Page 6 of Bride Takes a Laird

She took a bite of bread, swallowed, and nodded. “I was. It is a beautiful day and warm. Looks like it shall rain later. I crossed paths with Lord Heatherington. He tells me that you accepted a bride price from him. Tell me that is not so.” Kendra reached across the table and gently shook her father’s forearm when he didn’t answer. “Papa, did you?”

Her father shook his head. “I do not recall doing so but I might have. I seem to remember him visiting yestereve. Was it yestereve?”

Kendra gasped. “Oh, Papa, you didn’t. Please tell me that you didn’t accept his coins. You must return them at once and reject his offer. I will not marry the man. He is old and vile.”

He muttered under his breath.

She couldn’t understand his words and set a hand on his arm again. “Papa, I cannot marry Heatherington. You know that I detest him. He is an evil man. Where did you put the coins? I will have Norman return them at once with your regrets.”

Her father shrugged and his bushy eyebrows rose. “Hmm. I cannot recall where I put them.” He smoothed his hands over his tunic and patted his thighs as if he were searching for them.

“What do you mean you cannot recall? Have you lost them?”Kendra’s shoulders slouched with the weight of his words. “Oh, Papa, what are we going to do? We need to find those coins because if we do not, I shall be forced to wed him.” The anguish of her situation reached her throat and her words came heavily as if they choked her. It took all her will not to sob outright or pound the table in anger with all the force of her fist. Ire rose to her cheeks and heated them.

“Worry not, dearest. We will find them.”

She despaired that if she couldn’t find Heatherington’s coins, she would have no choice but to marry the blighter. If there were enough coins in her father’s coffer, she would use them to repay the knave, but their stores and wealth had dwindled to almost nonexistence.

Kendra had so much to worry about: their empty coffers, her father’s failing health, and now, she had to worry about herself. No one was going to save her. She was doomed.

Thomas, the gate watchman, strode into the hall. When he reached the table, the tall soldier bowed. “My Lord, Mistress, this missive just came from the king. I thought it important enough to bring posthaste.”

“Give it here, Thomas,” she said and held out her hand. Kendra wasn’t about to let her father receive such an important missive—from the king no less. Thomas placed it in her hand, bowed to her, and turned on his heel.

She called out to the guard before he could flee. “Await, Thomas. Did you witness Lord Heatherington here yestereve? Did you see him give my father coins?”

The guard shook his dark head. “Nay, Mistress, he didn’t come when I was on duty. I will ask the other guards if they saw Heatherington.”

“Please, do, and if they did, have them come to see me at once.” The guard nodded to her and left. Kendra returned her attention to the missive and opened it. The king’s words were brief but made her stomach clench. Had she just thought she was doomed? She hadn’texpected things could get worse, but apparently they could. “Oh, nay, this cannot be.”

“What does our fair king want, dearest?” Her father’s muted blue eyes stared at her.

“He bids you to bring me to Edinburgh and that he intends to marry me to one of his followers. We are to leave at all due haste for the wedding which shall take place immediately.” Kendra scrunched her eyes at the words that wavered before her eyes. The madness of the day was getting worse with each breath.

“Well, then, dearest, our troubles are solved. You won’t have to marry Heatherington after all. We will leave to meet the king on the morrow.” Her father stood and set his hand on her shoulder. “Worry not, fair lass, all will be well. I find I’m tired after my walk and will seek rest.” He stood and left her without another word.

John, fortunately, had returned from the stables in time to escort her father to his solar. She nodded to him, and her shoulders eased, knowing his attendant would look after him for a while.

Kendra sighed heavily and muttered aloud, “My problems grow even more troublesome.”

She went to her bedchamber to pack her belongings and as she did so, she realized that she wouldn’t return home from the king’s castle. With her father aging and ailing, she had to find a way to keep him with her.

Would her husband allow her father to remain with her? Lord, she hoped so.

With her brother away, there was no one else to care for her aged father but her. She wouldn’t leave her beloved father unattended especially since her elder brother had hailed off to be in the English king’s regiment of soldiers. Who knew how long he would be away and when or if he would return?

Being situated near the border, Aston, her elder brother, hoped to appease both kings to the north and south. Henry, King of England,continued to plague the Welsh and tried to overtake the lands to the west. Wales continued to thwart Henry, but now infused with more soldiers, England would soon make progress in their endeavor, she mused. Henry wouldn’t cease his attacks until he gained the reward. Aston had professed that one day, they might need Henry’s aid or approval especially since the border region changed hands from time to time. So Aston had joined the South in their war.

Kendra didn’t much listen to the political news rife by the border. She had enough worries at home, keeping her father safe, avoiding Heatherington, and ensuring her family’s manor didn’t become insolvent or go to ruination. Her father overspent with little thought about where the coins were coming from or how they’d be replaced. Then their situation became even more dreadful when she had to sell off most of their property to find the necessary coins to pay the healers. The past year had been hard on her but she’d continued to search for a cure. Somehow, they would make do with the coins that remained which now might need to be used to repay Heatherington.

Kendra packed two valises full of her garments and belongings. Since it was unlikely that she’d return to her family’s manor, she ensured she took anything that she cherished. On the chair by the window, she retrieved her mother’s shawl. The soft, worn material eased her discontent when she pressed it to her face. She caressed her skin with it and swore she could still smell her mother’s scent even though her mother had passed when she was no higher than a man’s knees.

Little remembrances kept her mother alive. She had missed having a mother to confide in and there weren’t many women within the keep that she befriended except for Linet and the manor’s maidservant Gilda and in the village nearby, there weren’t many women her age to make friends with, and those who lived close were too busy with the upkeep of their homes. Likewise, Kendra had too many duties keeping her busy to spend time entertaining. From sun up to sun down, sheensured their home was kept in order, kept her papa safe, organized the payment for goods, and oversaw the accounting of their fortune—or lack of fortune.

But that was all about to change. Who would take care of things now?

After she finished packing her belongings, she retreated to her father’s bedchamber. Outside the doorway stood John, ensuring her father stayed within. “Lord Rupert is asleep, Mistress.”

She bowed to him and set her hand on the latch. “Go on, John, and seek your bed. When I leave, I shall lock his door.”