He gave a short laugh, then abruptly his mood changed. “Then my father died very suddenly. We still have no idea why. I became the man of the family, with all the attendant responsibilities. I looked after my brother, and my mother remarried too. Then I was on my own.” He sighed, and his eyes became sad. “I lived on the money my father left me, and there was—still is—plenty of it. I sleep with prostitutes, I gamble, I drink too much. I like well-tailored clothes and good food. But I am a proud man and I think I have a right to be. I live a very good life and I make no apologies for it.” He looked defiant.
Nobody said otherwise,Robert thought.He felt disgusted, since he despised idleness. He might lead a wicked life, but at least it kept him busy!
There was a pause for a moment while each man retreated into his own thoughts. Then Robert said, “You will have probably heard that your uncle and I were enemies.”
Adam nodded, pouring himself more wine.
“That is not quite true,” Robert said. “We did not see eye to eye on many things, but we respected each other, and he was a good man.” He took another sip of wine and laughed. “Even though I felt like strangling him sometimes.”
Adam smiled. He was beginning to like Robert McElwee more and more.
“What if we combined our strengths?” Robert suggested. “Your tenants are living in poverty and so are mine. Imagine what we could achieve if we joined forces! We could do so much. It seems to me that you are a good man...a little young with a lot to learn, but I think in time you will do so. The trouble is that time is the one thing we do not have. The people here are on the brink of starvation. What can save them is good, steady leadership to bring in food from areas of plenty. Your wealth could help too.”
Robert sounded so excited that Adam was suddenly thrilled with the idea. “That is a wonderful notion! And I could use what I have to bring more food to the people here,” he said happily.
Then, warming to his theme, Robert went on. “I could buy the estate from you and be the Laird, and you could learn from me. A man of your obvious intelligence should learn all there is to know within a few months.” Robert was feverishly excited now. “And we could share your gold when you find it. I am about twenty years older than you and will most likely die first, and since my wife is dead and I have no children, I would make you my heir. That way we all win!”
For the first time a seed of doubt planted itself in Adam’s mind.He wants to share my gold and buy my castle,Adam thought.If he has enough money to buy an estate, surely he has enough to feed his people? Why did father Gordon tell me otherwise about this man though?
Adam laughed, but Robert was so carried away with his idea that he could not see the uncertainty in Adam’s eyes. Adam raised another toast to the Laird. “A wonderful idea! Very novel,” he said, sipping his wine.
“I thought you would like it.” Robert was smiling from ear to ear. “So shall I have the deeds drawn up? We can sign them tomorrow.” He could not hide his eagerness.
Adam had to figure out who was friend and who was foe.
And quickly.
5
“This is all very sudden.” Adam phrased his words carefully and smiled reassuringly at Robert. He wanted to keep his options open and not antagonize him. “I would like a day or two to think about it.”
Robert’s face fell. “But I thought you said it was a wonderful idea!” he exclaimed in bitter disappointment.
“I spoke in haste,” Adam admitted. “I am sorry, M’Laird, but this is a very big endeavor and cannot be rushed into.”
When Robert frowned his eyes looked like caverns in his face. “I see,” he said evenly, but Adam could see that he was trying to control his anger, and suddenly he began to feel apprehensive. Laird McElwee was a little too eager for his taste, and something about his obvious haste sounded a warning bell in Adam’s mind. He did not dislike the man, but he did not entirely trust him either; however, they had only just met, so perhaps Adam was judging him too harshly. He knew that to trust someone completely took time.
He stood up and extended his hand to Robert, then smiled. “It has been a pleasure to meet you, M’Laird,” he said pleasantly, “and I will think about our discussion at length then contact you when I have reached a definite decision. And now you must excuse me. I have many matters to attend to on my first day.”
Robert McElwee stood up and bowed to Adam. “I look forward to hearing from you,” he replied. He smiled, but his tone was sullen. “I think that we both feel the same, and in a few more days you will come to realize it. Till then, goodbye, my friend.”
“Goodbye, M’Laird.” Adam bowed and watched Robert McElwee ride out of the castle. He felt thoroughly ill at ease. The priest disliked Robert intensely, so it seemed, but Laird McElwee confused him.
Father Gordon was praying in the chapel, but he turned when he heard Adam’s footsteps, then stood up and met him at the door.
“Would you like to pray with me?” he offered.
Adam looked puzzled for a moment, as if he had not quite understood what the priest had said.
“Yes, Father,” he replied at last. “I would.” He knelt down and blessed himself, and then Father Gordon began to speak.
“Dear Lord,” he said quietly, “please guide your servant Adam to make the right decision in the next few days. Many people are depending on him. Help him to see the kind of man he is dealing with, and guide him along the right path. In the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.”
“Amen,” Adam echoed, then he sighed. “Laird McElwee is such a strange man, Father. At first when he spoke to me he made so much sense. But then he began to speak about this gold that I am supposed to have—of which I have not seen an ounce—and becoming the Laird of Inverinch Castle himself.” He frowned. “My uncle meant to do well by me, I think, but did he know about this man?”
“He did. Everyone around here has heard of him,” the priest replied, his voice grim. “He is widely feared for his cruelty and his vengeance against those he perceives as enemies. He has been known to destroy whole villages if he hears of something there that he wants, even if it is nonsense, like the time his soldiers took over the local village of Strathewing because it was said that there was gold in the river there. He put many of the local farmers and their laborers to work, and people starved to death because there was no one to tend to the crops.
“If he wants a woman he takes her, whether she is willing or not. Indeed, he has made a fortune selling young girls to Arab slave traders, who treat them abominably. They favor the redheaded and fair ones because they are novel, and whole families have been rent asunder because of him. He is a very, very evil man, Adam.”
