“Ye’ll gie her back!” Adam said sharply.
“I canna until this matter of the warrant is straightened out, Adam,” his friend said.
Before Adam Leslie might protest, however, there was a knock upon the governor’s door, and a servant entered to announce, “The earl of BrocCairn and Viscount Villiers, my lord.”
“God’s boot!” Adam Leslie chortled. “Here is yer answer in the nick of time, Robbie. BrocCairn, ‘tis good to see ye. Do ye hae some paper wi ye saying this Englishman is a liar and a traitor?He hae just this day snatched Jasmine from the streets of the town.”
“Jesu, I am glad Velvet isn’t here to learn that,” Alexander Gordon said. “My lord governor, Adam Leslie, may I present Viscount George Villiers, who carries a warrant from the king himself for the arrest of the marquis of Hartsfield. The forgery that Hartsfield carries attempting to cause harm to the Leslies of Glenkirk is not valid, and never has been, my lord governor.”
George Villiers handed the rolled parchment to Robert Chrighton. “You will find a personal message from His Majesty as well within the roll, my lord,” he said bowing.
Adam Leslie was staring at George Villiers in amazement. Never before had he seen such a beautiful young man. He was tall, and very manly in appearance, with his flashing dark eyes and wavy chestnut hair. His clothing was the height of fashion, and certainly did not have the look of a man who had ridden hard. It was unwrinkled, and every bow and furbelow was in place. “So yer the king’s new love of whom we hae heard,” he said frankly.
George Villiers burst out laughing. “I am most fortunate to have His Majesty’s favor and affection,” he told the craggy Highlander.
“His great-great-grandfather liked the laddies, too,” Adam Leslie said matter-of-factly. “Can ye use a sword, laddie?”
“I can,” Villiers replied, and then he said mischievously, “His Majesty’s great-great-grandfather must have liked the ladies equally as well, else His Majesty not be here today.”
“Aye, he did, just like our Jamie,” Adam replied, not in the least nonplussed by the angelic-looking Englishman.
“Where is Jasmine?” the earl of BrocCairn asked.
“We dinna know,” Adam replied. “I came up the hill because I thought he might hae brought her here wi his forgedwarrant, but Robbie says he hae nae seen the bastard since the spring.”
“Where is Glenkirk?” BrocCairn demanded.
“At his house,” Adam said. “I didna want him out where this Englishman might catch him as he did Jasmine.”
“This is a crown matter now, Sir Robert,” Alexander Gordon said. “Ye must send out men to seek the countess of Glenkirk, who hae been kidnapped by this man. He is treacherous, but the felons wi him will quickly gie way to yer authority. We can waste nae time. This man is dangerous.”
“I imagine,” said George Villiers, “that he did not bring Jasmine here to the castle for fear the truth is out by now. I do not think he expected it would take him almost a year to run her to ground. He could not take the chance that Sir Robert had received word from the king that St.Denis is on a mission of revenge, and not on royal business. Lord Gordon is correct when he states that the marquis of Hartsfield is dangerous. We have only recently learned from his half brother that he personally murdered Lord Stokes.”
“God’s blood!” Adam Leslie swore.
“He will seek to leave Edinburgh,” Lord Gordon said. “We must learn in which direction he hae gone as he will have Jasmine wi him.”
“How do we do that?” Villiers asked.
“First we will return to Kira, the banker’s residence, in Goldsmith Alley. He will tell us what he can, and we will speak wi his neighbors to learn if they saw anything. Someone will hae seensomething,” Lord Gordon replied. “It was broad daylight.” He turned to Adam Leslie. “When we hae seen Kira ye will go back to Glenkirk House and tell my son-in-law what we are doing. We will go to him immediately when we hae learned anything. Then we will follow this St.Denis, and we will naecease until we hae regained our Jasmine.” He turned again. “Sir Robert, ye will gie us men to aid us in this search?”
“Aye,” the governor said slowly, wondering what it would cost him to send out his men. Part of his living was made from what he could save from the subsidy allocated the royal treasury for Edinburgh Castle.
“The king shall know of your eager cooperation, my lord,” Viscount Villiers said with a charming smile. His own instinct had told him the direction of the castle governor’s thoughts. “I shall personally inform him of your generous aid.” He bowed to Sir Robert with a flourish.
The three men withdrew from the governor’s privy chamber, and Adam Leslie said with his characteristic bluntness, “Yer nae such a silly puppy as ye look, sir, are ye?”
“Nay, sir, I am not,” George Villiers replied with a small grin. Then he asked the older Scotsman, “Are you always so frank, sir?”
“‘Tis the only way I know to be,” Adam answered him candidly.
George Villiers shook his head. “In a way I envy you, sir,” he told Adam, “but you would never succeed at court with such an attitude.”
“That cesspit?”Adam said scornfully. “Never! I hae enough of the king’s court when Jamie was here in Scotland. When he hurried himself south with such undisguised enthusiasm, I watched as the hand and arse kissing, ambitious members of my race dashed after him in their eagerness to share his good fortune. It is said that many were younger sons, and but sought their fortune, but I was a younger son. I hae a fine wife, a small house in Edinburgh, and Glenkirk Castle will always be my home in the Highlands. I am nae a rich man, but what I hae is more than enough, for I am here in my homeland. I was born a Scot, and I will die one, my fine young lordling. Nay. I am naea courtier, but each man must choose his own path through life. This is mine.”
The trio departed Edinburgh Castle and rode down the High Street to Goldsmith Alley. David Kira was awaiting them. He ushered them into his library, and George Villiers was surprised at the richness of the interior of what seemed from the exterior to be a poor man’s house.
“I have been expecting ye,” the banker said quietly. Then, “A serving girl saw the entire thing from the upstairs window. There were eight men with the lord. They rode back out onto the High Street with the countess, but she could not see from her vantage point in which direction they turned. The lord, however, was leading her ladyship’s horse, and they had tied her hands to the pommel of the saddle so she could not escape them, but also so no bystander would notice that she was captive. It was cleverly done.”
