“I have no such intentions,” Isabel replied with slight haughtiness to disguise her offense.
“It doesnae matter whether ye intend it or nae, ye be a blight on us all,” Marion said.
Edan came back out from behind the curtain. He was laughing and nodding goodbye to the man he had just been in to visit.
Marion had returned to all smiles and affection on seeing Edan again. It was as if she had never had a bad word to say to Isabel.
“Right then, me lovely lady! It was wonderful seeing ye. We’ll just be on oor way then!” Edan exclaimed, waving off to Marion with all the children wanting their chance in his arms. Isabel followed silently behind him, wishing she could hide herself.
The glares and looks of hatred did not cease, and it wasn’t until they arrived back at the castle that Isabel was able to breathe in relief.
Chapter 28
In the afternoon, Isabel had gone to be with Caitriona and Edan was in the stables chatting with Philip and grooming the horses. Robert spotted him and made his way over.
“Me Laird,” Robert addressed him with his title since they were not alone. “We seem to have lost oor tradition! Remember when we used to ride weekly? It seems it’s been forever. What say ye?”
Edan thought for a moment, wondering if he might have a chance to be with Isabel later. He decided he could not neglect his friend.
“I would love nothing more! To the cliffs?” he asked.
“Aye, to the cliffs,” Robert replied.
They mounted their steeds and rushed through the meadow at an incredible pace, racing past one another, and going into the forest. Once in the forest, they would canter through any clearings and walk mildly where the branches and tree were thick and close by.
“It has been far too long since we’ve done this,” Robert declared.
“Aye, and it has at that. I am grateful that ye considered it. Ye ken, I feel as though of late everything has been sheer madness. I dinnae ken what is happening from one day to the next it seems,” Edan said with a sigh.
“Oh trust me, Edan, we ken!” Robert laughed.
There was something about the way he said it that left Edan feeling uneasy. Like a joke, he had not understood at his expense.
“What do ye mean by that?” he asked.
Robert was quiet for a moment, choosing his words.
“Well, ye havnae exactly been with us of late,” he said.
“Ye mean when I left during the battle? That was only a few days and, if ye recall, not my own decision,” Edan replied.
“Aye, ye left then, and sure, we gave ye reasons to go. But still, it wasnae easy being without ye. Anyhoo, that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean ye’ve been so caught up with yer lass that it’s as if the clan doesnae exist anymore,” Robert said, relieving a bit of the frustration that had been festering.
Edan was surprised, unsure where this had all come from so suddenly. All he had been trying to do was keep Isabel and his clan safe.
“So ye really feel that I’ve abandoned all of ye? That I dinnae care anymore about oor people? Are ye the only one who feels that way?” he asked.
Robert was beginning to get worked up. Now that the discussion had begun, it would have to finish. He would have to share exactly how he felt.
“No, Edan, I’m not. How can ye even ask me that? How can ye ever think that the way ye have been behaving is remotely like a Laird? Yer uncle should have been put in this place because ye are nae ready. Ye havnae what it takes, I’m sorry to say. But ye are me friend, and this is the truth,” Robert said.
His words spouted with frustration and Edan had to take a moment to reorder them in his brain to make sense. Even as he tried, it seemed strange and unexpected to have his friend so angry.
“Robert, why are ye coming at me like this? Didnae I learn from me uncle and me faither how to be a Laird? Do ye nae have any trust left for me? I havnae betrayed ye,” Edan defended himself.
“Ye ken exactly what I’m on about. All ye can think of is the English lass. We dinnae ken even her name and yet she’s all ye want. Do ye really think it’s good for us? Are we safe? Have ye even thought of the consequences?” Robert challenged.
“What consequences?” Edan demanded.
“Edan! What consequences? Really? What consequences do ye think I’m referring to? We lost hundreds of men when the Duke of Gordon came to revenge his son. Ye think it will be any different for the family of this girl?” Robert asked. His typically pale face was red from the anger stirring within him.
“If ye really think they would then why havnae they done it yet?” Edan asked in reply.
“I dinnae ken, but there’s one thing I want ye to consider. It isnae just about the girl. It’s ye. Ye are being reckless, Edan. The alcohol, the English lass. I mean, I ken we told ye to leave before the battle, but…ye did! Ye left us! No matter what we said, I never thought ye would actually go,” Robert said.
The words punched Edan in the pit of his stomach.
They all think I am a coward, he thought to himself. Every one of them. They believe I ran away. Even the ones who told me it was better for me to go. They think I am a coward.
“I’m sorry, Edan. I ken that isnae what ye wanted to hear, but it’s the truth and ye have to realize it. Ye be like a brother to me, but we cannae let oor people be driven off by the English because ye are too drunk or too involved with the lass to defend us.
“I ken it was hard for ye, when yer faither died. Then James getting killed just as ye become Laird? I ken it wasnae easy, but leadership never is,” Robert finished.
“So what do ye suggest of me, friend? Since ye seem to have all the answers,” Edan asked with bitterness.
“All I want is for ye to stand up and protect us like a Laird is meant to do. Like yer faither would have done,” Robert said.
Edan felt ill. They were nearly through the forest and just beyond they would have a short distance before reaching the cliffs, but he didn’t know if he could continue long enough to reach them.
“Perhaps I should leave ye,” he said to Robert. Otherwise, he remained speechless.
“No, Edan. Ye really shouldnae. Because that’s the problem. Ye’ve been running away from problems, running from people who might be a support to ye. Ye have been running to her for comfort instead of the ones who have known ye forever.
“Like I said, perhaps ye just arnae ready and yer uncle should still be acting as Laird,” Robert said. The last part was the thought that continued to ring in Edan’s ears.
“Have ye spoken with him about this?” Edan asked.
“Perhaps a little. It’s not that we want ye to be gone forever by any means. We just cannae understand some of the decisions ye’ve been making. It seems unreal that ye would choose her over yer own people, ye ken?” he said.
“I’ve not chosen her over ye!” Edan exclaimed.
Robert scoffed. “Ha! Ye say that, but the rest of us are seeing the same picture in very different colors, Edan. It’s a wonder we’ve made it this far with all the chaos that’s occurred since the arrival of yer little plaything.”
“Plaything? Ye think that’s all she is to me?” Edan asked in offense.
“Come now, ye really think it’s going to end well? She’s English! Daughter of some wealthy merchant, yeah? So what? Will she finally tell ye her name? Will ye send her back to get her father’s blessing to marry ye?” Robert taunted.
“I dinnae ken!” Edan shouted. “But I do ken that I have to be with her. It’s too awful to consider anything else. Ye dinnae have to like it, ye dinnae even have to like her. But she has enough people hating her already for nothing other than where she’s from,” Edan defended.
“What do ye mean by people hating her?” Robert asked.
Edan sighed again.
“We went to the market today. It was rubbish. People were near grabbing their claymores and running at her. It was brutal, and she was awfully broken by it. That’s why I left her with Caitriona
. She needed to relax with someone else who doesnae hate her,” Edan explained.
“Yer sister cannae hate anyone. Expect perhaps the English that do come at us in attack. But it all just goes to prove my point. There cannae be any happy ending here. The clan will never allow her to stay with us when she brings such a great risk,” Robert said.
“And her faither would likely never allow her to stay if he kenned where she’s at just now,” Edan finished.
The thoughts he had pushed aside during Isabel’s stay were all coming back at him. The fears that he would be a bad leader had been a burden since he was a boy and now they, too, were coming to pass.
“Robert…,” Edan began. He wasn’t entirely sure what he needed to say, but he couldn’t let the conversation end on such a depressing term.
“Aye?” Robert replied in a clipped way. He was clearly still angry.
“I dinnae want it to be like this. But I cannae shut off me heart. I dinnae ken what to do next if I’m to set her aside. She has become such a gem to me and I do wish to marry her. I’ve never met a woman like her,” Edan said.
“Then ye have quite the troubled road ahead,” Robert replied. “Mixing two people at such odds? It isnae going to be easy, ye ken? Ye might get lucky and oor people might learn to accept her one day, but that would be a mighty miracle of God.”
“Then we had best start praying,” Edan said with a light laugh.
Robert remained stone-faced. He was clearly not yet enthused by the idea of Edan marrying the English girl without a name.
“Ye had best start praying. I’m still nae convinced and I dinnae ken if I’ll ever get there,” he said.
The two friends reached the cliffs and dismounted, letting the sea air spray up at them and cleanse their fresh wounds.
Chapter 29
Ezra jumped at the sound of his brother barreling through the corridor in another drunken stupor. He was growing continually reckless from his grief, and the whole staff at his estate was increasingly concerned.
“Leave me! I must see my brother!” the Duke of Gordon bellowed.
“But, Your Grace-” began a maid.
“But? But! You question me?” he roared.
Ezra had heard enough. He rushed out his door and into the hall where his large, one-eyed, red-faced brother was fuming. His clenched fists began to release as he saw Ezra from his peripheral vision, clouded though it was from the volume of wine in his veins.
“Brother, what are you doing out here?” he asked with ease and calm. He had hoped his tone might appease his brother into taking on a similar character.
“Ezra! There you are. I have had an idea. I think you will quite agree that we must try again to rescue my daughter. What say you if we try to go tomorrow, hmm?” he suggested, suddenly without anger. He seemed excited by the prospect of rushing in with no plan despite the previous chaos.
Ezra did not know how to respond other than a slight nod to the maid, urging her to leave before the Duke remembered her presence and turned to her.
“I asked what you thought,” the Duke said with insistence.
“Yes, brother, of course. Perhaps tomorrow is a bit quick for preparation. What say you we spend time working on a plan? A sturdier plan than we went with before. If you insist, you know I am with you, but we must ensure that we are better prepared this time,” Ezra said comfortingly.
“We cannot waste time!” the Duke insisted loudly.
“Agreed, brother-”
“I am not simply your brother,” the Duke growled. “Refer to me as you ought to have done all our lives. I am more than a mere man, don’t you realize?”
Ezra’s eyes slit for a moment. Being considered such a weak, sliver of a man had always bothered him. He knew that his brother had the title and the authority, but he had never accepted that it meant he was truly inferior.
“As you wish. Your Grace,” he added at the end.
“If you cannot respect me, acknowledge my lordship over you, then you cannot be a part of my household. It would be better that you had been born in the streets than be on the wrong side of me, little brother. Remember that,” the Duke threatened.
Ezra turned his face down to gain control of his stirring emotions. He had been learning each day how volatile his brother could be and it was agonizing to handle such behavior day in and out.
“Yes, Your Grace,” he said through gritted teeth. “How do you wish to proceed with the rescue of your daughter?”
“We charge forth tomorrow,” the Duke declared.
“If I may, Your Grace…” Ezra said slowly.
“Yes?” the Duke allowed.
“Would you mind if perhaps we discuss with your advisors and decide what the best option might be for recovering Isabel?”
The Duke seemed to be considering for a moment.
“Well, I suppose we had best do that after all. It would do us no good to go just the two of us, and we would have to have my advisors at our sides,” he determined.
Ezra knew there was no way the advisors would go along with him rushing in without a plan. He had become too reckless for that. The trust of others in the Duke of Gordon was waning.
“Did you hear the Duke and his brother?” asked one of the maids, Gloria who had been cleaning in a room near to them during their heated conversation.
“No, but I’ve heard an awful lot coming between them during these times. It seems like all they can do is argue of late. The Duke’s grief has changed him beyond recognition. Just a couple months ago, he was a doting father, loving gentleman. Now look at him,” replied another.
Charlotte stood by quietly and listened. Since Isabel’s captivity, she had been working with the other cleaners and cooks.
She, too, had been concerned by the erratic behavior of the man they had so greatly loved and respected. No, it was more than that. They didn’t just respect him, they were respected by him. He had truly been kind and considerate of those in his house.
Now, all were afraid of his drunken outbursts. It seemed to be that he could not control himself as they had expected. His determination to wreak destruction on the English had grown into a malevolence that served to only drag him further into his personal hell.
“Lottie, what do you think? Has he gone mad as a hatter?” asked Gloria.
“No, I think not. He is merely overcome by grief. He cannot be blamed for that. And I am certain that once we get Miss Isabel back, all will be well. He will remain grieved over his son, but at least he will have her back,” Charlotte reasoned.
“Ah, you are awfully generous in your assertions, Lottie. And I hope you are right. It would be such a shame to see him grow worse. I do hope they bring Miss Isabel back soon,” Gloria said.
“I have no doubt they will continue to try their best,” Charlotte replied. She had learned the necessities of remaining diplomatic since she had been with Isabel during the capture. She could not be seen as complicit in or opposed to the Duke in any way.
“Come now, Lottie, did she really get captured? Or did she run off with some Scotsman you all met while you were off and away?” Gloria asked, caving to her love of indulging in gossip.
“It is exactly as I have said. Miss Isabel was kept hostage when we were taken. She negotiated my release and return. That is all I know,” Charlotte replied. She considered it best not to inform them that deep in her soul she was certain that Isabel had every intention of being caught.
“Oh come now, you little mouse. You are such a spoilsport the way you taunt us by not telling us what really went on. Or what you really know. Is it that you want to keep the Duke happy?” Gloria asked.
Charlotte sighed.
“I suppose in some ways that is a part of it, but you must understand that I would be at great risk if my words were misinterpreted. I was with Miss Isabel. I cannot have them thinking that I was the cause of her capture,” Charlotte explained.
“True,” acknowledged Gloria.
Charlotte continued to clean, remember the
look of the Scottish Laird when his eyes rested on Isabel. She was certain that Isabel had noticed him back. But that was not for her to say.
“Well anyway, I do hope the Duke figures something out. His temper is awful anymore, and I miss the days before he ate and drank the whole larder,” Gloria continued.
“Gloria, you mustn’t speak about him like that. He is the master of this house. I don’t wish to be gotten rid of,” Charlotte said quietly.
“Alright then, what if I wish to talk about his brother?” Gloria asked. Charlotte was happy to discuss almost anything except the Duke, but this seemed a strange topic.
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