“I will send Kuresh with ye. He will act as interpreter, councilor, and guide.”
“What about Mathe? Or Gordon? He has a head for business—can haggle with the sellers at the market like an old woman.”
“Aye, Gordon would be a wise choice, too. But he doesna have yer quick wit and sword arm. And he isna my kinsman. This requires someone I trust implicitly.”
Alex had always lived with a sense of purpose, first for the honor of his family, and when his brother and Keely betrayed him, that purpose shifted to himself. Well, now it had switched back to family. And the wealth that would come from selling off his assets would make Clan MacKay a worthy adversary to the Sutherlands. Titles and lands were purely symbolic in Alex’s mind. A man with enough gold to do whatever he wanted commanded his enemies’ respect and fear.
“What about my seat on the council?”
“Name yer temporary replacement or grant proxy to one of the members. Yer place will be saved for when ye return. And trust me, Cousin, ye will come home.” Alex could see the uncertainty on his face.
“How long will I be gone?”
“Two months.”
“An Diabhal fhéein!”
“Doona incite the devil. Ask for protection from the Almighty if ye must,” Alex suggested, attempting to hide his smile.
“Ye’re not like other men, Alex. Nothing would make me want to leave the Highlands.”
“Spoken like a man who has never experienced the kind of betrayal I have.”
There was a long silence.
“Still about betrayal, is it?” Jamie asked sharply.
Alex clamped his jaw tight. “A subject better avoided.”
“All right,” Jamie said. “When do ye need my answer?”
“Now.”
“Now?”
“Aye. The longer we wait, the better the chance of someone taking what is mine. I should have been on my ship weeks ago.”
“Did ye no leave someone to act in yer absence?”
“Of course, a trusted servant who is trained to run my household,” Alex said. “But there are powerful men who covet what I own.”
“What if I refuse?”
Alex stiffened. “I havena thought that far ahead.”
Jamie’s eyebrows rose with surprise. “Ye say go, and I must.”
“I am laird, and ye did swear fealty to me.”
Jamie nodded. “It will cost ye, Cousin. I want my own lands. And a house.”
“Ye wish to live apart from the clan?”
“Have ye not heard a word I’ve said, Alex? Our clan means everything to me. I would never leave. But I’d gladly take back what my father ceded to yer da before he died. Tis the price for my sword arm that ye value so much.”
His cousin’s demand wasna unreasonable. The voyage would take Jamie through pirate infested waters, so it would only be right to pay him. Alex still sought Petro’s approval. Giving up land wasna something taken lightly. But Alex also recognized the importance of keeping his heir happy. If anything happened to Alex, or if Keely couldna bear him a son, Jamie would be the next laird. Another reason he wanted his cousin to take the trip. Nothing opened a man’s eyes like Constantinople. He’d either find God or go to the devil.
“Five hundred acres along the sea coast,” Petro said, referencing a map that Alex’s father had always kept available. It showed the extent of Clan MacKay holdings. “A fair exchange for what you ask him to do.”
