Robert's eyes brightened with hope.
“So you can help us then?!”
Lord Farnham nodded and clasped his hands together.
“I most certainly can. Come, let's take a walk outside and we will discuss this.”
CHAPTER 10
A few minutes later Robert, Susan and Lord Farnham were strolling through a nearby park, which was filled with huge oak trees and thick, leafy shrubs.
“The world is changing, Robert, but not fast enough for my liking,” began Lord Farnham. “Yes, I come from the privileged class, the nobility... But I am not like my peers. I spent my youth sailing all over the world, learning about different languages and cultures. I have visited all of the far corners of the earth, and I can speak eleven languages.”
“That's amazing!” exclaimed Susan, staring with genuine wonder at the old man.
He smiled at her.
“Yes, and I would have kept doing it, but old age and poor health forced me to come back here, to the lands my family has owned for hundreds of years. And, as luck would have it – for me anyway – those lands are some of the richest and most fertile in the area. And they are lands that Lord MacNally has been scheming to get for years now. While I was away, his father moved against me – but luckily I had a very capable head servant, skilled at political maneuvering, who managed to keep the elder MacNally's hands off of my land. But now that scoundrel's son – the Lord MacNally you know – he is doing his utmost to take my lands from me. In my opinion, the lands should not be held at all by men like myself and MacNally. What did we do to deserve them except have the luck to be born with the names we were born with? It is not fair to the thousands of others in Scotland, who could make good use of those lands, who could better their lives by having access to them, who could make our nation greater and stronger than ever before – if only they were allowed to use these lands, rather than be chased off them by archaic medieval laws!”
Robert nodded, his face set in a grim and serious expression.
“You speak the truth, Lord Farnham. You truly are deserving of the title 'nobleman', unlike that bastard MacNally.”
“Thank you, my lad. And, since I never married, and have no sons or heirs, my line will end forever with my death. But rather than hand my land over to the King or other nobles when I'm gone... I want the people to have it. And if you can help me win back other land that MacNally has stolen from good people, including yourself, of course! – I will give you, in addition to winning your own lands back, a sizable portion of my lands, including my manor.”
Robert squeezed Susan's hand tight, and she returned the joyful squeeze as they heard this news. They both looked at each other, and hopeful bliss was sparkling in their eyes. Then they turned back to look at Lord Farnham.
“Do you truly mean that, Lord Farnham?” asked Robert.
Lord Farnham smiled.
“I've always admired you highlanders,” he said. “You are unlike the city folk; you retain the spirit of fierce boldness and wildness and independence that our Scotch ancestors were famous for. And you, Robert, you seem to be a truly honorable individual. If you can help me, I can help you.”
Robert grinned. He took his hand from Susan's, and shook Lord Farnham's hand, pumping it vigorously.
“I will do anything in my power to help you, Lord Farnham. Anything.”
Lord Farnham nodded.
“Good. But before you agree completely to this, let me explain exactly what I am going to propose, because I must warn you... It is not without risk. Great risk, in fact.”
“What kind of risk?”
Lord Farnham breathed in deeply before answering, and shot Robert a grave stare from beneath his gray, bushy eyebrows as he replied.
“Death, Robert. Death.”
Susan gasped with shock. Robert, however, remained grim and resolute.
“If that's what it takes, I'm willing to do it,” he said.
Lord Farnham nodded.
“Excellent. Well this is my plan: there is one thing that Lord MacNally loves more than thieving and cheating, and that, Robert, is gambling. Now, I could back you and take your case to the courts, using the evidence that Susan got in the form of Seamas's confession. However, that in itself would be a great gamble. There is the possibility – a very strong possibility – that even if he is found guilty, Lord MacNally would merely have to pay a fine. A big one, and you may get some land back, and a little gold, but certainly not all of it. And then, of course, there is the chance that he could pay off the judge and be found not guilty, in which case you'd get nothing.”