CHAPTER 3 #2
“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 in my care, 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 Douglases and the church.” Moray paused and cleared his throat. “That leaves the Douglas women.”
“Ye want me to kidnap a 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.”
“I can’t, not a lass,” Finn said. “If I’m the one who takes her, I’ll be responsible for whatever happens to her afterward.”
“I assure you she’ll be treated as an honored guest while she is here,” Moray said, “and returned safe and sound to her family.”
It was Finn’s turn to raise a skeptical eyebrow.
“Mistreating the hostage would cause a blood feud with the Douglases, and that would not serve my purpose. All I want,” Moray said, spreading his hands out, “is a simple exchange. A hostage for a hostage.”
If Moray had claimed some high-minded reason for protecting the hostage, Finn would not have believed him, but his pragmatic explanation was persuasive. Still, Finn did not want any part of this scheme.
“There could be no better way for you to regain the trust—even the gratitude—of your clan than by being the man responsible for the return of their earl and chieftain,” Moray said.
“Young Huntly will be grateful as well. And remember, he’s only eleven and likely to be your chieftain for the rest of your life. ”
This was almost enough to persuade Finn. But the notion of dragging a lass from her home didn’t sit well with him, and the prospect of a long journey of rough travel with a spoiled Lowland noblewoman was worse.
“I understand you have an interest in acquiring lands.” Moray steepled his hands and tapped the tips of his fingers against his chin. “If you succeed in this task, that could be arranged.”
Ach, Moray knew exactly how to tempt Finn. Janet must have told him.
“The property I have in mind is not large, but sufficient to support you in comfort.” Moray paused. “I’m afraid it’s quite a distance from your family, up on the north coast of Sutherland.”
If Finn could live anywhere he wished, it would be in Sutherland—and at a very great distance from his family. With property, he could sleep under his own roof, in his own bed, before his own hearth. He could be his own man.
“I’m giving you the chance to make amends with your Gordon clansmen and gain lands of your own,” Moray said. “But if you would rather leave Scotland and fight for foreigners…”
Finn sighed inwardly. Moray was offering him everything he wanted. He demanded more assurances that the hostage would be well treated, but they both knew he would do it.
“Which Douglas lass do ye want me to take?” Finn asked, dread settling in his stomach like a lump of lead.
“Three of the sisters are married to powerful men. Not only are they well protected, but it would be foolhardy to bring their husbands into this dispute,” Moray said. “That leaves Archibald’s sister Margaret and his cousin Elizabeth.”
“What do ye know of them?” Finn asked.
“Margaret was married for several years to a distant Douglas relative, William of Drumlanrig,” Moray said. “But he had the marriage annulled some time ago.”
Finn shuddered as he envisioned a sour middle-aged woman who would make the rough journey a misery for both of them.
“What of the other lass, the cousin?” he asked.
“From what I hear, Elizabeth—they call her Lizzie—should be fairly easy to take,” Moray said. “She’s loosely supervised, considering she’s a sixteen-year-old virgin.”
“I’m not kidnapping a sixteen-year-old virgin!” The thought gave him hives. Besides that, traveling alone with him would destroy the lass’s reputation and hurt her chances of a good marriage.
“Then it’s settled,” Moray said, folding his hands with a small, satisfied smile. “You’ll kidnap Lady Margaret.”