by Fiona Faris
Chapter Nineteen
“I know it might not be what yer used tae, but I hope ye find this room to yer likin’ miss,” Kelly said as she directed Edina to filling the wooden tub in the corner with hot water.
“Oh Kelly, it’s absolutely perfect,” Ella said, and she meant it. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you for your kindness.” After spending the last month on a hay pallet in the Cameron’s barn, Ella took one look at the bed in the corner of the modest bed chamber, with real linen sheets, a pillow, and two warm looking woolen plaids and thought she would sleep for days.
On the opposite side of the room, where the bath had been set up, there was a small hearth with a fire already lit and warming the room. There was even a small window that looked out over the loch, and a small table that Kelly busied herself with by placing a small bouquet of flowers.
“Och, lass, think nothin’ of it. When Lucas said ye were a healer, I thought ye might like the room overlooking the loch and some local flowers tae look at,” the woman said. Ella saw Edina roll her eyes in the corner and chose to ignore it. It was a kind gesture, and Kelly was a darling woman for thinking of it.
“Kelly, thank you so much,” Ella said. “I hope I’m not being too much trouble.”
“Och, not at all. Yer a breath of fresh air in this stuffy old castle. Plus ye saved our Lucas. Now take off that filthy dress and get in th’ tub. Let’s see how blonde we can get that hair of yours.”
Ella was a touch nervous getting naked in front of the two women.
“No need tae be shy love, we all got th’ same bits,” Edina said, snidely.
That was all the push Ella needed, she wasn’t going to let the girl make a fool of her. She stripped down and delicately tipped a toe into the tub. The water felt warm, and heavenly. Ella let out a sigh of delight. “It has been at least a month since my last bath,” she said to no one in particular.
“What’s that red mark on your breast?” Edina asked.
“I’m not sure,” she replied. Ella was unaware of any mark, she looked down and sure enough there was a slight red, circular mark just under the darkened part of her breast. It wasn’t tender, but it was definitely something she hadn’t noticed before. Kelly gave her a knowing look, and immediately Ella realized the mark must have come from Lucas. She reddened, and quickly shifted her position in the tub doing her best to hide the mark. “I…uh… I must have rubbed up against a poking branch or shrub on our journey,” she said.
“Och, I’m sure marks like that happen all th’ time during such rushed travels,” Kelly said, smiling into her apron.
“Well, it looks disgusting,” Edina said, smirking. “Lean back Sassenach, I’ll get tae washin’ yer hair so I can get out of this God forsesaken chore.”
“Och, Edina mind yer tone. Ella is a guest,” Kelly chastised. “I’m gonna run down tae th’ kitchen and fetch ye some bread an’ cheese. Ye must be famished.” Ella looked at her, pleading not to leave her alone with Edina. Instead Kelly shot Edina a pointed look of her own, “Mind yerself while I’m gone, girl.”
Ella watched Kelly leave. She didn’t want the other woman to go, but she wasn’t in any position to argue. Her stomach groaned loudly at the mention of the food, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. Besides Edina might be a touchy brat, but she doubted the girl would try and harm her while in the castle proper. She tried to relax into the feeling of having her hair washed for the first time in ages. Kelly had put a few drops of rose water into the bath, and the scent was lovely. Letting her mind wander. She wondered what Lucas was up to. No doubt he was having a bath of his own, before heading to see his mother and sister.
She was looking forward to the evening meal. When they were in the barn Lucas had told her of the magnificent feasts that were often prepared in the keep when the men came home from battle. Roast meats both herd and wild game, puddings, oat cakes, and trenchers filled with ale. She wondered if they would have that same feast this evening. After all it wasn’t every day the new laird came home after being thought left for dead.
“Ow,” she said. She had been lost in thought when suddenly there was a slight tug at her hair. Edina was getting a bit rough.
“Och, my apologies lass.” Her words didn’t match her tone and Ella knew she pulled her hair on purpose. No matter, the girl could be as nasty as she wanted. Ella wouldn’t stoop to her level.
Then as quickly as the thought came it was gone as Ella felt herself being pushed hard, under the bath water. She struggled to break the surface and take a breath, but Edina was strong. She pushed with all of her strength. She would not die now, not after everything she had been through and not at the hands of a misguided kitchen maid. She used her arms to push off the bottom of the tub, at the same time she opened her mouth under the water, resisting the urge to swallow and bit down on Edina’s arm, hard.
“Holy hell, Sassenach bitch!” the girl exclaimed as Ella broke the surface gasping for air.
“What is wrong with you!?” she screamed, coughing, and reclaiming her breath.
“Ye dinnae belong here, bitch. And if ye ken what’s good fer ye, ye’ll leave and let Lucas alone! The clan will never accept ye!” There were tears streaming down Edina’s face, and for a moment Ella actually felt bad for the girl. She clearly had feelings for Lucas, and how could Ella blame her. Edina was right Ella didn’t belong at the keep. But she had already killed a man once, and she would be damned if she was going to let Edina threaten her life without fighting back.
“That may be well and true, but it’s hardly cause for murder!” Ella screamed, climbing out of the tub and getting as far away from Edina that the room would allow. “Get out!”
“Ye can’t come in here all English and on a high cuddie tellin’ me what I can and cannae do,” was Edina’s comeback. Ella was shocked, the girl didn’t seem remorseful in her actions at all.
“I could’ve been killed by your hand, do you realize that?” Ella asked. “I’ve killed a man, Edina. It is nothing to take lightly. I wouldn’t wish that feeling upon anyone.”
Edina just shrugged. As if taking a life meant nothing to her. A chill went down Ella’s spine. This girl thought murder was a perfectly acceptable way to eliminate a problem. The door opened and Kelly came in holding a tray filled with breads, cheeses and fruit. She looked from Edina to Ella, and then to the mess of water on the floor.
“Och, Edina, lass, what did ye dae?” she asked, setting the tray down and bringing a long cloth over to Ella to dry her off. Ella was grateful, as her anger ebbed, she was beginning to shiver in the cool evening air, and the fire had gone down.
“Don’t worry Kelly, I thought I saw a spider in the tub and I jumped out. I’m so sorry for the mess I made. Edina was only trying to help calm me down. I’m afraid it’s been an arduous day, and my mind is very tired,” Ella said, covering for Edina. She hoped that not turning the girl in for her violent act would make her see Ella, not as an enemy, but more as an ally.
“A spider ye say, this far north in the cold. That surely is odd,” Kelly said.
“Tha’ is what I said. I tried tae tell the lass not tae fash, but she was too upset,” Edina said, still glaring at Ella.
“That’s right,” Ella said, nodding her head in agreement. “She did try, Kelly.”
“Well, that’s all well and good. Still Edina, they need ye back in th’ kitchens. Ye can go, I’ll clean up here,” Kelly said. Ella had never seen a girl move as quickly as Edina did in leaving the bedchamber. Ella dropped to her hands and knees to start cleaning up the water with Kelly.
“I’m no a fool ye ken, lass,” Kelly said. “I ken the girl attacked ye. What I dinnae understand is why did ye lie for her?”
It was a good question, and Ella wasn’t completely sure of the answer. She didn’t want to bring up to Kelly her insecurities about Lucas being laird of the clan, and her own misgivings about being an English woman in a highland keep. She supposed she didn’t want the other woman to think ill
of the girl, for being jealous. She simply shrugged. “I guess I just want her to not think of me as an enemy,” she replied.
“Dinnae fash yerself with what that little twit thinks,” Kelly said. “ ‘Tis what Lucas thinks, and what the council thinks that will be verra important.” Ella wondered what Kelly meant by mentioning the council? She knew that an elder council made up of revered older clansmen, and other leaders of the clan, met regularly and discussed clan business. Lucas had mentioned that he had been a part of his father’s council before he was killed in battle. Would Ella have to pass some sort of test in order to be accepted by the clan? Did Kelly know of Lucas’s plan to send her away to relatives in France?
Weariness came over Ella. She hadn’t been lying when she said it had been and arduous day. The fight with Edina had brought to the fore of her mind the worries she had been struggling with since the moment she learned of Lucas’s true identity. Now, thinking about the council as well, facing Lucas, his family, and the entire clan seemed like another battle that she wasn’t prepared to face. As much as she was looking forward to her first evening meal at the keep, she was thinking now she should skip it.
“Kelly, would you mind terribly, making my excuses for the evening meal?” Ella asked.
“Why lass, are ye not well?” she asked, a look of worry in her eyes. She crossed the room and put a hand on Ella’s brow and cheeks. Ella backed away, slightly. Kelly was too kind in her concern. It made Ella long for her sister. She so desperately wanted to confide her fears to someone.
“It’s nothing to worry about, it’s been a long few days. I think a solid night of rest will set me back to rights,” Ella said. Hopefully, Kelly would accept her excuse.
“Alright, if ye insist. I’ll tell the men that ye aren’t feelin’ up tae it. But mind ye, Edina disnae speak for the clan. I fur one am happy yer here,” she said with a smile. Ella only wished what she was saying were true of every MacGille.
Kelly took her leave and Ella moved to look out the small window in the room. The waning light cast an orange and pink glow over the hills and meadows leading up to the loch. It truly is a beautiful place, Ella thought. In a different time she and Lucas could really be happy here. But he couldn’t marry her, even if he wished to. Not that he had given her any indication that he did wish it, but Lucas was an honorable man and she knew he didn’t take her maidenhead lightly. He would feel honor bound to offer for her, and it would kill her but for the best of him and his people she would have to refuse. His clan would never accept and English bride for their laird.
Ella wiped a single tear from her cheek. The truth of it was that if Lucas were to succeed in leading his people he would need to marry a Scottish girl. A girl like Edina, a MacGille, who is from this place. Someone who the people knew and who knew the people. Who was Ella to stand in the way of that.
She moved over to the bed, running her hands along the soft fabrics. In the morning she would speak to Lucas. Her mind was finally made up. She would go to France if that is what he was offering. It was clear that that was what was best for her, but most of what was best for Lucas. She would beg his family there for solid work, and when she could safely return, she would go back to England, where she belonged.
Chapter Twenty
“Ye need tae meet w’ th’ council Lucas,” Magnus said, seriously. “Ye been away a long time an’ the clan needs ye tae take up yer birthright as laird.”
Lucas knew what he said was true. They had been discussing the issue for the better part of an hour in his father’s study. The room was as old as the castle itself with a broad hearth and a portrait of Lucas’s grandfather wearing full plaid hung above on the stone wall. As a lad, Lucas had spent hours in this room while his father took council with one clansman or another, learning about what it took to be a laird. How to make decisions that benefitted the whole clan and not just the few. He knew he was ready to take on the role as laird, despite his worries, he would do the best he could by his clansmen. But Lucas didn’t feel right accepting his position as laird of the clan without his brother, Gavin, at his side.
The MacGille clan had always been ruled fairly and justly with family in concert. The job of laird was bigger than only one man. Magnus said he understood, but his concern was that a clan without a laird too long would suffer hardships come winter, and winter was fast approaching. His father, the previous laird, had now been gone for over five months and three of those dead. It was time, in Magnus’s opinion, for Lucas to take up his mantle. And what of Gavin? If Gavin never came home, did that mean the clan would go without a laird forever?
To that, Lucas conceded Magnus had a point. But there were other issues at hand as well.
“And what about Ella?” Lucas asked. “Will ye help me convince the council and me Ma to send her tae France where she’ll be safe, until I can kill th’ bastard who murdered Da?”
“Do ye really think that Evans will come here?” Magnus asked.
“Aye, soldiers are expensive to an Englishman, and between me and Ella we managed tae kill two of them. Whatever his need is tae claim th’ lass. He willnae stop until he takes his revenge. And I willnae stop until I’ve had mine. I dinnae want to bring a fight to Cadney. I’ll not put MacGille families in danger for this fight.”
“I think that’s not for ye to decide on yer own Lucas. Ye should meet with the council, take the lairdship, and give th’ clan time to plan a proper revenge on the Commander,” Magnus said. “He didnae just kill yer da, he killed our laird. Don’t take that away from the clan.”
Lucas had to admit, when Magnus said it, it made sense and seemed simple.
“And what about Ella?” Kelly asked from the doorway. Lucas looked at Magnus, neither man had heard or noticed the woman who had apparently been eavesdropping on their entire conversation. “I heard ye both speakin’ on th’ matter, but with no words to put the poor lass at ease. We dinnae need another fight on our door, and the lass doesnae need to be sent tae France, we can protect her just fine here at th’ keep.”
“I agree, we don’t need another fight, but I also agree Evans needs to be stopped. France is the best option for the lass. If she stays here we cannae offer her th’ proper protection. She ain’t one of th’ clan, wife,” Magnus said, and then turning to Lucas he added. Unless that ‘tis… Are ye willin’ tae die for the lass then?”
“Aye,” Lucas said, without thought. Although it wasn’t just for Ella that he wanted to end Evans. His need to seek revenge for his father’s death was just as strong as his desire to protect Ella from the bastard. He would not allow Evans within arm’s reach of her while he still took breath. Of that he was sure.
Kelly stepped deeper into the room, closing the door behind her. Lucas could tell by the look on her face she was about to give him an earful.
“Might I remind ye Kelly, yer about tae speak tae yer laird,” he said as a warning.
“Not yet ye ain’t, Lucas MacGille. And I just came from the lass, and you sir have some explainin’ tae do about yer intentions with her,” Kelly said. She was petite, but Lucas was terrified as she came at him pointing her finger into his chest. “Ye say ye’d die for the lass, but yet ye want to send her away?”
“Now wife, ye can’t be attackin’ Lucas in such a way,” Magnus said, as Lucas looked to his cousin for help. Kelly just ignored her husband, and pretty quickly Lucas figured out who wore the plaid in their house. It was hard for him not to laugh at the waif, his feelings for Ella were serious, but she was so tiny and so full of piss and vinegar he couldn’t hide his smirk.
“Dinnae smirk at me Lucas. I saw the mark ye left on her breast. Ye took the lass’s maidenhead and now ye want tae send her away? How is tha’ supposed to make the girl feel?”
Lucas let out a deep sigh. He hadn’t been careful. He hadn’t wanted to be careful. Truthfully, he wanted Ella. She was all he wanted, but he was afraid he couldn’t keep her safe here. He was afraid his people wouldn’t embrace her like he had, and if he had to walk awa
y from his clan to keep her, he would. Sending her to France was a way to avoid making that difficult decision. Here was his cousin’s wife, small in stature but big in heart, already defending Ella to the face of her laird. He was foolish to think so little of his clansmen that they wouldn’t accept her as he had. Of course they would.
“My intentions are honorable. I swear it. I honestly thought France was the safest place for her until it was safe for her tae return. I’ll not bore ye with the details, but he thinks Ella belongs to him. Her father bet her wedding bed to the man in a game of cards. He willnae stop until he has her, and I’ll not allow it.”
Kelly stepped back from Lucas shocked. “Poor lamb,” was all she was able to say, then suddenly attacked Lucas with her finger again. “And then ye took advantage of the lass anyway? What th’ hell is the matter with ye Lucas?”