feelings, Malcolm shrugged. "She claims I'm her best friend."
"If you believe that, I'll sell you a map to find the Holy Grail."
"And I'll tell her to put pig fat in your oatcakes."
"A truce!" Saladin slapped his thigh. "And curse the luck you have with women. She did you grievous harm and deserves your vengeance, but I never expected her to fall in your arms."
"Must be the will of the gods."
"What does the lovely Rosina have to say about your new best friend?"
"Plenty, but I don't have to listen. I sent her back to Carvoran Manor."
"Prudent—under the circumstances. A wise man always controls his women."
Malcolm's decision to send Rosina away seemed clever in the extreme. "Or keeps a manageable number of them, but that isn't important. Now that you've returned, Rosina will soon be taking ship. Unfortunately these letters must get to Italy."
"Don't be surprised if John Gordon pays you a visit. He seemed especially eager for a reply."
"He's been eager for years, but never enough to come south."
Saladin winced. "He has reason now. He's also withdrawn his approval for the betrothal between his daughter and Argyle's son."
Jane Gordon was the most sought-after heiress in Scotland and, according to some, the richest marriage prize in the British Isles. But in Malcolm's case, Jane was forbidden, because an alliance between the earl of Kildalton and the mighty Gordon clan would unite the Borders and the Highlands, or roughly half of Scotland. The king had forbidden the match years ago. He would suspect trouble if the marriage was proposed again.
"Poor lass," Malcolm said. "Since the day she was christened, her father has been bartering her all over Scotland and France."
"I think he will approach you on the matter. He asked if you had found a bride. When I told him no, he asked about your parents. I told him they were abroad on the king's business. He was silent for some time."
"He was calculating."
"I believe so. He smiled and excused himself. Then he sought out Lord Lovatt, who was playing chess with the earl of Mar."
"Just the three of them together is a bad sign, even if it was hunting season."
"Lovatt lost interest in the chess match."
"I should inform Lady Miriam."
"She taught you well. You've managed to hold the Jacobites at bay since she left for Constantinople. Why bother her now?"
"Because she asked me to get involved in the first place. If this attempt to bring Bonnie Prince Charles into the fray succeeds and reflects badly on her, I'll feel responsible. Her male counterparts in the diplomatic corps are always looking for opportunities to discredit her."
In a deadly whisper, Saladin said, "Lord Duncan will deal with any man who tries to discredit her."
Malcolm had to agree. His father would fight a duel to the death in defense of Lady Miriam. With one look, his father could put the fear of God in King George himself. "True, but if my parents are to suffer the consequences of this dangerous business, and I have no doubt they will, they should at least know the details."
"How will you let them know?"
Malcolm picked up a blank sheet of paper. "A few paragraphs of urbane rhetoric."
Saladin chuckled. "Lady Miriam's first language."
Malcolm joined in the laughter. "Don't forget she interceded many times on our behalf."
"And saved our worthless hides from the strap."
"Enough about our wayward youth. Tell me more about Elanna. Is she truly an African princess?"
"Well, she's willful enough to be an Ashanti."
In light of his own problems with Alpin, Malcolm welcomed the company of another miserable man. "I'm beginning to think all women are willful."
"When you relegate them to the status of temporary bedroom ornaments, some are bound to protest."
From a silver dispenser, Malcolm took a pinch of sand and sprinkled it on his desk. "Pardon me if I question the advice of a man who bedded his first and only woman at the age of fifteen."
"You know my reasons."
"I have always respected your objection to
"If you believe that, I'll sell you a map to find the Holy Grail."
"And I'll tell her to put pig fat in your oatcakes."
"A truce!" Saladin slapped his thigh. "And curse the luck you have with women. She did you grievous harm and deserves your vengeance, but I never expected her to fall in your arms."
"Must be the will of the gods."
"What does the lovely Rosina have to say about your new best friend?"
"Plenty, but I don't have to listen. I sent her back to Carvoran Manor."
"Prudent—under the circumstances. A wise man always controls his women."
Malcolm's decision to send Rosina away seemed clever in the extreme. "Or keeps a manageable number of them, but that isn't important. Now that you've returned, Rosina will soon be taking ship. Unfortunately these letters must get to Italy."
"Don't be surprised if John Gordon pays you a visit. He seemed especially eager for a reply."
"He's been eager for years, but never enough to come south."
Saladin winced. "He has reason now. He's also withdrawn his approval for the betrothal between his daughter and Argyle's son."
Jane Gordon was the most sought-after heiress in Scotland and, according to some, the richest marriage prize in the British Isles. But in Malcolm's case, Jane was forbidden, because an alliance between the earl of Kildalton and the mighty Gordon clan would unite the Borders and the Highlands, or roughly half of Scotland. The king had forbidden the match years ago. He would suspect trouble if the marriage was proposed again.
"Poor lass," Malcolm said. "Since the day she was christened, her father has been bartering her all over Scotland and France."
"I think he will approach you on the matter. He asked if you had found a bride. When I told him no, he asked about your parents. I told him they were abroad on the king's business. He was silent for some time."
"He was calculating."
"I believe so. He smiled and excused himself. Then he sought out Lord Lovatt, who was playing chess with the earl of Mar."
"Just the three of them together is a bad sign, even if it was hunting season."
"Lovatt lost interest in the chess match."
"I should inform Lady Miriam."
"She taught you well. You've managed to hold the Jacobites at bay since she left for Constantinople. Why bother her now?"
"Because she asked me to get involved in the first place. If this attempt to bring Bonnie Prince Charles into the fray succeeds and reflects badly on her, I'll feel responsible. Her male counterparts in the diplomatic corps are always looking for opportunities to discredit her."
In a deadly whisper, Saladin said, "Lord Duncan will deal with any man who tries to discredit her."
Malcolm had to agree. His father would fight a duel to the death in defense of Lady Miriam. With one look, his father could put the fear of God in King George himself. "True, but if my parents are to suffer the consequences of this dangerous business, and I have no doubt they will, they should at least know the details."
"How will you let them know?"
Malcolm picked up a blank sheet of paper. "A few paragraphs of urbane rhetoric."
Saladin chuckled. "Lady Miriam's first language."
Malcolm joined in the laughter. "Don't forget she interceded many times on our behalf."
"And saved our worthless hides from the strap."
"Enough about our wayward youth. Tell me more about Elanna. Is she truly an African princess?"
"Well, she's willful enough to be an Ashanti."
In light of his own problems with Alpin, Malcolm welcomed the company of another miserable man. "I'm beginning to think all women are willful."
"When you relegate them to the status of temporary bedroom ornaments, some are bound to protest."
From a silver dispenser, Malcolm took a pinch of sand and sprinkled it on his desk. "Pardon me if I question the advice of a man who bedded his first and only woman at the age of fifteen."
"You know my reasons."
"I have always respected your objection to
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