Gawain’s bargaining and justifying disappeared when he saw his brother’s indifference.
“Why should ye get to be Laird just because ye’re the elder? I would make an excellent Laird if I had yer gold and yer title,” Gawain sounded as though he was trying to make Caillen understand his actions as well as defending his betrayal.
With one hand propping up his head as he sat on the chair and his eyes half-closed as though he was too tired to bother to reply, Caillen sighed, “I made me gold fair an’ square, Gawain, as captain over a fleet of ships. Our job was to get cargo from one side to the other, and we did it well – for a cut of the profits. If ye didnae get so seasick, I would’ve asked ye to come along.”
“Who would have looked after faither’s affairs then?” Gawain asked with a scornful tone.
Caillen rolled his eyes to the ceiling, “I’m sure whoever ended up helping faither look after clan affairs wouldnae have sold out all our interests to auld Laird Sutherland here, would they have?”
Silence followed this remark, and Gawain shuffled his feet while he stared down.
“Laird Sutherland says I cannae marry Flora without being a Laird meself. And now we see how much gold ye have, we could do with getting a wee bit of it too.”
Caillen raised one hand, palm upwards, replying, “Och, well, Gawain, if ye put it that way, then I understand fully and apologize for standing in yer way. And as for the gold, ye’ll have to curtsey to the King afore I allow ye to have one brass penny of it.”
Emer bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Gawain’s logic was so impractical, and Caillen’s remarks were so funny that it was difficult not to burst out with giggles.
Gawain saw her suppress a smile and changed his tactics, knowing he could never win an argument against his brother otherwise.
“What have ye got to laugh about, wench? Dinnae ye realize ye’re set to spend a long time in the cellars with me brither? Or have ye grown so fond of his company the prospect of living down there with him does nae make ye flinch?” Gawain snarled at her.
Emer was just about to ask Gawain why he did not want to call her ‘sweet Emer’ and ‘dearest Emer’ anymore when Caillen spoke up.
“Be civil to Emer, Gawain. She’s set to be Lady Maclachlan back at the keep after faither passes away.”
Gawain went pale at these words, “Wh-?” he gaped.
“Aye,” Caillen said, “Emer and I are to be wed just as soon as we can.” Then he turned to Flora and Laird Sutherland, “And ye areallinvited, why nae? ‘Tis time to put this foolish fightin’ behind us.”
Flora gave a cackle of mirth, “Oh heavens. How funny. Lady Maclachlan of the clan’s castle keep working as a common chambermaid? How fitting. Now we all ken why chambermaids are so skilled at what they do insidebed...chambers!”
Emer blushed red and hung her head. Flora was right. If she married Caillen, she would always be known as the Lady who had once worked as a chambermaid in the eyes of the Maclachlan clan. Never had the unequal status between her and Caillen been put into her mind more forcefully.
Gawain, seeing he finally had the upper hand when he looked at the angry expression on his brother’s face, chimed in with his own information.
“By the way, Emer, I forgot to say how grateful I am to ye for keeping me informed about all of Caillen’s dealings whenever ye had the chance. Yer methods of distracting him were nae always to me taste, but they seemed to have accomplished what we set out to do. And special thanks for letting me ken brither Caillen’s whereabouts from yer sister – ye played yer part to perfection. It did the trick very nicely once we both ken he would follow ye to Nethy like a lovesick puppy.”
Emer felt as though someone had stuck a hook inside her and pulled. When she turned to look over at Caillen, everything seemed to be happening slowly, as if time itself wanted her to suffer for as long as possible.
She tried to get words of explanation out, but they did not come easily, “I dinnae spy...distract...him. I mean, I did it only when ye said I should..., it wasyewho said it might be Caillen spying for the Sutherlands. That’s the only reason why...,”
Her voice faltered, the words sounding artificial and silly, even to her own ears.
In all the time she had spent with Caillen, the beautiful days and rapturous nights, she had never thought to tell him about Gawain. Had it been because she did not want to cause trouble between the brothers, or was it because she would have had difficulty explaining to him her own part in the affair?
Now it was Gawain’s turn to chuckle.
“Who’s blethering, Emer, dear? Ye ken very well ye have secret documents hidden under one of the flagstones in the bedchamber ye share with yer sister. Letters addressed to the Sutherlands, a gold pin with the Sutherland crest on it. Dinnae try to hide yer involvement.”
Emer was able to see the hope and laughter drain out of Caillen’s face forever when she looked over to him. He hung his head down and stared at the floor.
“We’ll be expecting that draught for yer bank in the morning,” Flora said dismissively, “and dinnae forget to make yer brither proxy so he can sign for ye on all things in the future.”
She stopped, gave it some thought, and then continued, “Actually, let’s change that – makemeyer proxy – I want something to show after all me hard work.”
She glared at Caillen with her cold blue eyes and said, “Ye have yer choice: do as we tell ye, or die. Either way, Gawain is to be Laird. Then ye’ll be free to scuttle back to yer ships, just like the rats who sail on them with ye.”
Flora and Gawain, their work done, went to where Laird Sutherland was watching the proceedings with the concentration of a hawk. They pushed him out of the room and into a recess hidden away by a velvet draped curtain. The door they used clicked shut behind them.
