“I think, my love, that’s the first time I ever heard you call fishing ‘boring’.”
“Och, tis so boring, it goes without saying! But tis still the best thing tae do in the world. Both things are true.” He hugged me around my shoulders.
A pageboy rushed down the corridor. “Where ye goin’, lad?”
“A carriage has pulled through the gates, we believe it is Laird John!” He continued running off.
Fraoch said, “Well, we are about tae hae a meeting.”
I winced. “We have to be there?”
“Aye. If ye want tae ken what is goin’ on.”
We came to the end of the corridor and instead of turning right, turned left, headed toward the courtyard.
“Or, I could go anywhere else and you could just tell me after the fact.”
He jokingly winced. “Och nae, ye would send me by myself?”
“I bet money Katie is figuring out how not to go. If she isn’t there, I’m not going in.”
“Tis a deal, I will hae Sean and Liam there tae keep me company.”
“What about Magnus?”
“Og Maggy is goin’ tae be dealin’ with too much, he winna be good company at all. He is goin’ tae hae tae cover for his sister, be the mournin’ nephew of the Earl, the son of the sister of the earl, dismissed as always as a bastard, and the man whose stepfather just killed the Earl.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“Aye, tis, and his best move would be tae not go, tae leave, but he will take on the burden tae protect his sister, and tae try tae protect his mother?—”
“Lady Mairead can totally take care of this.”
Fraoch shrugged, “Perhaps, but I think this is more than even she is capable of handling. And he will feel responsible for Wilfrey and especially Lizbeth.”
“Sounds like Magnus needs us to keep him company.”
“Aye, twould be selfless for us tae go join the meetin’.”
“Fine, I’m coming. For you and Magnus.”
CHAPTER 36
KAITLYN
THE EARL’S SON ARRIVES
Amoment later there was the sound of the pulleys at the gates, the sound carried on the wind, creaking through the courtyard, coming to us through an open window. Magnus went to the opening and looked out, his face lit by a torch on the wall that was barely flickering in the dampness.
I stood next to him watching. Through the deluge a dark carriage drawn by two horses pulled into the courtyard, followed by four men on horseback. Magnus’s brow raised. Squires opened the door on the carriage and helped John, the Earl’s son out, then helped Henrietta, his wife, emerge from the carriage. She rushed under an archway to get out of the rain, but John stood there looking around the courtyard. One of the men who had been on horseback climbed from his horse and approached and stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder they whispered, rain pouring down on them, and looking around at everything. Squires and pages, gathered their luggage from the carriage and took horses to the stables.
John raised his eyes and swept the upper floors and his eyes caught Magnus, peering from the window above him. His brow raised. He seemed to scoff. The man beside him was big, his eyes followed John’s and landed on Magnus in the window too.
Magnus’s breath quickened, he was seen, he wouldn’t move, his face was frozen, it was a tense stare off.
Finally John yelled up. “Young Magnus, tell yer mother I want tae see her in the Great Chamber, assemble the family, nae one else.”
Magnus gave a small nod. And he took my elbow and turned me away from the window.
