Page 12 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

How a Castle Is Run

“ I wish that we could stay here forever,” said Amelia.

“Aye, I do too,” said Jon. “We can stay for a wee bit longer. But I have to get back soon. Me uncle being gone has its advantages, but it does have some drawbacks too.”

Jon lay on the grass with Amelia, his hand on her thigh.

He traced a finger up and down the inside of her leg, enjoying the warmth of the day.

He turned his head to the side, kissing the top of her head.

She lay with her head on his chest, and he could smell a floral aroma coming from her hair.

He pulled her in tighter, his other arm wrapped around her.

The sight of her bare legs out in the open excited him, but he could not act on that right now, as much as he wanted to.

When he brought her out here, he knew that he did not have much time, and there were some meetings planned with the advisors that were still left in the castle.

Besides, he was a perfect gentleman, and he was willing to take this slow and enjoy every moment of it.

“While me uncle is away, I’m in charge of the Clan and castle. Me uncle likes to work hard, too hard, and that means that I dinnae have a lot of time over the next few days, but dinnae worry, the time that I do have is going to be spent with this bonny lass in me arms.”

“I like being your bonny lass,” said Amelia.

Jon suddenly burst out laughing.

“What?” she asked with a pout.

“Nay, it’s just funny to hear ye speak Scottish words with yer accent.”

“Oh, it is, aye?” said Amelia.

Jon burst out laughing again, long and loud guffaws that sent the birds from the trees above. “Ye really have a way with words, lassie.”

“Oh, Aye, Ah dae me best, aye, eh,” said Amelia. She burst out into giggles this time, and she was unable to stop.

“Ye really are a bonny lass, I hope that ye ken that,” said Jon. “When I’m with ye, I feel different. I’ve been with women before… I mean, nae like that, ken, just, well… ye ken what I mean. I’ve had feelin’s for women before, but nae like this.”

“Now, who has a way with words?” asked Amelia.

“But I do know what you mean. You will speak to your uncle, won’t you?

I could not bear it if we could not be together because someone else said so.

And I do not want to do anything to harm your Clan.

I only want the best for you, Jon, but I want to be by your side too. ”

“I’ll work it all out. I’ll speak to him when he gets back, and I won’t take nay for an answer. All this talk of me uncle has me reminded of me duties. We have to go back to the castle, I’m afraid. But that only means that I get to count down to the next time we get to be together.”

“I wish we could spend more time right now, but I know that your Clan needs you. I cannot wait until we are together again either, Jon. Now, do you think that I should put my trousers back on before we set off?”

“Aye, that might be a good idea,” said Jon with a smile. “I have to admit that I do like ye with yer trousers off, but that might be a little too much for the rest of the Clan.”

Jon sat in the chair that was solely reserved for the Laird, and he liked how it felt.

The large chamber spread out before him, and he surveyed his small temporary kingdom that resided within the four walls.

His uncle was still the man in charge, but Jon had control of the affairs for the next few days, even if that control was limited.

Still, it excited Jon to be sat in the powerful chair for now.

If he were the Laird, he would not have to worry about who he chose as a partner, and he found himself now drawn to the English lass who had only just arrived in the castle.

He could not wait for his uncle so that he could talk to him about Amelia, but he also dreaded it.

His uncle was a stubborn man and did not have his mind changed easily.

There came a knock at the door, and Jon shook all thoughts of Amelia from his mind. His duty was first and foremost to his Clan, and he needed to have all his wits about him. If he was going to become Laird of Montgomery one day, he had to prove that he was up to the task.

“Come in,” said Jon.

William Smith entered the room. He knew the man well and had always enjoyed talking with him.

William was attentive to the smallest of details, and that made him the perfect man to oversee the castle treasury.

He was a small and slight man, and when he looked into another’s eyes, it was as if he was looking into their soul.

“Please sit down,” said Jon, gesturing toward a seat on the other side of the table. William took a seat, holding a pile of documents. He sat in silence, staring down at the papers stacked on the table. His fingers drummed on top of the pile, and Jon waited for the man to speak, but no words came.

“Is everythin’ fine?” asked Jon eventually.

“I always reported to yer uncle only,” said William quietly. “He did nae say nae to speak with ye, but it was implied.” He spoke as if speaking only to himself.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jon.

“I’ve been in charge of the treasury for over a decade now,” said William.

He started to go through the paper, flipping through until he came to the one that he was looking for.

“Our Clan has always been a prosperous one, and we’ve never had any problems with our funds, but things have been changin’ in the past few years. Here, take a look at this.”

“What am I lookin’ at?” asked Jon. He studied the document that he had been handed, trying to get up to speed quickly.

“That’s what’s left in the treasury,” said William, still rifling through the papers but not finding what he was looking for.

“I dinnae ken all of the numbers,” said Jon. “Me uncle kens them better than me, but it does nae look as if we have a lot of money to spare at the moment. Are ye tellin’ me that we need to tighten the purse strings for a while?”

“I’m nae tellin’ ye that,” said William. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m tellin’ ye. Yer uncle has made some decisions concernin’ this, and….”

“Oh, out with it, man.”

“I really shouldn’t be speakin’ to ye about it. Maybe I should wait until yer uncle returns.”

“Nay, I want to hear this. Ye seem as if ye are scared of the man. Has me uncle nae idea what is going on? Is this a mess ye’ve created, William? Because we can fix this before me uncle comes back, or we can talk with me uncle.”

“Nae, that’s nae it. This is yer uncle’s doing.”

“What do ye mean?” asked Jon. He put the document back down on the table, looking across at William. “What has me uncle done?”

“It is not what yer uncle has done, it’s what he hasnae done. It’s almost as if he wants to please the people, but that is only going to work in the short term and leave us high and dry before long.”

“What have ye recommended?” asked Jon.

“We need to raise the taxes. I ken that the people dinnae like tax increases, but it’s necessary sometimes, right? If we have more coin going out than comin’ in, then we are going to run out of coin before long.”

“And ye spoke with him about this?” asked Jon.

“Aye, I told him that the taxes needed to go up to maintain the coin. He told me that the people wouldnae take kindly to that and that he did nae feel that it was the right time to upset them. He assured me that he would find the coin from another source.”

“And has he?” asked Jon.

“Nae so far. I thought for a while that he was going to invade some other Clan and take what they had.”

“He spoke of that?” asked Jon. This was a worrying turn of events, and he hoped that his uncle had not put their Clan at risk of war.

“Nae, but he did start spendin’ more and more on our military power.

That’s what made me think that he was plannin’ on invadin’, but I think it was more for protection.

I spoke with James, and he has not reported any orders to plan any attack maneuvers, but he is on alert from any attacks comin’ from the other Clans. ”

“Is there a threat of that happenin’?” asked Jon.

“I mean, there’s always a chance that we will be attacked, and there are always rumors, but we’ve been at relative peace with the other Clans for the past few years.

I dinnae ken if ye’ve noticed, but yer uncle has nae been the same man in the past few years.

Sorry, sir, that’s nae me place to be sayin’ about yer uncle. ”

“Ye are free to say what ye want in here, and I promise that it will go nay further. For all intents and purposes, I’m the Laird for these few days, and ye should treat me as such.”

“Aye, maybe it would be better if ye were,” mumbled William.

“I would watch yer tongue,” said Jon. “Ye have free permission to speak, but that is still me uncle and the Laird that ye are speakin’ about.”

“Sorry, sir, I did nae mean it like that.”

“Yer a good man, William. Me uncle trusts ye, and I trust ye. I hope that ye have talked to him like this as ye have spoken to me.”

“I did, and he told me that me suggestions have been noted, but we still find ourselves in the same position.”

“What was yer recommendation?” asked Jon.

“Raise the taxes and move some of the money allocated to the military back to agriculture. More coin in the treasury and more seed in the ground.”

“And he did nae do any of this?”

“Nay, sir.”

Jon sat back in the chair and stroked his chin. His uncle was a stubborn man, but he was no fool. He picked up the document on the table and read over it again.

“How long do we have if we keep losin’ coin like this?” asked Jon.

“Three years, but the longer we wait, the harder it is going to be to recoup what we have lost. And I dinnae want to suggest anythin’, but there’s spendin’ happenin’ that is nae comin’ from any official sources.”

“What does that mean?”

“I couldnae take this to yer uncle, but I can bring it to ye. Some of the money comin’ in is going back out, but I cannae see where it is going. The only man that is capable of makin’ that happen is yer uncle.”

“Are ye suggestin’ that me uncle is stealin’ from the treasury?”

“I’m nae accusin’ him of anythin’, but I am suggestin’ that he is spendin’ coin without tellin’ us. I’m sure that it is for the good of the Clan. Everythin’ that yer uncle has done has always been for the good of the Clan, but things have felt different lately.”

“Thank ye for bringin’ this to me attention, William. I promise that this will stay between you and me. I will have to talk with me uncle about this, but I will make sure to let him ken that I discovered this on me own.”

“Thank ye, sir,” said William. “I’ll get out of yer way so that ye can meet with the other advisors.”

“Aye,” said Jon.

William gathered up the documents and left the room, leaving Jon with his thoughts.

What he had been told was worrying. If money was running out and his uncle was doing nothing about it, then there was a very good chance that he was planning on invading another Clan.

It was true that his uncle had always done things with the good of the Clan in mind, but he had been different lately.

Jon was close to his uncle, and he had put that change down to the man getting older, but perhaps there was another reason.

If his uncle wanted to keep taxes low, that was a good way to keep the favor of the people.

And if there was an outside threat, then bulking up the military was a good way of protecting that.

And the two did share a common theme. They were both about power and keeping it.

To Jon, it looked like his uncle was afraid of losing his power.

That was the secondary issue and could be dealt with easily. The primary issue was that his uncle was prepared to run the Clan into the ground to keep that power. His uncle had always done what was in the best interests of the Clan, but the Clan was in very real danger of falling apart.