Today’s an exciting day! It’s the day that I get to share the opening scene from Remember My Royalty with you! So get comfortable as you read how the story begins.
CHAPTER I
“Glenstrae and Glenlyon No Longer Are Ours.”
_______
“My plaid is on my shoulder and my boat is on the shore,
And it’s all bye wi’ auld days and you;
Here’s a health and here’s a heartbreak,
for it’s hame, my dear, no more,
To the green glens, the fine glens we knew!”
Neil Munro
_______
February 3, 1835
Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland
Taking tiny stitches on the skirt she was hemming, Catriona McGregor hummed softly as she worked. Her thoughts were not on the mournful tune she hummed but with her brother Hamish and his errand. What did their new landlord want?
In these troubled days, meetings with landlords were seldom agreeable. But perhaps Mr. Cunningham only wanted to tell Hamish of a new job or a change in rent terms. Perhaps the meeting was not to say that he was taking their little farm from them.
Her straining ears caught the sound of footsteps coming up the path toward their cottage, no merry whistling accompanying them. That did not bode well.
The door opened, and Catriona glanced up. Her brother entered, looking older than when he had left a few hours before. Beneath a shock of unruly, coppery hair, dampened by the rain, his usually merry blue eyes were grave.
“Did you see Mr. Cunningham?” she asked.
“I did.” He dropped onto a chair.
“And?”
“It was not good.”
Catriona’s heart sank. “He wants our farm.”
“He does. And he has no work for me.”
“What will we do? Where will we go?” Catriona asked, vainly trying to keep the cry of anguish that filled her heart from creeping out with her words.
“Mr. Cunningham said he would pay for us to emigrate.”
“Emigrate? But this is our home! This is where our ancestors have lived for generations, though there have been many who tried to drive them away. We will not let them drive us away. We are McGregors, and no man can make us leave our home.”
Hamish stood up, beginning to pace about the room. “These be different times, Catriona. The clan chiefs no longer look out for their poor kinsmen as in days gone by. We do not own our farm. We have no right to it, and if Mr. Cunningham says go, we must go.”
“Mr. Cunningham is but a Lowlander. He has no right to take our home from us. We will not be driven away as though we were a pack of stray dogs.”
Hamish gave a faint smile. “You have the McGregor fight in you, sister, and it fairly makes my blood boil to think of leaving our home. But I do not see how we can stay. Mr. Cunningham will not let us. Our farm produces but poorly, and we cannot pay very much in rent. ’Tis not worth his while to keep us when he might turn our farm into a grazing ground for sheep. And I know not where we might go. We are but three penniless orphans. Who would take us on as tenants? No doubt we would only be able to live if we went to one of the cities. Perhaps I could get a job in Perth in one of the factories and you as a maid.”
Catriona held herself erect. “’Tis not the sort of work to which we are accustomed. We are Highland farmers. We do not come and go at the beck and call of a fashionable lady or a slave-driver of a factory manager. No, Hamish. Before it comes to that, we will emigrate. But where is Mr. Cunningham sending us?”
“He said we might choose.”
“Well, I am much obliged, I am sure.” She tossed her head. “So he does see that we are fellow human beings and not mere beasts that he can put wherever he wants.”
Hamish gave a low chuckle. “He is not such an insufferable monster as you think. He is but a wealthy man eager to do with his new land as he desires to do. We are fortunate that he is willing to pay for us to emigrate. Many of the new landowners care nary a mite what becomes of the tenants whose lands they are taking.”
Catriona reluctantly agreed with her brother. She remembered a dear friend of hers, whose family had been removed from their land, their landlord taking no concern what became of them. Catriona had heard no word from Janet since they left to try to find a new place to live.
Hamish broke into her thoughts. “Where is Ealasaid?”
“She is in the next room sleeping. The worry about your meeting exhausted her. She will be heartbroken at the thought of leaving.”
A long silence followed. Catriona had allowed her sewing to drop into her lap, and she now picked it up, attacking the remaining section that needed to be hemmed.
She kept her head down and turned away from Hamish so he would not see the tears brimming in her eyes. Not only would they be leaving their home, but they would also be leaving the three graves in the far corner of the farm. Athair, Màthair, and the wee baby brother, who had only lived a few hours after Màthair died in childbirth.
“Where will we go?” she managed to ask.
“I have been thinking on it,” Hamish said slowly. “Uncail John has been in America these last few years, and he writes most favorably of it. Perhaps we could join him.”
“But would he want to take us in and provide for us?”
“He would not need to provide for me.” Hamish drew himself up to his full height. “I am sixteen years old and an able farmer. You know that Athair was married when he was but two years older than me.”
Catriona bit back a smile. “Perhaps I should have said Uncail John might not want to provide for two lassies.” A sudden fear stabbed her, and in a panic, she asked, “What of Ealasaid? Would she be able to make an ocean voyage? Suppose she worsens, or—or—”
Crossing the room, Hamish knelt beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Remember when the doctor told Athair that the sea air would be good for her. So if there are no fearsome storms, perhaps she will regain some strength during the voyage.”
Catriona could only hope that would be the case, but worry still gripped her. Her younger sister was so delicate and had been for several years, ever since the wagon accident on the way to market when she was seven years old. Now, she could only walk for short distances, and the smallest exertion left her jaded, sometimes unable to leave her bed for a number of days.
“I hope you are right,” she murmured. “When must we be gone? Have we time to write to Uncail John and see if we can join him?”
“I am afraid not. Mr. Cunningham wants us gone before spring.”
“Spring! ’Tis only a few weeks away. Oh, Hamish, what shall we do?”
Perhaps their voices rose louder than they meant them to, for a young girl emerged from the other room, her red braids disheveled, her eyes still drooping with sleep, her round cheeks flushed a rosy pink.
She took a seat in a comfortable rocking chair near the stove. “When Miss Crawford was here last week, she said Mr. Cunningham is putting out most of the tenants. Is that why he wanted to see you, Hamish?”
“It was, Ealasaid. We must leave our farm.”
The girl’s eyes clouded, and her chin quivered. “Why cannot he keep us on? Our flock of chickens has grown. Did you tell him that Catriona had earned a whole shilling more than usual for the eggs? And the potatoes have done well the past two years.”
“Mr. Cunningham does not care about shillings and potatoes,” Hamish explained gently. “He wants pounds. And he means to turn our farm into grazing land for sheep. ’Tis his land, and we can do naught to stop him.”
The fire again rose inside Catriona. “We can refuse to leave. We can fight back as our ancestors did when they were outlawed, driven from their homes and forbidden to use their rightful name.”
“The time for that is long past. If we fight, Mr. Cunningham will get the authorities to expel us. No, Catriona. ’Tis better to go quietly, even if it goes against our fighting spirit.”
Catriona leaned back in her chair. Perhaps Hamish was right. Though the farm was doing better, they still barely managed to eke out enough to live on. Perhaps in America with Uncail John, life would be easier.
The fight remained inside her, but she knew that moaning about the changes would do no good. They had no claim to their land besides the fact that their ancestors had lived there for many generations. She would be strong and say no more against leaving.
I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek of Remember My Royalty! If it sounds like a story that you would enjoy reading, check out the pre-order links. You can get hardback, paperback, or e-book for two dollars off through release day! Plus, no matter which option you choose, you can also get some fun pre-order goodies.
