Calum picked a breath, then set it down gently. “But yer grandmaither doesnae.”
Alex exhaled slowly. He felt the truth land in a place he had kept guarded. He had counted on time and order and the iron of his own word. He had not counted on a house that loved routine enough to grow a lie into a habit.
“Servants are steady when they can believe something to be true,” Calum said. “They have believed this.”
Alex looked back at the map and saw none of it. “They can call it what they like,” he said. “We hold the line.”
“Aye,” Calum said. “Then show them where it is.”
Alex’s eyes flicked to him. “I daenae run me house by spectacle.”
“Nay,” Calum said. “But folks need a sign. If ye keep yer distance, they’ll read doubt. They daenae read caution. They think the tie is weak. Ye need to make yer position clear. They need a sign.”
Alex bristled. The words worked against his pride. He did not like being managed by what others chose to see. He had built this place on plain orders and quick hands. He did not want to teach a lesson in the Great Hall like a player on a stage.
“It is easy for ye to say. Ye are well aware of the plan?” he asked.
“Aye,” Calum said. “But our allies and enemies arenae. Now isnae the time to slack, me Laird. Especially now that we have the daughter?—”
Alex made a sound that might have been a laugh if it had any ease in it. “If ye are about to say what I think, I advise that ye save it.”
Calum cleared his throat and let the silence linger even more between them. “Me apologies, me Laird. But ye ken what I am saying, and ye ken it is true. We need to be careful. We have managed to invite trouble into our home. We cannae fall back and wait for disaster to strike.”
Alex’s mouth tightened. “I get yer point.”
Calum did not move. “I apologize if that came off a bit distasteful. It is just that, after Isabella, I would hate to see ye fall into the same trap again.”
Alex put both hands back on the table, then pressed his palms down to feel the wood and quell the urge to walk. The name had burned something very deep inside of him, but now wasn’t the time to complain. Instead, he decided to steer the conversation somewhere else.
“Do ye have anything else? Preferably something on the security front?” he asked.
“Aye,” Calum said. He pointed to the inner courtyard mark on the map before Alex. “I noticed last night that the two lads in this area drag their feet on the late watch. Swap one with one of the guards from the kennels. Henry, preferably. He doesnae love sleep.”
“Done,” Alex said.
Calum did not leave. He watched Alex as a man would a friend walking down a slippery slope. “Again, me Laird, I am only telling ye this because I serve the line,” he said. “If the house thinks the tie is hollow, it will crack at the wrong time.”
“The tie isnae hollow,” Alex said. “It is measured.”
“Aye,” Calum said. “Measure shows when a man puts the right weight on it.”
Alex let out a breath. “Thank ye.”
Calum lowered his head. The words were a dismissal and trust. He turned to the door.
“Calum,” Alex called.
Calum looked back.
“If ye hear more noise,” Alex said, “bring it to me, nae to the hall or the council. Nae even Grandmamma.”
“Aye,” Calum said. “I will.”
He left, the door closing quietly behind him.
Alex stayed with the map and looked at the eastern line. He then looked at the small circle by the edge of the castle gates. He did not see either. Instead, all he could see was his grandmother’shands on a folded cloth, measuring with her eyes, telling a maid to fetch the dressmaker so they could begin to discuss what Erica’s wedding dress would look like.
He saw Bettie and Katie hanging on Erica’s sleeve and forgetting to mind their cups. He saw Fergus loosening by a notch when Erica asked him about stores like she meant to shoulder the count, not charm it.
