A Noble Deception (The Douglas Clan) Read Free

“Well, er, that is what I wish to speak wi’ ye about, Edward.”
    “Lady Glinis?”
    “Nay... Glendalough.”
    “What about Glendalough? Ye dinna owe the Crown on the estate, d’ye? I’ll no’ have to dig into my coffers to keep my inheritance , I hope.”
    “It isna that. These being dark times, ye can understand that I’d worry about the place.”
    “Dark times, aye. ” Lord Albermarle nodded reflectively. “It doesna seem like he’s been gone three years, does it?”
    “It doesna .”
    But it was. Three years ago their kinsman William, the eighth Earl of Douglas and chief of the vastly branched Douglas clan, had been brutally murdered by King James the Second at Stirling Castle. In a fit of rage, the monarch had stabbed Lord Douglas more than twenty times after the earl refused his demand that he sever his powerful alliance with Alexander Lindsay, Earl of Crawford, and John of Islay, chief of Clan Donald. Since that time the existing feud between the Black Douglases, as the clan had become known, and the Scottish king had grown dangerously heated.
    The king’s rash and violent act also fuelled the rumours that the fiery birthmark upon his cheek was a mark of his fiery temperament. Thereafter, references to King James as “Fiery Face” became even more commonplace—when he was not around to hear it.
    “And now there is the matter of the lands being forfeit to the Crown,” Lord Kildrummond added, referring to the recent seizure of Douglas lands and the imprisonment of William Douglas’s successor.
    “Who kens what further lands Fiery Face intends to seize? The name of Douglas isna a friend to the Crown right now, that’s for certain.”
    “ That,” Lord Kildrummond stated with an odd, uneasy look, “is what I wish to speak wi’ ye about, Edward.”
    Lord Albermarle assessed the old earl with an odd, uneasy look of his own. “Why do I have the feeling I’ll no’ like what ye have to tell me?”
    “I daresay ye willna ... because I have decided ye’ll no’ be my heir upon my death. Glendalough will go to another.”
    “Ha!” Lord Albermarle chuckled. “Ye nearly had me there, John. ‘Tis no’ a funny jest, that.”
    “I agree, ‘tis no.’ ‘Tis a lso no’ a jest, Edward. I willna be leaving Glendalough to ye.”
    The younger earl’s face fell serious. “By God, why? What have I done to displease ye so?”
    Lord Kildrummond knew his kinsman well, and recognized the need to proceed with caution. Though Lord Albermarle had not shouted or grown angry, there was a steely edge to his calm, controlled manner. He was a man of great power and influence, after all, accustomed to leading men and giving orders.
    He was not accustomed to being denied the things he wanted.
    “Ye’ve done nothing to displease me, Edward. I plead wi’ ye to hear me out, for I ken—we both ken—that ye can easily protest my decision wi’ the king. And ye’d probably win yer petition, too, for ye are the rightful heir to Kildrummond. I dinna dispute that.”
    Lord Albermarle stared at the old earl, frail and ashen beneath his furs. A muscle worked at his jaw as the silence lengthened. Eventually he answered, “Go on, then. I’m listening.”
    “My decision, Edward, is only for the good of Kildrummond. While I’ve no doubt ye’d be a fine steward of its people, ye are a Douglas.”
    “As ye are,” Lord Albermarle observed tersely.
    “T hat is my concern. Who kens whether the king will take more Douglas land in the course of this wretched feud? Who kens whether he will decide to take Kildrummond?”
    “’Tis speculation. Ye dinna ken anything is at risk. This feud may blow over by the end of the year.”
    “And it may no’ . Edward, I havena much time left on this earth. I dinna care to go to my grave worrying about what the king may or may no’ do. It isna as if ye need Glendalough’s coffers to add to yer own. Ye’ve lands and wealth enough as it is. I beg ye, Edward: let my title and my lands