Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Sinclair slammed his mug down on the desk and glared at his four sons. His anger was directed more at Archie. "Ye caused us to lose the coin and land that was part of the betrothal agreement."

Archie glared right back. "‘Twas a small matter when ye consider I was to be Mackay Clan Chief."

"Aye, and allowing yer whore to remain in yer bedchamber was the stupidest thing I've e'er heard," Miles, Archie's younger brother, said.

Archie glared at Miles. "The Mackay lass agreed to it."

"Apparently, she intended to receive her pleasure with Finn Mackay. As The Mackay's second, he would be there to take care of her. Ye could have produced an heir that wasna a Sinclair."

"Enough!" The Sinclair shouted at his sons. "All of that is o'er with. I want what I was promised. The land was perfect to add protection to our castle. In case of an attack I doona expect The Mackay to take up arms on our behalf. The old mon is undependable and, when Mackay takes over once he's dead, we will be lucky if he doesn't attack us. He wasna fond of ye," he added, looking at Archie.

Archie scowled, but remained silent.

"And the coin," Gilbert reminded them. "We need a plan," he said as he tapped his finger on the desk.

"A plan for what?" David, the third son, asked.

"To get what is due me. The Mackay should have offered that before we left."

"We're going into battle with them?" Archie asked.

The Sinclair reached out and smacked his son on the head. "No wonder ye lost the betrothal. Ye should have left yer whore home and paid some attention to Lady Alison. ‘Tis no' surprised I am that she sought the attentions of Mackay."

Archie rubbed the side of his head. "What is the plan?"

The Sinclair sat silently for a while and then said, "We grab the lass. Hold her until they agree to stick to the terms of the betrothal agreement."

A full minute of silence followed as the four brothers took in the information. Archie broke the quiet. "How would we do that?"

The Sinclair sighed. "Do ye think one of ye might come up with a way to grab the lass? Do I have to do all the thinking for ye?"

He'd always known his sons had inherited their mam's intelligence, which was none. He should have thought of that before he married Vernie all those years ago. When his father made the agreement, all Gilbert had been interested in was the lass's substantial duckies and large arse.

But very little of a brain had come with her.

"One of ye will go to Tongue and make friends. Tup the lasses and get information on the castle, and how to get in. Get to ken one of the maids and find out what the Mackay lass does all day. Does she go for rides? Spend time alone? Think fer a change."

The four all looked at each other. "Who will go?"

"Miles and David will go. I doona think anyone from the village will remember either one of ye from the short time we spent there."

The two brothers nodded at each other.

"Let me make myself clear. Doona attempt to grab the lass yerself. Come back here with the information ye gather and we'll come up with a plan."

Gilbert knew his sons would not be able to work out their own plan, and he didn't want to mess this up. If The Mackay or Finn Mackay learned about this, they'd never get another chance at that land without going into battle. A battle they would surely lose with the strength of the Mackay clan.

"When should we leave?" Miles asked.

"An hour ago," Gilbert said.

Both sons looked at him with a blank expression. He sighed. "Just go now."

They stood and left the room. He turned to his other two sons. "We doona want to hurt the lass while she is here. You two figure out where we will hold her that she will be comfortable but unable to escape." Gilbert waved his finger at them. "Doona attempt to tup the lass."

They nodded.

"Aye, go about yer business. Archie, get yer arse out to the lists and watch those men. I doona want to go into battle with the Mackays—or anyone for that matter—but we must be prepared."

Gilbert leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Too late now, but he would give up the huge duckies for a brain.

"What sort of problems are we talking about," Foster Mackay asked.

Finn and James sat facing the laird in his solar. Finn nodded at James. "A few of our men who do regular visits to the borders have run into bandits. They believe these men were actually Sinclair clan members looking to cause trouble without being identified."

The Mackay thought for a minute. "I doona think The Sinclair is that lacking in good sense. Keep an eye on that situation, but I doona think ‘tis something we need to be too concerned about."

Finn wasn't as sure about that as the laird seemed to be. He remembered the look on Archie Sinclair's face when he stood with the others as they stumbled on him and Alison in the stables.

It seemed it was just fine for him to drag his mistress to his own wedding, but his bride must be pure. Finn still regretted not beating the man to a pulp.

Control. It was all about control.

"Do ye expect any sort of retaliation from The Sinclair?" Finn asked.

"Aye," he said. Make sure the ramparts are well covered and, without raising any questions among the staff, make sure they are aware of anything out of order."