Chapter 2 – Colum's Spy

Christmas came and went.

Lizzy had taken to wearing the lovely smithed bracelet her husband had gotten made for her. The pearls were too precious and she kept them in a small pouch buried in the trunk that held their things.

The Castle was getting ready for the month of the long dark in January. It was the month when Lizzy was born, but often children were conceived and many babies came around the time of Samhain in the fall.

The new year was going to begin soon and Elizabeth and James seemed at a rather interesting impasse. Jamie craved attention from his wife, which he settled, grudgingly for being in the same room with her, but he knew well her displeasure with him even as he thought it was done and over with.

The twelve days of Christmas were always a time for children to learn and explore about the Christmas story and gain little treats every day. Jamie had even started giving his wife small gifts that he made which she displayed on the mantle, clearly loving them, but they still made no difference to her to let him come back to her bed.

Jamie was twenty-four and truly suffering in his opinion. Though the men teased him somewhat about it, Dougal, surprisingly had some sympathy since his wife was often at his estate and he did not bed with her except to try for a child or when he was there and felt the urge, though he never forced her. Jamie commented he almost wished to have his way, but Dougal warned him after being attached by Randall (something Jamie had never told that it was himself who had raped her before though he had been coerced at pistol point), she that would likely cause more problems than it would solve.

She would come around, Dougal promised. Women did not stay angry for ever, it just felt like it.

Still, if Jamie could not be a husband fully, he threw himself into being the best father ever seen, spending time with Ellen and Janet, teaching Ellen how to ride her pony at faster paces and going for rides with her before him on the back of a full sized horse. She loved the freedom and spread her arms as he held her.

Lizzy had begun to realize her weight gain was becoming noticeable, but she was still able to hide it under the layers of cloth she wore for winter. She smiled as she looked out at Jamie playing in the snow with Ellen and Janet. Janet was on top of his shoulders looking a bit like a star in her warm outfit that had been made for her by Mrs. Fitz. She really could not move, arms out, but she was warm in the soft furred deer hide.

Both girls were laughing as he moved about, one arm holding Janet on his shoulders while he used the other to playfully throw snow at Ellen.

Lizzy smiled at their antics and then looked down at the four letters she had been sent. All were from her uncle, the Elector of Prussia. Without a King of Scotland, he was sending letters to the clans to ask for aide and support for the war against his Catholic cousin Maria Teresa. He had captured the area and was holding it as a province of Prussia, which he had taken by force in 1742, but he needed aide repelling his cousin as she again made talk to attack it.

Another letter spoke of the Bonny Prince Charlie. While he did not directly support the young princeling since he was Papist, but he did send news to his niece about him. For now, the Prince was in Italy being cared for the Pope.

The third letter was offering support to clan Fraser since Lizzy was part of the clan. Though under the protection of MacKenzie she was a Fraser through her marriage, though the Lord Lovat had not taken the Protestant King's offer of assistance well apparently. Still the Jacobite were gaining momentum and her uncle had more news than she.

The fourth was a letter informing her that she, as Duchess of Cleves, had been offered a wedding contract. Though the Elector well knew she was married, if she choice to return to him, he would have a papal bull annul her marriage and make her eligible to marry again. The man was a powerful ally of her uncle King Frederick. Considering how her marriage was going, she was a bit tempted, but still, she loved Jamie with her soul and she was not about to forsake him and the children just to be wed to a man she had loved since she was a small child. Her cousin Wil had come to their uncle when Peter of the great Austrian-Hungarian house had spoken to him about Lizzy. Wil had not told him she was wed, but that she was twenty now. Peter would be nearing thirty and had not wed. However, he was the heir of the powerful house that backed Maria Teresa. If they defected to Prussia with her marriage, Fredrick would gain much more.

She smiled. And Jamie thought clan politics were dismal.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes a moment. She carefully folded the letters and

Lizzy heard a knock and she walked to the door and opened it. Murtagh was there looking at her. He was very small for a man, only three inches taller than she was. He looked up at her owlishly and smiled. "Th' laird wull see ye Lizzy." He said.

She nodded and lifted her heavy skirts and walked passed him as he shut the door. He walked behind her, seemingly to make sure she could find the way to his office. Once there, she knocked and then entered. Murtagh vanished like smoke as she shut the door and stood by it, curtsying to her uncle through marriage.

Colum was standing, caressing one of his bird's belly's gently, not looking at her. He looked back over his shoulder a second.

"It's guid tae see ye, Elizabeth."

"Uncle." she greeted.

He turned to her and hobbled toward her as she straightened. He was taller, but not by much as he stood looking at her. "Dougal haes spoken o' th' adventures, bit ah wish tae hear yer tak' oan hings."

She took a breath and he turned away and poured her tea.

He nodded to the seat near his desk. She took it, dropping gracefully down. She took the cup and saucer delicately as he poured cream and put two cubes of sugar in it for her. She stirred it as he fixed his own. He then turned back to her, cocking his head, waiting for her to speak.

"We had some misadventures to be sure, but the rents seemed to be well. There were some tacksmen who seemed to have had a rough harvest and the British were not helping."

"Thay ne'er dae." He agreed moving to the chair beside her. He sat down and regarded her. "Ye wur kidnapped twa times."

"The Grants were killed by the British and then I was taken by Captain Randall's party, yes."

"Th' Grants ur swearing oan Sassenach blood. Ah cannae mak' sic a proclamation wi'oot yin o' mah ain deid." He stepped forward. "However, th' grants hae bin against us sin mah sister, god rest her soul, rejected her suitor." He looked at her. "Thay didnae harm ye, did thay?"

She nodded. "Of course." She looked up at him. "No they did not harm me. They just wanted to ransom me. Apparently as soiled goods I would be worth less."

He looked at her. "Worth less? yer a mairried wifie under mackenzie protection. Ah hae murdurred fur muckle less than rape, mah dear." He took a breath. "Sin ye yit, bide, gratefully..." He cocked his head at her after sipping the tea. "How come urr ye refusing jamie in yer kip?" He asked suddenly.

The bluntness of the question startled her. It shot through her measured guard and she looked at him, paling a little.

"I...Well he..."

"Ah ken he strapped that bonnie arse o' yers fur nae obeying him. Mah quaistion is how come did ye nae remain hid knowing British soldiers wur near. Ye cuid hae murdurred ever jimmy wi' ye." He leaned forward.

She took a breath. "I was trying to save them." She looked up at him. "On my honor, uncle, I left the camp because I saw Randall. I wanted to protect them, protect Jamie."

He sighed, sitting back and looking back at the flames. "'n' sae ye wur leadin` thaim awa'."

She nodded slowly.

"'n' he beat ye fur it."

She nodded again.

He took a breath. "How come you've said na word o' this?"

She looked at him. "I do not want them to know I went to Randall on purpose to keep them safe." She took a sip of her tea feeling her temper rise a little. "But I feel it was most unfair, especially since I have a mark from one blow. The others fade, but one remains. I saved his life and he beat me. I never had that happen before. No one touched me so. Even Jamie." She pulled her shawl closer.

He smiled. "Sae his penance is suffering awa' fae yer kip." He smiled more. "Clever lassie. Thare ur few worse hings ye kin dae tae a jimmy o' his age."

She looked up at him. "We have been strangers since." She took a breath. "He thinks he did nothing wrong so it adds salt to my wounds."

He nodded. "Ah see." He regarded her. "Bit ye hae nae totally bin strangers it wid seem." He nodded to her middle.

Her hand went to it protectively and she gasped. "How did you..."

"Mah dear, ah hae seen mony wummin in this castle ripen wi' bairn ower mah mony years 'ere. Yer hiding it weel, bit ah hae heard o' ye bein' peely-wally at times, faint at times, 'n' eating muckle in th' evenings. Haes th' young cub figured it oot yit?"

"No, I have not told him."

He chuckled. "Ye wull need tae soon afore ye become fatter. It wull be harder tae scouk in th' neist tae weeks."

She looked at him. She never would have expected him to know such matters fully, but she smiled a little. "Yes." She realized that was what he was hoping to get her to take Jamie back, knowing the rift was causing a bit of a stir around the castle. Not in her bed, he was a hot headed liability that even she knew that he might do something foolish.

She sipped her tea and looked at the fire for a long moment. Her uncle watched her, looking at the fine lines of her form. She was a very bonny creature. Her skin like bronze in the light and her small delicate bones marking her as foreign.

"Tell me." He said finally breaking the silence. "Is yer uncle speaking wi' Dougal?" He asked.

She looked back. "What?"

"Ah ken he sends ye letters often." He looked at her. He rose to his feet and walked to a strong box. He lifted a large bag of gold. "Howfur wis this obtained 'n' is it fur th' Jacobite cause?"

She arched an eyebrow. "You already know the answer." She said reading his expression.

"Aye ah do." He said slowly walking toward her after dropping it back. "Does yer uncle support thaim?" He asked. "It's treason, Lizzy. Treason against th' crown tae hae sic hings, tae whisper aboot it..."

"My uncle isn't a Papist, Colum." She said slowly.

"Aye, Bit he supports scootlund does he nae?"

"Only so far as it causing problems for England. Remember my husband fought against him in the war of Silesia." She said.

"Indeed. Howfur does he cop aboot that?" He cocked his head. "Does he even ken that ye spent time in th' dirt as a camp follower? less than even th' soldiers ye cooked fur."

"I was a surgeon's nurse." She said. "You should be thankful for the skills I learned from that."

"Aye. A'm. Aye. Ah wid think that yer uncle wid nae be chuffed."

"He forgives him that. However, being a Papist is harder for him to swallow."

"Bit he wid support th' bonny prince..."

"He would not stand in his way."

He chuckled. "Verra clever." He said. "Saying sae muckle 'n' sae wee." He smiled at her. "Clan warfare is muckle mair wash ah think." He lifted a hand to her cheek. "Remind me ne'er tae attempt tae oot fox ye, mah bonny lassie. Ah wid be in th' trap a'm sure."

She nodded. "Indeed." She chuckled as she looked up at him.

He smiled and bent to her, kissing her brow. "Thank ye fur yer council lassie ."

She rose to her feet. "Always a pleasure, uncle." She said.

There was a knock at the door. It opened to reveal Dougal and Ned behind him.

Lizzy smiled at Colum, curtsying to him before she made a quite exit, all three men looking after her.

ZzZ

Jamie had put the girls down for a nap finding Lizzy was not there. Murtagh had met him on the way to the room and informed him that she had been summoned by Colum. Jamie frowned at that but called Flόraidh to come and watch the pair. They had played hard and he tucked them into the warm blankets of their cot and stoked the fire to keep them warm.

He nodded to Flόraidh as she came in with her own babe who was toddling before her.

"Sic a braw lad!" Jamie praised as the young boy went and plopped by the fire and found some toys to chew on as the wet-nurse found a chair.

Jamie and Murtagh went to the kitchens to find some whiskey and warm their hands by a hearth. Jamie knew there were some cakes there as well they could have. He dropped onto a bench and looked moodily into the flames. "Pure happiness is fleeting." He said before eating one of the cakes.

"Wha said that?" Murtagh asked.

"Me. Juist noo." Jamie said smiling a little as he lifted a bottle to his godfather.

"Aye." Murtagh said. "Whin it comes tae women...it is." He took a breath as Jamie watched the flames. "Loue. Tis na simple maiter. Tis lik' trying tae plan fur ilka seezin fae yin moment tae th' neist. Juist whin yer duin fur th' sun, a frost comes." He took a long drink.

Jamie looked at him. "Whit wid ye ken o' it?"

"Mair than you'd think, ye ignorant puck." His godfather said lowly as he moved and sat beside him and took another heavy drink from the bottle.

"You mean my mother."

Murtagh nodded. "Humm." He sighed. "A'm a solid jimmy, yer Ellen knew it." He said not looking at Jamie as he spoke. "Yer faither. He hud a gentle side. Ah thought 'twas weakness. Ah wis wrong. By th' time ah realized it, yer mither 'n' faither hud promised themselves tae yin anither."

Jamie frowned and looked into the flames more intently.

"Och." Murtagh said. "Whit's dane is dane, lad." Jamie turned his head to look at him. "Tis whit ye dae neist that matters ."

Jamie nodded, hand on his knee.

A lad came running up to them. It was Tommas, Flόraidh's lad. "His lairdship awaits ye in his chambers." He said seeing Jamie there.

Jamie and Murtagh exchanged looks.

Jamie then nodded to the lad. "Tell him, a'm oan mah wey."

The lad nodded and moved out back the way he had come.

Jamie looked back at the fire and then took one more drink from the bottle as he took it from Murtagh. He handed it back and smiled a little. "Best tae nae keep him waiting."

"Aye." Murtagh nodded taking the bottle back.

ZzZ

Jamie was in his head as he walked through the many passageways and up the stairs of the castle. He rounded a corner and came face to face with Laoghaire.

She looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Urr ye weel, Jamie?" She asked him.

He looked at her. "Aye." He said.

"Thay say yer huvin troubles."

He watched her. He let out a breath. "It's nae howfur ah planned hings fur sure."

She nodded. "Kin ah ask ye a quaistion?"

He nodded slowly.

"How come did ye dae it? mairie th' french lassie? she is hee haw, bit trauchle fur ye. Ah waited fur ye jamie. Counted th' days 'til yer return, bit ye cam wi' her. Noo she does nae treat ye as she shuid. Ah wid ne'er deny ye anythin'." She said. She seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Ah hae bin wed fur mair than five years lass."

She swallowed and nodded.

He swallowed also and stepped forward. "Ah merrit her oot o' loue." He said. And the fact he had made a child in her belly that he refused to allow to be a bastard since he was the father, especially when it was likely conceived during an atrocity he was forced to commit. However, he kept that silent. Few people knew that and fewer still really needed to know that situation.

It was odd. They had not really been that close and their love had bloomed after their marriage as many did or so they had been told, but their marriage was an equal partnership, at least how he saw it, though he was lord and master of his family and the bedroom, his wife was a partner and he loved her so much it hurt to think on her not allowing him to even hold her now.

"Bit she refuses ye her kip." The girl blurted.

Jamie took a breath and let it out slowly. He was not surprised she knew. Rumors traveled like wildfire and scandalous truths faster still. Though he had been working to keep it a secret, his wife's cold demeanor was evident to many.

"Merrit couples hae rows." He said slowly. "However, tis na simple story, ah kin tell ye that muckle." He took a breath. He owed her nothing, but his kind heart wanted to give her some sort of closure. She was a love sick lass, but she was a lass not a woman and he certainly was not about to break the vow he had made before God for a girl who was far too young to know what she really wanted. "An explanation wull hae tae hauld yer horses. Colum summons me. Ah mist gang."

"Aye." She said. "Ye cannae keep th' mackenzie waitin'."

He watched her, towering over her as he took a breath.

"Bit we'll speak again." She said firmly.

He smiled a little. He reached and touched her shoulder with his great hand. "Aye, Ye hae mah word." He said. He nodded to her and then turned, leaving her in the passage.

He opened the door of Colum's office and found Colum, Dougal, and Ned all there. They all looked at him as he closed the door behind him, leaning against it a moment.

"Ah, tis th' young merrit lad!" Colum said from near the window.

"Aye." Jamie said.

"Noo that ah hae a' three o' ye weasels gathered th'gither 'ere, wha wid lik' tae explain fort uilleam? is clan MacKenzie aff tae gave tae answer fur yer wee raid, humm?" He asked looking between the three of them.

"No." Jamie answered. Colum smiled a little looking to him again. "Ony repercussions wull land solely oan me." Jamie said stepping forward. "Captain Randall wull mak' sure o' that. "

"Fine." Colum said. He turned his head back to Ned. "Noo, back tae th' rents."

Jamie stepped back as Ned held papers. "As ah say, it haes bin a lean year fur some o' th' tenants." Colum took a breath. "but we aye hae muckle o' th' stock aye tae sell aff, whilk shuid hulp tip th' scales."

Colum made a face and then cocked his head. "Whit aboot th' ither dosh ye collected?" Dougal turned to him from where he was leaning against the back of a chair. "Th' dosh fur th' bonny sleepy one prince o'er th' water, humm?"

Ned removed his spectacles as the three watched him carefully.

Colum hobbled to his strong box and lifted the full sack in his hands. "Tis fur th' Jacobites, is it nae ?" He asked looking at the three. He put it back in the box and hobbled back to the center of the room. "Did ye nae think that yin among th' rent pairtie wid remain loyal tae his laird?"

Dougal looked at him knowing Lizzy had left him just as they arrived. "Ye wid tak' th' word o' a wifie ower..."

"Elizabeth didnae speak o' that tae me." Colum cut him off. "She hud nae pairt in it." He snapped. "Th' lass wis 'ere counseling me oan ither matters. Na, th' jimmy wha tellt me did me a stoatin service. Sae whit dae ye hae tae say aboot it."

Dougal took a breath.

"Or at least, young Jamie, 'ere, does me th' honor o' keekin fittingly guilty." Colum said looking at him.

Jamie looked at him and then at Dougal and Ned and back. "Ye mistake concern fur guilt. Mah conscience is clear. Ah owe na loyalty tae Charlie or James." He said looking at Dougal.

Dougal moved. "He speaks truth, brother." Dougal clapped Jamie on his back as he walked by him. "We a wee bit used th' welts oan his back tae illustrate British justice." He looked back. "We used his lass an' a', mair effectively, bit young Jamie wid hae none o' it."

"She haes bin shamed enough by they scars." Jamie said quietly.

Dougal nodded and then pointed toward the lock box. "We raised that gowd honorably. We ne'er concealed th' fact fae a' body that we wur raising dosh tae restore th' rightful king tae his throne." He said. Jamie and Colum watched him as he spoke. "That, ah micht remind ye, is a cause mair important than ony clan or jimmy."

Colum stepped forward to him. "Is that sae?" He took a breath. "Weel, this clan remains under th' charge o' this jimmy! it's aye mah buzz tae wale whit causes ur supported. 'n' clan Mackenzie's welfare comes afore ony king or land."

Dougal stepped so they were nearly toe to toe. "A've proven mah loyalty tae ye time 'n' again. A've collected yer rents, a've fought yer battles, a've protected yer body, fur th' loue o' christ, a've even assured yer bloodline!"

Jamie and Ned looked at each other silently, startled at the open statement.

"Noo, ah think sic fealty is worth a mere poke o' gowd, dinnae ye?"

Colum's face turned into a mask of malice as the brothers stood looking at each other for a long moment. "Lea mah sight!" He snarled.

Dougal looked at him and then turned on his heel and left the room, banging the door against the wall after throwing a look back at his brother.

Ned took a breath and stepped to Colum. "Ah shall huv a go tae calm his distemper."

"Either that or ah wull calm it fur him." Colum said lowly.

Ned nodded and turned, leaving the room.

Jamie looked at his uncle as he left. "Mibbie you'd ower chastise me at anither time." He said as he turned and found the door closed in his face.

"Stay." Colum said.

Jamie had his door on the handle. He turned slowly back to his uncle.

"Ah opened mah hame tae ye as sanctuary fae th' British. Ah gave ye mah fairn, ah gave ye mah hospitality. Even whin ye refused tae pledge fealty tae me, ah continued tae grant ye quarter 'n' protection." He took a breath. "Ah teuk in yer guidwife whin she wantit shelter. Ah hae fed 'n' clothed yer bairns 'n' kept thaim safe even wi' ye as an outlaw." He cocked his head. "'n' howfur am ah recompensed? ye merrit a sassenach, a foreign wifie. Nae juist ony wifie, na, a ryle wha is in line tae th' Prussian throne." He eyed his nephew.. "None in th' clan wull support ye as mah successor wi' her at yer side."

"Ah meant na sic betrayal uncle." Jamie said softly looking at him.

Colum walked to the bird on the stand and gently caressed its belly. "Mah brother mist ne'er be allowed tae succeed me as chief o' th' MacKenzies." He said quietly.

Jamie cocked his head as his uncle hobbled to a chair. He stepped toward him watching his uncle curiously.

"Dae ye nae gree?" Colum asked.

"Dougal haes a fiery temper that kindles easily, bit..."

Colum waved his hand. "Och, Say na mair, ah kin see we ur in agreement." He looked up at his nephew. "Ah hae mah replacement awready in mynd." He smiled a little. "He stauns afore me."

Jamie took a breath. "But...you've awready say that mah mairriage precludes me fae that honor."

Colum again waved his hand. "Fur th' time bein'. A mairriage o' convenience."

Jamie shook his head. "Ah dinnae follow yer meaning."

"Ah wull be nae stepping doon ony time soon, nor is ma health a cause fur concern, bit this insae th' continent. Lee 'ere kin be perilous." He said, watching his nephew's reactions to his words.

"Perilous? fur wham exactly?"

Colum shrugged. "Och, Ah meant na yin in particular."

Jamie watched his uncle, his eyes narrowing. "Humm. Fur a moment, ah feared ye wur speaking o' mah wife ." He then stepped forward toward his uncle. He bent his impressive frame down so he was looking Colum in the eye. "'n' if sae, ah wid be forced tae tak' that as a threat."

Colum smiled and sat forward. "O' coorse ye wid! that is th' precise mynd o' a chief." He smiled. Jamie looked at him in confusion. Jamie didn't realize that his uncle was testing him. Even on the outs with his wife, Jamie was still quick to defend her, which was exactly what Colum wanted him to do. He then waved his hand. "Gang oan. See tae that guidwife o' yers."

Jamie sighed. "If she wull hae me."

Colum eyed his nephew as the tall young man stood upright once more. "She is a het blooded lass fae prussia. She cannae be tae crabbit wi' ye even if she wull nae allow ye tae bed her."

Jamie walked to the fire and added a log. "Oh?"

Colum smiled more. "She cuid hae sent her uncle's assassins efter ye."

"Wid ye hae saved me fae that?" Jamie asked.

"Mibbie, if she tellt me. Mibbie nae." Colum leaned forward. "Yer guidwife haes th' mynd o' a chief an' a'. She is better at playing th' gam than ony o' us. Mind that weel James Fraser. She is yer greatest ally. Repair yer clan afore hings unravel. Ah wid hate tae send that yin back tae her uncle broken hearted. We a' cuid die if ye dae nae fin' some wey back intae her guid graces."

Jamie swallowed and nodded a little. "She's a guid lass."

"She wull need ye soon, laddie. Fin' some wey tae soothe that temper. If she wasn't Prussian ah wid hae sworn she wis Irish."

At that Jamie chuckled a little. "Worse. She is Spanish."

Colum clicked his tongue. "Aff wi' ye."

Jamie bowed and left his uncle. Colum sipped more tea watching the fire in the hearth. Lizzy was the greatest asset he had now and the greatest liability. If she became so angry she left Leoch and her husband, would she merely return to her uncle or would she return with an army to destroy the MacKenzie? Women were fickle in their moods and she would be growing more so as her belly swelled.

He smiled, and yet...

She had power that she could use to back him. If the Bonny Prince did come to Scotland. Perhaps having mercenaries from her uncle would be of some benefit.

He sighed. Only time would tell.