Page 31 of The Wild Rose of Kilgannon (Kilgannon #2)
London , I thought again. There, at least, we would have allies.
Or would we? What would our reception be?
I’d not heard from Louisa or Will since I wrote that Alex had joined the rebellion.
Would they welcome us or would I be an unwanted burden?
Had I embarrassed them, or worse, made their political situation more difficult?
Would they be aghast at Alex’s joining the rebellion?
Would they despise him now? No matter, I told myself.
If my family could not, or would not, aid us, I would at least be near Alex, and if I had no allies but the boys and the MacGannons, I would be content.
I opened another trunk and for the moment ignored what lay ahead.
Whether Mr. Ogilvie was successful or money had been exchanged I never discovered, but we were not challenged further.
Nor, however, were we allowed to leave. The ships blocking our path were manned and the sailors on them firm in their orders.
The mood on board was quiet, but I often heard smidgens of plots to free us, hastily interrupted as I appeared, and I knew it would not be long before the rebellious attitudes turned into action, if for no other reason than that we were almost out of food.
And then Kenneth Ogilvie, who had been visiting daily, brought unwelcome news.
Jamie Ramsay had been hanged after a perfunctory trial.
The men muttered amongst themselves, any pretense at calm gone.
On the morning of our third day on board, Ian and Jamie burst into my cabin and, with excited grins, insisted that I go on deck.
They grabbed my hands and I followed them, thinking that we must have received permission to leave.
In the sunshine I blinked and let my eyes adjust. To my left a man in dark clothes moved quickly toward me and I turned to him, my hand at my throat.
“This is a fine welcome after we’ve combed all of Scotland for you, Mary! I expected a warmer welcome for the world’s most wonderful brother!”
“Will!” I threw my arms around him with a sob. And eventually saw my uncles over his shoulder. “Randolph! And Uncle Harry!”
We settled into the cabin with tea and whisky, and Angus, Matthew, and I heard their story.
My brother and uncles had indeed been all over Scotland looking for me.
After the word of the rebellion reached London, they had been terribly worried about us.
Both Louisa and Will had written, but of course I never received those letters.
When Will and Randolph decided to go to Kilgannon themselves, no one would bring them by boat, and when the news of Sherrifmuir came they knew it was foolish to go overland.
They got my letter telling them not to come for Christmas.
And then silence. They wrote again and waited for news and when they heard that James Stewart had left Scotland and that many of the rebels had gone with him, they prayed that we had joined him.
In March, Will went to France. He found the Jacobite court and the MacDonald, who told him that Alex and I had refused to accompany them.
Will returned to England then, and he and Randolph went to see my father’s brother Harry, who had inherited my grandfather’s title and estates at Grafton.
Harry told them three things: that Will and Betty must come to live at Harry’s estate at Grafton to learn to manage it for the day when Will would inherit from Harry; but that first, Will must find me and bring me to Mountgarden, which was what Will and Randolph wanted to hear; and that Harry would accompany them, which was not.
They told me of sailing to Kilgannon, where they found Dougall and the others defending the MacGannon lands.
“You don’t have to worry about anyone taking over your home without a struggle, Mary,” Will said, laughing.
“There are not many of them, but they are very fierce. When we sailed into the loch they blocked our passage until we were recognized. We were given a warm welcome, but our English crew was asked to leave at once. They had to wait for us at sea, not even in the outer loch. Harry was most impressed.”
I smiled, trying to ignore the pangs of homesickness.
It was my turn then and I told them of all that had happened to us and of the child I carried.
Randolph and Will exclaimed over my news and insisted that I lie down at once.
I laughed at them and told them I was fine, while Uncle Harry watched me with a worried expression.
And then Harry drew Randolph and Angus into a discussion of our best course of action while Matthew hovered near his father, and Will and I had a moment alone.
Giving me that special Will smile, he spoke quietly. “We’re with you, Mary. You know that.”
“Oh, Will, thank you,” I said blearily. Then I glanced at the others still talking across the cabin and said, in a lower voice, “What does the family think of Alex now? Do they think he’s terrible?”
Will’s dark eyes were serious. “Louisa was furious and ranted for days about Alex endangering you. Randolph was not pleased, but he, well, he’s Randolph, so he thought about it for a week and then decided that he could understand Alex’s position, especially after I went to France and brought home those stories.
And Betty,” he laughed, “doesn’t have an opinion.
We ordered three new dresses before I left, so she’s quite content.
” He shrugged. “No one can be surprised. It’s been brewing for at least eight years.
Thirty years, to tell the truth. I don’t know what your welcome will be in society, and you must be prepared for that, but in our family you are welcome. As always. All of you.”
I took a deep breath and gave him a shaky smile. “Thank you, Will,” I said. “I didn’t know what to expect.”
Will watched me appraisingly. “Mary, did you think we’d abandon you?”
I shook my head. “No, but I do know I may be putting careers and fortunes at risk by asking for your aid.”
“The hell with that,” Will growled. “We don’t give a fig what society thinks, and they cannot touch our lands, so our fortunes are secure.
Don’t worry about any of that.” My brother frowned.
“But you must understand that Alex is considered a traitor,” he continued.
“No one is likely to forget that. Does Alex understand his situation?”
“Yes, Will, and so do I. We have no illusions.”
“You should not. None of you. No one is fond of King George, least of all we Tories, and some people, at least in private, will admit that the Scots have been treated abysmally. Among those, you understand, who admit that Scots are human. But, Mary, it is treason.” I nodded and Will frowned again, looking at his hands.
“You do know what can happen to Alex?” He glanced up at me.
“Yes. I have known from the first, but now that Alex is to be tried in London it is much more serious than before.”
“You believe he would have been freed if he was tried here?”
“It was more likely. There is still much sympathy for the rebellion here, even among those who did not join, especially since the reprisals have been harsh and Argyll has been replaced. Even among the Campbells there are those who sympathized.”
“Was Robert one who sympathized?”
“He was distraught. It must be very difficult to see your country at war with itself and being ravaged.”
Will leaned forward. “Mary, what of you and Robert?”
I frowned at my brother. “There is no me and Robert, Will. He has been a kind friend, that is all. No one should think anything else.” I met his eyes and after a moment he nodded.
“But they will, Mary. Like it or not, they will.”
“I know that. But it doesn’t matter. None of that matters.”
Will picked up his glass of whisky and looked at me over the rim in a gesture that reminded me of Alex. Alex , I thought, where are you? Across the cabin the men rose as one, moving toward us.
“Well, young lady!” boomed Randolph. “We are going to London.” I looked up at him and then at Uncle Harry, who stood at his side. “Angus has told us all of the nonsense about keeping you and the ship here, and Harry’s about to remedy that.”
“Do you think you can?” I asked my uncles .
Harry laughed. “What good is it being a duke if one cannot have one’s way? We will see it done, Mary. I will send for you if I need to, so be ready to weep and appear pale.” He studied me for a moment. “You won’t have to feign being pale, dear. Just weep.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Thank you both for all your efforts.”
“Nonsense,” Harry said briskly. “We’ll be back soon. You can thank us then for our success.” He left with the men and I waited.
In the end our departure from Edinburgh was uncomplicated.
Uncle Harry proved immediately successful.
The military, it seemed, had far more respect for an English duke than for a former Scottish countess, and the impediments to our leaving melted away.
I smiled as Harry told the story, and even Angus laughed, for Harry mocked the Lowlanders and their accents.
He had apparently asked for someone who could speak English, to the chagrin of the Scottish army captain who thought he did.
Back on the Mary Rose , Gilbey explained to Harry that Highlanders learned English as a distinct language from Gaelic and spoke it with much less accent than the Lowlanders, who had changed the pronunciation of English words and added their own to the language over the years until it was a separate way of speech.
“Well,” said Uncle Harry, surveying the listening Kilgannon men on deck, “give me a Highlander any day. He is someone I can understand. Now let’s get out of here.” The men cheered him.
We left with the tide, the Mary Rose silently gliding out of Leith as Captain Colum took us to London.
And to what? I wondered, watching the Firth fall away as we entered the open ocean.
The men had made it clear that they were ready to go to London and storm the Tower if need be.
I was grateful for their loyalty, and if in truth I thought they’d have had any success, I would have cheered them on or led them myself.
I knew that it was hopeless to try to free Alex by force and foolish to encourage these men to go to London and die trying. But, oh, how I wanted to try.
Alex , I thought, we’re coming .