Highlander’s Evil Side by Shona Thompson
Chapter Four
It was noisy in the house, but then it was always noisy when Lachlan had these people visit him. He sat in his place at the head of the table, watching them all with a bored expression. They were the sons of the elders and nobles of the clan, a lot of them he had known as a child.
He had decided today would be a good day to increase the numbers of their faction, so he had asked them to bring all of their younger brothers into the fold. The house was full as a result. Looking at them now, he could not exactly pass off this great a gathering as a mere friendly visit. Just how many sons did those rotten old elders have? They just could not stop having children it seemed.
He noticed Brandon Lewis standing beside the window flocked by three of his brothers. The youngest of the group looked nervous, continuing to glance around at intervals. Now that family was the perfect example of an old Elder who did not know when to stop. The first elder had five sons, and he still had daughters. His wife had passed away and he wedded a woman as young as his first son, and now he had two more sons, the first from the woman being the nineteen-year-old who was sweating behind Brandon.
Lachlan sighed to himself. He would need an excuse to make to his father. When he had asked them to bring all their younger brothers, he had not expected just how busy those elders had been. While not everyone would see the necessity of the second and third sons, Lachlan knew the benefits of having them in his camp. If all the sons of the houses were under him, there would be no one to make opposition.
If the other sons did not see a place for them in his camp, they would see an opportunity to choose the opposing side because if they win, they could take over as heir from their older siblings who would be seen as traitors. It also was good because it kept the first sons on their toes knowing that if they displeased him, they could be replaced at the drop of a hat.
The door opened again, and even more men trooped in. Amongst them, Lachlan picked out the Scobie boy, Nachton. Despite being only twenty years old, he was a first son. His father was an important noble despite not having a place as an elder. While his grandfather had been an elder, his father instead became a merchant, and was very rich. He contributed to the clan financially. As such, Lachlan was glad to see that Nachton had come.
He had not been able to form a preexisting relationship with the boy since his father had him late, so he really hoped he could reel him in now. If he were to rule the clan, having the Scobie and their wealth would be a splendid addition. He decided that he will tell his father that this was a party he had called in order to encourage the next generation of the clan to work hard and support William. Since William barely associated with them, he could say he did it in his cousin's place.
Still his father might be suspicious since he just happened to call this meeting on the very day that William was given an ultimatum for the Lairdship. He hoped his father would choose to blindly trust him since he was his son. He could not have his plans exposed so quickly.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, he got to his feet. The attention of everyone in the room turned to him.
"Welcome ye all and thank ye for honorin' me invitation. We may begin this meetin' now. If the first sons would be so kind as to join me at the table, and everyone else please use the surrounding seats,” he said.
They all moved to do as he said, and he sat back down, watching them all find places to sit. Some of the younger ones seemed to have been briefed by their siblings as they were quick to respond and knew what they were doing while the others got jittery as they awkwardly found places to sit, bumping into each other here and there.
Nachton found a seat at the table, he seemed to be holding up well despite being the youngest in their midst. Lachlan did not know him yet, so he was watchful to see what character he had. Once he knew, he'd decide if he was the type to be won over by dissipating the sense of alienation he felt for being the youngest, or the type that was better handled by bullying him using that alienation.
When all had found themselves a seat and waited in silence, Lachlan began.
“I welcome ye all once again… to those who have been with me all this while, ye already ken the reason why we are here. For those who are new… I want ye to feel at ease… there is a space for ye under me… While me cousin does nae recognize any of ye, dae nae fear as I recognize ye.” He orated, carefully watching the reactions of the younger sons and feeling satisfied when he saw them being pulled in by his words. It was not as though he was wrong, William did not live with any of them in mind at all. It was not like he disregarded them on purpose, but they were just not close to him at all.
He knew that his cousin at least knew that they existed and was aware of their names, but he did not know them personally, nor did he particularly care to. All he knew was that they were the people who would most likely replace the elders in the council, although if it were up to him, given the way that he made Alastair his General instead of waiting to give it to Lachlan whose father had been General to William’s father, his cousin would probably put someone else in these men’s positions if he were to meet someone else who gained his favor. These men knew this as well, so it was no surprise that they would slurp up his words.
"While me cousin has formed his circles around his "friends" instead of ye all who are the backbone and future of the clan, I am different as I hold each and every one of ye in high regard and have been wishin' to bring ye all into the fold. Even if ye are nae the heir, ye all are sons and the men that will run the clan in our generation once our fathers are gone. I was in Germany when I heard the atrocity that one of those ‘friends’ me cousin kept running around with, turned on him and the other took his wife! When did our clan come to this? That is why I have returned and gathered ye all to meself. With me taking over, we shall take this clan to higher heights,” he said.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Scobie boy pale. A quick glance around and everyone else's reaction was good. A bit surprised at his boldness in some cases, but overall accepting.
"Scobie," he said, causing the boy to jump at being singled out. It seemed he was more skittish than Lachlan had thought at first. "Is there anythin' ye have to say? Yer opinion matters so please, speak up."
From his expression, Lachlan already knew that it was probably not something he wanted to hear, but still, it was better to hear his opinions here where he could be dealt with than if he left and acted out in secret. The Scobie boy frowned slightly before looking up with burning justice in his eyes.
"I was just wonderin', the way ye have been talkin’ about takin' over the clan when Laird William is still alive and well… is that nae treason?” he asked.
Everyone in the room froze at that word. Treason was a serious crime that could but all their heads at stake. All eyes went from him to Lachlan, waiting for the response. Lachlan could not deny that he was disappointed. He had hoped the boy would be easier to handle, with maybe some greed in him they could have gotten along well. However, he had a useless sense of justice in him it seemed. They would just have to do it the hard way. Lachlan put his elbows on the table and locked his fingers together.
"Treason? Where did that come from? Who was talkin' about treason? Ye? Yer faither? Oh goodness, ye should be careful what ye mention in public… it would be bad if we all were to report ye for what ye just said. Yer whole family would be imprisoned and murdered,” Lachlan said.
The Scobie boy paled even further, looking white as a sheet. He began to visibly shake as all eyes turned back to him with menace. The message was simple. If he went around saying such stupid things, they all would frame him. He was sweating so much with just those words. Lachlan almost laughed. So, it seemed he was a coward with a sense of justice. There was nothing more useless than that. Things would be simple in that case. It was time to reel him in.
"Be wise Scobie, ye are in that seat because yer faither only birthed women all these years. Otherwise ye would nae be among us seniors. I brought ye here because I thought ye were wise, dae nae disappoint me. Yer seniors here all ken that they are doin' the right thing. If ye are nae sure, just follow them as they are wiser than ye. Bad things happen to children who dae nae listen. Ye dae nae want any bad thing to happen to ye, dae ye?" Lachlan asked.
The Scobie boy shook his head violently.
"Nay sir, I dae nae."
To that response, Lachlan gave a bright smile.
"Wonderful! I ken that ye would nae disappoint me,” he said. The boy was too scared to even raise his head. He was not foolish at least; he knew his position well and Lachlan was sure that would be the end of trouble from him. With that out of the way, Lachlan moved on.
"Ye all might nae yet ken this, but today, the Elders officially made me a candidate for the Lairdship,” he said. They all responded as he thought, surprised that he would be acknowledged even though William was still ruling.
"Aye, as me cousin has nae wed and sired an heir, they have gotten worried and given him an ultimatum to wed in just a few months, otherwise the Lairdship would be given to me,” he said, inciting another round of murmurs. He raised his hand.
"I ken, I ken, this is just in bid to force William's hand and nae to truly replace him, but ye see, I ken me cousin, and I ken that he will fail,” he said with a smirk.
The William that Lachlan knew was a sappy bastard who believed in love. The only reason he had accepted his first arranged betrothal was because of the strength of the woman's father and just how much they could offer the clan. Lachlan knew his father had also pressured him until he accepted. There was no powerful family with enough influence to tip the scales of his cousin's stance on arranged marriage that would offer him a bride now. Lachlan knew that it would eventually come to William's displacement.
"If that is truly the case, should we nae be celebratin', Sir Lachlan? Ye would succeed in takin' over without any trouble at all!" Brandon Lewis said. Lachlan allowed himself a smile. Indeed, with the way things were going, all their plans of action would no longer be necessary. Instead of dirtying his hands, he could just sit back and reap the benefits.
"Indeed. It seems our plans will come to pass easier than we expected," Lachlan responded. He raised his glass in toast.
"I look forward to rulin' this clan with ye all by me side,” he said, causing cheers to go up in the room. He smiled to himself as he drank. Nothing could stop him now.
