Page 7 of Bride Takes a Charmer
“I trust ye to be gentle with her. Will ye see to it?” Shaw waited for her answer and the maid appeased him when she nodded.
“Of course, Laird, worry not for I shall see to her.” She curtseyed again and left him.
Shaw retreated from the keep and ambled toward the opposite side of the island. The island was small but afforded enough room for a three-story stone-built home. Behind it, there was a small kitchen and a few wooden huts that belonged to his commander-in-arms and higher-ranking soldiers. Next to that sat a barracks, also built of stone, for the unwed soldiers or thosewithout family. The training field sat beyond it and its grass was worn down to the dirt.
Across the bridge, many of his clansmen and women stayed in cottages speckled on the hills and valley, and several merchants had set up shop in wooden structures at the far end of the lane through the little village.
He reached the training field and stood watching his men wielding their swords. Clinks and clashes sounded and when Trey spotted him, he left the field.
He spoke hesitatingly, with an attitude of obeisance. “Laird… I should…apologizefor my earlier insolence—”
“Nay, there is no need, Trey. I should not have been so…stern. I know ye are only looking out for the men and me. But I remind ye that we should always be ready for war. Ye never know when a clan or ally might call us to arms.”
“Ye are right, Laird. The men will continue to train this day. I am going to have the quintains set up soon for their archery practice.”
Shaw nodded his acceptance of this plan. “I am leaving for Edinburgh later this day. Whilst I am gone, I will leave ye in charge. See that the men continue to practice arms and set the sentry schedule. Have the men hunt in the mornings. Mistress Edra needs her stores refilled and has run out of meat.”
“Aye, I’ll see to it. Ye are headed to Edinburgh? That’s a long way to travel, Laird. I will pick a few men to travel with ye.”
“There is no need. I’ll be taking your brother with me.” Shaw realized he hadn’t seen Trey’s brother, Walen, all morning, which was strange. “Know ye where he is?”
Trey hunched his shoulders. “Probably still abed with his latest lady-love.”
Shaw bellowed a laugh. His closest comrade, Walen, was always happy to oblige women who wanted company during the long, cold night. “If ye see him, tell him to find me.”
“Aye, I shall, Laird.”
He turned and left the field and headed toward the village. Across the bridge, he spotted his longtime friend walking toward him and laughed at his disheveled appearance. Walen resembled Trey with his long light locks of hair and his green eyes. Yet Walen was stockier in the body than his brother. Both were hardened soldiers and devoted Mackintosh clansmen.
“I do not have to guess where ye spent the night.”
Walen laughed and moved to walk next to him when he turned back toward the gates. “Nay, ye do not. I would’ve returned sooner but the lass is too damned winsome for her own good.”
“Ye are getting serious with the lass and have enjoyed her company this past fortnight. Will ye be offering for her hand?” Shaw chuckled because he doubted that his comrade would ever offer marriage to any woman—not since he’d been cuckolded by the woman he loved. “Will there be a marriage at Bealtuinn?”
If that was the case, he might bear witness to another joining at Bealtuinn or what the church called “The Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross”. Their May Birching rites, where men collected and fastened garlands and boughs on the windows and doors of their ladyloves symbolizing natural rebirth. On the night of Beltane, the fires lit embodied ancient courtship rituals that led to the negotiations and courting of their clans’ maidens. Perhaps Walen’s maiden would be selected to represent the May Queen, the virgin mother, or Goddess Flora.
But now his friend scowled hard at him and shook the locks of his tangled hair. “Bollocks, nah, och she is sweet. I am not one for marriage, as well ye know. I do not see myself taking the plunge anytime soon.”
Shaw grinned at his friend’s words. “Me neither. The last thing I want is an overbearing bride.” A memory flashed in his mind of a lass he’d once hoped to marry. Her image had stayedwith him many years after he’d lost her. There were nights when the softness of her brown eyes haunted him, of her sweet lips begging to be kissed, and her alluring body longing to be held and loved. Shaw shook away his memory and almost chastised himself for holding on to dreams that had ended so long ago.
His friend shoved his shoulder. “Are ye still love-sick over your lost lass, wee laddie?”
Shaw scoffed. “Nay, and I was never love sick.”
Walen chortled. “Aye? Ye never got over her, admit it. One day, Laird, ye know ye will need to marry for the sake of heirs. When that time comes…”
“When it does, I shall do my duty.” He quickly told him about the missives he’d received that morning. “I am onward to Edinburgh because Alexander requires my attendance.”
“Ye must go then,” Walen said.
“Aye, and I want ye to come with me. Geoff wants to meet with me as well but he didn’t say what he wanted. ’Tis the truth, I detest going to the Chattan’s fief. If we were not related, I vow I probably wouldn’t maintain our alliance. The Chattans cause strife over their petty land rites and may become troublesome.”
“Aye, especially with the Camerons. Ye seek to keep the peace, aye, and it has been so of late. Whatever trouble the Chattans are brewing, we will be prepared. Spring is upon us and the knaves will soon crawl out from under their rocks. I’ll ride along with ye and could do with an escape.”
Shaw tipped his head quickly at his comrade’s acquiescence. What was Walen trying to escape—the winsome lass, or the boredom of the peace that had settled amongst the north? “Along the way, I need to stop in Fassiefern too. There’s a lad there that might need a home.”
“What do ye think Alexander wants?” Walen asked and ignored his concern for the lad, but kept his gaze ahead.