“Aye, she is fretful. That is why Liam dinna come tae meet ye in the clearing, he is cowerin’ upon the walls.”
Magnus exhaled long.
Sean said, “Dost ye want more bad news, Young Magnus?”
“Nae. But ye might as well tell it.”
“The Earl is in residence, ye will need tae go pay yer respects.”
“Och, I hoped he wouldna be… but ye spring it on me?”
“Aye, ye canna even dwell on it, ye just go see him.”
Magnus squared his shoulders and nodded. “Nae his son, John?”
“John is still in Edinburgh, I believe he is arriving on the morrow.”
Magnus sighed.
I asked, “Want me to come?”
He shook his head.
“Then I will go to our rooms.”
“Aye, I will get this grim task finished, then I will join ye and we will address Lizbeth’s mood.”
He stalked away, then turned. “Sean, hae ye told him ye and Lizbeth are leavin’?”
“Nae, but there are rumors around. Be careful, ye ken how he can be when he smells change.”
“Aye, I will be careful, soon enough, none of it will matter. This might be the verra last time I must go pay m’respects tae my uncle.”
CHAPTER 7
MAGNUS
PAY M’RESPECTS TAE THE EARL
The stairs creaked under m’boots as I climbed tae the upper floor, breathin’ deep of the familiar castle air. Beeswax candles and woodsmoke, aye, but beneath that — somethin’ older. The cold stone and eternal damp that crept up from the foundations, centuries of it soaked intae the walls. There was wool and tallow and the faintly sweet scent of dried heather and rushes trodden down dark dusty hallways. The smells were ancient and heavy, and held deep in m’memory, familiar from those long ago times when Sean had chased me though these halls, with the elder guards bellowin’ after us tae slow down or they would give us a thrashin’.
I turned right toward the Earl’s chambers and m’footsteps softened as the floor was covered with a rug that led tae his door. There were two guards stationed outside who nodded when I approached. I knew them well.
“The Earl is expectin’ ye.”
The doors opened.
The Earl’s chambers had dark-paneled walls hung with faded tapestries of hunts long past. He liked tae appoint his rooms with luxurious pieces, from tapestries tae paintings in the gallery, from the carved ceilings tae his prized stained glass inhis chapel — everything was verra fine. He had an eye like his sister, Lady Mairead.
The Earl was sitting in a high-backed chair by the window. He wasn’t wearing his high wig or the usual pale powder on his face and rouge on his cheeks, instead he wore a silk cap with his face unadorned.
I was taken aback by his wearing an overlarge fur-trimmed robe at mid-day and allowin’ me tae see him in it. He had always been tall, though at seventy-odd he had lost some size and was not quite the man who had been lordin’ over these lands and our family his whole life. But his eyes still held that sharp gaze, his chin raised tae look down his nose, appraisin’ me, as he always had, findin’ me wanting.
Och nae, the room was stuffy, lackin’ good air, it smelt musty.
Even though he knew I was a king, this was not a connection he could truly benefit from, my kingdom was an abstraction, too far away tae be important. Nae one in Edinburgh had heard of it nor cared. The Earl dinna care for me much, but he did relish the gifts I would bring.
A fire crackled low in the grate, castin’ flickering shadows on a summer day, a bead of sweat slid down m’temple as the work of the stair-climb caught up tae me.
