Love and the Clans Read online

  Then he had been a boy of only eight years old and he had taken it home proudly to show it to his father and mother – they had been delighted because it was almost as big as he was.

  He bent down to take the hook from the salmon’s mouth, saying as he did so,

  “This is a fresh fish which has just come in from the sea. I think you should have it stuffed and keep it as a memento of your first salmon.”

  The young woman laughed.

  “I didn’t expect that anyone would admire it except myself,” she said. “My father has caught so many he is quite blasé about it.”

  She looked down at the salmon and then she added,

  “I suppose if I behave properly – I should give it to you as I caught it in your water.”

  “Let me make you a present of it,” said the Duke generously. “It would be very cruel to deprive you of your first salmon whether you eat it or keep it.”

  The girl was kneeling down looking at her catch as if she could hardly believe she had been clever enough to make it hers.

  It was about six pounds in weight.

  Then the Duke asked her,

  “Have you far to carry it or would you like me to help you?”

  The girl looked up at him and he saw that her eyes were very blue against her pink and white skin.

  “It is very kind of you to suggest it,” she replied. “Actually I came down to the river with a ghillie. But he cut his hand rather badly on some glass which had been left lying about and went off to have it bound up and told me to continue fishing down the river.”

  “He, of course, would have told you exactly where the boundary was – ”

  The girl looked round and then she remarked,

  “I suppose I am on the land of the McBarens who we have always hated, but I often thought perhaps they are not as bad as we think they are.”

  The Duke stared at her and then he said slowly,

  “From the way you speak I should imagine that you are a MacFallin.”

  “Yes I am,” the girl replied and then she gave a sudden cry,

  “You are not the Duke of Barenlock? You cannot be!”

  “Is that such a terrible thing?” the Duke asked with a smile.

  “I never imagined – I didn’t think the Duke would look as you do, Your Grace.”

  “I’m sorry if I disappoint you.”

  “Of course you don’t,” she answered. “I always thought of the Duke as being old and ugly and looking somehow like the devil!”

  The Duke laughed.

  “It’s so silly of me to think like that,” she went on. “But ever since I can remember my father and my uncles have been saying horrible things about you. Why should they do that?”

  “You must be well aware that the Scottish Clans are always fighting someone. There is not at the moment any enemy from abroad or from England, so they fight amongst themselves!”

  “Yes, of course, I have known that, Your Grace, but now I am home it seems rather ridiculous.”

  “Where have you been?” the Duke enquired.

  “I was brought up by my grandmother because she was lonely. As we are quite a large family, I was sent to live with her in London.”

  “So you know little about Scotland?”

  “Very little,” she answered. “I have not been here for five years. Then I only stayed for a short time.”

  “Why are you here now?” the Duke questioned her.

  “Because my grandmother has died and I have now come home to my family in Scotland.”

  She gave a little sigh.

  “It is rather hard adjusting to them after not seeing them for so long. When they jeered at me for not having caught a salmon, I went out to see what I could do about it!”

  “And you have been very successful.”

  He stood up leaving the fish still in the net.

  “I think what I had better do,” he suggested, “is to carry your fish for you back to the road. There is sure to be someone on it going in the direction of your father’s house and you will easily find a lift.”

  “That is very kind of you,” the girl replied, “but I feel guilty, after having poached your salmon, to let you carry it. It is almost insulting.”

  The Duke laughed.

  “I daresay I will survive, even though our ancestors have been at each others’ throats for generations!”

  “Yes, and I do think it’s very stupid of them.”

  “Tell me your name,” the Duke asked her.

  “It’s Sheinna. It is Gaelic for ‘singing’.

  “And do you sing?”

  “I do as a matter of fact. Actually it has even been suggested I should go on the stage. But my grandmother was horrified at the idea and I feel that my father would be too.”

  “What are you going to do now you have returned home?” the Duke asked her.

  “I am going to learn to fish and I suppose be told how terrible you and your Clan are. I remember they were hurling endless insults about you McBarens almost before I could talk!”

  “It seems ridiculous in this day and age we should carry on fighting each other, Sheinna. There are far more important people to fight.”

  “Like all those poachers, Your Grace. My father is furious about what they have done on the other side of his land and I am told that this side is also infested at night. Of course he blames you for not keeping a closer watch on your rivers.”

  “I wish I could do so, but unfortunately, like a great number of others, I just cannot afford to employ as many men as I would like to do, especially when it concerns river watchers.”

  “Are you hard-up?” Sheinna enquired. “I always believed you to be enormously rich and sitting counting out your gold pounds, while we always had to think hard before we spent them!”

  “I do wish my gold pounds were true, but they only exist in my imagination – ”

  “And of course in the stories,” added Sheinna, “of the great treasures that were stolen from you many years ago by the Vikings.”

  The Duke chuckled.

  “So you know that story.”

  “Of course I do. My Nanny used to tell me all the stories of Scotland, especially this part of the Highlands. I must say I not only love every one of them but remember them all.”

  “I am sure there are a great number of them I have not heard,” said the Duke. “Perhaps it would be an idea if I asked you to write some of them down for me or else tell them to me when we next meet. In return I will give you permission to fish tomorrow on the same piece of water you fished over today.”

  “Would you really do that, Your Grace?” Sheinna asked.

  Then she looked away from him and he knew her expression was troubled.

  “You think that your father would disapprove,” he quizzed her.

  “Yes, of course, that is just what I was thinking. He hates your Clan, as we were all brought up to hate you. I suppose you and I can do nothing about it.”

  “I tell you what we will do. Just because it annoys me that this animosity should continue between our two Clans, if you get up early tomorrow morning, Sheinna, and come down here alone, I will meet you and act as your ghillie.”

  The girl’s eyes twinkled.

  “Think how angry Papa will be, and so will your Clan, if they get to know about it.”

  “I think they are unlikely to do so. As you have been so successful with my salmon, I really think I must help you to catch two or three more before we return to throwing mud at each other!”

  Sheinna laughed and it was a very pretty sound.

  “I will never do that after you have been so kind, Your Grace. You could have made me shake it off and then all my life I would sigh for the fish I never caught.”

  “Now you will be able to dream about the one you have caught and I think it is only fair that you should catch two or three more.”

  “If you are willing to risk it then I would love to do so,” answered Sheinna. “But you know what will be said about us if we are seen
?”

  “I think it will start our Clans fighting as they have never fought before, but we will risk it and, if they do get really nasty, I will just have to ask you to hand me back my salmon, so that I can put it in a glass case and say that I took it from the MacFallins after they had attempted to steal it from me!”

  Sheinna giggled.

  “That is exactly how a new war may start between us, but that is something you and I must definitely stop if we can.”

  “We can at least try,” the Duke sighed, “and I am sure you will agree with me that the whole animosity is completely ridiculous in the first place. It should certainly be repudiated now we are older and wiser.”

  He thought as he spoke that the MacFallins were certainly not very much wiser – with the exception of this gloriously pretty girl.

  They were now nearing the road.

  He could see in the distance that there was a cart being driven slowly towards them.

  “I have no idea,” he said, “whether it is one of your people or one of mine. But it would be a mistake, if we are to meet tomorrow morning, for whoever is driving it to see us. Goodbye, Lady Sheinna, and I really hope you will be able to slip out at seven o’clock and I will be waiting for you.”

  “You can be quite certain I will be there,” Sheinna replied, “and thank you for being so kind.”

  She took the fish from the Duke and then walked resolutely towards the road.

  He slipped away amongst the trees.

  As he reached the river bank and looked back, he could see the cart had turned round and was taking her back the way it had come.

  He thought smilingly that it was a very unexpected encounter.

  He would certainly try himself tomorrow morning to catch two or three salmon in this river as they were obviously taking.

  And it would also be amusing to think how angry Lady Sheinna’s father would be if he knew what they were doing together.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Duke arrived back at the Castle rather pleased with his morning’s work to find that the factor and other workers on his estate were waiting to speak to him.

  They gave him encouraging reports on the grouse hatching and the health of his lambs.

  “This year, Your Grace,” the Head Shepherd said, “we should get a better price at the sales than we’ve ever had afore.”

  “That is extremely good news,” the Duke told him.

  He praised both him and all the men working under him.

  He took luncheon with his mother who brought him up-to-date with the latest gossip in the area.

  She also informed him that the Countess with the two girls she wanted him to meet were arriving at teatime.

  “I did hope to be alone with you, Mama, after being away so long,” the Duke muttered.

  “I know, my dearest boy, but Moira Dunkeld was determined to bring this American girl to see you and I am sure you will find her charming.”

  The Duke was certain he would not, but thought it a mistake to argue too much and so he suggested,

  “Please try, Mama, to accept me as I am and not try to alter me. You know I am very happy here with you and have no wish at all to have another woman take over the Castle.”

  His mother sighed, but did not feel like pressing the point at this stage.

  Instead she asked him,

  “When are you going fishing, my dear?”

  “This afternoon, Mama. So if I am late for tea you must make my excuses, but I think it’s high time I caught a salmon.”

  “I know the ghillies are waiting anxiously for you, and they will be most disappointed if you don’t make a big catch.”

  The Duke smiled.

  He thought as he walked downstairs, knowing that the ghillies would be ready for him, that fish or no fish he would be late for tea.

  As it so happened the salmon were taking well and he caught three beautiful silvery springers.

  He was indeed late, but he returned triumphant to the Castle.

  His mother was waiting for him in the drawing room.

  As soon as he entered, the Duke was aware that a number of eyes were turned in his direction.

  He bent to kiss his mother, then held out his hand to the Countess.

  “It’s so delightful to be back again at the Castle, Cousin Moira,” he intoned.

  “You have neglected us for too long, Alpin,” the Countess replied, “for the festivities you enjoy in London. I am sure that is the right word for them.”

  ”They were certainly most enjoyable, but I am still extremely glad to be home.”

  “Now I want you to meet two very pretty girls,” the Countess continued. “Of course you remember my little daughter Charlotte, although she was only sixteen, I think, when you last saw her.”

  The Duke shook hands formally with his relation.

  Charlotte had certainly changed from the gawky little teenager he remembered into an elegant and pretty debutante.

  “I am so thrilled to here again in the Castle,” she cooed to the Duke. “When I told the girls at my Finishing School that I often came here, they were filled with envy. In fact they all want to visit your Castle.”

  “I am sure there are plenty of castles for them to see in England,” the Duke replied, “without coming so far North.”

  “Well, Mary-Lee says that there are no castles in America at all and she is thrilled to meet what she calls, ‘a real Dook’ and to see his Castle!”

  The Duke laughed.

  He turned and shook hands with a most attractive American-looking girl.

  It was extraordinary what a difference there was between her and Charlotte, but he was aware that although they were the same age she looked rather more experienced in many ways than her school friend.

  “I think this Castle is real fine,” Mary-Lee sighed speaking with an unmistakable American accent. “I want to explore it all from top to bottom.”

  “You will certainly be allowed to do so,” the Duke responded. “And I am sure that Charlotte has not forgotten her way around all the turrets and corridors.”

  “I know just what Mary-Lee would really like,” the Countess interrupted, “and that is that she should be shown round the Castle by its owner.”

  The Duke reckoned as usual that his relation was trying to insinuate a future bride upon him, but he merely remarked,

  “If Charlotte has forgotten the way, I know that Rory is a better guide than anyone else.”

  Rory was the butler who had served his family for many years.

  The Duke saw the instant expression of annoyance on his cousin’s face when she realised that he was not as easily trapped as she had been hoping.

  He sat down near the tea table and as his mother poured him out a cup of tea, he helped himself to a scone.

  “Were the fish you caught today big ones, Cousin Alpin,” asked Charlotte.

  “One was nearly eleven pounds,” he answered, “but the other two, I regret to say, were rather smaller.”

  “Nevertheless you caught them and that is just what I too am longing to do now I have come home. So please can Mary-Lee and I come and fish with you tomorrow?”

  “What is happening on your own river?” the Duke asked looking at the Countess.

  “We have not been particularly successful so far this season,” she replied. “But, as you already know, your river here is better than anyone else’s.”

  “I do like to find out what is happening on the other rivers, Cousin Moira. In fact my own rivers have not been as good as they used to be, so I have been informed,”

  “The ghillies always say that the fishing was better in the past,” the Dowager Duchess added. “I have heard that story every year since I first came here. Invariably we always used to do better than any other river in Scotland.”

  “I expect yours is better protected than ours is,” the Countess said. “We know for a fact we are being poached every night. As the poachers keep constantly on the move and we have only two rather ancient river watch
ers, they never seem to catch them actually at work.”

  “If you ask me, Moira, I think a great number of poachers are hand in glove with the river watchers. They get a rake-off and therefore shut their eyes to the poaching when it is actually taking place.”

  “I wonder if that is true,” the Duke came in. “I did not think of it before, but it could easily happen.”

  “It certainly happens up here,” the Countess cried. “In fact all the way to Caithness I hear people complaining that nothing seems to be done about it.”

  “Well, I will certainly give it my full attention now I am home,” the Duke promised.

  “And please, before the poachers take all the fish away, can we come here to see what we can catch in your river?” Charlotte persisted.

  “Of course you can,” the Duke agreed, “and I will arrange for you to have the very best ghillie to show you where you can fish.”

  “Thank you, thank you,” Charlotte cried. “If Mary-Lee catches a salmon, she is going to have it stuffed and sent back to her father in America to show him that she is a sportswoman, as he never thought her to be!”

  “I know my Papa will be very impressed if I catch a fish on a Duke’s river,” Mary-Lee simpered.

  “You will certainly have the opportunity,” the Duke added.

  “And of course,” the Countess asserted, “it would be even more exciting if you, Alpin, were to teach Mary-Lee how to fish as well as you do.”

  The Duke reflected that once again his cousin was pushing the girl into his arms two minutes after they had been introduced.

  He did not answer her and instead he held out his teacup to his mother, saying,

  “Can I have some more tea, Mama, and do tell me what you have been doing today.”

  “Nothing that you would not find extremely boring, my dear, but we do have some amusing people coming to dinner tonight. There will be some young men for the girls as well as a very charming lady who is longing to see you again.”

  “Who is that?” the Duke enquired suspiciously.

  “It is to be a surprise, Alpin. I hope, when you do see her, you will not have forgotten her.”

  “Tell me who it is,” the Duke insisted.

  “I will tell you later, my dear.”