Highland Legend (Scots and Swords #3) - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,4
nothing to do with him, before finally being released and having nowhere to go. Therefore, he’d learned to take money where he could get it.
Including accepting a castle from an old woman with no heirs.
“Are ye certain about that?” he said. “It seems like a high price tae pay, even tae me.”
“I’ve no one else. Will ye accept?”
He eyed her a moment as if deliberating, but it was all an act. If she was serious, then he’d be foolish to pass it up.
“Of course,” he said. “I wouldna want ye tae go tae yer grave fearful of leaving yer property behind. But tell me again so there are no misunderstandings. Are ye sure ye want me tae have it?”
The old woman nodded. “I do,” she said, downing most of her second cup of wine. “And dunna worry, I’ve no relatives tae contest my wishes. I’ll find a serjeant-at-law and have him witness my signature on my will. But I only know ye as the Eagle, love. What’s yer name?”
“Magnus Alexander Albert Hugh Stewart.”
The long name sank into her wine-soaked mind and she gave him a startled expression. “Stewart?” she repeated. “Like the king?”
“Not like the king.”
It was a lie, but she didn’t question it. She accepted his answer and settled down quickly, finishing off her cup of wine. She was well on her way to becoming drunk, and with the next measure of drink, Magnus watered down the wine significantly. He didn’t need a drunken old woman on his hands.
“Well and good ye’re not related tae the king,” she said. “I dunna want Whitekirk tae fall tae a relation.”
“Ye worry too much,” he said, avoiding a direct answer to her statement. “Tell me about yer family. Where do ye come from?”
It was a distraction. He wanted to get her talking, hoping she might forget that she’d come to bed him. In fact, the wine was making her chatty and Magnus feigned interest when she spoke of her childhood as a lass in Blackness and how Harry MacMerry came courting.
After her third full cup of wine, Mary lay her head back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. She’d stopped talking and was now simply staring up into space. Magnus watched her carefully, wondering if she was about to pass out, when she quietly spoke.
“I like ye, Magnus,” she said. “Ye listened tae an old woman talk about herself, and most men wouldna do such a thing.”
Magnus propped his elbows on his knees, folding his hands and resting his chin upon them as he watched her.
“I want tae know about the woman who is tae give me her castle,” he said. “If ye truly want tae make me yer heir, then I should know about ye.”
She didn’t reply for a moment. She just kept staring up to the ceiling. But then, her head came up and she looked at him.
“Ye know that yer friends put me in this chamber as a joke, don’t ye?” she asked softly.
It was a strange change in subject, but not entirely unexpected in hindsight. She was sharp for her age, and even she saw the irony of their situation. As if a man of Magnus’s stature would really want a woman of her advanced years.
He didn’t hesitate in his reply.
“I know.”
“And ye still are willing tae go through with it?”
“Are ye still willing tae give me yer castle?”
She cocked her head thoughtfully. “I’ve a suspicion that yer friends like tae play jokes on ye,” she said, avoiding his question. “I got that sense from them because they were quite gleeful tae put me here. Am I wrong?”
“Ye’re not wrong.”
“Then they’ve done this kind of thing before?”
He fought off a grin. “We’ve done many things tae each other all in the name of the friendship.”
“They dunna sound like good friends.”
“They’re the best I’ve ever had.”
“Do ye want tae seek revenge on them?”
He was intrigued at the suggestion. “Always,” he said. “What did ye have in mind?”
“Give me one of those coin purses ye were carrying when ye entered the chamber and I’ll tell ye.”
He snorted; he couldn’t help it. “Are ye saying ye’ll help me for a price?”
She nodded, a smug grin on her face. “I’m sure ye have no intention of bedding me. But I’ll help ye get revenge on yer friends just the same.”
“Why?”
“I told ye. Because ye’ve been kind tae me and I like ye. And this was a nasty little joke they wanted tae play on ye.”