The Dawn (Kaitlyn and the Highlander #20)

31. Chapter 31 - James

CHAPTER 31 - JAMES

BALLOCH CASTLE - MAY 29, 1710

S ophie was pacing the room, trying to get Junior to calm down. She said, “Och, he is fretful,”

I ran my hand through my hair. “Has been for hours, do you think Lizbeth will come settle him down like she did last night?”

Sophie said, “We canna expect it, she is likely at the opposite end of the castle for peace and quiet.”

“Damn this is hard.”

She walked across the room to the other window, I was sitting by the hearth, my feet jiggling as if they wanted to run from the room without me having a say in it. I said, loudly, to be heard over his cries. “He’s got good lungs!”

“Aye!”

“He’s not sick, right? We aren’t worried? There’s not a real doctor for centuries, but we could jump, if he’s sick we can jump.”

“Nae, he is well.” Junior started really bellowing.

Sophie shifted him to her other arm and he stopped for a moment. She said quickly, “He is just visited with the colic. Tis a common state in bairns.”

He began wailing again.

She turned at the wall and paced across the room the other way.

I said, “It’s really hard to listen to! He echoes off the walls of this castle.”

“M’laird, ye could go up tae the castle walls, or go for a ride, I can go tae the nursery, ye need yer mind cleared.”

“Oh hell no, not leaving. Zach didn’t leave when Zoe was wailing, I remember — he was all in. I ain’t no quitter.”

She yelled, “What did ye say, m’laird?”

“Never mind!” I stood up, and began pacing with her, going the opposite way. As I walked to one wall she walked to the other.

She said, “We are going tae wear a tread through the middle of the rug.”

“We might.” We met at the middle of the room, and I put out my elbow, she hooked hers in mine and we turned around each other, then let go and walked to the corners of the room. The turn quieted him.

I said, “Damn, that worked! Junior likes line dancing! I ought to turn on some music but?—”

He wailed again, we turned at the opposite walls and walked toward the middle again.

I put out my elbow and turned Sophie around, then put my arm around her back and rocked her back and forth, starting a two-step with Junior held between us. “Two-steps, one two three. Swing, sway, rock.”

Sophie laughed. “He’s quiet!”

“Yep, my hot dance moves quieted him down.” I spun her around and we looked down at Junior, his eyes big and quiet, calmed, looking up at us as we walked and rolled and rocked and stepped. “If he would give me one second to turn on my music, this would be fun.” I danced her around. Then, our arms around each other, we rocked back and forth and she laughed quietly.

“I believe he might be asleep.”

“Nah, really?”

I pulled the edge of the blanket away from his face, his face screwed up to cry again. “Nope, not gonna cry, Junior, we are dancing the wails away.” I rushed over to my bag and rustled through it for my phone, while he got cranked up again. I turned on my downloaded playlist and I put my arms around her again, “A one-two-three, a one-two-three.” We moved around the room rocking and dancing to the song. I hummed along.

Then Sophie said, “I am goin’ tae look down tae see if he’s sleeping.”

“Don’t stop moving, we hae to keep dancing.”

She looked down. “He’s asleep.”

I said, “But we have to finish the song.”

I rocked her back and forth and continued humming the song about red clay and rolling rivers... Junior finally slept.

Once they were settled in our bed, I whispered, “I’m going to the walls.”

“Aye, m’laird, will ye leave me the radio?”

“One is under your pillow, the other in my pocket.”

“Good...”

“I’m just going for an hour, I wanted to speak to Quentin, I’ll be back long before dawn.” I kissed her on the cheek and went up to the walls.

The night was clear and the stars were flung across the sky, it was cool out. Quentin was at the end of the wall. I strolled down the parapet, asking one of the guards I knew by name, “Have you seen Liam tonight?”

“Nae, he ought tae come soon, we had a visitor arrive, he is seein’ tae his horse, showin’ him tae a room.”

“Oh, who?”

He shrugged, but he was notoriously a man of few words, so I met Quentin at the other end of the wall near the stairwell. “You heard why Liam isn’t here?”

“Yep, he’s showing?—”

I heard Liam’s voice as he emerged from the closest stairwell. “James! Yer squallin’ bairn has quieted enough that ye can come get some peace?”

“You heard him?”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “The whole castle heard him, my Lizbeth said he has good lungs because he is from the magical land of Florida where everyone is verra loud.”

A man climbed up the stairwell behind him.

I said, “Robbie! Rob Roy MacGregor!”

Quentin said, “That’s what I was about to tell you.”

“Well well, if it inna James Raw-Bottom Cook, ye hae returned from yer lands? M’lads and I were cattle drovin’, just last month, and I was speakin’ on ye — ‘Dost ye ken what we need?’ I asked m’lads, and they replied, ‘What dost we need?’ I said, ‘We need Raw-Bottom Cook tae drove with us, his tales and songs kept us company on our long rides and his complainin’ about the blisters on his arse gave us a reason tae continue on, we had tae get ye tae a soft bed so ye would quit yer squawking.”

Quentin laughed. “Oh man, James, I’m glad I was here for this. Rob Roy calls you ‘Raw-Bottom’? That’s hilarious.”

“Very funny, Quennie, it was a long ride, your arse would have been raw too.”

Robbie said, “I’m certain yer arse inna chapped anymore, yer wee bum want tae come for another drove?”

Liam said, “He canna go with ye, he has a new bairn, and I winna permit him tae leave us here listening tae his bairn, och nae, ye haena heard squawkin’ until ye hae heard the bairn of James Cook — the castle rings with his wails.”

“Tis what I heard when I arrived? Och nae, I bet ye want tae get some rest, the snorin’ of Bone MacUilliam would be a fine trade over the shrill shrieks of a bairn — is he a fine son?”

I nodded. “He’s a big strong bairn.”

“Good, I am glad for ye, when ye dinna hae a bairn at yer auld age I thought perhaps the fae had cursed ye.”

I chuckled and nodded. “I used to think I was lucky, but now he’s here I want about five more sons.”

He said, “Tis a fine idea. Ye hae tae remember tae thrust from the west or ye will end up with daughters.” He scowled.

Liam asked, “How many daughters do ye hae?”

“None, because I thrust from the west, do as I tell ye!” He pulled the cork from his bottle of whisky and did a hip-thrust and a hip swirl, three times. “Tis the movement, ye hae tae do it. I heard Magnus had a daughter, ye need tae tell him next ye see him. Daena face yer arse tae the east or ye will hae more lassies and naething but trouble.”

Liam said, “Ye can marry yer daughters tae other sons, twill expand yer family all the same and might grow yer lands.”

Robbie shrugged, chugged from his bottle, corked it, and stuffed it in his pocket. He said, “How about ye, Black Mac, want tae drove with us?”

Quentin chuckled. “No thank you. I have things to do, though it’s an interesting offer — a black guy droving with a bunch of wild notorious Scotsmen in the middle of long ago Scotland, testing my ability to survive — what could go wrong?”

“Drovin’ is the best way tae find yer true mettle.”

Quentin said, “It’s not my mettle I’m worried about.”

Liam asked Robbie, “So ye told me why ye are here, why daena ye tell Master Cook and Black Mac?”

“I was asked tae take a journey, tae deliver a message tae the Earl, but he inna here, come tae find out, he’s in Edinburgh.”

Quentin said, “Who asked you to be a messenger?”

“A man I met in a tavern last evenin’, he asked about Magnus and Lochinvar, he dinna ask about Fraoch or Sean, and I haena even met Lochinvar, so it struck me as interestin’. Why did this man want tae ken about Magnus and his younger brother’s whereabouts? I wondered why he dinna ride up and ask himself, ye ken?”

Liam’s brow raised. “Aye, I ken.”

Quentin and I looked at each other. Quentin said, “I don’t like the sound of this.”

Liam said, “We had messengers from Edinburgh here, just yesterday. We chased them off the Earl’s lands. Tis the same men?”

He shrugged. “I daena ken, he seemed like the kind of man who wanted the particulars and was used tae gettin’ what he wants. I think he wants tae cause trouble with the Earl’s family and I knew when the Earl heard of it he would offer a sizable reward for the knowledge.”

Liam said, “What was the man’s name?”

“He wanted me tae report back tae the tavern after I had ascertained where Magnus and Lochinvar were. Where is Sean?”

Liam scowled. “I am not answerin’ ye on anyone’s whereabouts.”

Robbie took his bottle of whisky from his pocket again. “I am only askin’ because Sean would ken the worth of this information. He pays me handsomely, if warranted.” He raised the bottle and swigged, capped it, and stuffed it back in his pocket.

I said, “When you report back, tell him, ‘Magnus is here, he’s in his room, sleeping before his guard duty, Lochinvar is probably brawling down in the courtyard, and Sean is sharpenin’ his sword. All the Campbell men are here,’ right Liam?”

“Aye, the Earl is away in Edinburgh, but we are protectin’ the castle in his stead.”

Robbie nodded. He pulled an envelope from his coat pocket, it was sealed with wax. “He wanted me tae give this message tae the Earl.” He tapped it against his hand. “He offered me a bag of silver for m’trouble. Are ye certain Sean inna here?”

Liam stuck out his hand. “I will take it, I will see ye given a reward.”

Robbie kept the envelope. “Tis tae be closely held, he told me not tae allow anyone else tae open it.”

Quentin said, under his breath, “Hold on, I’ll go get some coin for Rob Roy.” He strode down the parapet.

Meanwhile Liam nodded slowly, he had a familiar look in his eyes, biding his time, moving slowly to his point. “It seems there are many strangers wanting tae speak tae the Earl, comin’ around the castle, wantin’ tae start trouble.”

“Aye, tis the way — once ye find peace and wealth, they are certain tae draw near, lookin’ tae exploit yer weakness. That is why I came tae tell ye of m’meetin’ with him as soon as I could.”

Liam nodded. “Ye can never be too cautious.”

“Aye.”

Liam eyed the envelope and said, as if nonchalantly, “Who did ye say was tae open it?”

“The Earl.”

“But the Earl inna here, dost it mean ye will hae tae go tae Edinburgh? Or will ye pass it tae one of the eldest relatives of the Earl, the man charged with watching over the walls of the castle?”

Robbie looked down on the envelope. “I had a sense of the man, he wanted me tae see the message intae the Earl’s hands. I hae a reputation tae uphold.”

Liam laughed. “Yer reputation? Dost ye consider yerself of good character, Rob Roy MacGregor? Ye spend more time in extortion than gainin’ yer wages in honorable ways. Just a few months ago ye came askin’ for money tae keep the reivers from the Earl’s cattle, but the only reivers workin’ these lands hail from Clan MacGregor.”

Robbie chuckled. “Tis true. I keep company with scoundrels, yet... tis often the best way tae ken the measure of a man. Tis why I am here, first thing.”

Quentin returned and stood beside me.

Liam put out his hand. “Robbie, I will take the message.”

Robbie held up his hands with the envelope in it. “Liam, I am here tae be helpful, but I will need the silver I was promised. It seems fair. I need it for m’lands. That is why I drove, ye ken, because of the taxes — ye see this is fair.” He waved his hands from right to left as he spoke. “I brought ye news, ye give me the silver I am owed. I will give ye the message, and ye will ken all about the man in the tavern. I work for ye, ye are friendly with me. Dost ye agree, Raw-Bottom Cook, Black Mac, we ought tae remain friendly?”

Quentin said, “We should remain friendly. I will pay you for the information.” He pulled a small bag from his sporran and passed it to Robbie.

He smiled, weighing the bag in his hand. “It has a fine heft.”

Liam said, “The envelope , Robbie.”

He passed Liam the message. It was pale white, the wax seal had a tree on it. Liam asked, “Recognize it?”

It might have been Asgall’s seal, but I assumed trees were commonplace.

Liam broke the seal and opened the letter at the fold. Inside was a small device, wires, and a small mic.

Liam said, “What is it?”

Quentin pressed his hands over the mic, and whispered, “The man who gave him the message has been listening to our discussions.”

Robbie backed up a step. “Tis the work of demons?”

Liam and Quentin both said, “Enemies of Magnus’s kingdom.”

I said, “Thank you for bringing it.”

He shook his head. “I canna believe I carried it.”

Quentin asked, “Was it Asgall? Is that who you got the message from?” He dropped the mic to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it under his heel.

“I think he... aye, he mentioned Asgall. Tis all I know.”

Liam said, “Och nae, what did we say, did we say anything of importance?”

I shook my head, “We said that Magnus and Lochinvar were here.”

Liam said, “So the man at the other end of the message was listenin’ in? Lochinvar returns when?”

Quentin said, “In a couple of days..” He looked up at the stars then said, “James, I want to take you and Sophie and Beaty back home, to one of the safe houses. Then I’ll turn around and meet Lochinvar here. Then I’ll deliver the weapons to Magnus.”

I nodded. “That’s a lot of jumping.”

“I don’t mind. You know how it is. I’m worried about everyone, this gives me something to do.”

“Okay, yeah, let’s do that. Tomorrow we’ll leave. Let’s go through the boxes in the morning though, I hate leaving you with a big mess. We can do some packing in the morning, make sure you’re ready to take the load to Magnus. I don’t like the idea of jumping, but yeah, hell yeah, this dude is all up in our business around here. Should we go to Maine or North Carolina?”

Quentin said, “I think the one in Highlands, North Carolina. We haven’t used that yet, close enough to town to get supplies. Once Lochinvar and I take the weapons to Magnus I’ll meet you there.”

I said, “Beaty and Sophie will be disappointed that they’re not meeting up with the rest of the family.”

Quentin said, “Yeah, I have a feeling the rest of the family will be meeting up with us very soon.”