Chapter Nineteen
“Six masons and fifteen laborers are already rebuilding the cottages and the wall in the west village, Laird Alex,” Jamie reported. “The extra hands will assure quick completion.”
“Have ye taken an inventory for what we’ll need for the other four villages? The same should be done—providing defenses so the next time the Sutherlands come looking for a fight, they’ll get one.”
“Aye. Accommodations for the guards are also being constructed.”
Petro slid a ledger across the table to Alex. “I’ve finished the calculations, Alexander. There’s enough gold to hire the necessary hands to make the improvements on the keep, build the second tower, and pay two hundred retainers through next year. But we’ll need more money.”
Alex scanned the parchment. Clan MacKay was luckily self-sufficient, yielding enough crops—oats, barley, turnips, and kale—to sustain the tenants. The storerooms were also well-stocked with preserved meats, butter, cheese, and ale. The cattle and sheep herds flourished. Fortunately, his sire and brother had exercised temperance when it came to spending money, sometimes to a fault. He dinna mind investing in his clan, using his own wealth to improve the lives of the people. But there remained one question: it would be necessary to send a representative back to Constantinople to settle his accounts and sell his property.
He’d considered several candidates, including Petro. But Alex dinna want to part ways with him. He needed his secretary to help run the keep and maintain a friendship with Keely. Mathe was a soldier and dinna have the disposition to deal with foreigners. But Jamie had a good head on his shoulders. And like Alex, he was tall and fierce looking and would win the respect of the lords in the east.
“There is something I wish to discuss with ye,” Alex said to his cousin.
“Whatever ye need.”
“Sit.” Alex gestured to one of the chairs by the table. “As ye know, I dinna prepare for a long stay in Scotland.”
“Aye,” Jamie acknowledged, crossing his legs.
“I own extensive properties in Constantinople, employ sixty servants, own twenty slaves, and my concubines…”
Jamie coughed exaggeratedly.
“Tis a delicate subject,” Alex said.
“I never imagined ye as anything but a Highlander, Cousin.”
“I am a Highlander first.” Alex thumped his chest. “But if a man leaves his homeland, ye canna fault him for building a life elsewhere.”
“Nay,” Jamie said. “But I canna understand keeping slaves.”
“Doona fash, Father Michael has provided the guidance I need to save my soul.”
Jamie chuckled.
“It seems a man can be absolved of any sin as long as he has enough coin,” Alex added.
“I’ll remember it when I need forgiveness.”
Alex rolled his eyes. There were stark differences between life in Scotland and Constantinople. Sometimes he still missed the heat and sand. But he’d willingly let go of that life and there was no going back now. “I want ye to sail to Constantinople.”
Jamie leaned forward in the chair, resting his palms on the edge of the table. “Are ye daft? Leave home?”
“Aye. Ye’ve been to England and France.”
“To advance MacKay interests, to fight for my laird,” Jamie pointed out.
“And now ye will serve my interests by dissolving any ties I have in the east. I will pay ye a king’s ransom, Jamie. Ye’ll have enough coin to attract the kind of bride ye deserve.”
His cousin dinna look convinced.
“What do I know of such a place? The people?”
“I will send Kuresh with ye. He will act as interpreter, councilor, and guide.”
“What about Mathe? Or Gordon? He has a head for business—can haggle with the sellers at the market like an old woman.”
“Aye, Gordon would be a wise choice, too. But he doesna have yer quick wit and sword arm. And he isna my kinsman. This requires someone I trust implicitly.”
Alex had always lived with a sense of purpose, first for the honor of his family, and when his brother and Keely betrayed him, that purpose shifted to himself. Well, now it had switched back to family. And the wealth that would come from selling off his assets would make Clan MacKay a worthy adversary to the Sutherlands. Titles and lands were purely symbolic in Alex’s mind. A man with enough gold to do whatever he wanted commanded his enemies’ respect and fear.
“What about my seat on the council?”
“Name yer temporary replacement or grant proxy to one of the members. Yer place will be saved for when ye return. And trust me, Cousin, ye will come home.” Alex could see the uncertainty on his face.
“How long will I be gone?”
“Two months.”
“An Diabhal fhéein!”
“Doona incite the devil. Ask for protection from the Almighty if ye must,” Alex suggested, attempting to hide his smile.
“Ye’re not like other men, Alex. Nothing would make me want to leave the Highlands.”
“Spoken like a man who has never experienced the kind of betrayal I have.”
There was a long silence.
“Still about betrayal, is it?” Jamie asked sharply.
Alex clamped his jaw tight. “A subject better avoided.”
“All right,” Jamie said. “When do ye need my answer?”
“Now.”
“Now?”
“Aye. The longer we wait, the better the chance of someone taking what is mine. I should have been on my ship weeks ago.”
“Did ye no leave someone to act in yer absence?”
“Of course, a trusted servant who is trained to run my household,” Alex said. “But there are powerful men who covet what I own.”
“What if I refuse?”
Alex stiffened. “I havena thought that far ahead.”
Jamie’s eyebrows rose with surprise. “Ye say go, and I must.”
“I am laird, and ye did swear fealty to me.”
Jamie nodded. “It will cost ye, Cousin. I want my own lands. And a house.”
“Ye wish to live apart from the clan?”
“Have ye not heard a word I’ve said, Alex? Our clan means everything to me. I would never leave. But I’d gladly take back what my father ceded to yer da before he died. Tis the price for my sword arm that ye value so much.”
His cousin’s demand wasna unreasonable. The voyage would take Jamie through pirate infested waters, so it would only be right to pay him. Alex still sought Petro’s approval. Giving up land wasna something taken lightly. But Alex also recognized the importance of keeping his heir happy. If anything happened to Alex, or if Keely couldna bear him a son, Jamie would be the next laird. Another reason he wanted his cousin to take the trip. Nothing opened a man’s eyes like Constantinople. He’d either find God or go to the devil.
“Five hundred acres along the sea coast,” Petro said, referencing a map that Alex’s father had always kept available. It showed the extent of Clan MacKay holdings. “A fair exchange for what you ask him to do.”
“All right.” Alex stood and walked around the table to where his cousin sat. “Ye’ll have the land, and upon yer return, my masons will build whatever home ye want.”
Jamie hoisted himself up to his feet, still looking unsure of the situation. “Two months?”
“Three, if the storm gods curse ye.”
“Ye’re a bloody pagan,” Jamie said, clasping Alex’s shoulder. “I willna fail ye. And once the shock of the moment passes, I am sure I will be grateful for the opportunity. It’s just … I’ve never considered traveling so far before. A man gets comfortable in his natural surroundings.”
“We are creatures of habit,” Alex agreed. “Some of them worse than others.”
The two laughed, and Alex gripped his cousin’s forearm.
“Thank ye, Jamie. I’ve always considered ye a brother.”