He dinna rise as I entered, instead, he gestured with a liver-spotted hand toward a stool at his feet.
I frowned. “I daena mind standin’.”
“Nae, ye are great oaf and tae look on ye pains m’neck, take tae the stool.”
I lowered myself tae the stool, too close tae him, m’knees too high, the cushion too thin.
“So, Young Magnus, ye hae arrived in m’courtyard unannounced once more, what brings ye tae m’door?”
“I came tae deliver some goods tae m’brother Sean, Uncle, and tae visit with m’sister, Lizbeth — tis good tae see ye well.”Twas a lie, his color was ashen, he needed his wig and the rouge he normally wore.
The Earl smiled. “A visit, good, and ye are here with gifts for yer family, a young man who plans tae show respect tae his elders. Twill be good, verra good tae see, I hae been concerned with ye, Magnus, wondered if ye had fallen from yer high station. Ye once bestowed upon me largesse, but yer visits now rarely fatten my purse.”
I exhaled. I wanted tae leave him without givin’ him the gift he was askin’ for, but nae good came of upsetting the Earl. Instead I reached intae my coat and withdrew m’small leather pouch, twas heavy with coins — enough silver tae see him through another season of indulgences. And there were a few pieces of gold with m’likeness upon them.
“A token from m’lands.” I placed it upon the small table beside his chair. “Trade has been kind this year. Thought ye might find use for it.”
He snatched it up with surprisin’ speed, drew the top open, and glanced inside. His eyes widened with greed. “Trade has been kind, eh?” He poured about ten of the coins intae his hand and absentmindedly asked, “How is yer mother?”
“I believe she is well, she has remarried.”
“I heard… tae a man much younger… tis true?”
I shrugged.
He scowled. “She always did seek her own pleasure at the expense of familial duty.”
“In my knowledge she has always put duty tae her children and her grandchildren first, I think ye might be mistaken, Uncle.”
He sifted through the silver coins in his palm as if he dinna hear me and plucked up the gold. He held it up tae the light from the window and his eyes narrowed.
He was staring at my bust on the gold, with MAGNUS I stamped underneath. I knew I would enjoy the moment, but from my low position, folded small on the wee stool, his discomfort was even better than I had hoped.
I raised my brow and chuckled to myself.
He dropped all the coins intae the pouch and shoved it intae the folds of his robe.
I said, “I think twill be enough for ye.”
“Perhaps, but ye keep yer sister and brother here, under my roof, eating my bread. A man might think ye owe more than a handful of coins for such charity.”
Charity!
I couldna wait tae get them from here.
When I was young, his sneers and cutting insults had wounded me, but now as a king, the head of a large and powerful family with many men at m’side, there was not much he could say that could touch me. He was a smaller man than I in importance, and his shake-down had become all too familiar. I had endured worse.
And I kent that m’mother had given him a large fortune through the years tae keep Sean and Lizbeth in respectable positions. The Earl had a son and grandsons and they had wives who could hae settled intae their positions, but Sean and Lizbeth had made a place for themselves and remained useful, irreplaceable.
But twas still infuriating.
I swallowed the retort rising in my throat and said instead, quietly, “My brother and sister serve ye well, Uncle. Sean keeps yer guards sharp, with a steady hand; Lizbeth, yer house in order. Her husband Liam does all ye ask of him…”
He grunted.
I added, “Well, if ye daena agree, we can say that the coin is a start?—”
“A start… after all I hae done for yer family? Yer brother’s a dull blade, Magnus — good for chopping wood, mayhap, but nae for leading men. I watch him at drill, he is not the leader ye believe him tae be.”
