The Twisted Laird
Page 24
Jean took the swaddled infant downstairs to be cooed over and admired. Edan brushed a hand lightly over the dark fuzz covering the child's head. He had expected the child to have both parent's coloring.
Noting the child's size, he glanced up at Jean. "Nae bloody wonder tha poor woman was having ah difficult time. My nephew is ah braw laddie."
Jean grinned. "Truly. I've ah feeling it may be ah few days before she is out traipsing round tha place. Walking may be difficult."
Turning a light shade of pink, Edan shook his head. "Och! Hen, please! I've just eaten. Some things are ah bit out of my ken, an can stay that way."
With a short chuckle, Jean turned to go. "We'll leave ye tae yur ale. This laddie needs tae go up an feed. 'Twas ah hard trip was it nae, laddie?" The woman asked the infant as she started back up the stairs with him.
As Jean started up the stairs, the babe began to cry again. Edan winced a little. There would be no mistaking when the child wanted something. After a short time Cadell was suddenly quiet, all understood the infant was feeding. It was a very good thing Rhona was strong and healthy. That one was going to keep her very busy.
Chapter Thirty - Four
Filling her arms to perfection, the infant filled the raw hole in her heart. Rhona did not want to put Cadell down, he was so precious. When she looked into his eyes, she saw Hamish. At night, Rhona thanked God for the gift of the child.
Using a belt, she fashioned a pouch with her arisaid, just under her heart for the child to lie against her, when working. It was too cold to take the infant out to the yard and Rhona let Jamie know until winter was over, she would not be going there.
Sitting in the warmth of the cottage after having held lessons for the younger children, Rhona discovered she was content. It was an emotion she had little experience with. Hamish had carried her away with passion. They had laughed together and fought. All those feelings she understood, but this feeling of peace was so new, she was unsure how to deal with it.
At times, when Cadell was quiet or sleeping, she would sit in the weaving room next to Daracha. They talked of many different things. Often, they spoke of Hamish and Edan. Rhona found she could think about her husband without being swallowed by grief.
Not having him with her was a source of sorrow, but it no longer sank claws in her, refusing to let go. The two women spoke about their children. Daracha hoped the two would be good friends, as their mothers were.
As Daracha grew larger, she occasionally needed a hand with the loom. Some bending and stooping was beyond her when dressing the big loom. As Rhona worked to do what was necessary, Daracha held Cadell.
Rhona loved watching her friend play with the child. Edan's wife was good with infants. She would be a good mother. Rhona no longer questioned her own ability to care for her son. Aware of her lack of knowledge of children, she was willing to ask whoever might be handy, for advice when necessary. There was nothing she would not do for her son, for their son.
Nearly two months old, Cadell was lying in Daracha's arms while Rhona drew the warp threads through the reed of the loom for the weaver. Edan entered the room and looked over Daracha's shoulder as she tickled the wee one's belly.
Not realizing he was there, Rhona was startled by his laugh. Straightening up from the task, Rhona smiled as she watched Edan. With one hand on his wife's shoulder, he reached out with a finger to stroke the child's cheek. When the infant's failing arms connected with Edan's hand, Cadell was able to grab onto his Uncle's finger. The little arms and legs moved sporadically as he shook Edan's finger.
"That serious are ye, laddie? Are ye enjoying being tha center of yur aunt an yur mither's attention?"
After making a gurgling noise, Cadell let go of the finger he had been holding. Edan looked at Rhona with laughter in his eyes. "He's ah right fine bairn! A fine laddie."
"Thank ye, Edan. An, I've nae thanked ye for tha belt. 'Tis what I needed. As is this." She gestured around the room and toward the window. "It was tha right thing tae do, coming tae Glasgow. Ye were right, we couldnae stay there."
A look of amazement slid across his face and then was gone, as he simply nodded. Kissing Daracha on the cheek, Edan turned to leave. With his back to her, Edan turned his head for a moment. "Thank ye, Rhona. I ken tha cost. 'Twas nae easy for any of us."
Leaving them alone in the winter sunshine which streamed into the windows, Edan hurried off.
"Rhona?" Daracha's voice was soft. "Thank ye. Worry over everyone here, worry over the business an how tae keep our funds growing is something he lives with daily. It was ah good thing ye did for Edan, just now. Ah very good thing."
Lying in bed with Cadell tucked up alongside her, Rhona considered her behavior with Edan. Why had she said what she did? Because it was true. Hamish had left her, but he had not left her or any of them alone.
Remembering the shy child Edan had been, she shook her head. They were prospering here. Jean said she was not ready to look for a replacement for her man. Indeed, why would any of them go looking? None of them worked too hard.
There were hands aplenty to share the work. Alone, with a man and household to run, any one of them would be worn to a nub by the end of the day.
Rut and Jamie would be married by the end of the month. Cadha would move into Jamie's old bed. The other women would crowd into the middle bedroom, the next biggest. Rut and Jamie would take the smaller bedroom. Crowded perhaps, but warm and dry.
Edan spent that evening as they were eating, teasing Jamie about putting together a larger box bed, moving it into the room and putting all the children in with them. Jamie growled a few times. Getting in his own licks, Anderson suggested half of the widows should move into the room with Edan and Daracha.
Acknowledging, in truth, most couples did not get a bedroom to themselves, Edan laughed. There was plenty of floor space down near the hearth the laird suggested. That comment was met with several rude noises and complaints, as it was far warmer upstairs.
Cadha laughed at them all. She did not mind sleeping down in Jamie's old box bed. The topic provided them with quite a bit of fun that night. Rhona smiled as she thought about the changes to everyone in their small family. Slowly, as winter progressed, they began to find happiness in the cottage on Wood Lane.
There were still times the melancholy took one or the other of them. Those times were growing rare, as the days moved along, one into another. Children were growing and their memories were not of the glen, but of the field, the lumber yard and the swamp. Happy and healthy, the new generation of MacGrough had put away sadness.
Woven into the fabric of all their lives was one constant, their laird. Rhona was grateful to Hamish for sending Edan home. She was grateful to God that he managed the trip alive and well. Well enough to carry them out of the trap their beloved glen had become.
From the tales they heard from some who had tried to stay in the highlands, starvation ran amuck that winter, like a wild bull. A few refugees tried to find shelter in the lumber yard. None of them had the heart to turn the poor souls away.
Given a good meal, they were allowed to bed down in the garden shed. Many were selling any item of value they possessed in order to book passage to the colonies. Some went as indentured servants. Single men often signed on as crewmen simply for a meal, a bed and a few coins in their pockets.
Rhona knew Edan had not dipped too heavily into the bag of coins. It was also easy to see how leaving while it was still spring, before the mass exodus from the highlands took place, benefitted them. They were still hale when they left the glen behind.
Even meeting Ian Smith and working for him the short amount of time they did, was a God send. Because of Edan's talent with wood, they had the cottage. The clientele they built up over the summer on market day provided them with an ever expanding client base, by word of mouth.
Woolens woven by Daracha and Cadha, also sold well. Many new orders came the same way in which orders for furniture came, from the referrals of satisfied customers.
As much as she hated and opposed the move, it had been the right thing to do under the circumstances.
Blaming Edan for the move and for Hamish's death was wrong. He was a victim of the times, as all the Jacobite's were. The increasing flood of those seeking to find a new life in the colonies had opened her eyes. Everything they had known for hundreds of years was collapsing around them.
Scotland no longer existed as a viable kingdom. Now, ruled from London the Sassenach finally reached the long sought goal of complete domination of the island. Only by the foresight of the laird, Gideon, and now, Hamish were they able to survive in their own country.
Rhona knew she probably would have gone after the Templar's treasure eventually. What she could have done for herself and the other women was another question all together. The coin would have likely been all spent by now.
The jealousy, the animosity, she held toward Edan all these years was finished. Gone, it had frittered away without her realizing it. And, she had apologized to Edan. Recalling the shocked look on his face, Rhona smiled to herself in the dark. Taking the man by surprise was still enjoyable. Hurting him was no longer the goal.
Whatever happened now, Rhona knew unless Edan became a wastrel and totally squandered the clan's savings, she no longer blamed the man. He did the best he could and Edan's best was keeping them all fed and housed.
The babe stirred slightly. Rhona put one hand under the tiny body and rocked him gently from side to side. Curling around the infant, she made sure there was enough of an opening above his head to give Cadell fresh air.
Warm under the bed clothes, Rhona finally drifted off to sleep in the stillness.
Daracha curled on her side and wiggled her bottom against Edan's groin.
"Be still, woman!" He nuzzled the skin behind her ear as his wife sighed.
"Well then, cease your own twisting about. Ye need tae rest as do I. If your lass will only stop trying tae dance, I might be able to sleep."
Placing his right arm over her swollen belly, Edan placed his hand on her and made small circles over the skin which was undulating.
"An what makes ye so sure this is a lass? There's as good ah chance it's ah lad."
With another sigh, her body began to relax into the cotton stuffed mattress. "I dinnae ken. I just feel like it's ah lass. I'm nae carrying as low as tha others who have boys. Ye cannae count Rut, as it were twins. It feels right when I call her Ailene."
"It will be spring soon, luv. How much longer do ye think?" Edan asked, as his hand stilled and he felt himself begin to drift off into sleep.
"Springtime, aye. Two more months' per'aphs. Two more an ye will see that I'm right. Ye will be able to hold yur lass in your arms. She'll be ah bonnie wee thing." Daracha fell silent.
Edan gave her belly a light squeeze. "Night, my wee Ailene. Since yur mither is so sure ye're ah girl, who am I tae argue."
The cottage fell silent as all within slept.
***
In the warehouse at Gruggie's Burn, Ian Smith stared into a tankard of ale. There was no hope for it, he would need to put pressure on the MacGrough. The damnable cooper was again out of commission. Edan was not going to be happy about doing another dozen half anker barrels.
Ian had no choice in the matter. Tally was going to take skin off him if he did not have the barrels ready on time. While MacGrough worked on the barrels, he was going to see if another cooper might be found. This one was entirely too fond of drink and women, he must be replaced.
MacGrough would raise a fuss, he was certain of it. Ian recalled the last conversation they had over barrels. The man needed to know he was not working for Ian, he was beholden to Tally Smith. That was one man not even Ian was willing to cross. Like it or not, Edan MacGrough was going to make barrels for Tally Smith.
Chapter Thirty - Five
In the morning, Ian rose and saddled his horse. Something needed to be done immediately. It would be a busy day, there was MacGrough to tackle and a new cooper to find. The hardest should be first. Edan MacGrough's shop would be his first stop.
Puffs of vapor rose from the horse's nose, as it protested being forced out into the cold air of a frosty morning. Noting the track was hard from the evening frost, Ian knew in a few hours all would be soft mud.
All the better to get the visit to MacGrough over and done with. Then he could go into the city and make some quiet inquiries. The bloody ass he had employed would be furious when he got sober and realized what he had lost.
Ian was resolved there would be no third chance for the fool. The other question was what would he do with the man? If he fired him, it was likely the cooper would get drunk again and open his trap in places where he should keep silent.
Killing him was out of the question, as Ian was fairly sure the cooper had already let some hints drop, as to who employed him to family and friends. One possible option presented itself. He could pay one of the ship's captains to take the fool on board and drop him in a Dutch colony somewhere.
Thinking he wanted the bastard somewhere he was not going to easily get away from, Ian decided Dutch Guiana on the South American coast was the best choice. The cooper knew little beyond Glasgow and would probably think he was being sent abroad to the colonies.
Grinning to himself, Ian knew exactly what he was going to tell the fool. He was going to travel to the West Indies to teach some of the darkies the art of cooperage. Giving him a bit of money to open a shop there would encourage the man to leave without fuss.
Since the idiot didn't speak Dutch, he would not find it easy to get out of Dutch Guiana, once he was there. It was the perfect place for the stupid man. Ian started to whistle as he rode toward Grahamston. One thing was settled now, to deal with MacGrough.
Edan watched the horseman from his window. He groaned on recognizing Ian Smith. Turning to Callum, Adie, and Blane, he sent the two younger boys out of the shop into the cottage. Callum was to run to the lumber yard for Jamie. The man wanted something. Edan knew Smith would not be making the trip to Grahamston without a real purpose.
Quite sure he did not want to know what that purpose might be, Edan perched on his high stool and waited. His big bench was behind him. A very sharp chisel lay just behind his back, within easy reach.
After the last incident with Ian, Edan was determined to be ready for anything. When he could no longer see the man through the window, he heard the stamping of the horse's hooves as the big man brought it to a halt before the shop door.
"Aye, lad. Ye be ah MacGrough?" Hearing Ian call out, Edan knew it was probably Callum he was speaking to.
The boy's response confirmed his suspicion. Jamie would not be far behind the boy.
"Can ye tend tae me animal?" Ian asked Callum.
The boy replied in the affirmative and within a few minutes, Ian was knocking on the shop door.
"MacGrough, ye in there?"
"I am. Come ahead, Smith." Edan called out. He watched as Smith cautiously opened the door.
"I've ah matter tae discuss with ye. 'Tis good ye're alone here. 'Tis for yur ears only." The man hitched his coat tighter around his middle, as he looked Edan over. Noting the folded arms and empty hands, Ian nodded. "Nae armed, are ye?"
"I've only tha tools of my trade. What do ye want, Ian? I'd nae thought tae see ye again. Och, an ye can expect Anderson tae be here any minute. Mayhap, ye'd care tae move tae tha side. Nae behind tha door, ken?"
With a sharp nod, Ian stepped to the right side of the doorframe. "Are ye sure ye want Anderson in on this? ‘Tis nae his business, mind?"
"I suspicioned as much. Aye, I want him here. How goes things on Gruggie's Burn?" Edan asked, as he stalled for time.
Ian was aware of what Edan was doing. "Och! Suit yurself. Ah few extra minutes willnae change matters." With a shrug, Ian answered Edan's question. "Things are nae going well. Surely, ye ken that's why I've come tae see ye."
With a sigh, Edan shook his head. Unhappily, he was fairly sure what Ian had come to see him about.
The door burst open and Jamie rushed into the room. Fists cocked at his sides, Anderson glanced from Edan to Ian. "Cannae say...I'm pleased...tae..see ye." He stumbled a little over the words, as he strove to calm his breathing.
"Aye, I'm nae tae pleased with tha sight of yur face, laddie, after tha bother ye caused me. But, 'tis MacGrough I've come tae see. 'Tis nae me who wants ye here." Ian gestured toward Edan. 'Tis him."
"Well, so, spit tha miserable thing out. What do ye want from me, Smith?" Edan asked.
"Tha cooper, tha daft asail, has gone an gotten knackered again. This time his head is near twice its size from dallying with tha wrong lad's lass."
MacGrough interrupted him. "Nae! I cannae do it again. I've women an weans tae care for ah business tae run an orders tae fill. Get yur asail out of my shop an go find yurself another cooper!"
"I'm trying tae find another, but there's ah deadline tae be met. Ye great lump of cac, do ye nae ken? 'Tis for Tally Smith. Neither o' us has ah choice here. Tally will have what he needs."
"I nae care if 'tis tha bloody Sassenach king! I cannae take tha chance." Edan slid off the stool and kicked it to one side.
Shaking his shaggy red head, Ian threw his hands in the air. "'Tis nearly as bad an mayhap, worse. Do ye ken why we call him "Tally"? He keeps an account of all who owe him. Tally gets his due. If not from ye, from yur kin, yur business, yur home, yur dog or horse. It matters nae tae him, he will have his payment. I'm warning ye, nae cross Tally Smith, only loss will come tae ye from it."
"I've nae choice. I cannae do as ye ask. Get ye away from here. Dinnae come back here with this again. 'Tis nae possible." In two long strides, Edan was in Ian's face. "I said afore, 'twas tha only time I was gonna make barrels for ye. How did ye get me intae Tally's book, for tha luv of God?"