Chapter 115: Bobbing John
March, 1714
John Erskine, Earl of Mar rubbed at his chin, feeling the stubble there and grimacing. He hated having stubble, he always had. He wanted something a bit more loose and free, stubble was far too constrictive. But he knew if he grew a beard he’d look wrong, and if he shaved he’d look like a boy, so he kept the stubble. It was a minor inconvenience he supposed and it did enable him to feel more at ease with the men he was with. Simon Fraser Lord Lovat, Robert Munro Baron Foulis and Kenneth Grant Laird of Grant. All three were hard men, who had lived and fought in the Highlands, and no doubt they saw him as some common lowlander, a softie. He would prove them wrong.
He took a sip of his wine and then spoke. “We all know why we’re here. What has happened since the Act of Betrayal was passed has ensured that all of our standards of living and our freedoms have been reduced. The King has done what he can to limit the damage but his councillors particularly Perth and Melfort are most greedy and pernicious. We must have a redress of grievances.”
“Here, here!” Simon Fraser said.
“Perhaps it would be best if we addressed what our grievances are then?” Munro asked.
“The restoration of Scots Law in Scotland,” John said. “we cannot abide by sharing the same laws with the English and the Irish, our customs have been developed over a thousand years since the days of Kenneth MacAlpin, you cannot just remove that in a blink of an eye. We must have our feudal rights protected, and we wish for our Parliament to be returned.”
“Do not forget that the Act of Betrayal removed our right to tacksmen. It has removed the very thing that we need to keep afloat.” Kenneth Grant said. “We cannot abide by that.”
John kept his thoughts on the primitiveness of that measure to himself and made a note of it. “Indeed.”
“Truly, the King must be made to see the sense of what we are suggesting. We are not trying to suggest that he is in the wrong, merely that his advisors are wrong.” Munro said.
“Agreed,” Simon Fraser said. “His Majesty did what he thought was right based on the advice that his advisors gave him. That that advice was wrong well, His Majesty could not have known that because of how secluded he was from other voices.”
“So, we must petition for the removal of Perth and Melfort.” John said. The fact that at their advanced ages both Perth and Melfort had managed to become important ministers in the King’s council baffled John. It angered him as well, especially when he remembered how he had convinced the Duke of Hamilton to agree to the Union, in return for the Earl of Aberdeen promising him an office of State when the Union went through.
“Petition for their removal and achieve what? The King will just replace them with two new men who are just as useless as them. No, what we need to do is show the King that we are willing to back up our words with actions.” Kenneth Grant said.
John shifted slightly, he was not very comfortable with where this was going, but he knew he had started this whole thing, and so he asked. “And what would you suggest?”
Grant grinned then. “There is a regiment under the command of Louis Drummond, Marquess of Forth heading to garrison Stirling Castle. The young man has a claim of misadventure hanging over him, especially as regards Lord Macleod’s daughter. We push for Macleod to push for that, gather our own men together and attack the regiment, dressed as bandits, capture Drummond and demand that in return for our demands being met we will release Drummond.”
John looked at Grant and said. “You are not a thinker are you, Lord Grant? Capture Drummond and then issuing our demands will ensure the King refuses. No, what we must do is send Macleod after Forth and ensure that they fight one another. We can then come in with our men, hit Macleod hard and then use the King’s gratitude to get what we want.”
Grant didn’t look convinced, but Munro did. The man asked. “Do you think that will work? Truly?”
John nodded. “I think so. I think we must give it a try and we all know Lord Macleod is not a quick thinker. He will use the information we give him to his own ends, and create a mess for himself.”
Lord Lovat spoke then. “I agree with Lord Mar. I have someone within Macleod’s household who can make the tip, let Macleod decide to take action and when he inevitably messes up, we will be there to clean it up.”
“Very well.” Grant said, though he didn’t look pleased.
“I will have my secretary write the letter that will be sent before we make this incursion.” John said, still feeling slightly uneasy about all of this but knowing it was necessary.
