Page 43 of The Highlander's Alluring Spy
Ewan smiled, but it was a bitter expression. “Beithir can try as hard as he likes, but he’s got nae money to feed his people. The farmhands are a’ deid. I lost all four o’ my sons and my seven grandsons as well as me eyesight fightin’ against thon English armies, tryin’ to protect this land. Me only daughter went while birthin’ a bairn that never met her faither. That wee orphan lass lived here wi’ me and me wife until she was a woman grown.”
“Does she live in the village now?” Magnolia asked. Nathair winced and unconsciously put his hand out to take hers as if he could protect her from the knowledge that was coming.
“Och, nay,” Ewan said. “Three years back, durin’ the last skirmish, some English soldier took a likin’ to me granddaughter. She disappeared. I havenae seen nor heard from her since.”
“She ran off with him?” Magnolia asked, though Nathair could tell by her voice that she suspected something much darker.
“That’s the belief that I clin’ to, lass,” Ewan said grimly. “Me wife died tha’ very same month, and I’ve been up here by meself ever since.”
Magnolia was very quiet, and Nathair felt the slight pressure of her hand in his as she took the comfort he was offering.
“Dae ye ken why I’m tellin’ ye all this, Maggie?” Ewan asked.
“I don’t,” Magnolia said. Her voice was thick, as though she was trying to prevent tears. “But please, do tell me.”
Ewan nodded in approval. “Two reasons, dependin’ on why ye’re here. The first reason is that yer English, lass. Many o’ us willnae trust ye, but Beithir seems to. Dae ye think ye deserve that trust?”
Nathair glanced at her face again, but her expression was inscrutable. Ewan didn’t wait for her to answer, anyway, before he continued.
“If ye dae, then when ye go back home, tell them the sad story I just telt ye. Tell them how we cannae dae it anymore. The MacFoihl Clan is powerful the land over, it’s true, and Laird MacFoihl’s voice has always spoken for the weight o’ any two other Lairds, but the clan is strugglin’. We’re nae askin’ for help. We dinnae want war. We just want to be left alone.”
Magnolia said nothing. She withdrew her hand from Nathair’s, and he felt strangely empty at its loss.
“Magnolia is a nanny, Mr. McLeod,” he said gruffly. “She has no say in the politics of countries. I am sure she’d want to avoid war just as much as any o’ us dae.”
Ewan nodded pensively. “Aye, that might be true. And if it is, lass, that brin’s me to me second reason. If ye’re really wantin’ to help, I need ye to remember somethin’.”
Magnolia leaned forward. “And what is that, sir?”
Ewan leaned over the table, grasping at the air until Magnolia caught his withered old hand between her own. He smiled and said, “Chan urrainn do dhuine 'sambith seirbhis a dhéanamh do dhà mhaighstir,” the old man said. “Dae ye understand, lass?”
‘Naebody can give full service to two masters.’ Why would he tell her that?
And of course, she couldn’t understand! She didn’t speak any Gaelic, after all. Even some folk in the Lowlands of Scotland wouldn’t understand, never mind this English girl.
But there was a strange look on Magnolia’s face as she responded calmly. “You know, I may not comprehend the words, Mr. McLeod,” she said. “But I think I understand your meaning perfectly.”
Ewan patted her hand. “Good lass. Then aye. Maybe ye can help after a’. Perhaps there’s life in this ol’ clan yet.”
12
The Plan
Magnolia, Nathair, and William sat together in the Laird’s study, discussing everything they had learned and planned over the previous four days. If William thought it strange that Elaine’s nanny should be involved in this discussion, Magnolia didn’t sense it from him at all.
She had been shocked when Nathair had asked her to join them. It had been just over half a week since they had agreed to be friends, and their relationship had changed spectacularly.
He comes to play with Elaine and me whenever he can. He seeks my opinion.
In short, he treated her as almost an equal, something which Magnolia would have never expected. And he truly valued her input on the food shortage crisis, which is why she was here now.
“We simply can’t force Laird MacCullen to open the supply route,” she said, shaking her head at William’s suggestion. “I understand the impulse, but you must realize that such an act of aggression will lead to more fighting. That is the last thing the village or the people need.”
She caught Nathair looking at her as she spoke and saw a rare softness in his eyes, a gentle smile on his lips at her words. It sent warmth through her skin and her bones, leaving tingling pleasure at the end of her fingertips.
William seemed less impressed. “Aye, that might be, but thefirstthing the clan needs is food, Magnolia. Unless ye’re gonnae tell me yer a witch and can magic it out o’ thin air, I’m gonnae need somethin’ more to go on.”
“MacCullen isnae the only other Laird around,” Nathair offered. “It’d mean traveling further. I’d probably have to go meself and make whatever devil-deal they propose, but we could reach out to Laird Taylor, or Laird MacLeish.”
