‘Will, just … say it again one more time.’
‘I’m going tae ask her tae marry me,’ William declared calmly. ‘I want Aurora tae be my wife.’
‘Crikey! You did just say tha’!’ Michael spluttered. All of a sudden he sprang to his feet and smashed his earthenware tankard on the stone floor of the pub, causing the other patrons to turn and stare – some with looks of surprise on their face, some with scowls of anger – at William and his friends through the candlelit gloom.
‘You’ll pay fir tha’, an’ twice what it’s worth,’ the elderly, red-nosed barkeep grumbled from behind the counter.
Michael didn’t care. He wrapped his arms around William in a powerful bear hug, lifting him off his feet in a sprightly outburst of joy.
‘You cheeky bastard!’ he roared jovially. ‘You cheeky wee bastard! I know she’ll accept, I just know it! I’m so bloody happy fir you! Let’s drink tae this!’
‘Aye! Four more pints please barkeep, fir my lads!’ shouted William, who was now also possessed of Michael’s mad enthusiasm and effervescent glee.
Paul and Andrew, however, remained seated, and, as was usually the case, Paul spoke while Andrew remained nestled in his cocoon of reticence.
‘Mikey hold on, hold on there. I dunnae mean tae dampen your joy, but Will, have you really thought about this? I mean, have you truly considered the implications ay what you’re planning tae dae? An’ what’s more, ha’ you forgotten tha’ we’re all out ay jobs come the end ay this month?’
‘I’ve no’ forgotten,’ William answered. ‘Wi’ Sir MacTaggart’s passing an’ the sale ay the estate, we’re all soon tae be unemployed, wi’ no roof o’er our heads. But we’ve all got ourselves a wee bit ay coin saved up, have we no’? And aye, I have thought about my marriage proposal. Y’see lads, what it comes down tae is this: Aurora an’ me are like one person. I feel whole when I’m wi’ her, and she feels tha’ when she’s with me. I dunnae if you ken what I’m on about, but I can tell you: I’ve ne’er felt like this with anyone in m’ life before.’
‘I’m no’ questioning yer love fir one another,’ Paul countered, with a glint of sadness shining in his eyes. ‘I’m talking about the fact that well, she’s nobility, an’ you’re…’
William sighed, his posture drooping as he answered, his buoyant tone deflating with an almost audible hiss as it gave way to defeated resignation.
‘A stable hand. Aye, aye, I know, I know. We’re all nowt but stable boys, are we no’, lads?’ he muttered.
‘Nowt but the best bloody stable hands in the Highlands!’ roared Michael, who was already well on his way to inebriation.
‘It’s ay no consequence how good a stable boy you are or are no’, ne’er even mindin’ the fact tha’ we’re soon tae be out-ay’-work stable boys, livin’ on the road. We’re finished here, whether we like it or no’,’ Paul continued, his countenance grim and severe. ‘Will, ha’ you realised tha’ Aurora’s father would flay you alive if he knew about you, an’ what you were planning? Aurora’s got no say in the matter, Will. I’m sure she wants it as much as you dae, but there’s no chance ay it. I’m sorry boyo, but surely you must ha’ seen this?’
‘Stop wi’ your bloody whinging, Paul,’ Michael growled through his half-drunkenness. ‘Crikey, our best friend is going tae marry the lass ay his dreams, an’ you’ve got tae go an’ be negative about it. Bollocks tae you!’
Paul rolled his eyes and twisted his mouth into a grimace of frustration.
‘I’m no’ tryin’ tae be negative, I’m just tellin’ the truth, Mikey. You know it as well as any of us. Lord Wallace will no’ have his only daughter marryin’ a stable boy. Especially a jobless, homeless stable boy! It doesnae matter a jot how deeply they care fir one another, because fir these aristocrat toffs, it’s no’ about love or happiness or nowt like tha’ at all! It’s about harvesting power, making alliances wi’ other well-connected folk, an’ keeping their damned family trees pure an’ all ay tha’. Can you no’ see that, clear an’ plain as day?’
Michael spat out a mouthful of ale onto the straw beneath his feet.
‘Pish tae your “truth”, Pauly!’ he snarled. ‘Why—’
‘No, he’s right,’ William sighed, interrupting Michael. ‘I know tha’ the auld bastard will ne’er ha’ his daughter marrying the likes ay me. There’s no’ a chance in hell.’
‘I’m sorry Will,’ Paul said in a consolatory tone, draping a sympathetic arm over his friend’s shoulder. ‘It’s the way ay the world. There’s them lords an’ ladies an’ kings an’ queens at the top, an’ then, well, then there’s the rest ay us way down below. We cannae all be kings an’ queens, as much as we’d want tae be.’
‘Bah! Pish!’ Michael bellowed with brash defiance. ‘Our Will loves the lass wi’ all his bleedin’ heart an’ soul! It’s no’ up tae tha’ stuffy auld codger tae deny him happiness wi’ the woman he loves!’
‘He’s a stable hand, fir God’s sake!’ Paul countered, his temper rising along with his frustration with Michael. ‘We’re all stable hands! An’ what’s more, we’re all tae be homeless an’ unemployed! Can you no’ get these facts through your skull, boyo? What chance does a vagabond have at marryin’ a nobleman’s daughter, Mikey? Tell me tha’, what chance does he honestly have?’
‘Tha’ doesnae matter!’ Michael roared, spitting out a spray of ale. ‘What’s more than tha’, we’re all men, by Jove! We’re no’ animals, no’ slaves, an’ all men are equal under the eyes ay’ God above! Is tha’no’ the ultimate truth ay the matter?’
Paul scowled, shook his head and folded his arms across his chest.
‘That’s a right romantic ideal Mikey, but we all know it disnae work tha’ way in the real world.’
William slammed a fist onto the rough-cut oaken table.
‘We’ll elope then! Aurora an’ I, we’ll steal away in the dead ay night an’, an’
