She was aware that she was being as stubborn as her grandfathers, but they’d hurt her too much.
“I’ve not eaten all day,” he said. “I rode straight here from my meeting.”
She tilted her head and grinned. “Do ye think this is a pub, Iain Campbell?”
He grinned back. “I’m hoping for the good graces of the owner of this lovely cottage.”
“Well, I canno’ disappoint ye then, can I? Come in and I will feed that growling belly of yers.”
Black Cat glowered at Iain before bolting under the settee.
“Do you have…visitors?” Iain whispered.
“Nay. Not since the last batch.” She fixed him a plate of smoked haddock, fresh bread, and cheese and poured him a mug of ale, then sat across from him to watch him eat.
“How is that going?” he asked, waving his hand toward the far corner as he chewed.
“Sutherland seems overwhelmed and tired. He’d hoped that the flow would have lessened to a trickle by now, but there seems to be more than ever.”
“Damn English,” Iain said between bites.
“It’s strange to hear ye say that,” she said. “As someone everyone believes is an English sympathizer.”
He chewed and swallowed, and she was surprised to see that his plate was almost empty. “My beliefs are complicated and not as clear as most.”
She ate a piece of cheese from his plate, waiting for him to continue. He tilted his chair back and cradled his mug of ale between his hands.
“I think English rule would benefit Scotland, but I think England is going about it all wrong.”
“That thought alone could earn ye powerful enemies,” she said, thinking of her MacGregor grandfather.
“It already has.”
“How can ye even think English rule will benefit Scotland?”
“The English empire is far-reaching and very powerful. Imagine what that could do for Scotland. We’d have access to education that was previously closed to us. Finance, job opportunities, maybe even a better way of life. It could all be ours because we would have the backing of England.”
“But what about Scotland? Do we disappear and become another England?”
“That’s where compromise must come into play. I’d like to see Scotland take advantage of all that England has to offer without losing its identity. Right now England wants to dominate us because we dared to fight back. I’m hoping that in time things will settle down and tempers will cool on both sides, but the Scottish are a fierce, stubborn people.”
Cait laughed. “Ye only have to look at my two grandfathers to know that.”
Iain grinned. “Now imagine a whole country made of people like them. Or half a country. The Highlands are against the English far more than the Lowlands. The people of the Lowlands understand the advantages of allying with England. The Highlanders need to bend a bit.”
Cait could not imagine the Scottish Highlanders bending—especially to the English. “I think ye’re fighting a losing battle.”
“I know it would take an act of God for some of the chiefs to see my side, but I truly believe it’s the best way. English rule is inevitable. If we behave in a civil way, maybe England will agree to some concessions. Unfortunately, some of the chiefs refuse to act civilly.”
“Maybe because they don’t know how. All they know is fighting. Feuds are common, and as ye know, they can last for generations.”
“That wasn’t my feud,” he said. “That was MacGregor being stubborn and refusing to let the past stay in the past.”
“So this is really just a feud that’s taking place between two countries instead of two clans.”
“Yes!” He plopped back down on the front two legs of the chair and appeared pleased that she understood. “That’s exactly right. But the consequences are far more dire.”
She nabbed another piece of cheese and ate it. “How so?”
