Chapter 12
KAITLYN
THE EARL DESCENDS
Magnus said, “Sire, ye often take yer meal in yer chamber, what brings ye tae the Great Hall?”
The Earl turned to Sean as if he hadn’t heard. “Master Sean, ye are leaving Balloch?”
Sean said, “Aye, sire, I planned tae tell ye on the morrow—”
“Tis done already.”
“Aye, I see it was, aye, we are leaving just afore the—”
“Ye winna be missed!” His voice almost screeched it, and though it was a cruel and asinine thing to say, it was kind of funny that it had sounded desperate.
Sean bit his lip. “Aye, sire, I am certain we winna be missed. Tis why I haena told ye.”
The Earl snapped his fingers for more wine.
Sean said, “Who will replace me, hae ye considered it?”
He scowled. “The Bastard only mentioned it tae me a few hours ago, verra forcefully I might add, without any consideration for my health.” He sipped from his wine. “It daena matter much who takes the guard after ye, Sean, they are certain tae be better at the duty.”
Lizbeth dropped her fork, eyes wide.
He glared at her.
Then repeated. “Ye winna be missed.”
I thought Lizbeth might faint.
The Earl picked up his fork and began to eat again, his eyes averted.
Magnus took a deep staggering breath. “Lizbeth, I look forward tae when ye come tae Riaghalbane. Ye will hae the title Duchess. Duchess of Breadalbane I believe, would do ye—”
The Earl’s head snapped up. “The Duchess of Breadalbane? There inna a Duke and Duchess of Breadalbane, tis nae in the peerage! The earldom of Breadalbane is as high as it goes! And tis my title!”
“Tis now goin’ tae be in the peerage, I hae decided it. Twill be bestowed upon Liam and Lizbeth. Sean will be given the title of Duke of Strathclyde.”
The Earl’s eyes narrowed. “That inna a title either.”
Magnus shrugged.
The Earl looked down on his plate. “Where will they live?”
“I will need them in my kingdom. The Duke of Strathclyde will be named Lord Commander of the Kings guard, the Duchess of Breadalbane will be my Laird Chamberlain.”
“I hae never heard of such as that. Ye are calling a Duchess a Laird?”
“I am a king, I can do whatever I want.” Magnus drained his drink and snapped his fingers for more.
The Earl scowled and went back to eating, hunched awkwardly over his plate so his wig didn’t fall off.
Magnus said, “Lizbeth, hae ye looked over the chests I brought, seen if they are sufficient for yer needs?”
“Nae…” She sipped from her glass. “I am verra busy, Young Magnus, at the storerooms on the fourth floor, I canna be expected tae forget one chore that needs be done tae pick up another.”
She looked at her glass, then held it up to the light.
She leaned forward and asked, “Sire, from where did ye acquire this fine crystal?”
He straightened up. “I see, Lizbeth, ye hae a fine eye for well-crafted pieces. These were imported from London, the glassworks at Vauxhall. Hae ye seen it?”
She shook her head. “Nae. I haena been tae London, I never had the chance tae see it.”
“Och, ye ought tae hae gone at least once.” He settled back in the chair, holding the glass in his hand.
“Twas at nae small cost. None of yer murky Highland glass or that cheap tavern rubbish the MacDonalds peddle.” He turned it in the light.
“These were blown by master craftsmen, ye ken, they learned their trade from the Dutch. Cost me eight pounds the dozen, and that was after haggling with the merchant till he near wept. Worth every shilling, mind ye. Nae laird in Argyll or Perthshire has the like. Not even the Duke at Inveraray can boast such finery on his table.”
He set the goblet down and then fixed his gaze on Magnus. “I doubt ye hae such fine crystal in yer kingdom. Lizbeth will miss dining with such luxurious place settings, but tis all she can expect, as she has nae wealth of her own.”
Magnus said, “Ours are fine enough, Lizbeth will find my castle a—”
“Magnus, do what ye wish, but ye will learn that the girl is a striver. Living off my good graces—”
Magnus said, low like a growl, “Careful, auld man.”
The Earl scoffed. “I mean nothing for it, I hae always felt sorry for Lady Mairead’s children for havin’ the misfortune of being born tae her. Tis why I hae always provided for them, even when there was nae benefit tae myself.”
Sean shoved his chair back from the table.
The Great Hall held a scandalized hush.
The fiddler’s bow faltered.
I could feel Magnus’s fury. I put my hand on his arm.
Lizbeth raised her chin. “Sean, Young Magnus, not a word. Sean, ye mind me. Keep yer seat.”
Sean’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. He and Magnus were both frozen. Glaring at the Earl, fighting against their urge to beat the man for the offense.
The Earl raised his own chin, a family resemblance. He placed his napkin on the table. “I am done with my meal. I must go tae my solar.”
A servant helped pull his heavy chair back and he stood regally.
Lizbeth stared at her plate, red creeping up her cheeks.
Magnus, Sean, and Liam watched him slowly walk from the Hall.
When the door closed behind him, the conversation and music began again.
Lizbeth said, quietly, “I hae always admired this glassware.” She took another sip and placed the glass down, with a long low exhale.
She straightened the flatware beside her plate, then looked off at the far window.
Magnus drew his chair back under the table. “Sister, I—”
“Magnus, I ken ye want tae soften the prick tae m’heart that my uncle has served, age has made him cruel. Yet I wish we daena speak on it, tae dwell is tae keep it fresh. I ken my worth.” She looked away, her face pale.
Magnus said, “It makes me furious that he daena see how important ye are.”
“I ken my station in this house, his house, and it daena matter that he daena see it. I dinna keep the household for him.”
“Who dost ye keep it for?”
“For my husband and our bairns and for Sean, all my nephews. Just as Sean and Liam go tae the walls every day not tae keep the Earl safe, but tae keep Maggie and me safe, and all the bairns.”
Magnus said sadly, “I just daena want him tae disrespect ye.”
“He has disrespected all of us, including our mother. I dinna want him tae call ye… what he called ye, and the things he says about Sean… I suppose there is at least a bit of comfort in his constancy.”
Magnus chuckled. “I suppose there is. And I take comfort that ye will be leaving here verra soon. Ye see it, this canna stand?”
“I see it, aye. This canna stand.”
“Will ye begin tae pack?”
She exhaled. “Honestly, brother, first I must finish m’duties, I canna think on it.”
“All I can ask is that ye move forward with it, we hae time.”
Soon enough we were done with the early meal and people were up dancing, the night growing merry. Magnus brought out the box with presents to pass out.
I glanced at Lizbeth and she barely smiled.
Magnus counted heads and passed out sodas to all who wanted to try.
He opened up bags of candy and placed them on the table.
A young lad ran off to bring the kids so no one would miss out, and a moment later a big group of the ‘cousins’ scrambled in, digging into the candy bags, jostling each other, drinking soda, burping loudly, and laughing.
There were bags of cookies too, Magnus snuck the bottles of liquor directly to Sean and Liam to share with whomever they wanted, and he gave the fudge directly to Lizbeth and Maggie.
He pulled out a small box that contained tea, vanilla, and sugar for the household.
“Twas meant for the Earl tae see, ye tell him I brought it.”
Lizbeth nodded, and tucked them to the side. “I will make certain tae tell him.”
I passed out fancy soap and lotion for all the women of the house and then Magnus gave out a few fishing poles from Fraoch to some of the men.
Finally he pulled out a large long sports equipment duffel bag. “Dost ye ken what this is?”
There was a card on it, it said, “For the castle, from Zach, Quentin, and James.”
I said, “What on earth is it?”
Magnus unzipped the long side of the duffel and exposed a full badminton set.
I said, “Oh fun! Badminton.” And swooped up the instructions. “It can be set up anywhere.” I glanced around. “Can we move that table?”
Magnus and Sean slid one of the tables aside and I started building the poles for the net. There were four rackets and a tube full of birdies. Sean said, “Is it battledore and shuttlecock?”
I asked, “What the heck is that?”
Magnus said, “Aye, tis much the same, I played it in London with the cousins.”
He helped me raise the net, while a crowd gathered around to watch.
It was embarrassing to build it with so many eyes watching me closely.
I blew a stray hair off my forehead. Then Magnus and I took two rackets and the birdie to opposite sides of the net.
“Remember how to play? I’ll go gentle while we figure it out. ”
I served it over the net with a gentle lob and Magnus spiked it back.
I missed, hilariously, unable to move quickly in my big dress.
Magnus raised his brow and chuckled. That was basically how it went, I was beaten handily by Magnus and then Sean and Liam played, haltingly at first, but figuring it out, and Lizbeth played against Maggie for a couple of weak lobs.
All this time the gang of boys were watching, learning, studying.
We all laughed and enjoyed it, any adult who wanted to give it a try could, then a racket was passed to one of the boys and they swarmed the court.
The game became very competitive, scores were kept, and after a tentative couple of tries they were basically all playing the sport.
The musician began playing again, Magnus asked me if I wanted to dance, which I did, and so we went out to do a kind of waltz.
In his arms I asked, “Do you feel better about Lizbeth?”
“Aye, I think she needed tae hear the Earl’s thoughts on her, but och nae, I wish I could hae spared her hearing it. She is too bonny and wise, and far too loyal for anyone tae speak on her so harshly, I wanted tae kill him.”
“I was impressed you didn’t lose your temper.”
“Twas nae easy, mo reul-iuil. I had tae keep Lizbeth in the foreground of m’thought, she would hae been shamed if I had started a brawl in the Great Hall, though he would hae deserved it, hae ye ever seen a more vile man?”
“I truly haven’t, I’m pretty happy we have a raucous badminton game happening in his Great Hall. Maybe we will break something.” We both looked over and one of the boys was standing on a big wooden bench diving out over one of the other boys blocking his serve and wrestling him to the ground.
I giggled. “An adult is probably going to have to take the boys in hand.”
“Aye, and think of it, Kaitlyn, in a month we are goin’ tae hae some of these lads stayin’ with us.”
One of the lads was on the shoulders of another. I joked, “Och nae, we did not think it through.”
He laughed.
Then his eyes were on Lizbeth, standing to the side, watching the dance floor, a sad expression on her face. “Och nae, she is not goin’ tae go quietly.”
I said, “But she can’t stay here.”
“Tis true.”
We wandered over to stand beside her a few moments later. She didn’t say anything, just remained quiet.
Finally I said, “What are you thinking about, Lizbeth?”
“This Hall. Tis verra grand inna it? I think tis one of the nicest around, I hae only been tae a few halls in my life, but visitors tell me that in their travels they find this is one of the grandest.”
I said, “It is beautiful.”
“Tis the carvings, I think, but also…” Her voice broke. She pulled a handkerchief from a small bag at her waist and dabbed at her eyes.
Magnus said, “Sister, I am… I am verra sorry tae hae caused ye pain, I—”
Our eyes drew up to the main doors of the Great Hall to see Lady Mairead entering, her new young handsome husband, Wilfred, on her arm.
Magnus said, “Och nae, tis m’mother, unexpected.”