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Chapter 14
Hamish Stewart walked slowly through the highland encampment. Already the men were gathering about the fires, not certain what they should do. Hamish knew the Lord of the Isles’ pavilion would be in the very center of the camp and he hoped that the tent housing The MacDonald of Nairn would be nearby. Finally, as he sighted the lord's pavilion, he stopped a young clansman, asking him, “Can ye direct me to the tent of The MacDonald of Nairn, lad?”
“What would ye be wanting with him?” the young man asked. “Have ye not heard? Nairn, the lord himself, and all the others who went into the hall to pledge their good faith to James Stewart, were arrested by that king.” He spat scornfully. “’Twas a craven act!”
“I am kin to Nairn's wife,” Hamish told the clansman smoothly “I wish to offer her my aid should she need it.”
“Nairn's wife? A courageous woman,” said the young man. “My mother says she spoke out verra bravely and to the king's face in the hall, but he insulted her, calling her a cattle thief and a whore. ’Tis what all those south of the Tay think of us, damn them! They are not true Scots, with their Anglicized speech and their English wives.”
Hamish nodded in apparent agreement. He had spoken in the Gaelic language of the highlands to theclansman, and the plaid he wore was the ancient Stewart plaid, a mix of deep blue, black, and green with a thin red stripe that was similar to several of the northern clans’ colors. “Ye know where my kinswoman is?” he gently prodded the young man.
“Oh, aye,” came the reply. “That tent, next to the lord's great pavilion, is Nairn's.”
Thanking him, Hamish Stewart walked over to it, lifted the flap, and entered the living space. A tall clansman came forward.
“My lord?”
“Is this the tent of The MacDonald of Nairn?”
“Who would know?” demanded the man.
“I am Hamish Stewart, a friend of his wife's.”
“I have never seen ye before,” Roderick Dhu said suspiciously.
“Nor have I seen ye. Tell yer mistress that I wish to see her, that I saw her in the hall this day and bring news of her sisters, Jeannie and Morag Hay.”
“’Tis all right, Roddy,” Fiona said, stepping forth from behind a curtain that separated the living space from the bed space. “How are ye, Hamish? ’Tis been a long time.”
“What happened?”‘was all he could say. The promise she had shown as a young girl had been more than fulfilled. Fiona was an absolutely beautiful woman with a calm assurance he never would have imagined she could possess. When she had spoken out so boldly in the hall this morning, he had actually felt a swell of pride.
“Sit down, Hamish,” she told him. “Ye look as if ye have seen a ghostie. Roderick Dhu, fetch some wine for Lord Stewart. Then tell Nelly to keep Moire Rose amused. I would speak with my old friend privately.”
The tall clansman nodded and went off to do her bidding.
Fiona put a finger to her lips. Then she said in deceptively quiet tones, “Tell me of my sisters, my lord. Are they well?”
“Jeannie has finally wed with Jamie-boy, just last year,” he said, trying to keep his voice from betraying his excitement. “She is with bairn. ‘Twill be born in early winter.”
“’Tis past time, for Jeannie is sixteen now,” Fiona noted. “I am happy for her. I know how much she loves her Jamie-boy. Is he good to her, my lord? It would break my heart if ‘twere not so.”
“She has him wrapped quite securely about her little finger, Fiona Hay,” Hamish Stewart said with a small chuckle.
“And my Morag? Have ye found a husband for her?”
“She and my son have taken to each other,” he replied. “Like all the Hay women, she seems to hold a fascination for the gentlemen.”
“And Janet? She is well? Ah, Roderick Dhu, here ye are. Set the tray down, then leave us.”
The clansman obeyed her, albeit reluctantly, but when he had slipped behind the curtain, Nelly said to him excitedly, “’Tis Hamish Stewart! What is he doing here?”
“Ye know him?” Roderick Dhu was surprised.
“Of course,” Nelly said pertly. “He comes from near the place where I was born, Roddy. How did he know we were here, I wonder.”
“He said he had seen our lady in the hall today,” Roderick Dhu told the girl. “Be he a good man?”
“Aye!” Nelly averred. “Perhaps he can help our lord. He is distantly related to the king. That is why Ithink he has come to Inverness. He would want to offer a show of support for his kinsman.”
