“Yer daughter needs an income and a dower,” Fin said. “I helped ye to see that she got it. But the Aisir nam Breug must have one master in Scotland, and not be passed to a second family and then another and another as these lasses wed. The traverse belongs to the Kerr-Stewarts of Brae Aisir and the Netherdale Kerrs. Now we both have what we need, Janet. Be satisfied with what ye have gotten.”
“If I had known ye were so damned clever, I would have considered another kinsman for Brae Aisir,” Janet said.
Fin laughed. “He wouldn’t have been as strong as I am,” he boasted. “Nor could he have outrun, outridden, or outfought her.”
Janet sniffed, but Maggie was near to laughing. What a wonderfully clever husband her man was. The Kerr-Stewarts of Brae Aisir. She liked the very sound of it, and she knew her grandsire would too. They returned to the antechamber to wait some more. Finally as the early sun began to stain the horizon, Allen MacCullough came into the waiting chamber with two parchments.
“Can any of ye read?” he asked, and when they all nodded he said, “Read the agreement, and then ye will sign them.”
The chamber grew silent as the agreements were read over. Finally they were ready to sign. A page had come into the room carrying a tray with quills, ink, sealing wax, and the king’s seal. Fingal Stewart and Matthew Baird signed the agreements as well as a third copy for the royal records. The king’s signature had already been written.
The secretary poured a bit of sealing wax on each parchment, stamping the royal seal into the red mass. When all three parchments had been signed and sealed, he rolled them one by one, tying each roll with a thin black cord.
Allen MacCullough put one of the rolls upon the tray, and the page trotted off.
Then he handed the other two copies to each of the two gentlemen. “This business is now concluded, my lords, my ladies. Ye are free to depart the castle. I have already called for yer horses. They await ye in the courtyard. Good day to ye.” He turned and left them.
“A very efficient fellow,” Lord Tweed noted. “Why did he owe ye a favor, Jan?”
“I saved his life,” she said. “But the debt between us is now paid.”
“If we had not been up for a full day and a full night,” Maggie remarked, “I’d be ready to leave for the Borders this morning, but I am so tired that all I want is my bed right now. And a good meal.”
Her companions agreed. They departed the royal apartments, hurrying to find their horses waiting for them as promised. They made their way from the craggy mount upon which the great castle was situated, and back into the town. At an inn called the Thistle and the Rose they stopped to eat a meal. Seated in a corner of the establishment, Maggie was fascinated to see the different people who came into the inn for food, lodging, and drink. It was her first time in the city, and she was amazed by it all.
They ordered and were served eggs poached in Marsala wine, creamed cod, ham, bacon, oat stir-about with cinnamon, fresh warm bread, cheese, butter, and plum jam. Janet Munro was astounded by the amount of food that Maggie managed to eat. She had never seen a woman eat so much nor one who ate with such relish. She didn’t know if she felt admiration or shock at her cousin’s young wife.
When they had finished their meal, they departed for Lord Stewart’s house where Fingal Stewart told his cousin, and her husband, “Stay as long as you wish, but know that Master Boyle, my agent, has two bishops coming next week on a Tuesday, as I let the house out when I am not here. Maggie and I will leave after we have rested a bit. I don’t like leaving Dugald alone for too long. It isn’t safe.”
“I thank ye for the invitation,” Matthew Baird said, “but I know Jan wants to get home to little Margaret. We’ll depart on the morrow. I thank ye for yer aid.”
“Aye, Fingal, thank ye,” Janet Munro said. “Even if yer too clever for me by far.”
Lord Stewart laughed. “Fair is fair, Cousin.” He kissed her cheek. “Travel safely,” he told her. Then he joined Maggie upstairs where she was awaiting him.
His wife flung herself into his arms as he entered their bedchamber. She kissed him heartily. “Thank ye! Thank ye!” she said to him.
“For what?” he asked, his arms going about her.
“For regaining what was ours,” she told him. “Ye are surely the cleverest man alive, Fingal Stewart. My grandsire will be very pleased.”
“It is only ours again when little Lady Margaret Stewart weds, love,” he reminded her. “Until then the king’s third is hers, half to her dower, the other half to maintain her.”
“But then it is ours again with no interference,” Maggie said.
“They have no say in how we manage the Aisir nam Breug, but I will tell you truly that I am glad to have James Stewart’s fingers out of our pie,” Fin said. “Janet will be content as long as her daughter’s share is paid in a timely manner, which I will be certain to do, Maggie mine. Now, let us get to bed, for even I will admit to being tired. If we awaken before dark, then we shall be on our way this very day. I am eager to return home to tell Dugald of what has transpired.”
They slept until four in the afternoon, but it was high summer, and the sun would not set before midevening. Archie and Grizel having kept reasonable hours, and having been advised by their master, had them ready to depart. By five o’clock they were riding from the town, and on the road to the Borders. They rode until it was almost dark, and after asking shelter of a cottager, slept in his barn for a few hours until the light came again a little after three in the morning. Maggie wasn’t unhappy to eat the hard oatcakes and cheese they carried, for she was as eager as her husband to reach home.
Their journey to Edinburgh had taken almost three days’ riding in a leisurely fashion with several stops each day. But with hard riding, they reached Brae Aisir just as the dark fell the next evening. Going through the village, Maggie felt contentment at the sight of the lights burning in the cottages and some of the clan folk seated outside gossiping in the mild night air. They had sent a man ahead to advise the keep of their arrival, for the drawbridge had already been raised for the night. But as they rode up the hill road, it was slowly lowered, creaking and groaning mightily until it fell into place across the moat. Their horses clomped across the wooden bridge and into the courtyard.
Dugald Kerr was awaiting them. “Welcome home!” he greeted them.
Maggie jumped from her horse’s back and ran to him. “Grandsire, wait until ye hear of our adventures! Fin is the cleverest man alive and has done the Kerr-Stewarts a great service.Kerr-Stewart!Is not the sound of it grand? That’s what Fin called us in the king’s presence.” She hugged him, kissing his rough cheek. “Tell me that ye like it.”
“I do. I do!” the laird told her. “But come into the hall now so ye may tell me everything that transpired. Ye look tired, Maggie.”
“I am, but it doesn’t matter. I am so glad to be home, Grandsire!”
