Page 5 of Saved by the Cruel Highlander (Lairds of the Loch Alliance #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

H olly gaped at the Laird’s back as he strolled out of the chamber.

“What a rude, arrogant man,” she said to Ollie while lightly stroking the fur on his back.

She wasn’t ignorant about the marriage bed. She knew those duties would be part of the arrangement. She’d been prepared to share the marriage bed with Felix.

Even though she hadn’t given it much thought when she’d come up with this idea, it was there in the back of her mind that she would have to share a bed with Laird McAllister. But the man didn’t have to be so obnoxious and blunt about it.

“Mayhap that woman in the tavern had been right when she’d called him a beastly laird,” she mumbled to Ollie.

A rattling noise drew her attention to the door, and a second later, a maid walked in.

Holly’s eyes narrowed in thought. The woman looked familiar.

“Me Lady,” the maid said and dipped into an awkward curtsey. “The Laird sent me to get ye settled in yer quarters.”

Holly leaned over the arm of her chair to put Ollie back in his bag. She knew where she’d seen the maid before—at the tavern! She was the woman who’d been gossiping with the other two women and called Laird McAllister ‘beastly.’

“Me name is Eliza,” the maid said as she straightened.

She was dressed a little differently this time. A rough but serviceable gray gown that fit her body perfectly was covered with a crisp white apron, tied securely around her slightly rounded middle. Her red hair was piled atop her head and covered with a white bonnet.

“I am Holly Taylor,” Holly said with a smile. “Thank ye for assistin’ me.”

The maid nodded and then gestured for Holly to follow her.

Holly was led down a long hallway, up a flight of stairs, and then down another hallway. This last one had what appeared to be family portraits on either side. She could see the resemblance to Laird McAllister in the deep brown eyes of most of the subjects.

Some were from generations past, according to their outdated clothing. But the further down the hallway they went, the more their costumes changed and became modern.

Holly stopped before a portrait of a man and a woman sitting next to each other, both smiling fondly. Two young boys were standing on either side of them. They resembled each other enough to be brothers.

A smile tugged at Holly’s lips as she looked at the younger boy. He had to be the Laird. The shape of his eyes, the twist at the corners of his mouth, and the facial features that promised the rugged handsomeness he had today, all told her she was looking at a younger version of Laird McAllister. Except this version didn’t have the scar on the side of his face, the one the other boy—she assumed he was his brother—had given him. And the man today didn’t have that happy, hopeful spark in his eyes as the boy in the painting did.

“Aye, when times were good,” Eliza sighed, then straightened. “Come along, Me Lady,” she said, tossing a look over her shoulder. “We wouldnae want ye gettin’ lost on yer first day.”

They went up another flight of stairs, and Holly started noticing more portraits. Only, these had the face of one man scratched off. The portraits were so badly disfigured that she couldn’t tell who the man was. A shudder ran down her spine. Whoever the man was, he must have done something unspeakable for someone to go to so much trouble to scratch his visage off the portraits.

As they walked down the carpeted hall, Holly noticed something else that was strange. When they passed other servants, they ducked their heads and hurried away.

Frowning at the odd behavior, she followed Eliza through a door and into what would become her bedchamber.

“Here we are,” Eliza said with a grin. “Does it meet yer needs, Me Lady?”

How could it nae?

Holly studied the spacious chamber. A huge four-poster bed dominated the center of the chamber. At the foot of it was a plush, velvet blue chair, with a rack underneath for extra storage. A large hearth occupied the middle of one wall, while a settee and a dressing table were positioned along another wall.

“Aye, this will do very nicely, indeed,” Holly answered, giving the maid a friendly smile.

“I’ll unpack yer things…” the maid trailed off when she realized Holly didn’t have anything with her but a wicker basket that seemed to keep moving around, as if something was inside it.

Holly blushed. “I-I, uh, didnae expect to be stayin’.”

“Dinnae fret, Me Lady. I’ll send someone to fetch yer things.”

Holly nodded her gratitude as she set Ollie’s basket on the chair at the foot of the bed.

Ollie poked his gray head out and looked around before climbing out to explore his surroundings.

“Och, ye brought a beastie into the Laird’s castle?” Eliza exclaimed in surprise and a touch of horror.

It was obvious that she and cats did not get along. She was probably a little afraid of them.

“Dinnae let him hear ye call him a beastie,” Holly said with a smile. “He thinks he’s a prince and we are all his subjects.”

She laughed, but Eliza still looked unsure.

Eliza turned and made for the door, but Holly stopped her.

“Can I ask ye a question, Eliza?”

The maid turned back and nodded, keeping one eye on Ollie.

“Why do the other servants—the ones we ran into on the way here—seem so nervous?”

Eliza snorted and waved a dismissive hand. “They ken who ye are, Me Lady. Word spreads fast in the castle.”

Holly’s blood froze, and she found it hard to catch her breath for a moment.

They knew who she was? As in Felix’s betrothed? Or as in the girl who’d been kidnapped and almost sold to a brothel?

“Who I am?” she managed to ask.

Eliza nodded. “Aye. Ye’re goin’ to be the Laird’s wife, the future Lady of Clan McAllister.”

Holly slowly let out a relieved breath. She didn’t want her past to follow her. And she didn’t want it known that she was already betrothed to another man. If word got out, it could destroy her reputation. But then what did she care about a silly reputation when this marriage meant saving her life? Plus, she would be a married woman soon, and her husband, the Laird, would not tolerate gossip about his wife. At least Holly hoped he wouldn’t.

“I can understand bein’ nervous about havin’ a new Lady, but they seemed a bit too concerned,” Holly said.

Eliza’s eyes were trained on Ollie, who walked around the chamber, rubbing his face against everything he could touch—his way of putting his scent out there and claiming this as his territory. She was so engrossed with the cat’s behavior that she spoke as if she were gossiping with other maids.

“But the Laird is a monster, a beastly man, so everyone assumes that ye must be beastly, too.”

“What?” Holly asked with surprise. “Why would they think that? I have given them nay reason to think that I’m a… a monster.”

“But ye are willin’ to wed one,” Eliza said, still watching Ollie. “So, in their minds, it takes a monster to wed one.”

Holly’s mouth dropped open in shock. Her gasp was loud enough to tear Eliza’s gaze away from the cat.

Eliza’s green eyes widened as she realized just how blunt she’d been with her future lady.

“Forgive me, Me Lady,” she hurriedly said. “I shouldnae have said such a thing to ye.”

Holly agreed, but now she was too intrigued with how everyone thought her future husband was a monster, and she figured that Eliza, as blunt as she was, would tell her.

“Why does everyone think the Laird is a monster? Is it because of the scar on his face?”

Eliza’s eyes widened even more. “Have ye nae seen it, Me Lady? It almost splits his face down the side.”

“‘Tis but a scar,” Holly replied. “I have seen it, and I dinnae find it monstrous at all.”

Eliza frowned and shook her head slightly, as if not understanding how Holly did not find the scar atrocious.

“Aye, but surely ye’ve heard of his terrible actions in battle?” Eliza continued.

Holly shook her head. “Nay, I havenae. I ken almost nothin’ when it comes to Laird McAllister.”

A twinkle of delight shone in Eliza’s green eyes as she walked further into the chamber. She glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her words, then explained in a dramatic whisper, “‘Tis said that the Laird was like an animal on the battlefield. He felt no pain, and every day he went to fight, he came back soaked in blood. Someone else’s blood.”

Holly’s eyebrows lowered. “But that is war. Ye cannae have battles without bloodshed.”

Eliza didn’t seem pleased that Holly was not as aghast as she’d hoped. She straightened with a slight scowl. “Aye, but ‘twas unnatural, they say, the way Laird McAllister took down so many men and took so many prisoners.”

Holly stood there for a second, expecting Eliza to continue, but the maid didn’t.

“Well, whatever actions the Laird took were against his enemies, nae his people,” Holly said. “From the looks of this castle and its residents, the Laird has done well to provide for everyone. I didnae see maids dressed in torn or ragged clothin’,” she continued, looking pointedly at Eliza’s gown. “I didnae see children searchin’ through rubbish to find somethin’ to eat.”

“Nay, of course nae,” Eliza quickly said.

Holly was irritated, though. Even though she’d had mean thoughts about the Laird after he’d talked about her fulfilling her duties after they were wed, this still bothered her. His staff should not go around calling him beastly or a monster behind his back. They should have respect for their Laird, who provided for them.

“Then I would ask that ye, and everyone else, refrain from callin’ the Laird such names in me presence,” Holly said.

She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t have to. Her tone was enough to tell the maid just how serious this was.

“In fact, tell the other servants that the words ‘beastly’ and ‘monster’ willnae be tolerated.”

The sound of clapping drew the women’s attention. Holly glanced at the door and froze.