They greeted her politely enough, but some seemed as awed as Bryn and Martin had been. Elise tried not to squirm. What did she have to offer to this room of battle-hardened Highlanders?
Jamie leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the smoothly polished tabletop. “I’ve called ye all here because an urgent report has just come in. Our latest cargo shipment has been seized by the pirates.”
His voice was low but carried through the room like the tolling of thunder. The effect on the gathering was instantaneous. Outraged murmurs went around the chamber, fists banged on the table, and a few began gesticulating wildly.
Jamie let the hubbub rage for a minute before banging his fist on the table for silence. When the noise finally died away, he said, “Those ships weren’t carrying gold or anything of obvious value, but grain from the mainland, grain that our people badly need. Grain whose value hardly seems worth the effort of capturing it. So it begs the question: Why did they seize it?”
A squat bald man growled low in his throat. “Because they can! They’re nothing but cutthroats and scoundrels. What other reason do they need? We should wipe them from the face of the Earth as Albie would have us do!”
There were shouts of agreement at this. Jamie said nothing, merely waited patiently for the noise to die down again. When it had he said, “Even pirates have a reason for what they do. There are far more lucrative prizes on the open seas. Why seize grain when they could seize whisky, gunpowder, textiles? All would fetch a far higher price.”
Nobody answered. Elise looked between Jamie and his men, trying to follow the threads of the conversation. She felt like she was treading water, trying to figure out what was going on without a solid footing under her feet.
“It suggests,” a man with a bold nose and a pock-marked face said into the silence, “that plunder and riches isnae their goal. It suggests that there is another reason behind their attacks.”
Jamie nodded. “Aye. It does. So the question is: What do they want? There have been no demands. The few of them we’ve managed to capture have been lowly sailors following orders, with no clue as to their bigger stratagem. Butsomethingis behind all this. Whoever is coordinating these attacks has a bigger, greater goal in mind.”
Nobody answered. The silence in the room became so absolute that Elise could hear the breathing of those around her. Tension filled the air like a storm cloud.
“What about the ship?” Phillip MacClelland said into the silence. “And her crew?”
Jamie winced, a spasm of anguish passing across his features. “Lost. All hands killed or taken.”
“By God!” the big man, Albie cried, surging to his feet. “Damn them to the deepest level of hell! This is the final straw! Wehaveto attack, my lord. Show these bastards what the Kingdom of the Isles is made of!” He slammed his fist down on the table to emphasize his point.
There were rumbles of agreement. Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose before turning his attention to the big man. His voice was quiet, but Elise could see the rage boiling in his eyes.
“And who do ye propose we attack?” he asked. “I’ve already sent our fastest galleys after the pirates and as always, they have disappeared without trace, back to whatever infernal hole they crawled from.”
“Then we have to keep looking!” Albie thundered. “We have to stop these attacks! It’s been a poor harvest. How long before our people begin to starve if we canna get our grain shipments through?”
“Do ye think I dinna know that?” Jamie snapped. “That is why we are here: to decide how we respond.” He glared at Albie and the big man glared right back. Their battle of wills crackled in the air between them until finally Albie backed down. With a growled curse, he crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned back in his chair.
Elise shrank farther into her seat. What had Lir been thinking in bringing her here? What did she think she could do to help these people? Pirate attacks? Destroyed ships? Battles at sea? What could she hope to do against any of that?
Back home, she used her spellweaving powers to find lost pets, heal minor illnesses, and predict when they were going to have a particularly bad storm. But battling pirates in fifteenth century Scotland? That waswayout of her comfort zone.
Her eyes flicked to Jamie. He was leaning forward, elbows resting on the table, all focused alertness and determination.
Oh, heck.Hewas the reason she’d agreed to come, wasn’t he? Lir knownexactlythe right carrot to dangle in front of her. Damn it. Why did she never think these things through? Why did she always dive in without stopping to consider the consequences? Now she was in way over her head with no idea what she was supposed to do.
Phillip MacClelland suddenly turned his watery gaze on her. The scar down the side of his face pinched tight as he smiled. “Perhaps our spellweaver could add some insight?”
It took a moment for her to register he was talking to her. She blinked and sat up straight. “Me?”
Phillip shrugged. “Ye have an outside perspective. Perhaps ye will see something the rest of us have missed. What advice would ye give on how we should proceed against these pirate attacks?”
All eyes turned to her and Elise felt suddenly very hot. “Um…”
What was she supposed to say?Sorry, I’ve no idea about any of this.Then her brain latched onto something. “How do these pirates know where your ships are going to be?”
Phillip blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“You said that they attacked your ship bringing cargo from the mainland. The sea is a pretty big place with lots of different routes across it. How did the pirates know where your ship would be?”
Silence greeted her words. Some of the men shifted uncomfortably. Phillip opened his mouth and closed it again.
Jamie cleared his throat and turned to her. “Ye have cut to the heart of the matter. The routes into our harbor are heavily guarded by our fleet. Once the cargo ships reach these routes, they are safe. But we canna patrol the entire ocean and they are at risk as they make the crossing from the mainland. We change the routes regularly to try and avoid being caught.” He spread his hands wide. “But it isnae working. They always seem to know where our ships will be, regardless of the precautions we take.”
