The Wild Rose of Kilgannon (21 page)

In March, Will went to France. He found the Jacobite court and the MacDonald, who told him that Alex and I had refused to accompany them. Will returned to England then, and he and Randolph went to see my father's brother Harry, who had inherited my grandfather's tide and estates at Grafton. Harry told them three things: that Will and Betty must come to live at Harry's estate at Grafton to learn to manage it for the day when Will would inherit from Harry; but that first, Will must find me and bring me to Mount
garden, which was what Will and Randolph wanted to hear; and that Harry would accompany them, which was not.

They told me of sailing to Kilgannon, where they found Dougall and the others defending the Mac-Gannon lands. "You don't have to worry about

anyone taking over your home without a struggle, Mary," Will said, laughing. "There are not many of them, but they are very fierce. When we sailed into the loch they blocked our passage until we were recognized. We were given a warm welcome, but our English crew was asked to leave at once. They had to wait for us at sea, not even in the outer loch. Harry was most impressed."

I smiled, trying to ignore the pangs of homesickness. It was my turn then and I told them of all that had happened to us and of the child I carried. Randolph and Will exclaimed over my news and insisted that I lie down at once. I laughed at them and told them I was fine, while Uncle Harry watched me with a worried expression. And then Harry drew Randolph and Angus into a discussion of our best course of action while Matthew hovered near his father, and Will and I had a moment alone.

Giving me that special Will smile, he spoke
quietly
. "We're with you, Mary. You know that."

"Oh, Will, thank you," I said blearily. Then I glanced at the others still talking across the cabin and said, in a lower voice, "What does the family think of Alex now? Do they think he's terrible?"

Will's dark eyes were serious. "Louisa was furious and ranted for days about Alex endangering you. Randolph was not pleased, but he, well, he's Randolph, so he thought about it for a week and then decided that he could understand Alex's position, especially after I went to France and brought home those stories. And Betty," he laughed, "doesn't have an opinion. We ordered three new dresses before I left, so she's quite content." He shrugged. "No one can be surprised. It's been brewing for at least eight years. Thirty years, to tell the truth. I don't know what your welcome will be in society, and you must be prepared for that, but in our family you are welcome. As always. All of you."

I took a deep breath and gave him a shaky smile. "Thank you, Will," I said. "I didn't know what to expect."

Will watched me appraisingly. "Mary, did you think we'd abandon you?"

I shook my head. "No, but I do know I may be putting careers and fortunes at risk by asking for your aid."

"The hell with that," Will growled. "We don't give a fig what society thinks, and they cannot touch our lands, so our fortunes are secure. Don't worry about any of that." My brother frowned. "But you must understand that Alex is

considered a traitor," he continued. "No one is likely to forget that. Does Alex understand his situation?"

"Yes, Will, and so do I. We have no illusions."

"You should not. None of you. No one is fond of King George, least of all we Tories, and some people, at least in private, will admit that the Scots have been treated abysmally. Among those, you understand, who admit that Scots are human. But, Mary, it is treason." I nodded and Will frowned again, looking at his hands. "You do know what can happen to Alex?" He glanced up at me.

"Yes. I have known from the first, but now that Alex is to be tried in London it is much more serious than before."

"You believe he would have been freed if he was tried here?"

"It was more likely. There is still much sympathy for the rebellion here, even among those who did not join, especially since the reprisals have been harsh and Argyll has been replaced. Even among the Campbells there are those who sympathized."

"Was Robert one who sympathized?"

"He was distraught. It must be very difficult to see your country at war with itself and being ravaged."

Will leaned forward. "Mary, what of you and Robert?"

I frowned at my brother. "There is no me and Robert, Will. He has been a kind friend, that is all. No one should think anything else." I met his eyes and after a moment he nodded.

"But they will, Mary. Like it or not, they will."

"I know that. But it doesn't matter. None of that matters."

Will picked up his glass of whisky and looked at me over the rim in a gesture that reminded me of Alex. Alex, I thought, where are you? Across the cabin the men rose as one, moving toward us.

"Well, young lady!" boomed Randolph. "We are going to London." I looked up at him and then at Uncle Harry, who stood at his side. "Angus has told us all of the nonsense about keeping you and the ship here, and Harry's about to remedy that."

"Do you think you can?" I asked my uncles.

Harry laughed. "What good is it being a duke if one cannot have one's way? We will see it done,
Mary
. I will send for you if I need to, so be ready to weep and appear pale." He studied me for a moment. "You won't have to feign being pale, dear. Just weep."

I nodded. "Thank you. Thank you both for all your efforts."

"Nonsense," Harry said briskly. "We'll be back soon. You can thank us then for our success." He left with the men and I waited.

In the end our departure from Edinburgh was uncomplicated. Uncle Harry proved immediately successful. The military, it seemed, had far more respect for an English duke than for a former Scottish countess, and the impediments to our leaving melted away. I smiled as
Harry
told the story, and even Angus laughed, for Harry mocked the Lowlanders and their accents. He had
apparently
asked for someone who could speak English, to the chagrin of the Scottish army captain who thought he did. Back on the Mary Rose, Gilbey explained to Harry that Highlanders learned English as a distinct language from Gaelic and spoke it with much less accent than the Lowlanders, who had changed the pronunciation of English words and added their own to the language over the years until it was a separate way of speech.

"Well," said Uncle Harry, surveying the listening Kilgannon men on deck, "give me a Highlander any day. He is someone I can understand. Now let's get out of here." The men cheered him.

We left with the tide, the Mary Rose silently gliding out of Leith as Captain Colum took us to London. And to what? I wondered, watching the Firth fall away as we entered the open ocean. The men had made it clear that they were ready to go to London and storm the Tower if need be. I was grateful for their loyalty, and if in truth I thought they'd have had any success, I would have cheered them on or led them myself. I knew that it was hopeless to try to free Alex by force and foolish to encourage these men to go to London and die trying. But, oh, how I wanted to try. Alex, I thought, we're coming.

PART TWO

LONDON, THE LAST TIME I
’
D SAILED INTO THE Thames, Alex had been with me, and we'd been burdened with our worries of having children and the loss of the Diana. Two years, almost
exactly
. How long ago that seemed. Next to me Angus moved restlessly, but I did not turn to him. I needed a moment's quiet. Our trip south had been wet and uncomfortable, but mercifully short. Uncle Harry had been
relentlessly
cheerful but a great comfort to me. The boys were delighted to be with Randolph again, and the three of them took up where they had stopped at Christmas in 1714, the boys listening to his often improbable adventures for hours, which had helped pass the time.

Now we were nearing London, and the enormity of the task we faced washed over me. I stole a look at the silent Angus at my side, ignoring the rain beginning to fall. We stood together at the rail, but so far apart in opinion. We had argued for most of the journey and had just finished another round. Angus wanted me to go to
Mount garden
and had pressed his point. I had refused and he'd asked me scornfully what I would do. I told him I planned to besiege the king and Parliament and any official who would listen.

"It will likely be for naught," he'd said and I'd glared at him, icily asking him what he planned. He'd met my gaze with a cool look of his own. "I mean to bribe and threaten and kill if necessary, lass. If I can, I'll go in the dead of night and spirit him away. And when the morning comes they'll come looking for ye. That's when I would have ye at
Mount garden
, guarding my cousin's unborn child and his sons in safety, so that neither Alex nor I have to
worry

about protecting ye." He'd paused and continued in a calmer tone. "Mary, can ye no' see? Ye have no chance to persuade them to free Alex. Words willna sway them, nor tears. If yer in London I am as hamstrung as I would have been in Edinburgh. Even more so, for I canna tell yer family what I plan, and they will be well-meaning but they'll still be obstacles."

"As I would be," I'd said bitterly.

He'd continued as though I'd not spoken. "Mary, I failed to keep Alex from being captured at
Brenmargon
. And I stayed my hand when we could have freed him at Kilgannon or on the trip east with Robert Campbell, because Alex asked me not to act, only because he asked me. Then I failed again in Edinburgh. And I will be impeded here if it means ye or the boys would be harmed because of my efforts.
Mary
, will ye no' get yerself to safety and let us wage this war? Lass, if aught were to happen to ye, or to the babe ye carry, I couldna live with it." His eyes had met mine with sadness and that undid me. I'd burst into tears while Angus patted my shoulder.

"Angus," I said when I'd calmed myself, "at least let me try. Let me try and if I fail, I will retreat and give you the field."

"We may miss an opportunity while yer trying."

"Then don't miss it,"
I’d
said. "Angus, I spent years in London society. I know it well. I know the people in control as you will never know them. Let me try my way.-"

He'd shaken his head. "Lass, ye ken the people who were in control, but no more. New people are playing the game of London politics. Whigs are in power, not Tories, and ye dinna ken them. Yer weapons will prove ineffective."

"And yours outdated and dangerous, especially for Alex. What if you try and fail? What will they do to him then? And what of the Kilgannon men and your own son? You are a warrior and a good one, yes, but your skills have no place in London. Do not let men I love die attempting the impossible. We were fortunate that you and Matthew and Gilbey were freed in Edinburgh rather than killed. You cannot seriously think to try to free Alex from the Tower without losses." He'd closed his eyes and rubbed his hand through his hair, then gave me an icy blue stare.

"Mary, ye undo me. Ye willna leave me the field to move without endangering ye, and ye insist on trying things that I dinna believe can succeed.

What would ye have me do, sit on my hands or perhaps pray for the judge to have a change of heart? We canna take the chance. Ye must let me
try
my way first. I ken no other."

I had watched him watch me, this dear man who had been so faithful to us, and my anger faded as quickly as it had bloomed. "We're both trying to do the same thing, Angus," I'd said. "We just have different weapons in our arsenals. I cannot use stealth or force, and you cannot use social ties and influence. Why can we not both
try
? Say the word and I will not see you again. I will be careful not to even let anyone know that I know you. But I will not leave London without trying. I have my family to protect me."

He'd made a derisive sound. "They dinna ken the first of it."

"It is their town, Angus, not yours. Do not sneer at their power here. You may have contempt for London politics, but those politics will determine Alex's fate. I intend to wage war with all my weapons. There is no one more affected by what happens to Alex than I, and everyone is trying to get me to leave the field. I will not. Let me try! I will fight in every way I can, with or without your help. Do not join the others in banishing me."

We scowled at each other and he was the first to turn away, swinging from me with a weary gesture, then smiling wryly at me over his shoulder. "What will I do with ye, Mary MacGannon?"

I smiled. "Let me have my way and I am most docile."

"No, lass, docile yer no'. Let me think on it and we'll discuss it the more later."

But we did not discuss it later. There was no time. By the time we arrived in London the rain had turned from an annoyance to a furious rainstorm, and Calum needed every hand to help. Eventually we landed at the proper dock and my family and I hurried to a coach. Angus and Matthew had not joined us, saying that they would stay with the brig. When we left, Angus nodded at me but said nothing. We'd not had another moment alone together, and I suspected that he still was not sure what to do with me. As for me, I knew
exactly
what I would try. Everything. But first I needed a good night's sleep and a dry change of clothing.