Page 80 of Highland Sword
“He’s the blasted nephew of Butcher Cumberland,” the laird reminded everyone.
“But the least detestable one,” Searc put in. “The man favors Scotland. And his mistress of twenty years was Irish. He sired ten children with the lass. He can’t be all bad.”
“He’ll be king before he’s done,” Niall told them. “Everyone knows it. The War Department and the Admiralty respect him. More than a year ago, before the old king died, I heard that the Archbishop of Canterbury had declared openly that Clarence is the fittest to rule of them all.”
Aidan concurred. “The king hasn’t had his formal coronation yet, but Brougham says even his supporters inParliament are tired of his self-absorbed dramatics and his bullying.”
The trial that Henry Brougham won on behalf of the queen was barely over before the king was demanding that his camp find another way to divorce her. But the latest word was that his advisors told him as clearly as possible that any further action would surely involve details about the king’s own adulterous relationships becoming known to the public. The future of the monarchy itself would be jeopardized at a time when the nation had other, more pressing matters to attend to.
“But Clarence isn’t next in line,” the laird said. “There’s that other one. The Duke of York.”
“York’s interests are limited to the enjoyment of London’s high life,” Aidan replied. “He can’t see beyond food, drink, cards, and racehorses. And his health is failing. He was carried out of his box at Ascot last year. They said it was the heat, but the word is that the duke suffered a mild apoplectic stroke. At White’s, there are wagers being placed right now that York won’t live long enough to be king.”
“So that leaves the Duke of Clarence,” Lachlan said.
Aidan turned to Cinaed. His opinion was the only one that really mattered. “What do you think about meeting with the duke?”
“I heard he went to sea as a lad. We have that in common, anyway.”
Although Aidan doubted Cinaed’s experience was as pampered as the duke’s, he kept his thoughts to himself.
“What do you think you can accomplish with this meeting?” the laird asked.
“If he’s to be king, as my mother believes,” Cinaed answered, “then we’ll have the ear of someone who couldsupport reform. Someone who could help Scotland gain a greater voice in the government.”
Searc had been pacing the room throughout the discussion, and he stopped abruptly. “But what does he want in return?”
All eyes fixed on Aidan. “He wants to hear Cinaed say that he’s not interested in sitting on Britain’s throne.” Those weren’t exactly the duke’s words, but the meaning was close enough. “I think he wants to judge for himself if the son of Scotland is a threat to his future.”
Everyone here knew the answer. Cinaed had made it clear. He had no desire to be king.
“We need to show our faces to him. As Scots. As Highlanders,” Cinaed said with conviction. “He needs to see more than the handful of landowners he might have raised a glass with in London. What could they tell him about the people going hungry in the Maggot?”
Everyone agreed.
“When was the last time an English king came to Scotland?” Lachlan asked.
“He’s not king yet,” Niall reminded them.
“He’s close enough to the throne,” Searc put in. “In two hundred years, none of them have come. And this one is coming to the Highlands. We’re not sending you to him.”
Aidan told them all the details of his meeting. He and Brougham had met the duke in the new west wing of Kew Palace.
“For obvious reasons, the king will never know about this meeting with you. The duke is supposedly coming to Inverness to look into the construction delays of the Caledonian Canal.”
Everyone in the room began to speak at once. They all had an opinion on the disastrous project. It had initiallybeen intended as an inland waterway to protect English shipping from the threat of French warships. Cutting at an angle from the western to the eastern seas, the canal ran through the Great Glen from Fort William to Inverness.
Aidan knew part of the push to build the canal had come from the Royal Navy, which gave the duke, as Admiral of the Fleet, a good reason for coming to Inverness.
“A seven-year project,” Lachlan huffed.
“We’re ten years past that already,” Aidan added. “And close to eight hundred thousand pounds.”
“In no small part due to a certain member of this clan,” Cinaed said, gesturing toward Searc.
“It’s true. I admit I might have had a hand in slowing things down a wee bit,” he said, looking like he’d just swallowed the canary. “But I wasn’t about to help the bloody English with their war effort, was I? And a man can’t be faulted for making a few pounds where he can.”
Aidan had heard the canal would be obsolete before it was finished. At fourteen feet deep, it was too shallow for many of the new ships being built.
