Fortunately, the butler and several footmen trooped in and began serving the next course, providing a welcome distraction.
Angus, who’d been suspiciously calm despite Richard’s digs, leaned forward and addressed him across the table. “Ho, Campbell. My memory is not as good as it was, ye ken. Remind me which branch of the clan yer from.”
Richard had just been about to cut into a large slice of beef, but paused. “Er, the Loudoun branch, I think.” He chuckled. “I’ve never paid much attention to that sort of thing. There are so many Campbells running about the country that it’s hard to keep us all straight.”
Even the amiable Lord Kinloch looked slightly shocked. For a Scot not to know the details of his own clan lineage was tantamount to heresy.
Angus shook his head. “Ye have the wrong end of the stick on that one. Your ma’s a Campbell of Craignish and yer da’s from a cadet branch of Breadalbane. Campbells of Glenorchy, to be exact.”
Richard bristled, as if he’d just been accused of something unsightly. “I’m not sure how you can be so certain about that. It’s not like you’re a Campbell.”
“Thank the Lord for that,” Angus said as he forked up a piece of potato.
Lady Kinloch hastily intervened. “I believe you’re correct, Angus. Your knowledge of clan history is quite astonishing.”
Richard looked even more annoyed now. “All I know is that I’m a Campbell, and I’m related to the Duke of Argyll, which should certainly be good enough for anyone.”
“Yer a second cousin once removed, which is hardly worth mentioning,” Angus replied. “Hard to believe ye think yer good enough for the likes of a fine Stewart lass like Miss Charlotte.”
That observation naturally took the conversation off the proverbial cliff.
Lord Kinloch recovered first. “What in God’s name are you talking about, man?”
Torn between irritation and amusement, Kade turned to his grandfather. “Angus, this is hardly the time or place to discuss family matters, especially ones that don’t concern us.”
“Of course they concern us, lad.” He pointedly looked at Charlie before waggling his eyebrows at Kade. “We discussed this, remember?”
“No,” he replied in a blighting tone.
His grandfather wasn’t just twitting Richard. He was clearly trying to play matchmaker at the dinner table. And from the look on Charlie’s face—her mouth slightly ajar—she was as stunned as everyone else.
When Richard swelled up with anger, he rather resembled a toad with sideburns. “Now see here, you old—”
Angus jabbed his fork at him. “Yer kin murdered my ancestors at Glencoe, which makes ye descended from traitors. To think ye have the nerve to court Miss Charlotte, when ye have such a stain on yer name. It’s a crime, is what it is.”
“Grandda, that’s a bit much, even for you,” Royal said.
“There’s some things that canna be forgiven,” Angus retorted. “Murder and treason are two of them.”
Richard threw down his napkin. “Glencoe happened ages ago. And it wasn’t like I was there, or had anything to do with the whole bloody mess.”
“Emphasis on ‘bloody,’” Ainsley quipped from the other side of the table.
Despite his better judgment, Kade had to work hard not to laugh. It was like watching the Highland version of a terrible French farce.
“Really, Ainsley?” Royal said to his wife.
She simply winked at him, and went back to eating her creamed peas.
“I say, MacDonald,” Kinloch blustered. “Why you persist in hanging onto these dreary old feuds is beyond me. As Richard said, it happened ages ago. It’s now the eighteen twenties, for God’s sake.”
Angus pressed a hand to his chest, looking tragic. “For a Stewart to forget our noble history is a sad sign of the times. Not to mention lettin’ this ninny court yer daughter. It’s that ashamed of ye, I am.”
“It’s none of your business who I court or don’t court, you silly old fool,” Richard hotly retorted. “And you would be wise—”
Kade leaned forward. “Andyouwould be wise to choose your next words carefully, my friend.”
When their gazes locked, Richard’s flushed cheeks lost some of their color. Kade wasn’t surprised. He’d spent years perfecting the icy Kendrick glare. His older brothers had always employed it to great effect, sending more than one hardheaded idiot into a scrambling retreat.
