Fraoch said, “I expect him down any minute now.
We gathered our men and horses and moved toward the gate when suddenly I heard Kaitlyn’s voice, “Magnus!”
I turned tae see her with Jack in her arms, leading Archie and Isla, rushing across the courtyard, wearin’ a robe and lookin’ disheveled yet beautiful. “You were leaving without saying anything!”
I swept her intae m’arms. and kissed her ear. “My apologies, mo reul-iuil, I am not thinking straight, twas tired… a great deal on my mind.”
She nodded. “I understand.” She kissed me. “Jack wanted to say goodbye.”
Jack put out his arms and climbed into mine. He waved at Kaitlyn. “Bye-bye.”
I said, “Jack, ye canna come, ye must stay here with yer ma.”
Archie said, “Can I come, Da?”
I narrowed my eyes, considering, as Isla hugged me around the waist.
I ruffled her hair and said tae her, “Ye hae a good day, I will see ye at dinner, wee bairn.”
Archie said, “You didn’t answer, does that mean I can come?”
Kaitlyn raised her brow. “Are you considering taking him with you?”
I nodded, thinking… He was only eight, but he had been consumed with worry. I dinna want him tae spend the day worryin’ about this. The ride tae Kippen was a ride he could do. He could watch the meetin’ and the negotiation... Twould be a lesson in ruling.
I said, “Twill be a long ride, then a longer meetin’. Twill be verra borin’ and ye winna hae Ben with ye.”
Just then Chef Zach came up with Ben following him. “Sorry Magnus, slow getting going, but I’m ready. Let’s go kick some English ass.”
“We arna kickin’ ass, we arediscussin’with arses.”
“Damnit, that doesn’t sound nearly as fun.”
Archie ignored us, his gaze directed at me, earnestly. “Da, I still want to come, can Ben come too? Me and Ben. I won’t bother you, I promise.”
I considered. Then I looked at Chef Zach. He shrugged.
I nodded. “Okay, ye and Ben can come, but ye hae tae listen, ye canna speak up, ye hae neither the vocabulary nor the accent, and twould be dangerous. Ye must not cause any trouble, ye ken?”
Kaitlyn asked, “Are you sure?”
“Aye, I am sure, twill be a good lesson for the lads tae see kings speak. And we will hae many guards.” I said tae Archie, “But twill likely be cold and wet, both of ye grab cloaks and nae complainin’ on the rain.”
Ben said, “Complain about the rain? This sounds awesome!”
Chef Zach said, “Alright boys, let’s go get cloaks and your horse. Katie, you’ll tell Emma I took Ben with us?”
She said, “Yes, but be careful, bring them back if it’s... if it’s too much.”
Archie hugged Kaitlyn goodbye. And then we took our leave and went tae the men gathered near the gates. Fraoch put out his fist and he and Archie and then Ben fist-bumped.
We all climbed on our horses to go as the first beams of dawn emerged on the east horizon, with Haggis joggin’ along beside us.
I had gathered around me an army of men, most were from this century. Fraoch and Sean were from the eighteenth century — Chef Zach was tae be my only modern advisor, traveling with two young lads who had been raised on chicken nuggets and Fortnite. I watched them riding on the same horse, cloak hoods pulled over their heads as it was beginning to mist. They were pointing around at cool things they saw in the fields as we crossed King’s Park under the gray sky of a moody dawn, promisin’ an unrelentin’ day of rain.
The lads were goin’ tae learn a lesson about long cold wet rides and medieval treaties. Twould likely be a verra boring day.
I asked, “Did ye get a lot of sleep, Chef Zach? I am livin’ vicariously through ye.”
