since Knox had come to assume the title. The ride from port to Norwood Park had not been an easy one, and Cailean was bone weary and covered with the grime of the road. He asked the butler to show him to a private room so that he’d not disturb the guests.
As he followed the butler to a private salon, however, he caught sight of a familiar face. Poppy Beauly—now Lady Prudhome—was sitting in a chair, talking to another woman. He knew her instantly, though this was the first time he’d seen her since the day she’d rejected his offer. Her face still clung to some of the beauty from her youth, but there were dark shadows under her eyes, and her hair was graying. She’d softened and widened with time.
Cailean ducked into the small receiving room, certain she hadn’t seen him. He hadn’t been to England since that summer, and now, having seen her, he felt like a fool. What had kept him from it all these years?Thathaggard woman?
Uncle Knox entered by throwing the door open and toddling into the room, slightly drunk and much rounder than the last time Cailean had seen him. “Cailean!” he exclaimed with his usual vigor.
Cailean had fond memories of Knox, the congenial uncle who had always been quick to hug and quick to shove ale into one’s hand. Even now he threw his arms around Cailean and hugged him tightly, bouncing him around a bit. “You look well indeed! A grown man, are you, and a laird now—how about that? Soon to sit on the throne of the Mackenzies, I’ve heard. Well, I am very glad to see you. I thought you’d never come down out of those hills!”
“Neither did I,” Cailean agreed.
Uncle Knox went to the sideboard and poured two drams of whisky, then handed one to Cailean. He touched his glass to Cailean’s and said, “To old times,” and tossed it down his throat. “Now then, your mother’s messenger arrived only yesterday.”
“My mother sent a messenger?” Cailean asked, unaware of it.
“Certainly!” Uncle Knox bellowed, smiling jovially. “She was resolved that I should understand her instructions explicitly and do as she bade me,” he said with a courtly bow and laughed. “I sent the messenger back straightaway with one of my own. My dearest Margot, I said, you wound me with your distrust. Of course my nephew may have all that he needs in pursuit of whatever he is pursuing,” he said with a flourish of his hand. “My guess is a woman?”
Cailean flushed.
His uncle laughed with delight. “To all things there is a season,” he said. “Now then, I’d invite you in, but you look a shambles, and, besides, your last attempt at marital felicity attends me this evening.”
“Aye, I saw Lady Prudhome,” Cailean said.
