Dragon vs. Maiden X
The Basilisk was massive, Hermione gazed down in awe as Draco... er... Lord MacFoy helped her down the steep cliffs that bolstered the northern side of Glenmorgan Keep.
It was only two days after his surprising announcement of their departure. She was dressed in warm woollen gown, trimmed in soft white fur and sturdy half-boots. Her curly hair had been confined in a soft braid and the thumping of her heart gave her cheeks a deep flush. She had never left her village, let alone Scotland and this was the beginning of a great adventure for her.
She felt like she had been waiting for this all her life; mentally she consigned her life in the village to the past wherever this new adventure with Draco took her she knew that she at least would not regret it.
The ship moored in the inlet was large and even with its sails folded it looked ominous, 'twas unlike anything she had ever seen in her life, the mast showed a large serpent with its fags barred. Hermione shuddered delicately, what a hideous masthead. It's flat serpentine eyes made her feel uncomfortable.
The final few rocks down the cliff face lead to a pebble beach, Draco kept a firm hold on her arm however he seemed distracted. His normally expressionless face coalesced in a deep frown.
"Is everything alright?" she asked, clearing her throat delicately. "You seem concerned about something."
He frowned before answering abruptly, "We'll be stopping in Inverness for a few days, Miss. Granger. There is important business I need to take care of before I decide where we sail."
"I see..." she murmured, following him onto to the small boat that would take them to his ship. She smiled politely as he helped her in all the while studying his handsome face covertly. Indeed, there were some advantages of being a lady, for example... how your bonnet could hide your wandering gaze.
While she knew it was none of her business, she was intensely curious to know what was causing him to look like that. If only she hadn't taken a vow before God not to snoop only a day ago. 'Twas one of the ways she was thinking to curb her habit of rash impulsivity. "Twas one in the long list of vows she had taken the other day in a bid to make herself into the perfect nanny and unbothered woman of the world in order to keep her heart safe from the mercurial Lord MacFoy.
...
She thought he couldn't see her curious little gaze, Draco thought with a rueful smile. Sometimes she reminded him of his Kneezels, with her curious, intelligent amber eyes and her small nose.
But at the moment something far more serious was on his mind, prior to leaving Draco had not caught up with his correspondence and in all the bustle of having Hermione in the castle he had missed a crucial note from one of his men in Glasgow.
Yesterday he had finally seen the message, it was short, terse and to the point.
T moving North, will dock in Inverness 57.4778° N, 4.2247° W
Next moves?
Yers,
Z
Theodore MacNott had returned from his expedition to the New World. Draco wondered if he would be joining the Jacobite cause his spies told him MacNott's people continued to support.
While Draco had left the Navy a long time ago there were still men who owed him favours. If MacNott plotted with his clan there would be a chance for the Dragon to take it's long sought-after revenge. Another Jacobite revolution was the last thing the English wanted, the MacNott's were even more untrustworthy to the English because they were Highlanders. Notoriously unpredictable and fighters with skill beyond compare.
They would send in the full force of the English army, the redcoats would annihilate MacNott's clan especially now that they were developing a new weapon... smoother than a musket, a rifle with the flintlock mechanism-built in. 'Twas small enough for a solider to carry multiples and the army needed to test them. The clan would stand no chance. And it would keep his hands clean.
Draco had been famous for two things during his days in the King's Navy; the first being his strategic battle-planning in causing the least amount of damage to civilian populations and properties and the second was his ruthlessness regarding any enemy strong hold. The MacNott were an isolated clan, there were no unwitting peasants wandering their fields, so he had no need to keep the former consideration as a part of his plan so that gave free reign for him to be as ruthless as possible.
Draco had no doubt that Theo would be sympathetic to his people's cause, after all the extended trip to the New World was really exile till he could safely return to Scotland after the last revolution.
However, before Draco made any decision, he wished to look upon MacNott himself. 'Twas not that he disagreed with the Jacobite cause, he had no such political affiliations. Hanover or Stewart; the ruler and the richest of their society were likely to line their pockets pitting peasants and common men against each other. Scottish independence was a foolish dream and if MacNott carried down that very destructive path who was Draco to stop him. It served his cause well.
The Basilisk was one of his smaller vessels which was why he had been able to moor it near Glenmorgan without it being spotted in the inlet. It housed a small crew of men who had been under his command in the Navy, all men he trusted implicitly.
Indeed, it was his first mate and trusted lieutenant Blaise Zabini, the bastard son of an English lord and his Italian Soprano mistress who had sent him the very note he could now not stop thinking about.
Draco had not laid eyes on Theo in years, indeed when they were younger the two men had been friends as their parents had been... until they hadn't. All Draco knew was that whatever had prompted Theo's father to attack Glenmorgan had been passed down to Theo.
Each time the two men met, the conflict ended in bloodshed, but Draco was determined to end it once and for all now. He could not allow this feud to bleed down into his son's generation, yet he could not bring himself to forgive the egregious actions of the MacNott clan.
As far as he knew MacNott was not married yet, as well as being the last male heir to his clan and the Barony that came with the title. With his death the clan would be left like a Hydra without its head... unable to stagger on. 'Twas a stain on Draco's conscious that the older MacNott had escaped justice at his hands and so he was vowed to make sure the younger didn't.
...
Hermione watched breathlessly as the fine lawn shirt Draco wore drew taut over his sinewy arms as he began to row strongly towards the large ship. Really, the mas has the most disturbing effect on me she thought crossly, shaking her head and reminding herself of the vows she had taken not long ago.
The past two days had been a flurry of activity, the few items of any worth in the castle packed and stowed safely in the ship with the help of Dobby's magic.
Scorpius's crib and toys carefully moved into a large chamber besides Draco's captain's quarters that the child would share with his new nanny. This was the first time she had had a moment to be alone with Draco since he had left her in the nursery. Yet he had barely looked at her, clearly his mind was occupied with something vastly important.
The child and the elf now back in his human Glamour had gone on to the ship first, Dobby grumbling about the long journey he had no wish to make.
In no time at all they would be on the ship and she would have to make sure that she remained as unobstructive as possible. She wanted so badly to reach out and grab his hand, ask him if everything was alright or to sooth that dark frown from between his eyebrows.
Yet the memory of his words and his rejection kept her still.
But as they got closer and the large ship in front of her got ever larger. Her heart was nearly in her throat ... all of a sudden, she felt a hysterical giggle rise out of her.
Here she was... a woman who had never left her tiny village in Scotland beginning a new and wonderful journey... one that she probably never would have had the opportunity of make were it not for this strange twist of fate that had brought the magical, mysterious man sat in front of her into her life.
She wanted to throw her arms out and scream in excitement for she knew that no matter what were to happen... she would never be the same again.
TBC
A/N- Has anyone else been watching Bridgeton on Netflix! It's soooo good, more people need to start making romance novels into TV shows. Especially historical romance.