by Mia Pride
That made Mary laugh. True genuine laughter was hard to come by, but Matilda always knew just what to say. “Of course, I would. Thank ye.” The bairn kicked her in the ribs once more, and she cringed. Yet another thing she would never take for granted: not having a wee human wedged beneath her bones.
“Come, Mary.” Walking over to the bed, Matilda pulled the covers back and patted the soft mattress. “Ye need to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day. Many guests are on their way and should arrive by the evening meal.”
“Oh?” Feeling lulled to sleep by both the warmth radiating from the hearth and the thought of curling up into her sheets, praying not to have any more of those awful leg cramps during the night, Mary yawned and stretched. “Who will be joining the clan for the Yule this year? Shall the Macleans travel all the way from the Highlands to be here?”
Matilda hastily loosened the ties on Mary’s bodice and she breathed deeply, glad to feel her heavy linen gown slide to the floor. Her under tunic was as light as air and she slid into bed, enjoying the cool covers against her legs. Curse her sore, enlarged breasts for aching all day long, and somehow even more so once out of the confines of her bodice.
“Nay, but Elizabeth mentioned that the Douglases would be joining us. Tensions have been high and they were visiting at Dunnottar with her brother, William. She decided to extend them an invitation with intentions to make an alliance and, most unfortunately, they accepted.” Matilda scowled and rolled her eyes.
Flashbacks of William’s previous visit made Mary crinkle her nose. What was it about Elizabeth’s brother that made her want to kick him in the shin every time she saw him? Aye, he was kind enough and clearly cared for his sister, but when he had first arrived at Drum Castle, he had been overly pompous and controlling, often filled with too many complaints about the Irvine brothers, who obviously mattered a great deal to her, as she carried the eldest’s unborn child. Mayhap a part of her resented him for marrying his sister to Alexander in the first place, yet she knew that was nobody’s fault. Still, having a person to blame gave her a place to direct her ire and William had always made a good target.
“Well then. The Douglases shall be in attendance. That is a good thing, aye? I dinnae ken why ye frown, Tilda.”
“They are a sordid lot, Mary, ye ken. They are the Black Douglases and I dinnae trust them. Besides, they are arriving here with Marjorie, the laird’s daughter. She is simply atrocious and crazed for all the lads. Though she has never been to Drum, she was at a festival we attended on Fraser lands and couldnae stop following Reg. Verily, she fancies herself in love with the man.” Matilda made a gagging gesture and, not for the first time, Mary wondered if Matilda had feelings for Reginald that she cared to keep silent. Though he was above her station as the laird’s brother and a noble-born man, he and Matilda seemed to mix well and be the cause of too much mischief on most days, including the plot a few months ago to fake a marriage between him and Elizabeth simply to make Robert jealous and realize how much he cared for her.
“Thankfully, she was visiting Dunnottar to explore a potential marriage between her and William. Hopefully, she will be besotted enough with him by now to leave Reg alone,” Matilda added, and Mary frowned.
“William is spending the Yule here, as well?”
“Aye. He is Elizabeth’s brother, after all, and he was hosting the Douglas Clan. Lizzie wouldnae invite her brother without inviting his guests… between me and ye, ’tis the only reason she invited them along in the first place. I dinnae think she wants William to match with Marjorie and be saddled with her for a lifetime. I sense she wished a better match for him and already kens who she prefers.”
Pulling the covers over herself, Mary crinkled her brow, curiosity driving her to ask more questions. It seemed she was always on the outside of the gossip these days.
“Who does she wish William to wed?”
Shrugging, Matilda snuffed out a candle resting on the table beside the bed and waved away the smoke. “I dinnae ken. She never said and I never asked. But any lass is better than Marjorie Douglas, of that, we can all agree. I only hope she leaves Reg alone while she is here.”
Mary pursed her lips to hide a smile. Matilda seemed to care an awful lot about who Reginald wed. “Well then, I suppose we have a lot to prepare for on the morrow,” Mary added with a stretch and a yawn.
“Ye have naught to prepare for but birthing this child! Ye willnae lift a cursed finger, ye ken?”
“I am not helpless, Tilda. I am with child! And dinnae forget I was running this keep well before ye and Elizabeth arrived.” Indignance was Mary’s most frequent emotion as of late. It seemed nobody felt she was good for anything other than breeding, but she was not a broodmare, curse it all. She was an Irvine lass and would do all she could to be involved and keep distracted from the unpleasantness that was William Keith, Laird of Dunnottar and Marischal of Scotland, for his very presence made her wish to pull the hair on his arm just to make him yelp. Just one hair… that’s all it would require. She smiled wickedly at that thought and caught Matilda eyeing her oddly.
“As ye say. We shall see what needs doing in the morn. Sleep well, Mary.” The sincerity in Matilda’s voice helped to placate Mary, and she wished her companion a good night before rolling over in her bed, hoping to dream of being in Alexander’s arms, and determined to avoid William Keith at all cost once he arrived.
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Author Note
Thank you, lovely reader, for taking the time to read “For Love of a Laird”! I cannot even begin to tell you how much this story and these characters mean to me, or how much research and love went into telling their tales.
My maiden name is Irvin, a form of Irvine, which has many spellings. While researching Irvine history, I came across the story of “Gude Sir Alexander Irvine” and instantly fell in love with the story of Robert and Elizabeth, who truly did live in 1411 at Drum Castle. Most of the events I wrote about are historically accurate, with some details filled in as needed. Though there are many records, they do seem to vary.
Alexander Irvine was married to Elizabeth Keith for a time before Harlaw, though records do vary on how long the marriage lasted and she is recorded as being his “virgin bride” which means to me that it did not last long or that it was not a love match. What is certain is that Alexander went off to battle with his brother, Robert, to fight at Harlaw in July 1411 and never returned. Robert changed his named to Alexander, which became the tradition for many Irvine lairds, and married his widow, Elizabeth Keith from Dunnottar whose brother was, in fact, the Marischal of Scotland. They had a few children and I am proud to say that, even after I had already plotted out this story, I had not known yet that I am a direct descendant of theirs!
It wasn’t until I purchased several Irvine history books and began looking into my lineage in depth that I discovered they are my grandparents 14x removed which just shocked me to no end! As a romance writer, I knew I had to get past the fact that I am related to them to write love scenes, but I admit it was a bit awkward for me to write about my ancestors getting down! However, I would not be here today were it not for them, so I thank them for their love.
It is true that on their journey to Harlaw, Alexander stopped and sat on a stone, still known to this day as the Drum Stone, to ask Robert to marry Elizabeth should he fall in battle. That is well documented. Alexander and Red Hector of the Battles Maclean really did fight until the death and the “Ballad of Gude Sir Alexander Irvine” truly exists to this day to honor the warrior and man he was. He is buried at St Nicholas Church in Aberdeen, just about five miles from Harlaw.
Interestingly enough, the Macleans and Irvines really did exchange swords after the battle to call peace between the clans and it is a tradition to this day that still stands. Every year, the Irvines meet up with the Macleans to honor the original exchange and recreate the ceremony, which I find a wonderful act of good will and true Scottish spirit!
Reginald is not necessarily a figment of my imagination. One record I found did mention a brother named Reginald, yet he is nowhere to be found in any other records, but I decided to include him in my story and I am excited to say that he will play a big role in the following books, as will William Keith, who was actually named Robert but obviously that would have been a bit confusing in the story, so I gave him his father’s name, William. Tilda and Mary will be present as well, and I hope you continue to follow the history and story of the Irvines of Drum with my upcoming additions to the series: “Like a Laird to a Flame” and “Made for the Knight”.
I realize you have many thousands of books to choose from and I am so grateful that you chose mine. To find more of my works, please feel free to check my website and follow me on social media! I love talking with my readers!
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About the Author
Mia is a full-time writer and mother of two rowdy boys, residing in the SF Bay Area. As a child, she often wrote stories about fantastic places or magical things, always preferring to live in a world where the line between reality and fantasy didn’t exist.
In high school, she entered writing contests and had some stories published in small newspapers or school magazines. As life continued, so did her love of writing. So one day, she decided to end her cake decorating business, pull out her laptop and fulfill her dream of writing and publishing novels. And she did.
When Mia isn’t writing books or chasing her sweaty children around a park, she loves to drink coffee by the gallon, get lost in a good book, hike with her family and drink really big margaritas with her friends! Her happy place is the Renaissance Faire, where you can find her at the joust, rooting for the shirtless Highlander in a kilt.
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