Lady Nellie

by Verlin Underwood

  “Please, Nellie. You’re free to leave as you wish once you feel better. But I’ve failed to keep you safe as my ward and I can’t let that go. What else can I do for you?”

  Nellie stared up at the ceiling as she thought about it. “My parents are still in their bed in the great hall where they died at Burrach Castle,” she told him. “We moved all of our beds out there because that was where we could build the largest fire. Although it ended up not doing any good for them,” she paused to stifle the wave of grief.

  She closed her eyes, picturing her ma and da’s faces, hoping that they would never fade from her memory. “I would perhaps live the rest of my days easily knowing that they had a decent burial. I was not able to do so when I left.”

  Adam walked over to her bed and crouched down beside her. A tear escaped from her eye and dampened her pillow. Before another one fell, he brushed the tear from her face. She opened her eyes.

  “What are you doing?” she breathed. Adam retrieved his hand and cleared his throat, but did not answer.

  Ach, but she didn’t want him to stop!

  “Where do you want me to bury them?” he finally asked.

  “There’s an old oak tree by the castle, just outside the great hall. It is the largest in the vicinity, so you cannot miss it. I…” she choked on her tears. “I want them to be buried there.”

  “Aye, I’ll see to it.” This time, he let her cry, but oh, how she wanted to be touched again. She was much too proud to utter a word.

  “She’s awake, m’laird?” Hilda squeaked at the doorway.

  “Aye, she’s awake,” Adam stood up and smoothed out his tunic. “Fetch her some soup, will you?”

  “Aye, m’laird.”

  When the girl left, he turned back towards Nellie. “Are you able to sit up?” he asked her.

  “Yes, albeit slowly. I feel like I am a hundred years old.”

  “Hopefully, you’ll regain your strength quickly. And just so we are clear, I’m not going to be able to stay with you at all times of the day,” he told her as he propped the pillows up for her to lean back on.

  “I don’t need constant protection.”

  Adam shook his head. “Until I find out who did this to you, aye, you do need protection. You need out of this castle. I’m takin’ you to Lachina’s house.”

  At least until she could stand solidly on two feet, Nellie knew she had no choice in the matter. She looked down at the makeshift bed and noticed the jar of tea by the pillows.

  “You slept next to me,” she observed quietly, “unless I’m mistaken?”

  She thought she saw a blush creep up on Adam’s swarthy face. She felt her own face reddening in response, so she found something else to talk about.

  “Did the tea help at all?” she asked.

  “Aye, it did. Thank you.”

  At that moment, Hilda came in with soup and bread. Nellie dug into the food with relish.

  “Slowly,” Adam coaxed, “lest you get sick.”

  “But I am famished. How long was I asleep for?”

  “Near a sennight.”

  Nellie almost choked on her food. She took a sip of water and cleared her throat. “A sennight?” she exclaimed.

  “Lachina has been helping me to take care of you.”

  “God bless that old woman.” Nellie shook her head in disbelief, then winced in pain. “I was in the courtyard,” she told him. “Aye, I wanted to get my dagger, but someone stopped me. I… I can’t remember if I saw who did it. My memory of that day is so foggy.”

  “Worry not. We’ll figure out who did this an’ to be sure it will not happen again. Hilda?” he called out. The girl appeared once again. “Help Lady Lyall freshen up.”

  “Adam,” Nellie said before he left. “I thought you hated me.”

  “I do not,” he told her. He looked to say more, but Hilda was already in and bustling with a basin of water. “I will just be outside,” he told her and briskly left, closing the door behind him.

  Hilda helped Nellie to get on her feet and she gently splashed water onto her face. With Hilda’s help, she changed into her saffron dress, which looked to have been cleaned and neatly pressed. Hilda plaited her hair the way she liked, and for the first time since she’d awoken, Nellie began to feel a bit normal despite the lingering headache.

  Lachina’s house was not too far of a walk, but such exertion was out of the question for Nellie. Adam picked her up from Isla’s bed and carried her through the castle and over to the stables, where a sable stallion stood ready with a saddle. He mounted Nellie on the stallion first, then quickly sat himself behind her so that she could relax her weary body into his.

  “Lean your head onto me so it doesn’t toss around as we ride,” he told her. She rested her head onto the soft spot just underneath his shoulder and closed her eyes as he walked the stallion outside.

  She rather liked how easily she fit against his body. Ach, perhaps it was whatever medicinal concoction Lachina left her with that was making her still think of such things. Her fancy for the man should have ended with that unnecessary kiss! No matter; soon, she would have a few days’ respite without the laird hovering about and causing her befuddlement.

  Lachina was waiting for them when they arrived. She tied up Adam’s horse next to her own as they dismounted. “I have a bed ready for her inside,” the woman told them, beckoning them to come through the open door. “Set her on the bed just by the kitchen table.”

  Adam did so, then scanned the one-roomed house like he was scanning the fields of battle, trying to find the weak spots. “Have you locks on the doors?” he asked.

  “Aye.”

  “What about the windows?”

  “Aye, Adam. She is safe here,” Lachina reassured him. “Elspeth an’ I will keep an eye on her. And Dunaid is not so far away if we need you.”

  “Aye, I can run fast to the castle!” Elspeth quipped. She was sitting at the table, grounding some spice with a mortar and pestle.

  Seemingly satisfied with those words, he gave the women a nod and finally left.

  “He seems to be overly worried about me,” Nellie remarked when it was just the three of them. “I didn’t think he would actually leave!”

  Lachina chuckled and Elspeth gave her a big grin. “I hear the laird fancies you, Nellie!” she told her. “How lucky is that!”

  “Elspeth, hush,” Lachina admonished, but she, too, was smiling. “Somethin’ did seem to change in him when he saw you in such a state, lass. Indeed, I first noticed the change when you first came to Dunaid. He is reluctant to admit it, although not very skilled at hidin’ it.” She gave Nellie a wink. “You didn’t hear that from me, though!”

  Nellie wasn’t sure how to feel about the woman’s words. She decided that any excess thinking would make her headache worse. She opted for rest, instead.

  After Lachina took care to apply a salve on her wound and fed her lunch with tea, she let herself drift back into sleep. She hoped that when she awoke, she would be better able to make more sense of things.

  Chapter 13

  Adam decided to enlist Alister to accompany him to Burrach Castle. Two days after Nellie was taken to Lachina’s house, they finally decided to set off.

  Alister was quiet when they saddled up their horses. Ever since the incident with Nellie, his cousin was acting much more subdued. In fact, his entire castle seemed to be uneasy, practically tiptoeing past their laird if they happened to be in the same room as him.

  “How’s the lass doin’?” Alister had the gumption to ask as they rode side by side on their horses in the moorlands leading away from Dunaid Castle.

  “She is farin’ better, for certain,” he told his cousin. “But she took quite a blow to the head an’ it’s goin’ to take her a bit longer to recover. She lost her memory of what happened that day so she knew not who did it.”

  Alister shook his head. “I know I’ve said some untoward things about her and the Lyalls,” he admitted. “But I cannot fathom a person who wo
uld attempt to kill someone like that. I wish I knew who it was.”

  Adam glanced at his cousin, hoping to God that he was telling the truth. It was heartbreaking to even consider that his cousin and good friend could do something so cruel.

  “Aye,” he said softly. “I’m still determined to find out.”

  “Well, I’ve been keepin’ my eyes an’ ears open. I’ll let you know if I find anythin’ suspicious.”

  “Thank you, cousin.”

  They rode the winding, hilly path up toward Castle Burrach. Even before the Lyalls isolated themselves, Adam never had the opportunity to visit the castle. As they continued walking through brambles and half-melted snow, he realized he had not a clue how remote Burrach really was.

  “Are you sure we’re not lost?” Alister asked him when they walked through a similar copse of birch trees, just as they did moments before.

  “No, I’m not sure,” Adam admitted.

  “What if this forest is haunted?” his cousin whispered. “Doesn’t it seem like we’re walkin’ in circles?”

  “If you are goin’ to talk like that, I’m goin’ to make you turn around an’ go back to Dunaid alone.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Aye, I would.”

  “Fine.”

  Adam didn’t admit that he, too, felt uneasy by the forest and was relieved when they finally made it through. They were high enough in elevation that he could see through the clear morning Dunaid below them, which gave him the correct direction to continue to Burrach.

  “Worry not, we’re not lost.”

  But they still had quite a way to go.

  “Why would anyone build a castle up here?” Alister complained.

  “Well, if livin’ in isolation for fifteen years is any proof, the Lyalls didna like people verra much.”

  “You really don’t believe in the curse, do you?”

  “Nay, I don’t.”

  Alister looked like he wanted to say more, but perhaps remembered Adam’s earlier threat. “Do you know how much farther?”

  “Just a bit farther, I believe.”

  Snow covered the area around the castle. From the outside, it looked as though the castle still housed the living; it was well taken care of, not a loose stone in sight. The men dismounted, tying the reigns of the horses around an old wooden post by the stable.

  Adam scanned the area and spotted the oak tree Nellie had mentioned. It had to be the one; dozens of branches pierced the sky like winding serpents. Frost covered the branches and the trunk, which was thicker than any tree Adam had ever seen.

  It was a beautiful specimen. He could see why Nellie wanted it as her parents’ final resting spot. He hoped the ground wasn’t too frozen. Spades leaned against the side of the stable walls and hopefully, that would suffice.

  Of course, the door to the castle was unlocked, but the cold weather had frozen the door in place. Adam and Alister had to give it a good push for it to finally open. The air was colder inside than out and the two men wrapped their breacans closer towards their bodies as they stepped inside.

  So, this is where Nellie grew up, Adam thought, looking around. She spent fifteen of her years here without anyone her age to talk to; just her and her imagination, as she had mentioned that first night eating at the dining table.

  Nellie explained to him that her parents’ bodies lay in the great hall, which was easily identifiable with the grand, intricately carved pillars that led them to the room. On the far side of the great hall, three small beds were pushed together beside the large, empty fireplace. A breacan covered the two forms that lay resting together.

  “Aye, Alister. There they are. Help me with the man, first.” That man was Malcolm Maxwell, the man who stole his stepmother from his father, and the man who ruined Adam’s life. Yet, seeing him here as an empty shell, Adam felt nothing but a pang of sadness. Malcolm was also Nellie’s father and she loved him dearly.

  They carried the bodies over to the oak tree and spent most of the afternoon digging the hard earth for a large enough grave for the both of them.

  “Ach, you must have it hard for this girl, man,” Alister commented. He shoved the spade into the earth and leaned against it, wiping sweat from his brow.

  “Mmm,” Adam responded, shoveling the last bit of soil on top of the grave.

  “Shall we whisper a prayer over them?”

  “You can, if you wish,” Adam said coolly. “There is something in the castle I need to find.”

  Nellie’s room was tucked on the second floor toward the backside of the castle. He knew it had to be her room because there were books everywhere. One book lay opened on a desk and Adam knew without looking that it was Roman de la Rose. He took that book and many other books that he could carry and met Alister outside at the stable.

  It was well past nightfall by the time they made it back to Dunaid. Adam decided that rather than potentially waking Nellie, he would wait until the following day to show her the books.

  When he returned to his study in Dunaid, a letter was waiting for him on his desk. It was addressed to him from the neighboring clan leader, Hamish MacNill at Rosach Castle to the southeast. He opened the seal and glanced over its contents. It was an invitation for a celebration of the birth of MacNill’s son.

  Why should he travel all that way to celebrate with a man he hardly knew? However, there was a postscript at the bottom stating that MacNill had some important news that he’d best share with other neighboring clans. He knew it must be dire if MacNill couldn’t just say what the news was in his letter. Or perhaps he just wanted an excuse to throw a big party, as the MacNills were wont to do.

  Either way, Rosach Castle was about a day’s ride away, so he wouldn’t have to make it a very long trip. But he didn’t want to leave Nellie alone nonetheless. Even if she was at Lachina’s, he still felt like he needed to keep an eye on her. Would she consider coming with him? It was, after all, also a celebration. There would be women to talk to, dancing, and feasting. Nay, he could not make her go, but he could ask and hope she would say yes.

  He visited her the next day. As he rode up, he was surprised to see her out in the garden. He knew she was improving daily, yet there was still a chair nearby as she knelt to weed around a rose bush. Adam dismounted at the stable and walked over to the side of Lachina’s house where Nellie worked.

  “So, I take it that it was you who was workin’ on my courtyard. Did you enjoy it?”

  Nellie started, not realizing he was there. “Oh, yes,” she replied as she continued to prune some leaves. “At first, I didn’t believe I did, but after a while, the whole process of gardening was just so relaxing. And besides, I like the result of all the hard work. Gardens are so beautiful, are they not?”

  Adam nodded, but he wasn’t looking at the garden. He was looking at Nellie. A braided crown adorned her head, with the rest of her hair spilling down her back. A few smudges of dirt graced her nose and cheeks that made her even more adorable. The wound on her head seemed to be less angry and there was no sign of infection. The worst was perhaps over.

  “Is this all your work, as well?” Adam asked, gesturing to Lachina’s garden.

  “I’ve had some help from Elspeth. Lachina wants to help, too, but her rheumatism prevents her from being out here for very long.” She straightened her legs slowly and went over to the chair to sit down, brushing the dirt from her dress. “So, did you do it?” she asked. “Did you go to Burrach Castle?”

  “Aye,” Adam replied. “I buried them under the oak tree as I promised.” He wanted to quickly rid her of the tears that formed in her eyes, so he held out the books he’d been carrying. “I found Roman de la Rose for you, among others.”

  She jumped up and wobbled a bit. Adam made to go catch her, but she quickly sat down again. “I got up too fast,” she said sheepishly. “I’m fine.” She took the stack of books from his hands and looked at the titles. “Oh, Adam, thank you so very much.”

  “Now, you don’t need to read my
tedious books,” he said in jest. Immediately, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. Why would she come back to Dunaid Castle just to read? Nellie did not seem to notice his blunder; she was already lost in the pages of a book.

  “Anyway,” Adam continued, “in a few days, I will be leavin’ for Rosach Castle.”

  Nellie looked up at him. “Where is that?”

  “Not too far, toward the southern edge of the Highlands. It’s where Laird Hammish MacNill lives. He’s invited me over to celebrate the birth of his son.”

  “MacNill… That name does sound familiar. Oh, how very nice for him. I pray you have a lovely time.” Nellie already seemed to be far away in whatever she was reading.

  Ach, how should he go about asking this? “Nellie,” Adam began. “I want you to accompany me to Rosach Castle.”

  She froze and lifted her head to meet his gaze.

  Adam rubbed the back of his neck. “Y’know… in case you wouldn’t feel comfortable being here alone if I were to be gone from Dunaid.”

  Nellie chuckled and waved her arm around her, “As you can see, I’m feeling quite comfortable here.”

  “Aye, I suppose you are…” Adam trailed off.

  “But I can’t stay here forever. Perhaps it would be good to see what’s out there. However, I think it would be wise to introduce myself as a different last name.”

  “If that is what you are comfortable with.” He struggled not to smile. He hadn’t believed that she would say yes!

  “When do you plan to leave?”

  “In five days. Do you think you will feel well enough to go?”

  “Lachina has been giving me a salve to help with my headaches and I am a still a bit dizzy at times. But each day, I feel stronger. In five days’ time, I should be fine.”

  “Verra well. I shall see you soon.”

  Chapter 14

  Nellie had surprised herself by agreeing to Adam’s proposal. She had, indeed, been feeling comfortable at Lachina’s house, but she knew that she could not stay there forever. As there was nothing for her near castle Dunaid, perhaps she could find an opportunity for a new life by traveling to Rosach.