Her father had never liked to work, and it wouldn’t hurt her family to have a member still privy to the town’s secrets. He’d seen it more times than he could count. Those in power liked to stay in power. He had nothing against it—except now the King wanted him to find a traitor...and being the focus of the King didn’t sit well with him. He needed the King’s focus elsewhere.
‘An unbiased vote of the council, I’m sure. John is clearly up to the position of Mayor.’
‘I believe you’ve spent too much time at Court.’
‘Why is that?’
‘You talk of nothing and are very good at it. I find this conversation neither interesting nor useful.’ She tilted her head and turned neatly away.
He had his answer. She knew she was being insulted and wouldn’t stand for it, and she would defend to the end anyone she cared about. Despite what he had seen at Court, and what she wouldn’t deny, there was still some of the Alice of old in her.
But he had another answer as well. There trulycouldbe some financial concern in this corner of profitable England. Her father had made a terrible mayor, but the council changing to John could mean something else. The King depended on the taxes here. Perhaps he could find some information regarding financial woes that would appease his sovereign. If not, he’d plant seeds of financial desperation, enough to deflect from his own traitorous deeds.
Would the King let him get away without a suggested name? Probably not. He glanced around the table, noticed Lyman looking down Alice’s gown again, and knew it wouldn’t be difficult at all to drop a few lies.
Distasteful, but necessary in order to protect Robert. He had given a vow to his friend to keep his secret and help protect the Colquhoun Clan against King Edward. He would live with the consequences of upholding it.
Alice tried to unclench her jaw. A few words with Hugh and her thought of tossing wine at him was no longer enough. She wanted to stab a knitting needle into him. He knew perfectly well that he insulted her. He had also neatly avoided answering her question. Why was he here?
Whatever the reason, Hugh’s presencedidconcern her. If he was truly loyal, then perhaps he knew that she spied. Perhaps the King had asked something of him as well. If he wasn’t loyal, then at the least he was a distraction, and at the most a hindrance.
Turning her back on Hugh was easier, and it suited her purpose and the King’s as well.
So she smiled at Mitchell, who sat across from her. It was easier to forget Hugh when she talked to Mitchell. She had always liked him. He’d moved away a few years ago and only recently returned. His family business of weaving had suffered significant losses, and he was the only child who had returned to help save it.
‘How long will you be in town?’ she asked.
Mitchell’s eyes lit up. He was delighted that she’d asked a question meant for him alone. ‘For the winter. My father hasn’t been well, and needs my help.’
His mother was a spinner, and they also held a small weaving and spinning business. They had done much trade with her family’s wool over the years.
‘I have heard that. I’m sorry.’
‘He is a stout man; we expect him to recover. Until then I’ll ensure the cloth is tended as it should be.’
He mentioned nothing of his father’s poor business choices and their lack of disposable income.
‘It has been a while since you have done such work,’ she said.
‘True, but I have returned, and it is good to be home regardless of the circumstances.’
A pang of guilt hit her heart. He was devoted to his family...but that didn’t mean he hadn’t committed treasonous acts.Shewas testament to what someone would do for their family.
‘If I may ask,’ she said, knowing full well the reason she was prying, ‘what have you been doing in the years you’ve been away?’
‘As you know, I left with my brothers to gain our fortune. I spent some time in London, where both my brothers happily settled, but I found that cloth was somehow still in my blood. So I travelled some more, and when I discovered a different thread-making procedure on the coast, I knew it was the way forward for me and my family.’
If he’d been to the coast he’d been to the docks. Such a convenient location to trade secrets.
‘Usually when I talk of business, women’s eyes glaze over,’ he said, smiling.
Her eyes normally would have glazed a little by now, but she needed access to his home, and it was easy to talk to Mitchell. ‘Given my own family business, is it so strange that I would have an interest, too?’
‘Maybe not strange, but I can vow it makes for very pleasant company.’
Alice smiled. ‘Do you have samples of this different thread-making?’
‘Not samples. It has something to do with the spinning itself. It is something I want to show you and your family.’
