“I hae spoken tae him, aye, tis a verra real worry.”
I nodded, gravely, chewing my lip, then I reached for the bottle of wine, dragged it over, and poured some in both our glasses.
“So ye arna able tae be comfortable with the place I hae offered ye?”
She shook her head sadly. “But I canna do anything about it, Young Magnus. How can I take the position from my husband, from my sons? They would never forgive me. Sean would never speak tae me again, his sons would hate me, we hae already told the Earl we are leaving, he is counting on givin’ our rooms away… Ye hae given us an amazing opportunity that will upend everything in our lives.” She leveled her eyes on me. “Tis too late tae speak up on it.”
I frowned.
“Ye ken the why of it, ye understand, Lizbeth, daena ye understand?”
“Explain it again, maybe twill set my heart at ease.”
“The Earl is auld and an arse. He is goin’ tae pass this household down tae his son, a man who is also an arse and?—”
“John daena like the place, maybe he winna be here often.”
I nodded. “Could be, and he might let ye stay and take care of the place. Over time yer sons could become the caretakers and there could be generations of yer side of the family carin’ for the lands and household of the Earl’s side of the family.”
She frowned.
I continued, “It could happen that way. But ye forget John’s wife, she daena like ye much.”
“The feeling is mutual. She tries tae subvert me and is always tryin’ tae turn Maggie away from me.”
“She daena like the power ye hold over the household — dost ye think she is willin’ tae allow it tae stay the same when her husband owns the place?”
She looked away.
“And what if she has ye thrown out, or worse, makes ye so miserable ye canna find any peace?”
She said, “I would ask m’brother, the king, tae give us a place then.”
I put my chin on my hand. “Aye tis true. The case might be made that I am movin’ ye too early. But a lot else can happen, and ye are forgettin’ that I also need ye.”
“Ye said so, ye want us tae run yer kingdom.”
“Aye, I am payin’ ye a compliment. Ye are the only person who can run m’household. Lady Mairead tries, but she is not verra good at it. Ye would be much better, and I need Sean and Liam.”
She leveled her eyes. “What good tae ye, Young Magnus, is an eighteenth century man, when ye hae a kingdom full of men from that time? When I hear ye make the case I think ye must be lyin’ tae convince us. Ye ought tae ken better than tae lie.”
I huffed.
She said, “If ye canna make the case that we should move tae the future without lyin’ about it, ye ought not make the case, because ye sound untrustworthy.”
“Lizbeth, ye are being cruel.”
“I am nae, Magnus, I just want ye tae tell me the truth.”
“The truth is I daena think ye can stay here. I admire ye and Sean and Liam too much tae allow ye tae work for m’uncle who inna admirable — ye ken he is nae — and so I want ye tae live somewhere else where ye will hae the respect ye deserve. And also, I daena want tae spoil history by givin’ ye too much information, but the politics of Scotland are about tae get verra complicated, and if I remove ye from it, I might save ye a great deal of heartache.”
She blinked, considering, “What kind of heartache?”
“The Jacobites rise up, there is a battle near Culloden, and something I try not tae learn too much about called the ‘Highland Clearances.’”
“I daena like the sound of any of that.”
I nodded. “I considered puttin’ ye in a castle near here: ye could live in Finlarig if I bought it from the Earl. But because ofthe events comin’ I think m’nephews would be better off away from this time altaegether.”
