A Noble Deception (The Douglas Clan) Read Free Page A

pass to another. For the sake of the great name of Douglas; for the sake of the clan. If James is set on making enemies of us all, we must do what we can to protect our own.”
    Lord Albermarle considered the old man’s proposition in palpable silence. He did not like it. In all his adult life he’d thought of Glendalough as his, had measured his own wealth with the inclusion of Kildrummond coin. These lands had a significant advantage over his own: where Kinross was a landlocked parcel of territory, Kildrummond possessed a valuable sea port on its northern edge. It was a prime acquisition, not only in terms of economy, but also military strategy.
    Yet old John Douglas’s logic could not be ignored. All the military and economic advantage of Kildrummond was for naught if King James seized it. This feud between the Crown and the Douglas clan was carrying on far too long, and many a noble speculated on the king’s sanity—what monarch in his right mind would brutally murder one of his subjects by his own hand? In view of witnesses, no less, for indeed the pair had not been alone that night. There was no telling how far he planned on carrying this quarrel.
    After several long moments , he spoke. “If no’ me, then who?”
    “Lachlan Ramsay,” Lord Kildrummond stated.
    A shout of laughter burst from Lord Albermarle’s barrel chest. “Lachlan Ramsay? Now ye must be jesting. Lachlan Ramsay, as in Viscount Strathcairn?”
    “Aye, the very same. He is my wife’s nephew, but more importantly he isna a Douglas. The king willna have any grounds to take Kildrummond, if it comes to that, because it will be in the hands of a Ramsay.”
    “So ye’ll hand over yer earldom and all it ent ails to an insignificant young viscount—wi’out lands of his own, I might add—over yer own Douglas kinsman.” Mirth still tugged at the corners of Lord Albermarle’s lips. “Alright then, John, I concede. Pray, tell me, what other reasons have ye for this mad scheme of yers? Nothing ye’ve ever done before had only one purpose to it.”
    Lord Kildrummond chuckled as well . “’Tis tied to the first reason, I admit. Ye see, Edward, ye’re married. Ye’ve a beautiful wife in yer Rosamund, and ye’ve been devoted to her since the day ye wed. Lachlan Ramsay, on the other hand, isna married. Or at least he wasna the last time I inquired.”
    “ I’m certain he still isna,” Lord Albermarle put in dryly. “From what I remember of the lad, he isna the type to settle into matrimony wi’out being dragged to the altar.” When the old earl’s eyes sparkled mischievously, he added, “Ye dinna mean to drag him to the altar. Tell me ye dinna mean to drag him to the altar, John. I’ll have no part in that.”
    “Of course not. Ye said it yerself, the lad has no lands of his own. He’ll drag himself there, I’m certain. For the earldom of Kildrummond, and its lands and wealth, he’ll do it.”
    Lord Albermarle’s eyebrows knitted together as he worked out the old man’s plan. Then a wave of understanding swept over him.
    “Ah, I see. Ye wish for him to marry yer Moira.”
    “I wish for him to marry my Moira. I want to ken my daughter is provided for when I’m gone. I want to ken she’ll always have a home in Kildrummond. I owe it to my Lilian to do this for our lass.”
    Lord Albermarle groaned. He could have contested his kinsman’s wish to preserve Kildrummond from the king’s greedy hand, and maintained an easy conscience. But not this, not Moira’s security. Edward Douglas, Earl of Albermarle, was a father several times over himself. Illegitimate or no, Moira was still the dying earl’s only child.
    “I’ll think on it,” he said evenly.
    In truth, though, he knew how that thinking would go.

Two
    THE WIDE, DUAL doors to the stables at Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire stood ajar. Daylight seeped lazily through the entrance, weakened by a sky that was heavy with the threat of snow. It cast a colourless pallor over the