6 December, 1769
Cìosamul Castle, Isle of Barra, Scotland
CAILEAN POV
A letter arrived at Cailean's desk and he noticed from the handwriting right away that it was from his sister. "Ah, a letter from Cat. I was wonderin' when she'd write again," he said to Maidie and Morgan, who were taking breakfast in his study with him.
"Oh? What's happening over in America?" Maidie asked him as he broke the seal, and then his face fell and his eyes narrowed as he read the letter:
18 September, 1769
Dear Cailean,
Just wanted to say that you're a little bitch.
Your loving sister,
Catrìona Fraser
"Three months fer a letter te cross the damn Atlantic and all she has te say is that I'm a 'little bitch'?" Cailean exclaimed, and Maidie spit her tea while Morgan started laughing.
"She what?" Maidie asked, thinking it absolutely hysterical. "No, it doesn't really say that."
"Aye, it does," he replied, holding up the letter, and she got up to read it, snorting with laughter.
"She hasn't changed a bit, has she?" Maidie asked through laughter.
"Doesnae matter that she's nearly fifty, she still acts like she's fifteen," said Cailean with a dramatic sigh, and he leaned back into his seat. "Should I waste a piece of parchment and send her back a reply?"
"Something along the lines of 'ditto'," Maidie replied, and this made Cailean chuckle and shake his head.
"One word. Three months fer one word," he said, sitting back up and grabbing a piece of parchment to compose the letter. There was a knock at the door suddenly and it opened quickly, Cillian striding into the room with imperativeness.
"Da, there's somethin' verra important ye must hear," he said with urgency, and this alarmed Cailean a little. Cillian had his moments of relative seriousness, but for the most part, he was fairly light-hearted. Hearing this urgent tone in his voice alarmed Cailean a bit.
"What is it, lad?" Cailean asked him cautiously.
"A ship's just come from Eriskay, full of people who've been displaced from their homes," Cillian told him. "Apparently, Lord Givernay is sellin' his land."
"The English bastard who stole the isle some fifteen years ago?" Cailean asked him, and Cillian nodded.
"Aye," he said. "He's sellin' half the land and clearin' it fer bloody sheep farmin'. He's turnin' his tenants out and burnin' their homes and they've nowhere te go."
"How many are there?" Cailean asked him, and Cillian huffed slightly as he tried to recall.
"Thirty families," he said. "Close te seventy-five people. And there's been an English ship spotted off the coast of Earsary."
"Christ," Cailean muttered. "Tha's scarcely three miles away."
"We have to take them," Maidie chimed in. "There's room in the castle, isn't there?"
"Perhaps Madge and I can move into the castle te clear room fer a family," Cillian said, but Cailean shook his head.
"No, ye willnae give up yer life te live wi' yer father, fer Christ's sake," said Cailean sharply, and he let out a heavy sigh. "'Tis my duty te see te them, not yers. I am the Laird of this land." He paused for a moment. "There's the town hall, and the kirk, and we have room here as well, though not as much as we think. Ask anyone willin' te house someone te do so. We'll build more homes."
"In the middle of winter?" Cillian asked him.
"Have ye a better idea, lad?" Cailean demanded from him. "Have Thora check them fer sickness and injury, and make sure there's a fire goin' in the town hall and the kirk."
"Will that be enough?" Cillian asked him firmly.
"It'll have te be," Cailean told him, and Cillian nodded.
"All right," he said, and then he was gone. When the door shut, Cailean let out a heavy sigh and took his glasses off so he could pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Goddamn it," he said, and then he lightly slammed his hands down on the desk. "We worked so hard te keep our people safe. I dinnae ken if I can do that anymore, no' wi' this practically in our backyard!"
"What is it, Cailean? What is 'this'?" Maidie asked him, and he let out another heavy sigh.
"The Clearances," he said softly. "Despite all that we've done, all that my grandsire did... the Clearances are here."