Chapter 20
Grace barely had time to think over the next few days. She had to complete an ell of ribbon a day to meet Lady Sutherland’s request and as she had tried to explain, this pattern was quite a bit more difficult. Every evening Bram stopped by to see her. It was the brightest spot of her day, but it was also the most difficult. Bram became increasingly worried about how Grace pushed herself, urging her to let him speak to his mother. Grace became increasingly committed to completing the ribbon without interference.
Still, she looked forward to the knock on the door that signaled at least a temporary stop to work. Kristen too became excited every evening, wondering when “Sir Bwam” would get there. After putting Kristen to bed, Grace had a few quiet moments alone with Bram. They kissed and talked of the future, and kissed and argued about ribbon, and kissed a little more. For four evenings, she had a glimpse of heaven and she cherished each moment. When they argued about ribbon on Saturday evening he had managed to extract a promise from her that she would take a break and go for a walk on the headlands after Mass.
So as usual on Sunday, Grace walked to the church in the village with Innes and Kristen. However, this morning something was amiss. Villagers gave her hostile stares and whispered behind their hands. Innes seemed confused, but Grace heard the epithets uttered by several less discreet Sutherlands. Words like wanton, harlot, and whore were being bandied about and clearly they were referring to Grace.
Innes seemed unaware so Grace held her head up and ignored the insults. Apparently Bram’s visits, as brief and chaste as they were, had not gone unnoticed. She would have to tell him to stop, and then maybe it would blow over. When Mass was nearly over, she whispered, “Grandmother, I need to get started on the ribbon, would ye mind if I went ahead?” She had ignored all the spitefulness she was capable of.
“Nay, of course not, pet,” Innes whispered back.
So as soon as the final blessing was spoken, she picked Kristen up and hurried out of the church, avoiding as many people as she could.
Bram caught up to her before she reached the outer curtain wall. “Grace, love, what’s yer hurry?”
“I have work to do.”
“Sir Bwam,” squealed Kristen, reaching her arms to him.
He took Kristen from Grace and walked beside her. “Hello my sweet wee lassie.” He greeted Kristen with a kiss on the cheek. “Grace, ye promised to take a break today.”
“Are we going to cwimb the hiww?”
“Aye, we are,” answered Bram.
“But not until later, Kristen. I need to work for a while first.”
“Grace, this has to stop. Ye just need a few more days. My mother will understand.”
“Nay Bram, she won’t. She made herself very clear. Please, I don’t want to talk about this. I just need to get to work.”
He stopped, grabbed her shoulder, and turned her to face him. “Ye’re upset. What’s happened?”
“Nothing. Come, Kristen, come with Mama.” Grace reached for her.
Kristen frowned. “I wike Sir Bwam.”
“I’ll carry her to yer cottage.” His statement brooked no argument. “And Grace, clearly something is wrong.”
“I can’t talk about it now. Little ears.”
Kristen tugged on her ears. “I have wittle eaws.”
“Yes ye do, sweetling,” said Grace.
“Then we will talk about it later, while Kristen naps.”
“Fine.” Grace worried that she shouldn’t be seen walking the headlands with Bram, but at least that was out in the open where no one could speculate about what they were doing.
When they reached the cottage, Bram put Kristen down. He reached out and caressed Grace’s cheek. “I’m worried about ye, love.”
She leaned into his caress. “I know. It will be all right. We’ll talk later. I’ll get a packet of food from the kitchen and meet ye at the gate after the bells ring sext.”
*
Grace was able to get several hours of work in before midday. Just as she was putting her loom away, Peggy appeared at the open door. “Laird Sutherland asked me to fetch ye. He has an announcement to make before the midday meal and he wants ye and Innes both there.”
This worried Grace but there was nothing she could do. “Aye. I’ll just get Kristen and go to the kitchens.”
When Grace and Kristen arrived at the kitchens, Innes was in the midst of the usual flurry of activity, which occurred just before a meal. Grace was not warmly welcomed as she had been until a few days ago, although several of the women called greetings to Kristen.
When Innes saw her she said, “Ah, there ye are, lass. The laird has something important that he wishes us to hear.”
“That’s what Peggy said. Do ye know what it concerns?”
Innes laughed. “Nay lass, I’ve never claimed to know his mind except where his preference in food is concerned. But we shouldn’t keep him waiting. Come now.”
Grace followed Innes and the other women from the kitchen into the hall. Kristen walked beside her, holding her hand. When they reached the hall Laird Sutherland stood and called for quiet. Bram was at one end of the long refectory table but his expression revealed nothing.
“Innes, before we begin our meal, I have an announcement that I would like everyone to hear. But first, remind me, how old were ye when ye started working in the kitchens here?”
Innes smiled broadly. “I was ten and four, Laird, but then ye knew that.”
“Fifty years. Ye’ve been serving this clan, keeping bellies full, and creating wonderful feasts for fifty years. I was just a bairn the age of yer lovely wee Kristen when ye started.”
“Now, Laird, did ye call me in here to remind me of how old I am?”
Laird Sutherland gave a warm and genuine laugh. Clearly Grace’s grandmother had enjoyed a long and friendly relationship with him.
“Nay Innes, never that. I just want to recognize yer long and faithful service to my household. And I would like to reward ye. Ye have recently discovered yer granddaughter and great-granddaughter and after so many years of separation from yer family, I realize that time with them is precious and ye spend much too much of yer time working. I think after fifty years, ye deserve an opportunity to rest and spend time with yer family.”
“Oh, Laird, I’d like that.”
Grace did worry that her grandmother worked long strenuous hours. It was time for her to let others carry the load. She glanced again at Bram, who now wore a slight frown.
The laird winked at Innes. “I thought ye would. So, it is with deepest gratitude that I announce this will be the last meal ye preside over here at Castle Sutherland. Maisie will take over the running of the kitchens. Furthermore, it has come to my attention that yer cottage, while perfect for one, is a tad small for three. I want ye to have space to be comfortable so I have had a cottage in the village prepared for ye and will see ye moved in there tomorrow.”
Grace glanced at Bram again. His face now wore a scowl.
“Laird, I have lived in my wee cottage for so long, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
“I know it will be a change for ye, but I’m thinking of yer lassies too. Grace has demonstrated excellent skills as a weaver. I would like for her to be able to practice her craft and there simply isn’t room for a cloth loom in yer cottage. However, a new loom and an abundant supply of wool and flax has already been delivered to yer new home.”
Grace was floored. This was extraordinarily generous and she was thrilled at the idea of weaving more than just ribbon again. “Thank ye, Laird. That’s very kind.”
“Ye’re welcome, Grace. Yer skills are truly extraordinary.”
“Thank ye, Laird.”
“Now, ye may return to yer duties and serve the meal.”
Grace followed Innes back to the kitchen. Innes was thrilled. “Grace, pet, this is wonderful. Now ye can weave to yer heart’s content and I can help mind the little sprite.”
Grace wasn’t sure she could fit anothe
r minute of weaving into her day, but it would be nice to spend more time with Innes and have help minding Kristen. “Aye, Grandmother, it will be perfect and I must admit I am thrilled at the idea of having a cloth loom again.”
“The laird has seen all the hard work ye’ve done, lass.”
Grace couldn’t help but think the Laird had other motives, but she wouldn’t dim Innes’ joy by mentioning them. “Aye, I suppose that’s it.” She hugged Innes. “I am so happy this pleases ye.”
*
Bram wasn’t waiting for them when she and Kristen reached the gate in the curtain wall. Of course he wasn’t there. What had she been thinking? He had been in the great hall. Calder was one of the men on duty. “Where are ye heading, Grace?”
“We’re going on our Sunday walk.”
“We’re going to cwimb the hiww,” said Kristen.
“Grace, I can’t let ye go alone. Ye know that.”
“I didn’t intend to go alone. Bram asked us to meet him here. I guess he was delayed. We won’t go far.”
“Ye won’t go at all. And Grace, spending so much time with Bram is a mistake. Go on home now and leave him alone. I understand ye have a lot of work to do anyway.”
“But—”
“Ye heard me, Grace.”
Taken aback, all she could say was, “Aye. Good day, Calder.”
It occurred to her that once they lived outside the castle walls, there wouldn’t be guardsmen to stop her taking a walk with her daughter. If it hadn’t been for the hostility she had encountered that morning, she would walk to the village just to give Kristen some sort of outing but she couldn’t face that again. Instead, she turned back toward the cottage but Kristen pulled hard on her hand. “Mama, we were going to cwimb the hiww.”
“I know, sweetling, but we can’t right now.”
“But Sir Bwam said we could.”
“We misunderstood him, Kristen. We’ll do it another time.”
“But I wanted to eat on the gwass and Sir Bwam said we could.”
“I’m sorry, sweetling, but Teasag’s papa says we can’t right now.”
Kristen was spiraling downward as only a tired, frustrated three year old can. “Nay! I want to cwimb the hiww and Sir Bwam said we could,” she yelled, sitting down on the ground and crying for all she was worth.
Grace understood her disappointment but there was no point in trying to reason with a screaming child. She picked Kristen up and carried her back to the house, garnering plenty of stares.
Eventually Kristen calmed down. They ate the meal that they had been taking with them, and Grace put her to bed for a nap. She had barely taken out her loom when Bram appeared in the doorway. “Grace, love, I’m sorry. I was leaving the keep to meet ye at the gate when Da told me my presence was required at the midday meal. I had no idea what he had planned.”
After having dealt with a petulant child for the last hour, Grace was feeling a little petulant herself. “It wouldn’t have mattered if ye had lifted that ridiculous order about me walking on the headlands alone.”
“It’s not ridiculous. We’ve been through this. It’s in yer best interest.”
“I can promise ye, dealing with a disappointed child who’s screaming ‘Sir Bwam said we could’ loud enough that everyone in the village could hear, is not in anyone’s best interest, least of all mine.”
“It’s no reflection on ye. It was my fault.”
“Why she was screaming doesn’t matter. All small children breakdown now and again. The problem was what she was screaming.”
“Why was that a problem?” He came inside the cottage and sat on a stool at the table by her.
“For the same reason that ye being here with me alone is a problem. Apparently I am the subject of clan gossip at the moment. That is what upset me this morning.”
“What’s being said?” he demanded.
“I don’t know exactly, but after hearing words like ‘whore’ and ‘harlot’ I can guess.”
“What? This will stop immediately.”
“Bram, ye may be the laird’s heir and ye can control a lot of things, but ye can’t control what people think. Trying to quash rumors with defensiveness is likely to make things worse. The only way to quiet the gossip is to stop the behavior causing it.”
“But ye haven’t done anything.”
Grace rolled her eyes. Men could be incredibly dense sometimes. “I danced with ye at Pentecost, I’ve walked the headlands with ye on Sundays, and ye’ve spent time with me here, every evening for the last few days.”
“There’s nothing wrong with any of that.”
“I guess that depends on yer point of view.”
“Dancing, walking, a few minutes spent together of an evening? I enjoy yer company—I love ye and intend to marry ye, what point of view am I missing?”
Grace actually laughed. “I love ye too but I expect that is the crux of the problem. I am the daughter of a fisherman and the granddaughter of a cook—or a former cook now.” She echoed his mother’s sentiments from a few days ago. “I have no business falling in love the laird’s son or seducing him into fall in love with me.”
“Seducing me?”
Grace frowned and nodded toward the bedroom. “Wheest.”
Bram lowered his voice. “If anything, I did the seducing. Ye dragged yer feet the whole way.”
“I’m sure that’s not the way they see it. I suspect yer da relieved Grandmother of her duties and is moving us outside the castle walls to put some distance between you and me.”
“Aye, well I’m certain of that but it won’t do any good. I won’t give ye up, Grace. He knows this. He agreed to it.”
“But he doesn’t have to make it easy. Honestly, Grandmother seems very happy anyway. Perhaps if ye stop visiting me until this month is over the gossip will die.”
“This gossip will die, whether I visit ye or not. I am going now to see if I can set a few things straight. I will be back in a bit and we will ‘climb the hill’ after Kristen wakes.”
“Really, Bram, I—”
“Nay, Grace, I don’t want ye hurt by this.” He gave her a quick kiss and left.
Ah, my love, I’m afraid that is inevitable.
*
By the time Bram returned to Grace, his anger had cooled, but barely. When he started asking questions, people were more than willing to share whatever juicy tidbits they had heard about the woman he loved. According to the rumors, it was not only Bram who visited Grace. The other name most often linked with hers was Michael but if the stories were accurate, a quarter of the garrison, even some of the married men, visited Grace regularly.
He knew the tales were patently false. Not only was he confident in her love and fidelity, what the gossips alleged was simply impossible. She spent practically every waking moment weaving the ribbon his mother requested. He had watched her do the painstaking task, advancing less than a finger’s length an hour and she worked until she had an ell or more finished every day.
He staunchly defended her against each accusation, but soon realized she had been right. His denials were greeted with expressions ranging from skepticism to pity.
He was acutely aware of the stares cast their way as he left the castle walls with her to walk on the headlands. As much as he hated to give voice to all he had heard, he believed she would want to know. When they were well away from the castle, and Kristen was occupied picking flowers, he broached the subject. “Grace, after I left this afternoon, I tried to find out the nature of the gossip about ye.”
She nodded. “Was it as I feared?”
“Sadly, it was worse. Apparently I am not the only man ye are dallying with.”
She paled. “What? Bram, I didn’t—I’ve never…”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Wheest, love, I know that.”
“Who do they say I…I…”
“Frankly, about a third of the garrison, but most commonly, Michael MacBain.”
“I only know a handful of the men, and Michael?
Michael is a friend. He was kind and helped me when I needed it. That is all.”
Bram arched an eyebrow. “Why would ye ask Michael for help instead of me?”
“In most circumstances I wouldn’t but ye were away at the time anyway. He was in the hall when yer mother asked me for the first ten ells. He saw that I was upset and offered to get Teasag to help me. He also found the small table I carry outside to work on and the piece of wood that I made Teasag’s loom from.”
“Aye, I remember ye mentioning that now.”
“Bram, this is much worse than I imagined.”
“I know it is, love. I have done what I can to stop the gossip.”
“I’m afraid that is like telling the tide to stop.”
“It will blow over, Grace.”
“Until it does, ye have to stop visiting me.”
“Why would I do that? It just gives ye more time for all those other men.”
Grace slapped his chest. “Stop teasing, this isn’t funny.”
He captured her lips in a quick kiss. “I’m sorry. But, I’m not going to stop visiting ye. Now that Innes will no longer be working late in the kitchens, we will be properly chaperoned. This will all be forgotten when we are married.”
*
Although Grace had prayed Bram was right about the rumors dying away, things only got worse.
The next day, the laird had all of their belongings put on a wagon and taken to their new home. While still very modest, it was much larger than the cottage in outer bailey had been. However, it was at the farthest edge of the village—the last cottage on the north side.
While Innes was thrilled, Grace heard the message Laird Sutherland was sending loud and clear. She suspected the villagers heard it as well—I am displeased with Grace and moving her as far away from my men and my son as I can. Consequently her new neighbors, people who she had begun to think of as friends, treated her as a pariah.
On Tuesday morning, after they had moved to the new cottage, Una arrived at their door. She held Teasag’s loom in her hands.
“Good morning, Una, what a surprise. Please come in,” said Grace.
She stepped past Grace, completely ignoring her. “Good morning, Innes. Are ye finding the new cottage to yer liking?”
Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes Page 16