Page 10 of Bride Takes a Laird (Highland Vows & Vengeance #2)

K endra wrapped the bed cover around herself, ambled toward the antechamber, and picked up a manuscript. She opened it and perused the writing. She had wanted to tell Magnus that she could aid him in the accounting of his stores and coins but then thought better of it. Men often scoffed at women who claimed to have such knowledge. Many times, their steward had disbelieved her ability until he’d recounted the numbers himself. The last thing she wanted was for Magnus to think her daft. She placed the manuscript back on the pile and sighed.

A knock on the door startled her and the sound nearly made her drop the bed covering. Kendra approached the door and called, “Who is there?”

“It’s me, Linet. I thought—” She opened the door and Linet almost fell through the threshold. “Good morn, Kendra. I thought I’d check on you. How did your night go?”

Her face warmed at the thought of telling Linet what happened between her and Magnus. “I was so tired and got a good night’s sleep. And you?”

“I slept soundly too, but you know that is not what I meant. How was your night? ”

“I was not disappointed.” That was all she was going to offer as an explanation .

Linet laughed. “I’m not surprised to hear that. Your husband is verily handsome and I suppose he’s a good lover.”

Kendra feigned outrage at Linet’s teasing and moaned. “And you would know because…”

With a wave of her hand, Linet crossed the bedchamber to the hearth where she knelt to stoke the fire. She gazed at her from her position on the floor. “You only have to look at him to realize he would be good in bed. Well, I am not the demure maid you deem me to be.” She laughed and rose to her full height. “Now, let us see what we can do to make you presentable. Are you sore?”

Kendra’s cheeks burned and she turned away. “A little, but it’s subsiding.”

Linet approached the basin and picked up the pitcher. “I’ll get fresh water and we’ll have you soothed in no time.” She left the chamber.

Kendra laughed to herself thinking about Linet and her comment. Just how shameful was Linet, and who had she been wanton with? Kendra would have to pry it from her because Linet never revealed much about herself. It wasn’t that her friend was secretive, but she was quiet and kept her matters private. Many times, Kendra had to question her repeatedly to get her to confess her thoughts.

Kendra hurried to remove the bedding and she rolled it into a clump. She blushed mightily at the thought of what she and Magnus had done the night before. Yet, she looked forward to their next encounter. Magnus had said there was more to the sensual act and she longed to find out what that was. He was already up and about when she’d awakened and she wondered if he was still within the keep’s walls. Would he come and greet her or should she seek him out? Marriage and wifery were positively unknown realms to her.

The door opened and Linet entered carrying a pitcher set against her hip. She reached the basin and put the pitcher on the floor. Then she dumped the old water out of the window casement before she refilled the basin. “I’m sure you’ll want to check on your father this morn. Let us get you dressed so you can be on your way.”

Kendra took a clean cloth and pressed it over her face. Sleepiness instantly abated. After she was clean and soothed, Linet helped her pull on a blueish-gray overdress. She slipped her feet into her boots while Linet combed her hair.

“There, I tied it behind your neck. It’s chilly and you should leave your hair down to keep you warmer.”

She always listened to Linet’s sound advice when it came to matters of dress and hair arrangement. Linet always appeared put-together even in her plain frocks with her red hair. She admired Linet’s hair and wished hers was as bright and becoming.

“I should go.” Kendra picked up the laundry from the floor and headed for the door.

“Leave that, I’ll take care of it. I’ll have someone come and take the tub away too. I know you have much on your mind and I am here to help you, so let me.”

Kendra set the laundry on the floor next to the door and retrieved her shawl in case she needed it. “I am glad you are here. It would be lonely without you.” Kendra embraced her and felt eased. “But you should come with me. I don’t want to walk to my father’s cottage by myself.”

“Very well. Let me take the laundry to the kitchen and I’ll ask Ellen if someone will see to it and the tub too.” Linet snatched the pile from the floor and waited for her to open the door.

With apprehension, Kendra left the chamber and strolled with slow steps to the great hall. Linet followed along silently. Kendra hadn’t expected to find anyone there, but Magnus’s mother was eating her morning fare.

“Good day, Lady Faye.”

Linet set the launder by the entrance and hastened to the table to fill a trencher for her. Kendra eyed her but smiled. Linet went beyond and treated her as the lady of the keep but Kendra wasn’t comfortable with that honor. In her mind, the role of lady still went to Magnus’s mother.

At the same time, while Lady Faye lived there, she would have to curb her tendencies to take charge. She’d been the lady of her father’s manor for so long that Kendra was uncertain it was possible to behave otherwise. Still, she would try.

Musing on this, Kendra took a piece of warm bread and smeared it with a jellied relish.

“Lady Kendra, good morn.” Faye poured herself a drink and filled it nearly to the rim. She lifted the cup and took a small sip to keep it from overflowing.

“Please, Lady Faye, call me ‘Kendra.’ It is still morning? I thought I had slept away the morn and apologize if you awaited me. I was overtired from the events of the past sennight and the journey.” She set to eat a bite and poured half a cup of mead into a clean goblet.

“Oh, I am sure ye were tired from your journey. It is rather a long way from Edinburgh. Did I see laundry in your maid’s hands?” She set her cup down and gave her full attention to them.

Kendra nodded and felt her face heat. She didn’t want to have to explain why the bedding needed to be laundered and hoped Magnus’s mother didn’t ask. “I thought to have the bedding washed but Linet shall take care of it.”

“There is no need. Ellen has a group of lasses that come each day to help her. Oh, here is Ellen now.” Faye turned in her seat and waved the maid forward.

A woman near Lady Faye’s age approached. She had a pleasing demeanor and her grayish-blue eyes peered with kindness. Her hair was the shade of hay when autumn was in full. Kendra dipped her chin to the woman and smiled.

“Ellen, this is our new lady… Lady Kendra, Magnus’s wife. She has left laundry there by the entrance, will you see to it?”

Ellen smiled. “Oh, ’tis a pleasure to meet the laird’s wife. Welcome, Milady. If ye need anything, ye have only to ask. I shall see to the washing for ye.”

“I do not wish to give you more chores, Ellen, or the maids that help you. I am used to looking after myself for the most part. Linet will help me, if you’ll only direct us to where you do the washing. You met Linet last eve?” Kendra finished her drink and pushed the goblet away from her. It was so sweet that she puckered her mouth.

Linet stepped forward and stood beside her chair. “Good day, Mistress Ellen.”

“Oh, aye, and what a sweet lass. Good morn, Linet. Ye be fortunate to have her, Lady Kendra. But I have several lassies who help me, so worry not about the wash. I will see to it. Besides, ye are now our laird’s wife. We must take care of ye and ye shall allow us to do so,” Ellen said. “The bedding will be laundered and replaced before ye seek your bed this night.”

“You are kind. Is the weather fair? I had hoped to visit my father this morning.”

Lady Faye seemed to shrug and didn’t answer.

Ellen folded her hands in front of her and nodded. “It is a wee bit chilly but fair. I heard that your father stays near Laird Hugh in Old Angus’s cottage. He shall find our laird’s grandfather good company.”

Kendra rose. “I shall go then. My thanks, Ellen, for your aid. Do you wish to accompany me and Linet, Lady Faye? We can take a nice stroll and you can show me around, and perhaps I’ll find Magnus on our walk.”

“Oh, nay, I do not leave the keep, not these days.” Magnus’s mother lowered her eyes and sighed sorrowfully. “Your husband was up early and is likely about his duties. Magnus takes his position as our laird very seriously. I rarely ever see him as I doubt ye shall.”

“Thank you, Lady Faye, for telling me. I wondered and shall see him later then.” Kendra grew concerned for a moment but would speak to Magnus later about his mother’s odd comment. Questions rankled her. Why didn’t she leave the keep? Was her son’s death dispiriting her? Was it possible that something could be done to brighten the woman’s mood, or was she always so melancholy? With hope, Kendra wondered if she might somehow aid her if Lady Faye allowed her to.

She left the keep and stood outside the entrance where she gazed about and watched the faces of the clan’s people. It struck her that everyone wore such serious or melancholy expressions. There was no joy in their faces, only sorrow. Winston, the lad who had journeyed with them to Magnus’s home, stood near the entrance of the fief, and bowed to her when she eyed him.

Linet sidled next to her. “How sad they appear. There is a darkness about the people here. You can feel it.”

“I believe they are in mourning but I could be wrong. Perhaps they are always dour or maybe Magnus’s brother’s death has affected them greatly.”

“How did he die?” Linet asked.

Kendra shrugged. “I hoped Magnus would tell me, but he hasn’t spoken about it. He too seems to mourn his brother deeply. He must have been greatly cherished or perhaps his death was disheartening? I suppose someone will tell us when they are ready to.” She wanted to find out the answers to those questions. “Come along then and let us get to the cottage.”

Linet linked her arm with hers as they usually did when they walked about. They set off toward the back of the fief. Winston walked behind them in the same direction. Kendra thought nothing of it and paid him no mind.

Though it was sunny, the wind whipped at her. She pulled her shawl around her and walked toward the back of the fief. Kendra missed her home. Though she was often alone there, except for Linet’s good company, she was just as alone here. She supposed there wasn’t much of a difference in her life but she hoped to find friendship and a closeness with Magnus’s family.

A woman dropped a basket of wool on the lane. The wind easily swept some of it away and the woman shouted. Kendra and Linet hurried to help retrieve the bits of wayward wool. When they had gotten all the wool back and pressed it deeper into the basket so the wind couldn’t scatter it again, the woman smiled up at her from her place on the ground.

“Glory be, I thought I had lost the day’s collection. My thanks, Mistress.”

Kendra returned her smile. “You are more than welcome. I think we got it all.”

“I do too. Thanks to you,” the woman said as she pushed herself to her feet and positioned the basket on her hip. “Good day.” She hastened away.

Kendra walked on and saw Hugh’s cottage in the distance. She thought to visit Hugh since his home was first as she passed. When she reached it, she knocked at the door but no one answered. She opened the door, stepped inside, and Linet followed. The cottage was clean and somewhat tidy, especially given that an elder man lived there. The bed was made and there was a tin cup on the table. Laird Hugh must have gone out. Yet she hadn’t seen them on her walk.

She retreated from the cottage and opened the door to the next one. That cottage too was empty. Kendra thought to take a moment to search through her father’s belongings again. Surely, the coins he’d accepted from Heatherington had to be amongst his possessions. She’d found nothing when she searched her father’s bedchamber before they left for Edinburgh. That meant that the coins had to be either on his person or within his possessions.

“What are you looking for?”

“For the coins Papa took from Heatherington. I need to find them soon so I can send them back before he makes threats.”

Linet rushed forward and helped to search among her father’s garments. “I’ll check his clothing.”

Kendra removed his garments from the satchel, set them in a pile for her and Linet to search, and felt along the seams. Nothing . She found two small satchels he used when he was about the keep and emptied them. All she found was a string, a small dagger, and a collection of small stones.

“Where did you put them?” she said aloud as if expecting an answer.

“Nothing’s here in his garments,” Linet said.

Then Kendra checked his bedding, thinking that if he had the coins, he could have hidden them there. He probably didn’t know the significance of the coins or how important it was that they were returned. She lifted the stuffed mattress, felt along the coverings, and beneath the bed. Nothing . Kendra despaired that if she didn’t find the coins soon, they would suffer some horrid slight from Heatherington. The man wasn’t one to go against and he would be irked if he was deceived. Would he try to overtake her home? Kendra needed to protect her family’s servants and kinsmen.

She stood in the center of the cottage and couldn’t find anywhere else to check where her father would have hidden the coins.

“What are you doing in here?”

Kendra whirled around, startled, as her father and Hugh entered the cottage. She shook off her despondent mien and smiled. “Good day! I thought I would come and see how you were getting on, Papa.”

“Who are you, lass?”

She narrowed her eyes at her father’s question. “It’s me, your daughter…Kendra. I wanted to make sure you were settled and to ask you about the coins again. We must find them.”

Her father traipsed past her and sat at the table. He poured himself a cup of ale from a small jug that sat in the center and disregarded her. He grumbled something, but she couldn’t make out what he’d said, though “coins” was one of the words she could discern from the rest of his mumbling.

Kendra glanced at Hugh before she rushed past him to the table. “Papa, please speak to me.”

“I do not know you, lass, or about these coins you speak of. Be gone with you. Get out.” He turned his back to her.

Kendra wanted to weep as great sorrow lodged in her throat. Her father did not recognize her. The way he spoke to her nearly crushed her heart.

“Aww, lass, come outside with me.” Laird Hugh motioned to her.

Kendra was weary and sad but she nodded. “I’ll be outside. Will you stay with him until John returns, Linet?”

“Of course, Kendra. Worry not for him. Where is John?”

Laird Hugh heard her from the doorway. “He’s gone to fetch foodstuff from the kitchens for our midday meal. He should return soon.”

Kendra stepped outside and peered at the man, forlorn. How had her father failed to recognize her after only a night’s absence from him? “My thanks for seeing to my father.” She fought back tears. “He is declining, is he not?”

Hugh scrunched his face in a manner that alluded to the dislike of their discussion. The wisps of his gray hair tousled from the wind. “Your da has been aloof all morn.” Another, stronger gust of wind forced her shawl to fall from her shoulders. Laird Hugh picked it up and returned it to her. “Here, Milady, ye best keep yourself warm. Listen to me, aye, a comrade of mine had such a malady and it took him from us long before we understood that he ailed in his body. An ailment of the mind is a saddened state of affairs. Ye should prepare yourself.”

“I know that he has not long in life and accept that he may be taken from me. But there’s more to it. Please…if my father speaks of coins, you must tell me what he did with them. You see, he was given coins in error. He misplaced them and I need to find them. He should no t have accepted the coins and I mean to return them to our neighbor.”

“ Och , do not worry, Milady. I will tell ye if he says anything. He has not mentioned coins. I took him for a walk to the stream and meant to keep him busy. He keeps asking why he is here.”

Kendra’s heart ached to hear that. “He should not go beyond the walls.”

“Worry not for I was with him. He was reminiscing about your dear mother earlier.”

She was surprised to hear that. Her father hadn’t spoken of her mother in years. “What did he say?”

“He said he missed her and longed to be with her.” Hugh sighed wistfully.

“Do you think he shall be with her soon? I fear his days are numbered.”

Hugh shrugged. “Who knows how long he has left in this realm? We shall aim to make his days pleasant whilst he is here. Are ye excited for Bealtuinn?”

“Bealtuinn?” she asked, not sure what he was speaking of.

“Oho, ye might know it as Roodmas for the church frowns upon us calling it Bel-Fire. Aye, they have renamed it to ‘Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross.’ Blasphemous, I vow, that they stole our fair celebration for their own.”

“I fear we did not much celebrate holy or festival days where we lived.”

Hugh scowled. “Ye did not? How dreadful, lass, that ye didn’t get to join in the festivity. Soon, the men will go in search of the woods needed for the great fire. They’ll also be putting boughs on the lassies’ window casements and doors to keep them safe. I heard tell they will choose a winsome lass by the name of ‘Gloria’ as the May Queen. She shall lead the marches in song and the spirit of the Goddess.”

Kendra smiled at the man’s enthusiasm. “It certainly sounds merry. I look forward to it.”

“Aye, ’tis rumored that Winston might make an appearance as the ‘green man’ and a marriage might take place before the great fire. All shall delight in that. It might even take away the despair that the clan is suffering through right now.”

“Does Winston want to marry Gloria?” Kendra was fascinated by Hugh’s talk.

“Aye, aye. The lad has been in love with the lass since he was knee-high. She has finally accepted him.”

“Magnus didn’t tell me about the festival or Winston’s forthcoming marriage. I will be happy to witness their union and the other events. When will it be?”

“Less than a sennight away, Milady, on May first.”

Kendra set her hand on her hip and continued to question the elder. “Why is the clan so forlorn? Is it because Magnus’s brother died?”

“’Tis so and most mourn the loss. Ned was a good sort and friendly to all. He had a way about him that put people at ease, unlike Wyren and Magnus. Now that Wyren has married, most find him more approachable, except some of the soldiers who are in awe of him. And all are leery about approaching Magnus. He has always had a formidable mien about him. That is why the council elected him as our laird. No one would dare cross him.”

Kendra supposed that was true and she remembered what the queen had said of him: He’s a reserved man and speaks little. He is a favorite of mine and it distresses me that he is so serious and claims that he has no time for frivolities. I deem he needs some joy in his life.

Her husband definitely needed to smile more and she thought perhaps that she might bring him a little joy. That was, if she could find some joy within herself. If she didn’t find Heatherington’s coins, there would be hell to pay and their lives would be filled with misery. Kendra couldn’t allow the loss of her family’s holding. Somehow, she had to hold on to it for Aston .

“I dare say you are right. Magnus does seem capable of scaring anyone. I found him somewhat daunting when we first met.”

Hugh chuckled. “And now, Milady?”

“He seems to want to please me. I do not fear him now.”

“Await me,” Hugh said and lumbered through the doorway of his cottage. He returned a moment later and took her hand. In it, he placed a brooch. “This was my wife’s, Magnus’s grandmother’s. She said it had magical powers and drew me to her. Perhaps it will help ye to win my grandson’s heart even more.”

Kendra was in awe of his gesture. “I cannot accept this, Laird Hugh. Please, keep it.”

“There has been no other lass that I wished to gift it to. You keep it, Milady. I vow it will draw my grandson’s regard, just as it drew mine toward my dear wife.”

“Should you not give it to your daughter? Lady Faye is your daughter?”

He bobbed his head. “Aye, she is indeed. Faye has other items that belonged to her mother. She won’t miss it, and besides, she already caught her husband’s adoration.”

Kendra clutched the beautiful brooch which appeared to be a thistle flower entwined with silver vines and had a purple amethyst jewel embedded in the pewter. “It is beautiful.”

“Wear it, Milady, on Bealtuinn, at the festival. Pin it to the Cameron tartan for I am sure it will bring your husband joy.”

“I promise, I shall. Speaking of Lady Faye… She mourns her son and says she doesn’t leave the keep. I worry for her.” Kendra placed the brooch inside the seam of her overdress to keep it safe until she returned to the fief.

“My daughter doted on Ned and his loss greatly affects her. She will ease with time.”

“I got the sense that she didn’t dote on Magnus.” Kendra shouldn’t be so forward by speaking of such matters with the man, but she hoped to gain an understanding of Magnus’s relationship with his mother.

“Magnus was taken from his mother at a tender age. She never had the chance to adore him and she’s always been distant toward him. Of her four sons, both Magnus and Wyren were born for the duty of the clan. Ned and Jake had their mother’s love for they were spared the responsibilities that the others were not.”

“That is sad.” Kendra didn’t know what to say. Her husband hadn’t had his mother’s care and had been raised for his obligation to his clan. The insight of his rearing explained much about his manner. “Thank you for explaining. It is getting late and I should say my farewell to my father.” She left Hugh and stepped inside her father’s cottage.

By then, John had returned and set on the table a large trencher of food. Linet placed food on smaller trenchers and fixed her gaze on John. Kendra smiled at the thought that her friend had often reacted as mirthful when John was near. Linet hadn’t said she cared for John but it was evident in her look and smile.

Kendra approached her father and set a hand on his shoulder. “Papa, I am leaving now. I will come back later.”

“Dearest, when did you get here?” Her father seemed surprised to see her.

“I…sometime ago. Laird Hugh tells me that he took you on a walk beyond the walls.”

“Aye, lass, and he said he would take me fishing at the loch that he favors on the morrow. I have not been fishing in years and long to enjoy it again.”

“I am certain you shall have a good time.” Kendra set a light kiss on his slightly whiskered cheek and hastily left the cottage. Outside, she stood by the door and wiped at her eyes. Tears sprang to her lashes and she couldn’t help but feel sorrow. Her father’s memory returned in short bouts, but the fact that initially he hadn’t remembered who she was sank her heart.

She waited for Linet who came outside a moment later.

“We should get back to the fief.” On her return to the keep, she spotted Ellen walking with a young maiden. They both carried hefty baskets of laundry. She hurried forward and took Ellen’s basket. “Let me carry this for you, Ellen.”

Ellen rasped with heavy breath. “My thanks, Milady. Supper will soon be served. Cook has made a delicious pottage with rabbit and fine vegetables. It smells heavenly. Where has the day gone?”

Kendra entered the back of the keep and set the basket with the one the maid had carried. Ellen was correct. The day had flown by. She wondered if she would see Magnus before she sought her sleep. He had to have left the holding because she hadn’t seen him on her walk about the keep’s grounds. How she wished he had woken her this morning and told her that he’d be gone. But she realized he wasn’t used to answering to anyone, let alone a wife.

Ellen rushed to the small table in a pantry room and collected a clean pitcher. “I must see about setting the table for supper. Cook must have the meal ready by now.”

“I’ll take the pitcher and you see about the supper.” Kendra took the pitcher from her and hurried to the great hall. It was more crowded than it had been the night before. Lady Faye and Stan sat at the table. A woman walked by the large hearth, with a crying bairn cradled in her arms, trying to soothe him. Jake stood by a window casement with his back to everyone. There were also three other men in attendance.

“Oh, there ye be,” Stan said, stepping forward. “Come and I will introduce ye. All, this is Magnus’s wife Milady Kendra.” He motioned to each of the people and said, “This is Osmond, Hayden, and Craig, the laird’s closest guard. There, by the hearth, is Wyren’s wife, Marny, and their bairn, Hale.”

“Good eve, everyone,” Kendra said. She stood by the buttery and filled the pitcher with ale from a barrel then rushed to the table and set it before Stan. Afterward, she approached Marny. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Marny. Magnus told me that you had recently had a bairn. He is a handsome lad.”

“He is rather bonny, is he not? But he’s got a cantankerous disposition like his great-grandda,” she said and giggled.

“Do you mean Laird Hugh?”

Marny nodded. “Aye, tell me that he is not the most grumpy man alive?”

Kendra shook her head. “He has been nothing but kind to me and my father.”

“I jest with ye. Laird Hugh is a kindly man but he can sometimes be blunt.” Marny jostled the babe. “I vow nothing I do soothes Hale and he wails most of the day.”

“May I hold him?” Kendra asked. Marny held out the bairn and she took him. The bairn gazed at her and though his crying ceased, he continued to whimper and she rocked him. Within seconds, she found herself humming to the babe. Hale settled and looked content. How she wished all it took was a soft melody to settle her but it would take more than a song to make her troubles disappear.