Chapter Twenty-Four
The doors.
Brody stood before enormous oak doors that had been carved into figures from Celtic mythology.
Fantastic creatures were on the panels along with warriors bearing great muscles and great weapons.
They were quite intricate and he stood there a moment, inspecting them, before softly rapping on the door.
The knocks reverberated throughout the foyer.
He was holding the chest that Clegg had given him and it was quite heavy.
When no one answered his knock, he tried again, louder this time.
As he wondered if Laird Currie was even in the chamber, he began to hear shuffling on the other side.
A bolt was thrown. Slowly, the door creaked open and an old man with long, white hair appeared.
“Who are ye?” he asked. “What do ye want?”
Brody wasn’t sure how to answer that except with the truth. “Sir Clegg de Lave of the Ludus Caledonia sent me,” he said. “Are ye Laird Currie?”
The old man blinked as if startled both by the answer and the question. “Clegg has sent ye?”
“If ye are Laird Currie, he has.”
The old man hesitated for a split second before moving aside, opening the door to admit Brody. “Aye,” he said. “Clegg de Lave truly sent ye?”
Brody moved into the chamber, which turned out to be a vast and magical place that smelled of dust and smoke. It was quite cluttered, filled to the rafters with books and treasures that Brody couldn’t even begin to guess about.
There were also rats.
He saw several of them gathered on a messy table, looking at him with their beady rat eyes. “Aye, he did, m’laird,” he said, eyeing the rats. “My name is Brody McKay. I’ve come with a message.”
Laird Currie came around to stand in front of him, watching him as he set the heavy chest onto the ground. “I’ve not seen Clegg in a year,” he said. “Is the man well?”
“Well, m’laird.”
“What message does he send me?”
Brody looked at the old man; really looked at him.
He remembered Lilia telling him that Laird Currie was much older than his wife and he could see that it was the truth.
He was old enough to be her grandfather.
He was tall and thin, with stringy white hair and an odd cap on his head.
He appeared rather odd in general, but Brody also remember that Lilia told him of the old man’s kindness.
Already, he felt pity for the man and the life he was relegated to with a frisky young wife.
“It is a long story, m’laird, so I’ll beg yer patience while I tell it,” he said after a moment. “First – may we bolt the door? We dunna want any interruptions.”
Laird Currie scurried over to the doors, throwing the big bolt that more than likely would have stopped a herd of stampeding cattle. It was enormous. He rushed back over to Brody.
“It must be important if I am bolting doors,” he said.
“It is,” Brody said. “It is easiest if I start from the beginning. I am the warrior yer wife purchased from the Ludus Caledonia.”
Laird Currie never changed expressions. “Are ye, now?” he said as if very interested in that fact. “Ye must be a great warrior.”
Brody shrugged. “There was a time when men called me the Highland Protector,” he said. “I’ve seen my share of battles.”
“Ye look it. Ye’re a big lad.”
Brody snorted. “Big enough, I suppose,” he said. “M’laird, I’m not sure how much ye know about the situation, so forgive me if I’m blunt. I know of no other way than tae be truthful. Yer wife dinna purchase my contract so I could protect Hawkhill. She purchased me tae be her lover.”
The old man nodded. “She chose well,” he said. “I told her if she was tae buy a father for my son, then he should be strong and intelligent.”
Brody frowned. “Then ye know why she did this?” he asked. “Ye told her tae?”
Laird Currie lifted his slender shoulders.
“She would do it with or without my encouragement,” he said.
“Since ye’re being honest, so shall I. The truth is that I married a harlot, Brody.
The woman spreads her legs for everyone but her husband.
But the thought of it stopped vexing me long ago.
I’m being punished for being selfish enough tae marry a young lass who only wanted my money. That’s my private purgatory.”
Brody was relieved to know that Laird Currie wasn’t in on his wife’s purchase of a lover. He’d been worried for a moment. But he could see that the old man was simply acknowledging the situation, not endorsing it.
“Then… then ye have no feelings about it, m’laird?” he asked.
Laird Currie threw up his hands in a gesture of resignation.
“She does as she pleases,” he said as he planted himself on the nearest stool.
“My mistake was in thinking she’d be happy married tae a man who only wanted a son from her.
I suppose it’s not an easy life for her.
Would I rather she not go tae The Cal and fornicate with the warriors there?
Of course I would. At least, I did. But I stopped caring long ago.
As I said, my punishment is being married tae a lass who pays men tae pleasure her. ’Tis a shameful thing.”
Brody’s pity for the man deepened. “Would ye be open to seeking some vengeance on her? Vengeance for shaming ye, I mean.”
Laird Currie looked at him, sharply. “What do ye mean?”
Brody bent over, using a big, iron key to unlock the chest. He flipped open the lid and pulled out two big leather pouches. He set them both down, heavily, on the table as Laird Currie looked on in astonishment. Rising from his stool, he pointed at the purses.
“Those…” he hissed. “I sent those with my wife last night.”
“I know.”
“She used them tae pay for a warrior… tae pay for ye.”
“She did.”
Laird Currie looked at him with his mouth hanging open. “What are ye doing with them?”
Brody’s eyes glimmered. “I am returning them tae you with Clegg’s compliments,” he said.
Then, he reached into the chest again and pulled out a smaller leather pouch, setting it onto the table with the others.
“And that purse contains two pounds. That is from me, tae purchase the remainder of Lilia Galston’s debt.
She said ye told her it would be two pounds for the debt tae be paid in full. ”
Laird Currie was clearly confused. “Lilia? Why would ye pay for Lilia?”
Brody could see that the old man was bewildered and possibly even shaken by everything he was being told. It was a great deal to absorb. He gently grasped the old man by the arms and directed him back to his stool.
“I want tae marry Lilia,” he said softly.
“I want tae pay off her debt and take her away, tonight. M’laird, I’m sure ye know how they treat her here.
She is beaten and mistreated, and I willna stand for it any longer.
The money is for her debt and if ye require more, I promise I’ll send it tae ye.
But I am taking her away tonight, no matter what.
This way, the money yer wife paid for me is returned tae ye, Lilia’s debt is returned tae ye, and yer wife will be without the man she purchased purely for her pleasure.
That’s the vengeance I speak of, m’laird. Painless, but the message is clear.”
Laird Currie stared at him, digesting what he’d been told. His gaze eventually moved to the table again where the three pouches sat, pouches that his rats were beginning to sniff.
“’Tis overwhelmed, I am,” he said, fingering the leather purses.
“When life turns against ye… it was easier tae hide in my solar and pretend this was my only world. The place that had been my home my entire life was no longer my home. It was no longer happy. But this… this gives me hope, lad. Clegg will never know what he’s done for me. ”
Brody smiled faintly at the old man. “And me,” he said. “Clegg is a good man.”
Laird Currie looked at him. “Is that how ye met Lilia? When she visited The Cal with Lady Currie?”
Brody shook his head. “When I saved her from robbers.”
Laird Currie sensed there was a story behind that but he didn’t ask. He was more concerned with what the future held.
“She’s a good lass,” he said. “I knew her father. He was a servant but he was also my friend and when he died, she came tae Hawkhill of her own free will tae work off the debt I’d incurred in paying for a physic for him. Did she tell ye that?”
Brody nodded. “She did.”
Laird Currie turned serious. “Take her away from here, Brody,” he said. “Ye’re right when ye say she was mistreated here. Ye’ve paid me more than enough for her debt, so take her. The lass deserves a better life than what she’s had at the hands of Lady Currie.”
Brody was greatly relieved to hear that Laird Currie wasn’t going to give him a fight. “Thank ye, m’laird,” he said. “I will do all I can tae make her happy.”
“Good,” Laird Currie said. “Her father would have wanted that. Mayhap it’s the last gift I can give a man who meant something tae me. Until now, I’ve failed when it came tae the care of his daughter. But I’ll fail no more.”
Brody smiled. “Nor will I,” he said. “But I do have a favor tae ask ye, m’laird.”
“Anything.”
“We’ll need a horse,” he said. “Ye’ve a fine stud in the stables and I’m told ye never ride him. Could I borrow him? Just tae get where I’m going, of course. I’ll send him back tae ye when I can.”
Laird Currie waved him off. “He’s yers,” he said. “The horse is growing fat for want of use, so take him and welcome. If I tried tae ride him, I’d probably end up on my head.”
Brody was truly appreciative. With a lingering expression of gratitude to Laird Currie, he took his possessions out of the chest, few as they were, and quit the chamber. Laird Currie had his money returned and Lilia’s debt was paid. Everything was working out, just as he’d planned.
Quickly, he made his way back to the stables to prepare the big, fat, white horse with the gloriously long mane and tail. When he told Angus that Laird Currie had given him the beast, Angus was more than happy to help him prepare the animal for travel.
Time was growing short.
Lilia was packing and he had to be ready.