cottage? I should have known.” Growling, the chieftain took one last swing at Mr. Keith’s head, leaving a welt spreading under his eyes.
Duncan knew the cottage well. Worse, last summer a hunting party camped there with MacIain. Ballocks.
Aleck hastened to his horse and mounted. “This way, men.”
Duncan had no recourse but to follow. He pointed at Angus. “Ride to Dunollie and tell Sir Sean to meet us at the cottage straight away.”
Duncan spurred his mount ahead. If MacIain unleashed his violent temper on his sister, she’d not survive to reveal the truth.
Chapter Thirty
Gyllis was ever so happy to have her husband at home. Yesterday, her brother, John, had come to celebrate the holiday feast with them, and now the family sat upon the dais for their nooning before John returned to Iona.
Sean MacDougall and John had been boyhood friends and they had served together with the Highland Enforcers. The retinue had originally been established by Gyllis’s father, Colin Campbell by order of King James III to maintain order in the Scottish Highlands. Now the enforcers had a new leader and Scotland had a new king. Such was the succession. As far as Gyllis knew, bringing peace to the Highlands was still their primary responsibility, though the king used them when necessary to help maintain order along the borders as well.
Half the time, Gyllis had no idea where her husband was, but today she didn’t want to think about that. Two of her favorite men were seated at the high table in Dunollie’s great hall. Sean, dressed in plaid with a black leather doublet, looked like a powerful land-owning chieftain and John appeared so incredibly official in his purple damask chasuble. Gyllis was proud of her brother’s achievements after he’d left the enforcers to join the priesthood. A second son, he had become a powerful man in his own right—The Bishop of the Isles.
“How was your visit to Rome?” Sean asked.
John dabbed the corners of his lips with his fingers—ever so proper of him. “The channel crossing was smooth, thank the good Lord. As usual, however, there was no time to venture outside the Vatican.”
“And what news have you from His Holiness?” Gyllis asked.
“A great concern consumed most of our time.” John glanced between them. “Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain commissioned a rather mysterious character, Christopher Columbus, to undertake a seafaring venture to discover worlds not following our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
“New worlds?” Sean’s eyes lit up. “I thought we’d discovered all the land our world has to offer.”
“As did all of Christendom, but the captain returned with the most disturbing information.”
“Truly?” Sean broke his bread and spread cream over one half. “Tell us.”
“The peoples he discovered were reported as going unclothed and the Christian religion is completely unknown to them.”
Gyllis reached for the remaining half of bread. “But is it not our duty to deliver the word of God to those who have not yet been saved?”
“Yes, and that is exactly what the Pope Alexander communicated to Spain in a rather pointed letter.”
Both Gyllis and Sean looked at the bishop expectantly.
Pursing his lips, John assumed the stern countenance one would associate with his position. “Under penalty of excommunication, all persons in Christendom are forbidden to trade with these uncharted worlds, lest they be struck down by the wrath of God. Only missionaries of the faith will be allowed entry with the sole purpose of bringing the Catholic religion to their inhabitants.”
Gyllis studied her brother and covered her smile with the tips of her fingers. “And clothing, I’d surmise.”
John gave her a sober nod. “Most definitely.”
Goodness, when did my brother become so inordinately serious?
Sean reached for the pitcher of ale. “What else can you tell us about these new lands? Run by naked savages? How will they know how to use their God-given resources?”
John held up a finger. “Let there be no question. His Holiness has decreed that any trade—including resource exploitation with heathen nations will be dealt with severely.”
“But why?” Sean asked. “Wouldn’t it be a way for good men, perhaps second sons like yourself, to gain lands and riches?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you utter such blasphemy. The souls of the savages you referred to are of paramount importance.” John turned to Gyllis and cleared his throat. “Now, we’ve more important things to discuss. You haven’t said a word about Helen. How is our sister faring?”
Gyllis placed her hand atop her husband’s and gave him a clench-toothed grin. “Sean hasn’t been home long enough for me to tell him. Lady