“Do ye know of the Aisir nam Breug, my lord?” Ewan asked.
“I do not,” the earl responded.
“It is a narrow pass going through the border hills that has been controlled by the same family for centuries. The Kerrs of Netherdale control the section of the traverse that runs through England. The Kerrs of Brae Aisir manage the portion that is in Scotland. It is tradition that the road is used only for peaceful purposes, families, messengers, merchant trains. Neither side has ever deviated from this unspoken rule.”
“Are ye suggesting that we take our army through this pass, Hay?” the earl asked.
“Nay, my lord, for it it too narrow,” Ewan said.
“Then what is the point of yer tale, Hay?” Matthew Stewart asked impatiently.
“If ye would allow me and my men to take the Aisir nam Breug, and its keep at Brae Aisir, the pass can be used as a safe and swift passage for yer messengers in and out of Scotland. As for the Netherdale Kerrs, Lord Edmund has always wanted to control the entire traverse himself. Promise it to him as a reward when King Henry has Scotland beneath his boot. I know Lord Edmund, and I can get him to cooperate with ye.”
“And in exchange for this ye will want?” The earl was no fool. Anyone who brought him information like this wanted something substantial in exchange.
“The keep at Brae Aisir,” Ewan Hay said.
“Whose is it now?” the earl asked.
“Dugald Kerr is the laird of Brae Aisir. He has a granddaughter who is his heiress, and she has a husband and several bairns. The husband is loyal to the Queen Mother, and to the little queen.”
“You would drive them out of their home?” The Earl of Lennox wondered what the real purpose of Ewan Hay’s offer was, but then he decided he didn’t care. He was planning a campaign into Aye and Renfrew eventually. A safe passage for messengers through the Borders would be a great advantage to him.
“I would hold the keep for ye, my lord,” Ewan Hay said.
Matthew Stewart laughed sardonically. “Ye have my permission then to forge an understanding with this Lord Edmund Kerr first; and then take the keep at Brae Aisir for me. Since its inhabitants have an unwavering loyalty to their child queen, do what ye will with them. I don’t care. Just make the keep and this passage secure for me.”
Ewan Hay bowed to the earl. “Ye have my word on it, my lord,” he said as he backed from the earl’s presence. Hurrying to find Bhaltair, he told him that the Earl of Lennox had chosen them for this assignment. “Gather the men! We ride for Netherdale on the morrow.”
Bhaltair grunted in acknowledgment of Ewan’s words. Then he said, “We had best find out the secret of how Fingal Stewart got into the keep without coming across the drawbridge. Then we can use that same route. Ye’ll not take the keep by riding into it.”
“How are we supposed to learnthat?” Ewan said irritably. Why was Bhaltair always trying to spoil his plans?
“We could take one of the tower men and torture him until he revealed the secret,” Bhaltair said. “The men in the village obviously knew.”
“Aye,” Ewan Hay said. “Yer right.” Now why hadn’t he thought of that? “But I’ll have to convince Edmund Kerr into cooperating with me first.”
“Ye’ll lie to him, of course,” Bhaltair replied. “Will ye promise him Brae Aisir?”
“Nay, but I’ll promise him all the income from the pass. I must hold the keep at Brae Aisir for the earl,” Ewan Hay answered.
Bhaltair laughed cynically. “Ye’ll be holding the keep for King Henry,” he said bluntly, “but I know ’tis because like so many other good Scots, ye believe a marriage between the little queen and King Henry’s heir is a good and godly thing.”
“One day yer careless talk will get ye killed,” Ewan Hay said irritably.
“I’ll gather the men and have them ready to ride tomorrow,” Bhaltair replied, ignoring his master’s remark. Aye, he’d die one day, but not at Ewan Hay’s hand.
Ewan Hay had managed to retain twenty of the original thirty men his elder brother had given him. A man possessing twenty soldiers and a captain was considered valuable. It took several days for the Hay and his men to reach Netherdale Hall. They rode in on a rainy night, glad to have reached a warm hall. Edmund Kerr was suspicious. He knew what had happened at Brae Aisir the previous year.
“What do ye want?” he demanded of his guest, waving him to a place at the high board. He gazed at the Hay’s men as they seated themselves at the trestles below the salt. A quick glance told him they were fewer than they had been. Lord Edmund nodded to a servant to fill his guest’s goblet with ale and place a trencher of rabbit stew before him.
“I come from the Earl of Lennox,” the Hay began.
“Indeed, and what does that Scot want with me?” Edmund Kerr’s tone was not particularly friendly, but he was curious.
“King Henry’s nephew by marriage has a proposition for ye, my lord,” Ewan Hay said in a bland and polite tone. “One that will serve us all.”
Rafe Kerr sat at his father’s right hand, listening silently. Whatever it was that the Hay had to say, it did not bode well for the Kerrs on either side of the border, he was sure.
