Shane smiled and ordered, indicating none of his Scottish descent. “A plate of the mutton stew, if you will.”
As he waited for the girl, he studied the room and watched the celebrating men. With a tremendous amount of backslapping, they were congratulating each other on some great feat. Shane smiled to himself. Too many drinks, the act of just walking would soon be enough to celebrate.
The girl returned to the table swinging her ample hips, carrying a plate of stew and a loaf of brown bread. She set the food on the table giving Shane a generous view of her breasts barely held in by her blouse.
He tore a hunk from the bread. He watched the girl as she walked toward the bar.
The tavern door opened and Lord Colquhoun entered, He sat down with his friends and turned, lifting an eyebrow and gave the girl his order. He dismissed her with a flick of his hand. Shane didn’t think Colquhoun would recognize him, but didn’t want his face to be seen all the same. He moved his plate closer to the edge and ate while he listened to the conversation going on across the room.
“Oh, it was quite delicious, really. Looking down her nose, playing the honorable Lady Colquhoun. She truly did not have the substance to sustain it,” Lord Andrew cooed. “Of course she had no idea Sidney had been so frivolous with his money. I have no doubt she thought to inherit all. Her man, rather an arrogant cur for a manservant I must say, rushed in to save his mistress. And I use the term with a loose meaning.”
Andrew lowered his head and pursed his lips as he crossed his legs to indicate his bawdy meaning. The gentlemen around the table laughed uproariously and urged him to continue his tale.
“Well, I told him to get out or he would be flayed.” Andrew flicked his hand regally as if to shoo a fly. “Of course, he immediately cowered. He knew better than to threaten a man of greater station. The lady was so stunned by my announcement and her man’s reaction to my threats, she fled the house in tears and ‘tis the last I’ve seen or heard of her. Thank God!”
“Andrew, you handled that whore with authority. Imagine the gall, thinking she was to inherit after your brother died. Sidney told us all how she weaseled her way into the marriage and then refused to be a wife in any sense of the word. She got just what she deserved, nothing!”
Andrew preened.
The man to Andrew’s right asked. “So, do you have any idea where she went? I haven’t heard anything about her around town.”
“No. Nor do I care. I am not going to further concern myself with my brother’s widow. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.”
Shane listened intently to the whole conversation. The serving girl swished by. He ignored her. This was perhaps the explanation he had been seeking. Something was going on with Lady Colquhoun and this man he had thought was her husband. Obviously, this was not the case and he had mistaken Andrew for his brother. He was unaware Sidney Colquhoun was deceased. This put a completely different light on the whole situation.
“Bloody hell,” Shane murmured. He let out a low groan.
Kate had known there would be no ransom. She must have known this man would not pay to have her returned to him hale, hearty, and whole. She had not given him or Iain any indication of her defunct funds. Why would she, given the situation? Of course she would keep that particular piece of information to herself. He would have. Why give the opponent any sort of advantage? Shane nodded, admiring her effrontery. She had not let them know there was no ransom. She had played the game and had played it coolly.
The corners of Shane’s mouth lifted.
Shane remembered the Colquhoun brothers as children and he had never forgotten the experience. He had been in England at the time, sent by his father to be properly educated and gain knowledge not to be had in Scotland.
“Know thine enemy,” his father had said to young Shane. “Knowledge is power. What ye learn is our gain. The clan will one day depend upon ye. Learn it all and learn it well.”
Seamus fostered him with a family friendly to the MacGregor clan. Edward Maxwell and Seamus MacGregor were bonny friends. They had been since Seamus’s own fostering days. Edward realized the importance of Shane being educated in England to Seamus. He had readily agreed to the arrangement.
Shane took a sip of his mead and leaned back in his chair.
During his time with the Maxwells, the elder Lord Alexander Colquhoun, unaware of the Maxwell ties to the MacGregor clan, had paid a brief afternoon visit to the manor house.
While Shane felt a need to keep out of sight, his curiosity forced him to peek at the man responsible for his clan’s troubles. This man had started the trouble with the king that led to war. Shane shook out of his reverie. So, the spoilt boy has grown into an ill-tempered foppish man. He expected no less.
Disgusted, he finished his meal. He tossed a coin to the serving girl, climbed the stairs to his room and packed his bag. He had not gotten what he came for. There would be no ransom.
Shane went to Maxwell Hall, the home of his father’s friend. Now knowing Sidney Colquhoun was dead, he needed more information regarding the late man’s wife. The Maxwells and Colquhoun moved in the same circles. Perhaps he could learn more.
Edward Maxwell was so pleased to see Shane he dispensed with using his butler to announce Shane. As soon as he had heard Shane’s voice he hurried out of his study to greet him. He shook Shane’s hand enthusiastically.
“I’m glad to see you, m’boy. I thought these old eyes would not rest on you again with so much trouble your family has had with King James. What a mess of things he is making.” Edward lowered his voice. “I heard just the other day he’s trying to disband Parliament. Have you ever heard of such a ludicrous idea? He has told his advisors he rules by divine right and God views him as an equal. Good Lord. Have you ever heard such a thing?” Having not let go, Edward took Shane’s offered hand again and enveloped him in a hug. “Good to see you, son.”
“Well, he wasn’t so impressed with himself in Scotland. They say power rules the man, not the other way around.” Shane smiled. “’Tis good to see you as well.”
“Enough of politics! For now,” Edward said as he winked. “Let me call Victoria. She will be pleased to see you and upset with me I’ve tarried with the news of your arrival.”
Edward laughed. He led the way to the library and motioned for Shane to sit down. He then went yelling through the house for his wife, Victoria.
Shane again smiled.
He had lived here for nearly five years until his father had called him home. By then he was a man. It was good to see his father’s friend again.
Shane’s father was not ignorant. He’d just learned a different way of seeing things other than the Highland way. Shane conceived many of his ideas for raising cattle and farming land due to Edward’s help. The Highlanders have always been too busy warring to put much stock into farming. Shane was intent on doing things different. Shane had learned, as his father had bid him to do.
Victoria glided into the library with her arms outstretched and a smile of joy on her beautiful face. Shane immediately rose to greet her as Edward followed his wife into the room. He noticed she, like her husband, had gotten older with streaks of grey in their hair and a few more wrinkles on their faces. They were the same dear, kind people he remembered. He had missed them.
“Shane, dear,” Victoria said as she pulled Shane into her arms. He smelled her perfume. It brought back sweet memories. “We have missed you. It is so good to see you. Let me have a look at you.” She held Shane at arm’s length.
“You’ve grown into a man and a handsome one at that, but you are too thin. You need to eat more.” She tugged on his long, curled hair as she did when he was a boy. “You need your hair cut as well.” She gave him a stern look then smiled as if he were the most special person to her.
“Now, sweetheart, leave the boy alone. He is a man now and ca
n make his own decisions and his own choices. I have no doubt all his friends are wearing their hair in similar style,” Edward said endearingly to his wife.
Shane kept his laughter inside but smiled in return. They were doting parents to the end. It didn’t matter he was a man and laird of his clan. To them he was their son. They would still make a fuss over him.
“Shane, how is Seamus faring?”
Shane slipped back into his Scottish brogue, a sign he was truly upset.
“I fear for him. As I notified ye, he was injured in a confrontation with the Campbells a month ago. He was wounded badly and is weak. He is not healing. Every day I visit and he is weaker than the last.”
“Oh, how dreadful,” Victoria said with tears in her eyes.
“Is a physician there? Surely something can be done,” Edward asked with concern.
“Aye, for all the good he is. He spends most of his time ogling the wenches and filling his belly. He says nothing can be done. We must just wait for it to be over.”
Victoria shook her head, her hands shaking a bit as she dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief. She sniffed and cleared her throat. “When we received your message, we were concerned. We know he is a strong man. We were sure his recovery would be quick.”
“The physician informs me the arrow pierced very close to his heart. He said he is surprised my da lived. He tells me nothing can be done but wait,” Shane repeated as if he didn’t want to believe the words he spoke. He took in a deep breath.
“’Tis not the only problem plaguing me. Iain showed up with Lady Colquhoun a fortnight ago.”
“What? Who? What is he doing with Lady Colquhoun?” Edward asked incredulously.
Victoria stared at Shane in disbelief.
“Aye, I canna believe it myself,” Shane said as he saw the look Victoria had given him. “He showed up driving her coach with her in it, telling me he’s taken her for ransom and this’ll be the end of all our problems.”
Edward and Victoria exchanged glances.
“The king will be all over you and your family. He won’t let this pass without some sort of retaliation. He’ll send in the royal army. You cannot prick him now. He has much to lose.”
Victoria interrupted her husband. “This is truly of some consequence. In addition, the lady is a widow. She has no money for ransom. There have been whispers about her plight for days. Andrew or perhaps I should say Lord Colquhoun,” Victoria said, adding her opinion by her derisive tone, “has thrown her out. She has nothing. The cad.”
“Aye, I’ve heard something about that already,” Shane snorted. He described the conversation he had overheard. “The man is a worthless piece of dung. I doubt the king has been troubled with her disappearance. After listening to the braggart, the new Lord Colquhoun seems to think she left of her own accord in compliance with his edicts.”
Shane spent a few days making discreet inquiries into the death of Sidney Colquhoun. What had surprised him was the marriage of the lady to him.
Many people he spoke with commented she had borne the burden of her disastrous marriage to Lord Colquhoun with dignity and grace. While they were sure news of his many indiscretions had reached her, she had maintained her aplomb.
Kate’s mother had a bit of a scandal in her past before she married the earl. The details had long been forgotten. There was a story about her mother’s insistence to employ a manservant instead of a maid. You could only put so much stock into gossip.
Shane realized he thought of her as ‘Kate’ after spending a bit of time with her. After having learned more about this enigmatic woman, about her past and what she had endured, it was impossible to think of her as ‘Lady Colquhoun’.
He said his good-byes to Edward and Victoria, and started for home, promising to return as soon as he could.
The ransom was not to be paid. Although it was, indeed, good to know he wouldn’t have the king on his back.
How was he going to provide for his clan? Now he had a new problem. He wouldn’t let Kate, a woman alone in the world, leave and fend for herself with no family to go to. He needed to inform her she would be accepted and welcomed into his clan. But then, if he couldn’t feed them, how did he think he was offering her a life any better than what she’d had?
Chapter 12
Kate spent most of her time with Seamus, dosing him with fresh herbal teas. She applied new poultices of garlic, comfrey, and honey to fight infection and promote healing. She tied the bandages carefully. She made sure everything surrounding him was clean. When she changed his bandages she was sure to boil and launder them for the next use.
She and Merta bathed him daily much to his chagrin.
“Och, I can wash myself. Ye dinna have to do it for me,” Seamus said, pushing away Kate’s hands.
“Allow me to bathe you, Seamus. You may reopen your wounds and it won’t do either one of us any good,” Kate said firmly. “The bath will take but a moment.”
“Och, ye big old bear. Let the lass do her worst. Ye canna be such a wee bairn.” Merta laughed.
The teasing did the trick.
“Blessed woman, I’ll catch my death! Just see if I dinna get worse!”
Kate and Merta laughed and hurried to finish his bath.
“Merta, come take a peek at this.”
“Aye,” Merta said as she stepped over to Seamus’s bedside. They had finished bathing him and settled him into bed.
“This area here.” Kate pointed to the tissue on his chest. The wound was not red or pink with health but rather an ugly grey, green color.
“Oh, that dinna look right.” Merta peered down. “Dinna smell good.”
“I don’t think so either.” Kate shook her head. “I have seen this before. I am afraid I am going to have to trim the edges. The flesh around the wound is dead.”
“Nay, ye canna.”
“Merta, please go find Iain. Perhaps this is a decision best made together.”
“Aye.”
Merta returned with Iain at her heels. Her lips were pursed, her arms crossed over her chest ready to take a stand. Iain’s scowl of concern was in contrast to his usual open manner.
Kate held her hand up at the sight of them. “I know cutting into an already injured man does not make sense to you.” Kate turned to Seamus. “This involves you, old man, so the decision is yours. You have allowed me to help you and your people because I have some knowledge of herbs and healing. I learned this from my mother.
“I saw this problem happen when I was a young girl. One of my mother’s servants had been thrown from a horse and lay in the mud with a severe broken leg quite some time before he was discovered. The fracture had torn through the muscle and skin. My mother nursed the leg for a fortnight to no avail. The wound became putrid and would not heal. The man developed a fever that would not break. I watched my mother perform the gruesome task of cutting the flesh until there were fresh edges, evidence of a clean wound. While a horrible ordeal, the servant did recover and is still in possession of his leg. Unfortunately, many times it is not always the case. Many times the patient dies. He most certainly will die if the putrid flesh is left.”
Seamus looked at Kate and nodded.
“Iain, hold Seamus. Merta, assist me.”
Seamus growled and gritted his teeth. With a heated knife, Kate cut the flesh until the edges were raw and bloody.
Kate was pleased to see that Seamus was making startling progress. With his wounds free from infection and now healing, Seamus had fewer fevers and his body reacted well to the teas and poultices Kate used. He was gaining strength each day. He would heal. He would live.
Shane had been gone over two weeks. Where was he? If he had sent word as to his return, no one had shared it with her.
“I am not goin’ to sit outside,” Seamus grumbled.
“I am a sick man.”
“The sun and fresh air will do you well,” Kate said firmly. “Sitting up in the room all day isn’t good for you.”
“I will catch my death.”
“That is what you said about the bath, and it did not do you any harm.” Kate put her hand on her hip and bent down to look him in the eye. “You have nothing to fear. Have I given you any reason?”
“Nay, ye have not.”
“If you are going to die, you might as well do so outside in the sunshine as opposed to lying in bed.”
Kate could see Seamus’s pride was stung as he allowed himself to be carried on a litter out of doors. He could not have made the short trip from his room to the garden alone. Merta was busy bustling about, making sure he had a quilt to cover himself should he have a desire.
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