Highland Guard

by Hannah Howell

  “Nay that long,” Joan said. “After all, there is a lady here now. The laird is wed and brought her home. I will get some of them to come here. Start with the ones who would verra much like to be away from home.”

  “Clever.”

  Joan looked at the garden and quickly grabbed Annys by the arm when she started to bend down. “Ye can tend it later. We both will. We will get my lads to help or find a few lassies from the village.”

  “Aye. It can wait. What hasnae been choked to death by now will last a few more days.” Annys looked around. “I would wager there is nay a place with any flowers.”

  “I think there used to be. Over here,” said Triona as she led them around the corner and to an area near the rear wall.

  It took Annys a while to look through the growth that had been left to go wild to find traces of some order. “Aye, once there was a nice wee spot here. I will add reviving that to my list.”

  “This is nay what ye were expecting, is it?”

  “Weel, nay, but it is solid and it is defensible. I have learned the importance of that just lately. And, as Joan has said, I start anew with little in my way.”

  “Just dinnae try to do it all at once.”

  “Wheesht, nay. I cannae.” She slid her hand down and rubbed her belly. “I am fair sure that would be a verra bad idea.” She grinned when both women cried out in delight. “Hush! I havenae told Harcourt yet.”

  “But ye are certain?” asked Joan.

  “Aye. I had begun to wonder for I was late with my woman’s time. Then, yesterday, when Harcourt offered to take me for a wee walk”—she ignored Joan’s snort of laughter for they all knew what he had intended, and succeeded at, when he had suggested a walk—“we went by where all the horses were tethered and it was, weel, a wee bit ripe, and my stomach roiled so much, I grew so pale, and began to sweat, that Harcourt was quite worried. I assured him it was just being in the cart all day and then smelling so much horse. We went a wee bit further away and he gave me some cider from his drinking horn and I revived.”

  “And that is when ye kenned for certain?”

  “Aye. Dinnae ye recall? I couldnae e’en bear to be around a mon who had been in the stables or riding for a long time when I carried Benet.”

  Triona nodded. “There is always a smell that hits hard. I couldnae abide eggs with my Ella and it was mutton when I carried Geordan.”

  Joan nodded. “Eggs with me as weel and then leeks.”

  “Weel, I will let the knowledge settle in my own mind and heart for a wee bit and then tell Harcourt,” said Annys as they all headed back to the kitchens.

  “He will be happy,” said Triona.

  “Aye, I ken it. Especially because he can at least claim this one openly.” The look on Triona’s face told her that Harcourt had not told his family everything and so, carefully she explained.

  “Weel, that was an odd price to ask of a mon,” Triona said after a moment, “but at least he didnae pick someone ye didnae like.” She winked at Annys.

  “Ye took that verra weel.”

  “Your husband couldnae be a husband to ye and he kenned it. He couldnae give ye a child or e’en get his heir if he wanted to and he kenned that, too. Aye, I am a wee bit surprised a Murray agreed to such a thing but Harcourt was young. Still, ye got a bairn and I suspicion ye are verra glad of that and that the making of that bairn was nay a chore. Also, it didnae hurt your husband to have ye do it so no hurt feelings. Save mayhap yours when Harcourt left.”

  “Aye, I was hurt and that was stupid.” As they stepped inside the kitchens, Annys looked around again. “This place definitely needs a staff. And, I think that needs seeing to immediately.”

  “Then we must go to the village as these cold meats and bread willnae do for a hearty meal. Ye will now meet some of your people, Lady Annys,” Triona said as she led them out of the keep, slipping around the great hall where they could hear the men talking.

  Harcourt sniffed. “Is that a roast I smell?”

  Brett did the same. “Aye. There wasnae anything but cold meat and bread in the kitchens when I looked earlier.”

  Callum, Gybbon, Tamhas, Nicolas, and the MacFingals wandered in and Ned said, “Suspect the ladies from the village are cooking up some of those supplies they brought with them.”

  Harcourt looked toward the kitchens but the heavy doors were shut. “I have ladies cooking in the kitchens?”

  Brett poured himself another ale. “The ladies must have had a good look at how bare your larder was and went to do something about it.”

  “Oh. That is one of those things I should have seen to, had ready before I brought Annys here, isnae it.” He dragged a hand through his hair, silently cursing how quickly she had seen the poor state of the keep.

  “Dinnae look so morose,” said Callum. “We will eat a fine meal soon.”

  “I ken it and I do look forward to that but I was concerned about what she would find here. ’Tis why I sent word for it to be cleaned. I kenned this would nay be what she was accustomed to. I think it may have been worse than I kenned.” He sat up straight as he suddenly recalled what the garden looked like, something he had glanced at once, decided it was too much trouble, and walked away from. “There isnae even a garden.”

  “Oh, there is one,” said Annys as she and the other two women walked into the great hall. “’Tis just buried beneath weeds and there is e’en a little bonnie garden spot but it will need work as weel.”

  Joan looked toward the kitchen and straightened her shoulders. “I will go see that I am kenned by the lassies in there and be certain all we asked for arrived and is as good as promised.”

  “That woman is going to be a pure gift,” said Callum.

  “Aye,” agreed Harcourt and started in surprise when Joan’s two boys came scurrying out with cheese and bread plus the plates for it. “Thank ye, lads,” he said.

  “I will get ye more ale, aye?” asked the taller one.

  “Aye and cider, if ye will.”

  “My mother will ken what is needed,” said the small one and then they both trotted back to the kitchens.

  Before long, food was brought out, and the other men from the garrison began to slip in and fill the other tables. Harcourt watched in astonishment as his hall became something close to what the great hall at Glencullaich had been. Good food, servants keeping the platters and jugs filled, and the men all talking, made content by that food. Even a few of the young maids had cautiously come out of the kitchens to help serve the food.

  “They havenae done that since I have been here,” he said. “Some men did it for a wee while and then the women from the village would come with food, bake a few things, and leave before the sun set.”

  Annys nodded as she helped herself to a warm chunk of bread and slathered it with honey. “Joan did a lot of talking when we were in the village, which is a verra pleasant place, although it could use some trees and flowers. She told everyone who would pause long enough to listen that there is now a lady in the keep and that she has come to put the house in order.” She shrugged. “It seemed to help.”

  “Just make certain the garrison understands that the lassies are here to work and all flirting has to be consensual,” said Triona from her seat next to Brett, “and the fear that Sir John and his men put in them will fade away.”

  Harcourt nodded and turned his attention to his meal. He kept glancing at Annys as she spoke with Triona about work that needed doing. He saw no disgust or disappointment, not a hint of anger, but he grew more and more uneasy. She was well trained in hiding such things before company so he could not put his faith in her apparent calm.

  By the time the meal was done, he was ready to talk to her about the state of the home he had brought her to. He had even composed his apology for the sad state of it. Unfortunately, Triona and Brett took their leave and Annys was caught up in that. Then Joan called for her and she ran off to see what the woman needed. He sat down on the steps to the keep and watched the dust fade f
rom his brother’s leave-taking. A moment later Gybbon sat down next to him.

  “That was the best meal I have ever eaten here,” Gybbon said, rubbing his belly in appreciation.

  “I ken it. The great hall actually looked like one should for a wee while.”

  “And every man in the garrison is madly in love with your wee wife as weel as Joan.” Gybbon watched Harcourt for a moment. “Strangely, this does nay seem to please you.”

  “I have brought her to a keep that will bring her naught but hard work.”

  “Ah.”

  Harcourt looked at his brother. “Ah? That is all ye have to say? Ah?”

  “Weel, wasnae sure I ought to call my older brother an idiot.”

  “Ye were at Glencullaich. Ye saw what a fine place that is.” Harcourt waved his hands around to indicate the stark keep and bailey of Gormfeurach. “Look at this.”

  “A good sturdy place. A lot cleaner than it was with all the cracks and crumbling parts cleared up and strong again. What has nay been done is what women do. Aye, if we had thought about it we could have done it, but, right or wrong, we dinnae think about it. Have ne’er been trained to, have we? We saw clean and safe. ’Tis the women who make it comfortable, mayhap even pretty or whate’er ye wish to call it. Ye have brought her to a good home. It just needs a touch of softness. And, if that meal tonight is any indication, it also needed a woman here to get the maids back.”

  Harcourt nodded, agreeing with everything his brother said but not feeling all that much better about what he had brought Annys to. He was not such an idiot as to think she would fall out of love with him just because his home for her did not match what she had left. What he was terrified to see, however, was her disappointment. Stiffening his backbone, he stood up and went looking for her.

  Annys was just about to explain to a young kitchen maid how she needed to keep a close watch on the supplies when Harcourt strode into the kitchen. He hesitated when all the women gathered there gaped at him but then took her by the arm and gently led her out of the kitchens. Harcourt said nothing until he had led her all the way up onto the walls surrounding the keep.

  She looked out at the land surrounding the keep and smiled. The land was not as good as the land at Glencullaich but it had its charm. There were enough fields and grazing lands to supply them all and that was all that mattered. And there was water, she thought, looking at the winding burn that wriggled over the land and curved around one side of the keep.

  “I am sorry this keep is in such poor repair,” Harcourt said. “I should have warned you.”

  She frowned and looked around. “It isnae in poor repair. ’Tis just, weel, bare. Stark.”

  He frowned at her. “But that is what is nay right here, what I should have warned ye about.”

  Annys shrugged and rested her forearms on the wall. “I couldnae see what was needed until I got here, could I. Ye have linens enough for the beds. The kitchen has all the tools it needs.” She grinned. “And now it has cooks.”

  “And that is just because ye are here.”

  She began to get a sense of what troubled him. The man was clearly thinking of Glencullaich and seeing the home he offered her as so much less. At the moment, she supposed it was, but that was fixable. It was actually work she looked forward to doing because it meant this place would have only her touch showing here. At Glencullaich she had been able to add just a few things to make it more hers and that had mostly been in her bedchamber. This place just waited patiently for her touch and only her touch. She was not sure he would understand how that actually pleased her.

  “Aye, having a lady wife at the keep eased a lot of fears, but ye didnae put the fears there. And kenning that Joan will be the one ruling the household also helped. They could see she was a strong woman who kens what she is about and will stand for them. Now ye can truly shake off the last taint of Sir John.”

  “It doesnae change that much. ’Tis still a verra stark place.”

  She moved closer and hugged him. “It willnae be for long. I have plans.” She was pleased to hear him chuckle.

  “So, ye are nay disappointed?”

  “Was that what ye feared? Nay. I am nay disappointed. In truth, I shall enjoy making this all mine. There are no other woman’s touches here. I just pray ye can endure my attempts to put my touch all over this place.”

  Harcourt put a hand under her chin, tilted her face up to his, and kissed her. “I believe I can endure. And, aye, I was afraid ye were severely disappointed. I couldnae abide the thought of disappointing you, of seeing that look in your eyes. Truth is, I began fretting on it from just before we left. I kept looking around Glencullaich and then recalling what Gormfeurach looked like and would wince. I did send word to make sure it was cleaned but there was a lot I realized I hadnae thought of when we got here. Like a meal.”

  “We had a good one. Ye did have a good cook ready to work but she wasnae sure if any of the old men were still here and none had the courage to come and actually see that things had changed.”

  “Weel, it was a fine enough meal that I have been told every man in my garrison now loves ye and Joan.” He smiled when she laughed. “Are ye certain, Annys? Ye can abide this place?”

  “Aye. I can abide this place. After all, ’tis where ye are, aye? And where ye are is where I wish to be.”

  “Is that so? Weel, right now I am thinking I wish to be in my bedchamber.”

  “We will go there soon. I need to tell ye something.”

  “Is it bad news?”

  “I dinnae think so.” She took a deep breath and blurted out, “I am fair sure I am with child.”

  “Truly?”

  “Remember how I got sick in the woods?” He nodded and he stroked her cheek. “It was the strong scent of the horses. That bothered me when I was carrying Benet as weel.”

  Harcourt held her close and struggled to control the wild pleasure running through him. Another child, one he could openly claim as his own. One he could watch grow in her belly, be with her when the bairn was born, and help raise into a good man or woman.

  “Thank ye,” he finally managed to say.

  “I think I should thank ye,” she said and eased out of his grasp. “So? Nay more concern about whether I like your home or nay?”

  He gently kissed her cheek. “None. I think we’ll do.”

  “Oh I think we will do verra fine indeed. Now, didnae ye say ye had a wish to be in your bedchamber?”

  “Are ye sure we should?” he asked, gazing at her still-flat belly.

  “Nothing ye can do in the bedchamber is going to shake this bairn out.” She could see him start to frown as he considered her assurances and began to reject them. “Weel, I shall go to your bedchamber and ye can join me there as ye will.” She started to walk away. “Of course it will be verra hard for me to carry out my plans if ye are nay there.”

  “Ye had plans for me?” Harcourt was torn between interest in those plans and concern for indulging in them with a woman carrying his child.

  “Aye,” she replied as she started down the wall. “I was thinking it might be verra nice to see how ye taste for a change.”

  Harcourt took just a minute to think that over. She was carrying his child and he should be gentle with her. Then a memory of his parents slipping off to their bedchamber with that look on their faces came to him. His mother had been with child. That he could recall clearly because, although he knew what went where, he had still been a virgin and he had wondered just how his father was going to manage it when his mother had such a huge belly. Obviously his own parents had never stopped just because his mother had gotten with child.

  He hurried down the wall and ran up behind Annys who was slowly, very slowly, making her way back to the keep. Harcourt grabbed her from behind and swung her up into his arms. She laughed, flung her arms around his neck, and kissed him. As he hurried her up to their bedchamber he smiled. She was right, they were going to do very fine indeed.

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  Copyright © 2015 by Hannah Howell

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  ISBN: 978-1-4201-3501-5

  First Electronic Edition: March 2015

  eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3502-2

  eISBN-10: 1-4201-3502-3