Jamie leaned back in his chair and studied her for a moment, then let out a great guffaw of laughter. “And what, pray tell, do you know about land management and the running of an estate? You are a woman. You should be married and birthing brats by now! In fact, I should marry you off soon, because you are not getting any younger, sister dear.”
“You are older than I am,” she pointed out indignantly. “Should you not be taking a wife?”
“Ah! But it is different for men!” Jamie’s tone was triumphant. “We can be forty, fifty, even sixty and still be in our prime, but no-one wants a woman who is past childbearing age.”
“I am twenty-one years old!” she protested. “I could bear a dozen babies yet!” Minna felt a wave of fury wash over her as she glared at the smug face of her brother, because what he had said was true. It was a man’s world, and men in their sixties could marry girls in their teens and still sire children. A woman would find herself unmarriageable after the age of twenty-five.
“I would advise you to be very careful, sister of mine,” Jamie told her with a dangerous smile. “I know a lot of men who would love to get their hands on a young lass like you, and I am in a position to hand you over to them without anyone saying a word. And don’t for a moment think I am making an idle threat, Minna. This estate, and everything on it, is mine, and I will do with it as I see fit. Understand?” He raised his eyebrows in a question.
Minna was making a conscious effort to stay still and calm, for she knew that nothing would be achieved by aggression. She looked at the knife on her plate. It had a sharp scything blade for cutting tough meat, and a vicious point.
There was no-one in the room. If she stabbed Jamie in the back of his hand she could say that it was an accident and no-one could prove a thing; it would be her word against his. Anyway, he was a drunk, and everyone knew it. Yet she knew she was not capable of committing such a cruel act, even though she wished she were.
“I hope no one dies because of your callousness, Jamie,” she said angrily. “You know there is a place for people like you. It is called hell, and if you do not wish to end up there, I suggest you get off your behind and start doing something for the tenants. You and father wanted this place so much that he took it by force, so now you are responsible for it. Why did you want it anyway, if you are not going to take care of it? Should you not start being a proper Laird instead of just playing at being one?”
If Minna had thought her brother’s face had been angry before, she was now faced with an expression that resembled a thunderstorm, and for a moment she was afraid for her safety. Jamie was big, at least six inches taller than she was, and purely by virtue of being a man he was more muscular.
Now, as he advanced towards her around the table, Minna looked for a weapon. She got hold of a candlestick and held it above her head, ready to strike should he come any nearer.
“One more step and I will bring this down on your head,” she said, trying to sound threatening even while she heard the tremble in her voice.
She saw Jamie’s gaze flick to the weapon, and his lip curled upward in a sneer, but there was a glimmer of doubt in his eyes. “You would not dare!” He gave a cynical laugh, but he did not advance any further.
“Don’t tempt me!” There was something about his stance that gave Minna courage. Suddenly he was not quite as brave as he had been. This was borne out when he turned and stamped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Minna flopped into a chair, her heart hammering. She had never been close to her brother, and had sometimes acutely disliked him, but she had never actively feared him before. Now she knew that she would have to be very, very careful. She picked up the knife with which she had contemplated maiming Jamie and put it in her pocket. She would never hurt her brother, she told herself - except in self defense, but perhaps that would soon be necessary.
4
“Mistress, ye shouldnae be goin’ out tonight,” Lorna grumbled. “Look at the weather.” She drew the curtain aside so that Minna could see the sheets of rain pouring down from the sodden sky.
“It is only water, Lorna,” she replied. “It will not kill me.” Her tone belied the fear she felt inside, however. There would be no light outside and the ground would be muddy and slippery, not to mention the fact that she would be drenched to the skin in the first five minutes. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to go on, however. People’s lives were more important than her comfort.
“Dinnae come cryin’ tae me when ye fa’ off your horse an’ hurt yourself,” Lorna grumbled. She was desperately worried about Minna’s welfare on a night such as this.
“I have to go out tonight, Lorna,” Minna protested. “For once I have enough to go around. I paid the steward a little extra to bring more grain. It was lucky that I managed to sell some of that wine - Jamie has not even noticed yet!”
Lorna sighed and tutted. “I hope tae God he doesnae find out.”
Minna felt guilty for having made Lorna anxious, but she could not go to sleep at night knowing that people were hungry when she could have helped them. She wished for the hundredth time that she had the knowledge to manage the estate on her own. She was sure would have made a much better job than her good-for-nothing brother or the equally lazy and work-shy lout who was masquerading as their steward. As well as not doing his job properly, he ate enough for three people.
Minna had gathered a lot of food for that night’s distribution and had hidden it in one of the wine cellars, the one from which she intended to steal in the next few days. Although she was happy to have gathered so much food, she was worried that Caesar would not be able to carry it. For once she had too much!
Consequently, she borrowed another horse, a great chestnut Clydesdale named Benny, whose huge muscular body was used to pulling plows. He managed the weight quite easily, although Minna realized that she would need two horses that night, one to ride and one to carry the load. Benny’s sacks were bursting at the seams with grain and vegetables.
Minna suspected that a few of the servants were aware of her work and were turning a blind eye, although no-one had ever said anything. Now, as she pulled on another set of tattered breeches, boots and an old patched sweater that Lorna had knitted for her years before, she was worried. The village people would keep quiet because they did not wish to lose their food supply, but servant’s gossip was quite another thing. It could spread like wildfire, then, once it got back to her brother, there would be hell to pay.
“Damn, Lorna!” she said irritably. “Why does nobody kill him?”
Lorna gave a squeal of fright, putting her hands to her cheeks in shock. “What are ye sayin’, Mistress? That is pure wickedness!” She grasped Minna by the shoulders and shook her. “Whatever ye think o’ him he is still your brother.”
Minna shrugged Lorna’s hands off and said: “I know you are right, Lorna. It was a wicked thing to say, but sometimes I simply can't stand him.”
Lorna sighed and nodded wearily. “I sometimes wonder if there is somethin’ wrong wi’ us women, Mistress. My Da used tae beat my Mammy, but she loved him till the day she died.”
“Then I would say there was something wrong with your father,” Minna remarked drily. She pulled her sweater over her head, then donned an old woolen jacket, over which she draped a thick woolen cloak.
“That is no’ goin’ tae keep ye dry, Mistress,” Lorna said worriedly.