at this season,” Ivor observed. “One hopes that Donald will not try to sneak in an army under the same guise.”
Laughing, Fin pointed out that an army of monks might stir some curiosity. His leisure time had ended, though, because Rothesay had left word that he wanted to see him straightway. Fin found him alone in the inner chamber.
“You are to be another pair of eyes and ears for me,” Rothesay said. “Donald did support my taking the Governorship when I did, and Alex has nae love for Albany. Still, I’ve learned that I can trust any man only whilst his future depends on my success. Donald did come here, but he is ever surly, and I need his ships to curb Albany in the west. As to Alex…” He shrugged.
“He did raise an army of his own from throughout the North to support yours in the Borders,” Fin reminded him. “Forbye, sir, both men are your close cousins.”
“Aye, sure, so they’re bound to support me,” Rothesay said confidently.
However, when the household gathered soon afterward for supper in the great hall, Fin noted few signs of good cheer between the cousins. Rothesay was amiable enough, but burly, dark-haired Donald of the Isles seemed dour, even irritable.
Alex looked enough like his fair, blue-eyed cousin to be Davy’s brother but was quieter by nature. He remained reticent and watchful, albeit courteous.
Doubtless to cheer them all, the Mackintosh suggested that Catriona or Morag might sing for them after supper. But Donald declared when he had finished eating that he had endured a long, tiresome day and would seek his bed.
Rothesay was wide awake. But since he chose to entertain himself by flirting with Catriona, Fin would have preferred him to follow Donald’s example.
He was grateful when the lady Ealga engaged him in desultory conversation but noted that James disappeared with Morag and Ivor moved to talk with Alex.
Looking toward the latter two a few minutes later, he saw that Ivor was grimly eyeing Rothesay and Catriona. Alex, also watching the pair, looked amused.
Fin was not. In the short time that he had been a guest at the castle, he had come to think of Catriona as more than just a good friend, and he did not want Rothesay to offend her. When her father joined them and spoke to her, Fin was relieved and felt more so when the lass made her adieux shortly afterward.
The next morning after breakfast, the three powerful lords met with the Mackintosh in his inner chamber. Alex and Donald insisted that their companions accompany them, and Rothesay kept his two and Fin with him. Shaw, Ivor, and James also attended, so the chamber was crowded.
After an hour of discussing past events—such discussion at times growing testy—Rothesay said, “Our uncle Albany, as you all ken fine, resents having lost the Governorship and its attendant powers. He wants them back.”
“And your provisional term as Governor o’ the Realm expires in January, lad,” Donald said. “We all ken that fine. But what has that to do wi’ me?”
Fin knew that Donald considered himself as equal, if not superior, to the King of Scots. The Lord of the Isles descended from a much older dynasty, owned many more castles and hundreds more boats, not to mention the great administrative complex at Finlaggan on the Isle of Islay, which boasted a palatial residence larger than any noble or royal equivalent on the Scottish mainland.
Rothesay eyed him measuringly. “You and Alex know as well as I do how Albany ruled when he was Governor before, by amassing power wherever and however he could. He holds the treasury, uses it as his own, and is greedy withal, which affects everyone in Scotland. I want to curb him wherever I can.”
“As ye should, Davy,” Alex said, nodding. “But ye ken fine how long I ha’ been away wi’ ye. I canna leave the North to look after itself again so soon, lest our uncle Albany swoop in with an army. Or someone else does,” he added dulcetly.
Fin glanced at the Lord of the Isles, as did a few others, but Donald’s thick beard concealed his mouth and thus much of his expression. The talking went on, but both cousins remained elusive, willing to talk but unwilling to speak plainly.
Some of their adherents seemed to Fin to be trying to stir dissension.
His thoughts drifted to Catriona, and he wondered what she might be doing.
Catriona was busy. The great lords had brought companions with them, but they had