“My nephew was placed in royal guardianship when his father died,” Moray said.
“Even though his grandfather was still alive then?” Finn asked.
“The queen followed my father’s practice of making orphans who were heirs to important titles wards of the crown,” Moray said. “That served to protect them and their lands during their minority.”
Finn suspected that keeping the young heirs close during their formative years also served to ensure their future loyalty to the crown. James IV had been a wily ruler.
“Douglas was in exile at the time, so we agreed to it,” Moray said. “Our understanding was that the boy would live in the queen’s household, where he would be the king’s close companion, as the two are near in age.”
Unease prickled at the back of Finn’s neck, though he could not guess where this was leading or what it had to do with him.
“But now Douglas is back and, as the queen’s husband, he’s claimed guardianship over my nephew.” Moray fisted his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Young Huntly should be inmycare, rather than in the hands of that grasping Douglas.”
Grasping? That was the pot calling the kettle black.
“If Douglas would steal from a Tudor,” Moray said, “he’d surely do it to his Gordon ward.”
Finn remembered hearing that when the queen was forced to flee to England after their marriage, Douglas collected the rents from her estates for himself and lived on her money with his mistress in one of her castles. Folk said the queen was even more enraged over the rents than the mistress and that she’d hated her husband ever since.
“I have an unusual task I need done.” Moray folded his hands and smiled as if he knew he had Finn over a barrel, which he did. “I believe you are uniquely suited to accomplish this task due to your particular talents and…attributes.”
What in the hell did that mean?
“We need leverage,” Moray said. “Something that will persuade Archibald Douglas to release young Huntly.”
“What is it ye have in mind?” Finn asked.
“I want you to kidnap a Douglas.”
“Kidnap a Douglas?” Finn repeated, not quite believing he had heard correctly.
“We need a hostage to trade for my nephew,” Moray said.
By the saints, nothing could persuade him to do that.
“Why not just take young Huntly?” Finn asked.
“Because Huntly is always with the king,” Moray said. “And the king is extremely well guarded, night and day. You’d never get close to him. It has to be a hostage.”
“A lot can go wrong in taking a hostage.” Finn leaned back in his chair and pretended not to sweat. “What happens if this hostage—an important noble who is close kin to the king’s stepfather—puts up a fight and gets hurt?”
“I’ve given a good deal of thought to that problem,” Moray said. “We can’t risk spilling blood and starting a war with the Douglases. His brother George and uncle Greysteel are both skilled swordsmen and are usually in the company of a large force of Douglas warriors.”
Finn relaxed, pleased that Moray had just talked himself out of the hostage plan.
“There is an uncle who is a bishop and another who’s an abbot, but we don’t want to take on the Douglasesandthe church.” Moray paused and cleared his throat. “That leaves the Douglas women.”
“Ye want me to kidnapa lass?” Finn sat up straight and raised his hands. “Nay. I can’t do that.”
“From what I hear, you have considerable charm with women,” Moray said. “You ought to be able to seduce one of these Douglases and persuade her to run off with you.”
“I never deceive women to bed them,” Finn said, folding his arms.
Moray raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“I don’t,” Finn said. “And I won’t.”
“Well then,” Moray said, “you’ll simply have to capture her.”
