by Temple Hogan
The heather scented breeze reminded him of her breath, gentle and sweet against his face, and the twin peaks of the mountains drove him to madness remembering the warm lushness of her breasts against his chest.
The room was dark save for the fire glow when he returned to the cottage. Lilli and Rose were sleeping, and after tossing and turning most of the night, so did he.
The next morning was filled with sunshine and yet another day with Lilli.
“And where are you off to, lass?” he asked one morning, watching her fill the cart with fresh hay and settle churns of milk and baskets of new cheese inside.
“To market,” she answered without looking at him. She seldom looked at him now that he was nearly well. She lifted the basket that held little Rose.
“I’ll go with you, then,” he said, putting aside his pitchfork.
“Is it safe?” Her worried gaze met his now.
For a moment, he was undone, looking into her clear eyes. They seemed more the color of blue-green to match her gown.
“Ah, lass, you’re worried about me?” he teased, liking the wash of blush across her pretty cheeks.
“Not a bit,” she answered sharply, her delicate nose decidedly in the air. “I thought only of my own safety and wee Rose’s, for if you’re caught by your enemies, we’d be blamed for harboring you.”
“I’d not let harm come to you and the bonnie Rose.” He brushed aside her concerns and hurried to the watering trough to wash away the stains and smells of the barn. When he turned, his bare chest gleamed wetly and he caught her staring at him. “What’s wrong, lass?” he asked, his voice automatically softening.
“If you’re well enough to travel why can’t you be on your way?” she asked tentatively as if she had no wish to hear his answer.
“At market, I may be able to glean what’s happening as regards to those who attacked Toby and me. And I can send a message to my friends to come lend aid. Are you in such a hurry to be quit of me?”
“Nay, I just wonder that you have no concern for Rose and me.”
“Are you fearful I’ll ruin your good name?” he said with sudden understanding.
“Nay, I…” She hesitated. “Aye, you’re right. There will be little danger. Put on a shirt, if you please,” she scolded, shaking a finger at him. “You wouldn’t show yourself before a lady in such a fashion. Don’t think just because I’m not a fine lady you can disrespect me so.”
“You’re the finest lady I know, and I meant no disservice to you.” He paused. “Do the villagers know you and your husband that well, then?” He bundled the used shirt into a ball and tossed it into a wash basket set near the pump.
“They’ve never met us…him.”
“So then I’ll pretend to be your husband,” he said smiling, his face bright with anticipation.
She frowned at him and turned away. Happy as a lad, he trotted into the cottage and returned with a coarse clean shirt that had been stored in the chest that had once belonged to Thom Hardy.
“I’ll hitch Doire to the cart,” he called and hurried to do so. “Her leg’s much better now.”
He was surprised at how the prospect of an outing to market raised his spirits. He patted the little mare’s neck with some affection. He whistled as he fastened her trappings and Lilli fussed with Rose, seeing her basket bed was well settled in the hay. Finally, she climbed into the seat and gathered the reins. Callum leaped up beside her and took the reins from her hands.
“I’ll drive, lass. You sit back and enjoy the ride.”
He slapped the leather straps against Doire’s back and they were on their way down the slopes to the valley below, for all the world as if they were husband and wife taking their wares to market day. In high spirits, Callum whistled and his good humor was infectious. Soon Lilli relaxed beside him and seemed to enjoy the uncommonly beautiful day.
The sun shone warmly on their heads, its bright light intensifying the colors of rock and sky. Once they reached the lowland road, they met other farmers on their way to market with their wares. They nodded and called to each other. Danger and intrigue seemed very far away at the moment.
“What are you thinking, lass?” Callum asked, catching the luminous beauty of Lilli’s fleeting smile.
“Nothing.” She shook her head then shrugged with an open smile. “I was but remembering going to market day with my father and brother when I was a lass. The crofters would rumble along in their carts, whistling and calling to one another. Their faces were bright and eager for market and a good trade. Their children would dart around the carts or run ahead. My father liked to go early so he could join the festivities and buy the choicest of their wares. I always rode beside him on my own horse, but Edward would race ahead to play with the crofters’ sons. Invariably, they would get into trouble, and some exasperated villager or farmer would bring Edward back by the scruff of his neck to complain.”
Callum laughed, so she continued.
“There was so much noise with sheep and goats bleating and chickens squawking without a thought in their empty heads that they were going off to market and soon would be in a cooking pot.
“And there would be dust rising from the road ahead and behind as drovers herded their bellowing, shaggy cattle along. There was so much excitement and hullabaloo, but the women always talked softly, exchanging advice and gossip, their cheeks blushed red, their eyes aglow with humor. And if that weren’t enough, when we reached the fairgrounds where market was held, there would be dancing bears and jugglers and minstrels who sang funny ditties that made you double over with laughter, songs you knew you couldn’t sing in front of your mother or she’d remind you in the gentlest tones that a lady—” She halted abruptly.
Callum noticed her slip. “Did your mother wish you to be a lady?”
“All mothers wish their daughters to be great ladies,” she replied then went on. “But ‘twas not always so simple and joyous a life. In the winter, there wasn’t always enough peat to heat the cottage and you suffered something fierce from chill blains and your fingers were always nipped with cold. And since there was little feed for the cow, she gave less and less milk. If the cold winter stayed overly long, mother cut back on rations to make the oats last and your portion was less so you were always a little bit hungry.”
“I should not like to think of you hungry, Lilli,” he said with such sincerity that she blushed and looked away. He wondered at her reaction. Had she told him the truth?
“Were you never hungry and cold?” she asked somewhat bitterly.
“Aye, as a soldier on the battlefield, but you expect such things then. Never as a child. I gave no thought to the food set before me. I gave little thought to the people who harvested that food. And when the meat was low, I joined my father and his friends in a hunt.”
“Such luxuries as game are not allowed the common Highlander,” Lilli said, again her voice bitter. “The lot of the peasant is never easy, especially so these past years with wars and feuds and broken clans.”
“Mayhap ‘tis the reason for so much cattle thieving,” Callum said thoughtfully.
“Aye. A man’ll do whatever he must if his child is crying with an empty belly.” She glanced around as if checking that no one overheard them. A cloud seemed to have dulled the brightness of her smile. “As the new laird, you can change things for your people. If you ease their lot even a little bit, you’ll win their loyalty and then no one could usurp your claim, not even Robert Lister.”
“I thought you taken by the scoundrel, then, lass?” Callum said while all the old suspicions came to the fore. “Do you know him well?” He was well aware of a peasant’s penchant to claim ignorance in fear of reprisals against himself or his family.
“I’ve only heard about him, but some Highlanders feel he should be the rightful heir to the lands. The king rewards those who do his bidding with lands taken from others.”
She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. Callum watched her closely, seeing her full pi
nk lips tighten against angry words she might say. She was keeping her secrets close and he wondered what they might be.
“But I am a clan member and I’ve served Scotland well in the king’s army,” he exclaimed, stung by her words. “While my cousin pillaged the countryside, carousing and planting his seed in any willing, and some not so willing, Highland lass’s belly, I was off fighting for my king and country.”
“‘Tis true, I’ve heard the criticism of Robert Lister, that he’s too interested in his own pleasures to care about the needs of those around him. But there’s some who’d disagree.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Callum said stubbornly. “The king himself has granted me the land and I’ll not give it up easily. As for my cousin, he has no legal claim and now he’s wanted by the Crown for his actions. He’s brought this on himself.”
He fell silent, and the swaying cart rolled along while each sat contemplating all that had been said. Callum was too aware of the girl beside him. Her delicate beauty was even more obvious today for her face was luminous with anticipation, her eyes alight with good humor. For the first time, she seemed free of the apprehension that so often claimed her. What had she to fear? And where was her husband? Was he buried in that grave on the hill or did he ride with Robert Lister, himself? Was that how she knew so much about him, why she seemed to feel such loyalty for the rogue outlaw?
His musings had soured his mood, so he merely grunted when Lilli pointed out the village ahead. The cluster of humble cottages was little more than a way station with no castle nearby to offer protection. An inn and tavern with stables in the back dominated the square and offered rough comfort for the wayward traveler caught here. But in the sunny fields beyond, a stretch of tents had been set up beside farm carts selling wares from the back. On the other side of the meadow, rough stone fences marked off enclosures for livestock. Men gathered around them to haggle and test the quality of cattle.
“There’s a good spot beneath that tree,” Lilli directed and Callum obligingly pulled the little cart into the shaded area, making sure it was in line with the other carts. Jumping down, he steadied Lilli as she descended.
“I’m perfectly capable of taking myself out of the cart,” she exclaimed as if displeased, but he saw the flash of something about her that said otherwise. Her refusal to meet his gaze told him something more about the beautiful Highland girl. She was not as immune to him as she would have him believe.
“Aye, I know you are, lass. You’ve no need for a hand from anyone, I can see well and plain but you’d grow angry with me if I don’t treat you like the fine lady your mother wished you to be. You can’t put on airs with me, then fuss at me when I act accordingly.”
She stood nonplussed as to what to say without giving herself away. Now her face reddened even more in embarrassment and she opened her mouth to answer, but no words came. How she longed to fling her true identity in his face and watch his fluster of consternation. But she bit her lip to stay silent. She couldn’t risk such a luxury as spite for the danger it might bring to her and Rose. Seeing her struggle within herself, he spoke harshly.
“Don’t fluster yourself to cut me down again,” he snapped. “If you’ve a need for me, I’ll be at the pastures looking at the animals and swigging a beer like the wretched lout I am.” He strode off across the meadow toward the cluster of gathering men.
Chapter Eight
“Don’t fret, lass, they’re of a like mind, the whole lot of ‘em,” the woman at the next cart called out.
“Who?” Lilli asked caught off-guard.
“Why, men, lass. Have you not been wed long enough to learn their ways, yet?” She was a plump, cheery sort with two little ones running about her skirts while she quickly set up her wares of woven cloth and brown eggs. “My name’s Addie and these are my two littlest ones, Patty and Wynn.”
“I’m Lilli, but I’m not—”
“Aye, you’re a new wife. ‘Twill take you time to figure them out, but you will then you can set the tone of what you want in your marriage. Remember, lass, a man may think he’s the head of the household, but ‘tis the clever woman who lets him believe it.” She spied Rose and leaned over to coo at the baby. “Ooh, you’ve a bonnie, wee bairn. You wasted no time. They’re a wonder, they are.”
The woman spoke so rapidly jumping from one topic to another that Lilli gave up trying to follow or even respond. Taking out a clean white cloth, she spread it over the back of the cart and displayed her cheese and milk.
For the next hour, she was busy and her store of cheese quickly sold. As she poured out the last of the milk into a waiting pail, the sound of approaching horsemen brought a shiver of alarm. Absently taking the coin, she added it to those already jingling in the bottom of her pocket and watched the riders approach. They ogled her as they rode past. The farmers ducked their heads and busied themselves with their carts and wares. An ominous air had settled over the assembly. The riders dismounted and swaggered along the row of carts, stopping now and then to sample the goods, uninvited. Their leader remained astride his horse, laughing at the antics of his band. No one uttered a word of objection, but their jaws set with resentment.
“‘Tis Owen Waite and his riff-raff,” Addie said and hurried to her own cart to push her unsold goods into baskets.
Lilli gazed at the mounted leader with growing dread. He meant nothing but trouble for her. Grateful she’d sold all her milk and cheese, she quickly hid the potatoes and the half dozen eggs she’d traded for. She’d just carefully packed the eggs in hay and bent to pick up Rose when she heard a sneering voice.
“So, Lilli Hardy, this is why you were sent away,” the man said. “Your father tried to hide your shame.”
Lilli risked a glance over one shoulder then ducked her head, trying to avoid the outraged gaze of the burly man.
“Here now, you’re not Lilli Hardy!” His broad face turned red and ugly.
“Aye, I am,” she declared while casting an anxious gaze toward the pastures. There was no sign of Callum. She’d not seen him since he’d stalked away when they’d first arrived. Perhaps he’d left after her ungracious remark. Her heart sank. That meant she was on her own facing this bully.
“Go away. I have nothing to sell,” she said and settled Rose into the wagon. Instantly, the baby began to squall.
“Tell me why you claim to be someone you ain’t?” Waite bellowed.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please pass on and leave me be.”
“Pass on and leave you? Are you puttin’ on airs, now?” He leaned from his saddle to curl a strand of her hair around a stubby finger then around his fist until she was caught. He gave it a vicious twist, causing her to cry out. “I’ll go when you tell me your true name for you’re not Lilli Hardy.”
“Aye, I am,” she said, trying to pull away but the movement brought pain searing along her scalp.
“Nay, wench. Lilli Hardy was comely enough but not like you.” He ran a finger along her cheek, his eyes glinting with something ugly and dangerous. “Are you like the girl you claim to be? Do you tease and torment a man then cry innocent when he makes his move? Are you a relative pretending to be Lilli? If so, you don’t have Thom Hardy to protect you this time.”
He fingered a scar along his cheek, and his glare turned murderous. “Thom gave me this, he did, and afterwards he sent off his daughter as if I was the devil himself, like I wasn’t good enough for her.”
Lilli wished for the unknown Thom Hardy’s strong arm now. The unpleasant glare in Owen Waite’s eyes showed he still bore a grudge. Lilli remembered the serving girl’s words upon hearing of her father’s death and repeated them now in the hopes of diverting Waite from her true identity.
“Aye, Thom Hardy’s not here now as well you know since you cowardly ambushed him in the woods with all your companions to back you up.”
For a moment, her words caught him unprepared. His face flushed, and he struggled for something to say then he recovered and glan
ced around to see who might have heard her. His men had gathered around him, which seemed to embolden him.
“You can’t prove it.” He smirked. “I have an alibi for the time Hardy was killed.” He looked over his shoulder at the motley crew of men who sniggered in return. Encouraged by their presence, Waite guided his mount closer so she was neatly trapped between the cart and a tree.
“Doesn’t matter to me that you’re not who you claim to be,” he said with a sly twist to his voice. “You’re bonnie enough for me.”
“I have no need of a man like you.” She took off her curtch and flapped it in his mount’s face causing it to rear and back away.
Waite was nearly unseated and grabbled for the reins. The guffaws among his friends were quickly smothered at his scowling glance.
“You bitch,” he shouted at her. “Slut!”
“Leave me alone, or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” he sneered and leaped out of his saddle, sullen intent evident in his glare.
She understood readily enough why he’d stayed mounted when his friends were not. On foot, he was a squat, unprepossessing figure barely as tall as she was.
“You have no man to protect you, woman, so you can yell all you want.” He’d reached her now and his meaty hand slashed out, leaving a red stain on her pale cheek.
Her breath was taken at the fierceness of the blow. Waite followed up the momentum of his attack by grabbing hold of her hair and pulling so she cried out in pain. Though she resisted with all the power in her slender body, he bore her down to her knees and laughed cruelly to see her in such a submissive position.
“Not so high and mighty now, are you? Acting like a fine lady, just like Lilli used t’do. Thinking herself better than everyone around her.”
Lilli gasped, remembering the innocent, dead maidservant with a new appreciation. No wonder her father had sent the girl to Lady Jane to protect her from a man such as this.
Glancing around at the crowd that had gathered, Waite raised his voice. “There she is acting the innocent lass when yon bairn tells the truth of it. She claims to be Thom Hardy’s daughter, but she’s not. And I ask you what has she done with Lilli Hardy that she feels safe to use the poor girl’s name? She may even be a murderer.”