The Kissing Stone

by Amanda Scott

  “If she lives near enough to know that tall stone and be out on her own as she was, her family is likely from Nairn or from one of the clachans in the area,” she added, remembering what Will had said about living nearer the Firth.

  “Aye, that be logical, I expect,” Gilli said, idly stroking his thin beard and looking northeastward as if he might see through the hillside and beyond.

  Affecting a casual air, she said, “Who was it that caught you with her?”

  “I ken only that he must be kin tae her,” Gilli said grimly. “He tore in tae both of us, her for straying too far from home and me for ‘accosting’ her, he said. As if I’d harm a hair o’ that lassie’s pretty head, as sweet and gentle as she be!”

  Katy stared at him. “Marry, Gilli, you must know her well to say that about her. How often have you met her?”

  Eyeing her more warily, he said, “Once but usually two or three times, mayhap four, during each visit I ha’ paid tae ye these past two years or more.”

  “Then how could you offer for me if you care so much for her?”

  “It be nowt o’ the sort, Katy! I tell ye, I dinna ken aught save that I can talk wi’ the lass. She’s just a friend, one who feels as I do about things. Lest ye be unaware o’ the fact, I ha’ few friends. Forbye, me da says I must marry ye.”

  Feeling a strong urge to smack him for the tone in which he had spat the last sentence at her, and a stronger urge to tell him that she had met his Aly’s brother, Katy managed to control both her twitching hand and her all-too-unruly tongue.

  “But why have you not learned more about her home or family even if you fear you cannot offer for her hand?”

  “Because I dinna care a whit who her kin may be. I like the lass and she likes me, and I can talk tae her without worrying about who her kinfolk are.”

  Katy did not press him further, though she suspected he knew more about his Aly than he claimed. To be sure, she knew no more about Will, but she had met Will only twice and had not quizzed him because he seemed more interested in talking about other things than about himself. Nevertheless, she suspected that in a span of two years, Aly would likely have revealed her clan affiliation or surname, if no more. Had she not, surely even a feardie like Gilli Roy would have mustered enough courage at least once to follow her home.

  However, and more importantly, Katy did not intend to mention Will to Gilli, for she doubted she could trust him to keep her brief acquaintance with Will to himself, especially if he thought it might serve his own ends to betray that trust.

  Another, more niggling instinct stirred, that she might not want to know Aly’s surname, since it would also reveal Will’s. After all, if Gilli did know who Aly was and would not say, he must have strong reason to keep it to himself. Maybe their father was a shopkeeper in Nairn, or a fisherman from one of the clachans.

  She smiled then, unable to imagine the woods-loving Will in a shop or how she would explain any of it to Clydia. She did not look forward to that.

  Will noticed that Aly remained unusually silent during supper, paying heed only to her trencher. Beside her, Meggie was also quiet. When the meal was over, Aly made a curtsy in de Raite’s general direction, unnoted by de Raite, and whisked herself and Meggie off toward the tower stairway.

  In the clamor that always accompanied that moment, with men leaping to their feet and beginning to dismantle trestles, attend to other chores or, having none, to find ways to amuse themselves, Will heard de Raite shout to Hew and Liam to join him in his chamber and then order Jarvis, Colley, and Dae to follow them. “Look after the lads in the hall, Will,” he added. “I dinna need ye within.”

  Nodding, Will waited only until his brothers, cousin, and de Raite had shut themselves in de Raite’s chamber. Then, he headed upstairs to the solar.

  When he entered, Aly looked up from her favorite seat in the window embrasure and said to her woman, “Meg, prithee, await me in my chamber. Will wants tae speak with me.”

  The older woman nodded, and Will stepped aside to let her pass him.

  Without waiting for her footsteps to fade on the stairway above them, Alyssa said, “If you mean tae scold me further, sir—”

  “I do not,” he said quietly. “Sithee, I was angry, but I should not have talked to you as I did with that lad standing there.”

  “Father is angrier than you were,” she said. “Come, sit by me, or pull up yon stool,” she added. “I shall have a stiff neck if I have tae keep looking up at you like this. I know you saw that young woman, too, for you were heading that way when I left you. She is pretty.”

  “I did see her,” he said, moving the stool closer and straddling it. “I wonder about something, though. Have you heard aught of twins living hereabouts?”

  “Certes, for we had two sets born in the clachan these past few years. Twins be rather common, Will, though frequently one twin does die soon after birth. Why, you must ken fine that their graces, the King and Queen of Scots, lost one of their own twin sons soon after they were born. That made me so sad.”

  “Aye, but do you know others hereabouts besides the ones in our clachan?”

  “I did hear that they have twin girls at Finlagh. I have never seen them, though, so I ken naught else tae tell ye about them.”

  Will considered telling her she had seen one of them that day.

  Alyssa was watching him, though, and her eyes suddenly lit up. “Faith, sir, was she one of them?” she demanded. “Be it true that her sister looks exactly like her, so much so that gey few can tell them apart?”

  “I thought you knew naught else about them,” he said. When she could not meet his gaze, he added gently, “Who told you about them, Aly? That lad you met? He told you?”

  “You will keep your promise?”

  “For the nonce, aye,” Will said. “If he annoys me again …”

  “He won’t,” she said sadly. “Father has forbidden me tae go outside our wall unless Meggie is with me. Even then, we are tae go only tae the clachan and back.”

  “What else did that lad tell you about the twins at Finlagh, and how does he know them?” Will asked grimly enough to make her eyes widen.

  “He is their cousin. His name is Gil, and he said he is one of the few who can tell them apart. They do take pains, though, he said, never tae wear similar clothing, especially when they go tae town. Then, the lady Clydia nearly always wears blue with a formal caul and veil, whilst Lady Katy prefers other colors and wears only a veil with her long plaits twisted intae a knot at her nape beneath it.”

  “He told you much about them, then, if he even told you their names,” Will said. “But, lassie, you do know that you cannot see him again, especially if he is kin to Fin of the Battles. What de Raite would do if he finds that out—”

  Alyssa reached out and gripped his forearm tightly enough to leave a bruise and said urgently, “You must not tell him! Prithee, sir, swear that you will not!”

  Putting a calming hand atop hers, he said, “You know I won’t. But you need to make me a promise, too, that you will not see him again.”

  She nodded, saying gruffly, “Thank you, Will, for if Father should learn even so much as that he is kin tae them at Finlagh …”

  “What do you mean, even so much?” he demanded. “What else—?”

  Tears filled her eyes, and when a sob followed, he could not bear it. Rising from the stool, he pulled her up into his arms, wrapped them around her, and held her close while she let her tears and her sobs flow freely.

  When the storm passed and she had collected herself, he said, “Now, lassie, what is it you fear to say? You know you can trust me.”

  She stared at him, tears welling again, but he set her back on her heels and waited silently. At last, she eyed him mistily and said, “Ye promise ye willna tell?”

  “I promise.”

  “Aye, then, I’ll tell ye. Gil … Gil
is the youngest son”—she flicked another searching look at him, which he met calmly—“of the Mackintosh.”

  Will stared at her, stunned to silence.

  “Ye ken fine what Father is like and how much people fear him,” Aly said. “You have oft heard him accuse me o’ secretly meeting someone, too. Faith, but he’s made such accusations since I was twelve, Will, and until I met Gil I had given him nae cause. I suspect one reason I did linger tae talk tae Gil that day was that Father had accused me so often. I wanted tae see how it would feel tae do it.”

  “But meeting him secretly was gey dangerous, lassie.”

  “That just made it more intriguing, even exciting, and we share many things in common. He also feels like a misfit in his family. Sithee, his older brothers are much older than he is, just as mine are much older than me. And he, too, has few friends. He says it is because most men he knows are warriors, whilst he believes that people should employ civil discourse rather than war tae settle their disputes. I agree that civility is more sensible than resorting always tae arms.”

  “Likely, it is more sensible,” Will said, surprised that a son of the Mackintosh would feel so. “Unfortunately, though, Aly-love, such a position requires that all sides agree to discuss things peaceably.”

  With a heavy sigh, she nodded, and her tears spilled over again. She turned from him toward the door, but he caught her, put his hands gently on her shoulders, and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, Aly,” he murmured, “and I’m sad for you.”

  Not until she had vanished up the stairs did it occur to him that she had given him only her nod as a promise that she would not meet the lad again.

  Chapter 7

  De Raite did not leave on Monday as he had planned, having learned that the Thane of Cawdor was in Nairn overnight. Instead, he seized the opportunity to send for reinforcements from kinfolk near Lochindorb, who arrived late Tuesday. They all set out for Nairn together at last on Wednesday morning after breaking their fast.

  Alyssa had kept to her own chamber in the meantime, and Will had kept busy practicing his archery and swordsmanship with some of the other men who wanted to keep their skills well honed while waiting for their departure.

  When the others had gone, he waylaid Meggie as she carried Aly’s tray toward the tower stairs and said, “I would speak with her ladyship in the solar as soon as she has broken her fast, Meggie. Prithee, tell her she is to come down to me there, or I will go to her bedchamber.”

  He had broken his fast at dawn and informed his father’s steward directly afterward that he would walk the ridge that day, as usual. The steward did not question his decision, which was, Will thought, just as well for the steward.

  After three days of worrying about Aly, suffering nights full of too-invigorating dreams of Katy, and days of de Raite’s carping, he felt ripe for murder.

  When he went up to the solar, Aly kept him waiting only minutes before she entered, eyeing him warily. “Art vexed with me again, Will?”

  “Nae, lassie,” he said, standing and holding out his arms to her. When she walked into them and hugged him hard, he added, “In troth, I owe you another apology for quizzing you so fiercely the other day about your friend. I, too, have secrets, lass, that I’d liefer de Raite not learn.”

  “Do you? Will you tell them tae me?”

  “Secrets are best told to no one else,” he said gently. “I’ll say naught of yours, though. Dinna fear that I will.”

  “I canna see my friend again, so you will have naught tae say.”

  “Aly, I know you are sad and also lonely. You said some days ago that you wished you could walk the ridge with me. Would you like to do that today?”

  “Aye, sure, but what if Father finds out?”

  “If he does, I shall point out to him that he gave me contradictory orders, because he commanded me to tend to my usual duties but also to keep you penned inside the wall. Now, how can I be sure you will behave yourself if I do not see to you myself? I cannot do that if I walk the ridge alone.”

  Lips atwitch as she struggled not to smile, she muttered, “Faith, but Father would say you should do both easily, but I do want so tae go with you. I expect the men on the gates must know of father’s orders, and likely Olaf does, too.”

  “You leave Olaf and the men on the gates to me. We should easily return before the others do, in any event. Do you know why they went to Nairn?”

  “Aye, sure, for Meggie said she heard that Father means tae seize the town and its castle, because he dislikes the Thane of Cawdor as its constable. Father says the sheriffdom of Nairn and the constabulary of its castle are rightfully his.”

  “Others disagree, but in any event, the castle seizure will take time, so I expect the earliest anyone will return would be tomorrow. If I am wrong, and he does return, I’ll take the blame. So, now, art willing, Aly?”

  “Aye, sure,” she said, her eyes shining.

  “Then fetch your gray cloak, and ask Meggie to stay in your chamber and tell anyone who might come seeking you to say you are with me, or sleeping.”

  “’Twould be a lie tae say I were sleeping, and they would still expect her tae fetch my midday meal.”

  Will realized that he did not care a whit if Meggie lied to protect Alyssa, that he might even lie himself in such a case. Lightly, he said, “I have food enough for us both, Aly. Meggie can eat your midday meal herself if she likes.”

  Raising her eyebrows, Aly fell silent again and then nodded. “She would do that for me.” With that, she turned and ran up to her bedchamber, returning minutes later with her gray cloak. “Meggie said I must relish the day,” she said.

  “Good for Meggie!” Putting an arm around her shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze, he added, “Now, behave as if you have no fears, and I will, too.”

  As Will expected, Olaf offered no more than a quizzical look before opening the door for them. Aly had tucked a hand into the crook of Will’s elbow, and her grip tightened on his arm as they crossed the timber bridge to the steps at its end.

  “Courage, Aly,” he said as they descended and turned toward the heavy iron gates in the wall’s arched entryway. “I won’t let them bite you.”

  He nodded to the gatekeeper, who opened the gate without hesitation.

  “There, you see,” Will said when they were outside and he heard Aly expel a sigh of relief. “We’ll go up yonder hill into the woods, and I’ll teach you how to conceal yourself from an enemy, if you like.”

  She nodded with a smile.

  “If we should chance to meet anyone, do not tell them who you are. In fact, say naught unless I give you leave. We do have enemies hereabouts, as you must ken fine.”

  Still busy with the annual cleaning, Katy had found few opportunities to watch the slope east of the castle for any sign of Will and had not dared to leave a signal at the pool for him to meet her, either. Not only did she not control her own time on such days but he might have had second thoughts about meeting her.

  Clydia and Bridgett were still supervising maids dealing with the increasing pile of mending, including featherbed tickings that had lost feathers. All featherbeds required shaking and airing twice a year, and laundering at least once a year.

  Catriona having declared Monday that the time had come for the laundering, Katy had been helping with that ordeal. Fortunately, only the twins’ beds, their parents’, and Àdham and Fiona’s had featherbed tickings, for each could require up to fifty pounds of feathers. Two more existed for honored guests or to replace any needing mending. The entire castle bustled and hummed for two days with the laundering.

  Catriona’s Ailvie saw to it that the thin mattresses underlying each featherbed also received a good beating and airing, while men hauled water from the streams to the sunny courtyard, heated it over fires there, and filled tubs in the yard for scrubbing the tickings with lye soap.

 
Maidservants washed and rinsed the feathers, then spread them on screens in the hall, kitchen, and courtyard to dry, while men and lads waxed the well-scrubbed tickings after they dried. When the feathers were dry, women stuffed them back into the tickings with dried herbs and lavender to scent them and carefully restitched each ticking. Throughout the process, the reek of drying feathers permeated the castle and would linger for days, despite the herbs.

  When the time came at last for Wednesday’s midday meal, Katy was glad to think she might sit still for a while. After tidying herself, she hurried downstairs.

  Clydia greeted her at the high table with a sympathetic grin. “My fingers ache from pushing needles through ticking, but I’d liefer sit and sew than deal with musty wet feathers or watch over other folks with a critical eye.”

  “I’d prefer to see others doing both tasks,” Katy muttered.

  Catriona and Fin joined them, and when they had taken their seats, Cat said lightly, “I’d wager that you are both longing to get away for a walk or a swim.”

  Katy said, “Have we much more yet to do, Mam?”

  “We will be nearly finished when the last of the tickings and feathers are dried and in their proper places. Your father and some of the men are rearranging stores in the undercroft, but you and Clydia need only see to your usual chores now. I will need your help again when we start shearing the sheep. But, until then …”

  Katy looked at Clydia. “Do you want to swim?”

  “Aye, perhaps, for ’tis a fine day and warm enough, I think.”

  “The water will still be cold,” Catriona warned them. “Take your cloaks to warm you afterward. Take Rory and Argus, too, to watch for passing strangers.”