Page 65

Maitland faced off against Adelaide in the dark yard.

They were about the same height, but Maitland had a few pounds on Adelaide, who had bony arms and hands.

She knew she was stronger than Adelaide simply from the resistance the woman gave her whilst she dragged her from the keep and, at that moment, Maitland could have done one of two things– either fight with Adelaide and make demands, or try to reason with her.

For the moment, she chose the latter.

“My lady,” she said patiently. “From what I have seen, it seems to me that your relationship with Sir Thomas is strained. Would that be a fair statement?”

Adelaide frowned and the vulnerable woman disappeared. “That does not concern you.”

“I am trying to help you. Will you please answer the question?”

Adelaide almost refuted her again but she thought better of it. “If you are going to tell me that sewing up bloody gashes will please Thomas, then don’t. I do not care if it pleases him.”

Maitland cocked her head. “Don’t you want your husband to be proud of you?”

Adelaide looked at her as if she had gone daft. “It does not matter if my husband is proud of me,” she said, almost sarcastically. “We will be married and I will run his castle as I see fit. I will do as I please.”

Maitland could sense either a very spoiled woman or one that was being inordinately defensive to cover up for the fact that, perhaps, she really did want her husband to like her but had no idea how to accomplish that.

“Is that all that matters to you?” she asked.

“Doing as you please? My lady, I was married to a man I did not like and he didn’t have any particular love for me, either.

It was a miserable existence, I assure you, so it would be in your best interests– and in Sir Thomas’– for you to be a little more cooperative.

I am sure if you were, he would be, too.

Do you truly intend to go the rest of your life doing battle with a man whose children you are going to bear? ”

Adelaide geared up for what was sure to be a sharp retort but she couldn’t seem to bring it forth. Her jaw seemed to work angrily for a moment.

“None of this concerns you,” she said. “And I am not going into the hall.”

With that, she turned on her heel and headed back towards the keep as fast as she could walk. Maitland didn’t follow, but she did call after her.

“Do you not understand that I am trying to help you?”

Adelaide paused and swung on her. “I do not need your help, you… you nun !”

As she turned back around, Maitland could feel her patience slipping. In fact, realizing that Adelaide had completely slapped her down, her annoyance got the better of her.

“Then I hope you like being miserable because you are going to have a miserable marriage and a miserable life,” she called after her.

“This is why no one likes you, Lady Adelaide. You are nasty and uncooperative, and the more you deal out those horrific traits, the more hatred you will find as a result. It will be you against the entire de Wolfe clan if you do not open your eyes and see what a worthless cow you are. Enjoy your unhappy life because if this is all you are, then you deserve it!”

Adelaide had come to a stop just short of the stairs to the keep, turning to Maitland in outrage, but Maitland didn’t give her the opportunity to retort.

She was already rushing back to the hall as fast as she could without running, angrier than she’d been in a very long while.

She was also embarrassed that her frustration had caused her to say something she wouldn’t have normally said.

Worthless cow.

Although she probably shouldn’t have said it, she meant it. Every damned word.

Nearing the hall entry, she could see that the door was open and Jordan was standing there, wiping her hands on a linen towel. She looked at Maitland curiously as the woman swiftly approached.

“What was all the shoutin’ about?” Jordan asked.

Maitland didn’t want to tell the woman that she’d lost her temper, but she presumed she’d hear about it soon enough. She was quite certain Lady Adelaide would tell anyone who would listen how horribly the “nun” had treated her. Therefore, she knew she had to confess.

“I was trying to convince Lady Adelaide to come and help us,” she said.

“ And ?”

“And she feels that it is beneath her.”

Jordan simply nodded. “Oh,” she said. Then, she sighed heavily. “Well, ye tried, lass. Ye’re a good soul for at least tryin’.”

Maitland shook her head. “Not such a good soul,” she said. “I became angry with her. She’s stubborn and foolish.”

“Aye, she is that.”

“Just so you are aware, I called her a worthless cow,” she said reluctantly.

“I will not apologize to her, for it is true, but you will not have to worry about me any longer. I shall be gone in the morning and you will not see me again. If my insult causes you any undue trouble, then I will gladly apologize to you for it. I would never knowingly cause you trouble.”

Jordan stared at her a moment and Maitland was afraid she’d grossly insulted the woman.

But after a few seconds, it became apparent that Jordan was fighting off a smile, with losing results.

The smile broke through and she snorted, putting one hand over her mouth as she put her arm around Maitland’s shoulders.

“Why couldna my Tommy marry a woman like ye?” she wanted to know. “Lass, ye’re honest and I canna fault ye. I appreciate a woman who speaks her mind.”

Because she was snorting, Maitland grinned reluctantly. It was rather funny, but she wasn’t proud of it. “I should not have called her names, but I could not help it,” she said. “The woman is frustrating.”

Jordan nodded, pulling her back into the hall. “Ye’re okay, lass,” she said. “Ye and I are goin’ tae get along just fine. And even after ye leave here tomorrow, I will make a point of seein’ ye again. Ye’ve not gotten rid of me yet.”

Maitland was coming to see that a well-placed, impulsive insult had gained her acceptance with Lady de Wolfe, perhaps the most respected matriarch on the border. She smiled at the woman and, putting her arm around Lady de Wolfe’s waist, headed back into the hall with her.

They had work to do.

*

“Worthless cow? ”

Thomas broke down into soft laughter as his mother furiously shushed him. “Not so loud,” she said. “Mae will hear ye. Aye, she called Adelaide a worthless cow. She said everythin’ I’ve wanted tae say tae her all along.”

Exhausted and bloodied from having just returned with the bulk of his army from Coldstream as dawn broke in the east, Thomas had to put a hand over his mouth to stifle the snorts.

“Bloody Christ,” he hissed. “Did she really call her that? It almost makes this entire skirmish worth it just to have that come out in the open. And you called her Mae?”

Jordan nodded. “Of course I did,” she said. “’Tis her name. I like the lass, Tommy. She has fire in her soul and the wisdom tae use it. She’ll be a fine addition tae Edenside and help them recover from their troubles.”

Hearing his mother speak well of Maitland made Thomas feel rather strange, mostly because he wanted to agree with her but he couldn’t.

He wouldn’t . Whatever he was thinking about Maitland, he didn’t want anyone else to know, especially his mother.

Something about Maitland de Ryes Bowlin made his heart beat, just a little faster, and he was still trying to figure it all out.

“Des thinks a good deal of his sister,” he said, the smile fading from his face. He realized he had to get off the subject of Lady Bowlin. “Where is Adelaide?”

Jordan threw a thumb towards the keep. “Where do ye think?” she said. “She’s locked up in the keep with her father. It has been Mae and Tibelda and me tendin’ tae the wounded all night long.”

Thomas glanced at the keep as the gentle rays of morning warmed the gray stone. Shaking his head in disgust with the behavior Adelaide continued to display, he turned for the hall entry and held out a hand to his mother.

“Come along, my love,” he said. “Let us see to my men.”

Jordan stopped him. “Let me see tae ye,” she said, noting his shoulder wound. “It looks as if ye took a blow there.”

Thomas had nearly forgotten about it; the rush of battle had seen to that. It hadn’t even hurt until his mother said something, and now it was suddenly stinging.

“It can wait,” he said. “My men first, please.”

Jordan didn’t argue. He was much like his father in that respect, always concerned for his men first. Inside the hall, there were about two dozen wounded in total and perhaps the same number of those with small scrapes, cuts, and bruises.

Wounded were still trickling into the hall, as well as unwounded men who were simply looking for food after an exhausting night.

While the wounded were segregated against the eastern wall of the hall, the able-bodied were gathering on the western end, being served stewed beef from the night before.

The beef had been pulled off the bone and stewed with carrots and gravy, and Thomas grabbed a slab of bread soaked in the stew as he made his way towards the wounded.

He wanted to check on his men but, more than that, he wanted to see a certain Beguine who had insulted his dreaded betrothed.

God help him, he shouldn’t want to see her.

But he did.

The light from dawn was streaming in through the vents at the top of the hall and in through the door when it would open.

A fire was blazing in the hearth and there were banks of fat tapers in the corners of the room, providing what light they could, and Thomas clearly saw Maitland as she bent over a man back in one of the corners.

As he came closer, swallowing the last of the bread in his mouth, he realized that she was feeding the wounded man something out of a bowl.