Page 2 of Never Kiss a Highlander
Finn grinned. “Nay. But she is a bonny one.”
“Aye, and a jealous one. If ye get involved with her, ye need to watch yer back.” He placed his hands on his hips. “Do ye remember where the laird’s solar is?”
“Aye.”
“We doona let outsiders wander the keep, but the laird said ‘twas all right to send ye up and make sure ye had something to eat.” He nodded as he stuck out his hand. “My name is James Mackay. If ye head up to the laird’s solar, I’ll have the kitchen send up a meal to ye.”
Finn nodded and jogged to the staircase, taking two steps at a time. He followed the stone walkway to the laird’s solar and knocked.
“Enter.”
Laird Foster Mackay was a man approaching his sixth decade. His first wife had died in childbirth, taking the bairn along with her. His second wife gave him two sons and a daughter, the youngest being no more than five summers when the second wife passed.
Satisfied with two sons to follow him, Foster had remained unmarried.
The laird had lines of sorrow on his face and pain in his fading blue eyes. His shoulder length, light brown hair was beginning to show streaks of gray. Within the past year he’d lost both his sons in battles, which was a major surprise to The Mackay since his sons had been the best trained of all the warriors.
One son was cut down and bled to death on the battlefield and the other son died of an infection from a slash on the arm. When they were here a few weeks ago, Finn had heard the man was being badgered by his council members to take another wife since the only child left to him was his daughter, Lady Alison.
He refused, stating he didn’t have the heart to take another wife and raise more bairns. Craig had told Finn after his conversation with The Mackay that it was this situation that had encouraged the laird to offer a second-in-command to Craig.
If he could step into his brother’s place, he saw this as an opportunity to make a life for himself outside of the two brothers he dearly loved but felt overshadowed by.
The laird waved to the seat in front of his desk.
He sat back and studied Finn for a moment, then tapped the piece of parchment lying on his desk. “I assume there is a reason why yer laird sent ye with this instead of having a messenger deliver it?”
Finn nodded. “Aye, laird. I am here to convince ye to take me in place of my brother.”
The Mackay crossed his arms over his massive chest. He was once a formidable man but his sorrows had taken some of the life out of him. “And ye and yer laird feel as though I would need some convincing?”
Finn shrugged. “Ye offered the spot to Craig.”
“Aye. That I did.”
Unsure what to say next, Finn just waited for the laird to continue. “I offered it to Craig because he has already been acting second-in-command for yer laird. I doona have time to train a mon.”
Finn tried hard to not take that as a rejection. Instead, he decided if he was to be considered for the position, he had to fight for it. “I am just as effective as my brother. I am in on all the decisions, training, and strategy.”
The laird shrugged. “Yet ‘tis Craig he turns to more than ye.”
So there was a spy at Dun Ugadale, giving information to The Mackay.
“Craig was recently at one of our borders for more than a moon and Robin and I, together, made many decisions that benefited the clan.”
“Such as?”
He would not be so easily dissuaded from his goal. “We took on twenty new trainees to strengthen our forces. I personally chose the twenty and supervised their training.”
The laird nodded for him to continue.
“The council wanted Robin to honor the betrothal agreement between him and Lady Lorena Gunn. Robin fought against them, and I still believe he made the wrong decision.”
Foster frowned. “Didn’t yer brother Craig step in and take Mackay’s place?”
“Aye. But ‘twas no’ the honorable thing to do. We were lucky to avoid a war with the Gunns over that.”
“So yer brother Craig took Robin’s place, and now ye want to step into his place here. Is that something yer family does? When one doesn’t want to honor a commitment, a brother takes o’er?”
