Beloved Ruins, Book 1

by Marti Talbott

  “‘Tis all that I know of. The cook and the cleanin’ maids go to their own homes at night, so ‘twill be just you livin’ on the third floor. You shall have to take your meals in the kitchen, I suspect.”

  “I’d not mind that. Do you suppose Michael shall let me bring my weavin’? I am fond of makin’ my designs.”

  “You know Michael as well as any of us. Would he forbid you?”

  Again her eyes lit up. “Nay, he would not.”

  “‘Tis settled then. I shall return shortly to help you gather your things.”

  Thrilled, Beitris reached up on tiptoe, kissed Rory on the cheek, and then went back inside her cottage.

  He breathed a sigh of relief and then muttered, “I pray she shall not hate me for it later.” He forgot he was to make certain Michael approved of his choice first, but then, he always forgot that. Even so, he hurried off to the castle, went in, and then opened the door to the Great Hall where Michael normally was at that time of day.

  Surprised by the sudden intrusion, Michael turned from adding more wood to his fire to see who it was. “Ah, ‘tis only you.”

  Rory studied the look on his laird’s face. “Forgive me, I neglected to knock.”

  “Do you not always?”

  “Do I?” Rory asked.

  Michael ignored him. “What news have you?”

  “Beitris.”

  “Beitris what?”

  “She has agreed to be your chambermaid. She wishes to live on the third floor, take her meals in the kitchen, and bring her weavin’ for the hours she is not needed. Oh, and I said she would be attendin’ Elena as well.”

  “I see. Why did you tell her that?”

  “Michael, the lasses do not abide Grizel. They see how their husbands look at her and blame her for it. I feared Beitris would not accept if she was to tend Grizel alone.”

  “In that case, I agree. Will you allow me to tell Elena first?”

  “Of course, you are the laird.”

  Michael couldn’t help but smile. He added a log to the fire, and then walked to the door. “How much have I agreed to pay her?”

  “I thought to leave that up to you.”

  “You are wise beyond your years.” He opened the door and held it for Rory to walk through. “Has Brandon chosen the land on which to build his shop?”

  “I was going to ask him that today.”

  “Good. Tell the cleanin’ maids to prepare a room for Beitris.”

  “On the third floor?” Rory asked.

  “Aye.” Still smiling, Michael closed his door and went back to his record keeping. There was a new MacGreagor in the glen this morning, and he carefully recorded the name and the date on his parchment. He blew on the ink until it was dry and then went to look for Elena.

  “A MAID?” ELENA ASKED. “For what do I need a maid?”

  “To brush your hair, perhaps?” Michael suggested. He found her in the glen, watching her children play with several other children. As soon as they saw him, Samuel and Brenna came running. He scooped them up, hugged each, and then set them down again. “What are you today?” he asked Samuel.

  Samuel flexed his biceps muscles. “A warrior, but Mother will not let me have a sword.”

  “‘Tis because you are too young still. We dinna let the laddies have wooden swords until they are ten.”

  “Ten?” Samuel asked. “How many is that?”

  “Five more years, I imagine.” He laughed at the little boy’s frown and then watched him race back to play with the other boys. Brenna, he noticed had her hands on her hips staring up at him. “Do you wish a sword as well?”

  “Nay, but Rosa will not let me be the mother.”

  “Oh, I see. Has she been the mother for very long?”

  Brenna paused to think it over. “Not that long.”

  “Tell her when the sun reaches the top of the trees, it shall be your turn.”

  Brenna studied the placement of the sun, and then scampered off to deliver Michael’s decree.

  “You cannae be serious about a maid,” said Elena. “I have never been tended in my life.”

  “‘Tis the only way she would agree to tend Grizel.”

  Elena drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Is she suitable for my brother?”

  “She is a good lass with a carin’ heart, and in need of a husband. Shall we not let them decide?”

  “If ‘tis for my brother, then perhaps I can abide a chambermaid.”

  “Thank you, I hoped you would consent.” He watched as Samuel tried to climb over a log and fell. Elena did not go to him, and Michael was impressed. The child picked himself up and tried it again. “I best get your maid situated.” He nodded, smiled at the annoyance still in her expression, and then walked back toward the castle.

  The cook wanted a helper too, and he supposed she needed one now that there were more to cook for. Young Gilly just happened to be passing by, so he asked and she immediately accepted the position. At least this one did not ask to live in the castle, but he feared that might happen soon, now that Beitris was allowed to. That meant feeding the two of them too, and supplying all else they might need. He reminded himself of how lonely he had been in the past, and decided it was well worth the expense.

  Michael went back into the Great Hall, retrieved his parchment and his quill pen, and tried to decide exactly how much the events of this day was going to cost. The clan was not as poor as Michael let them believe, and with good cause – the MacGreagors tended to want more when they thought they had more to spend.

  BEITRIS HAD ONLY BEEN inside for half a day before the Castle’s quiet solitude ceased to exist. Grizel was late again as the others sat down to their noon meal, but that bothered none of them. What did, was the yelling they could hear coming from the second floor.

  Michael excused himself, got up and hurried up the stairs. When he reached the hallway, he found an upset Beitris backing out of Grizel’s bedchamber.

  “‘Tis not done properly!” Grizel shouted with both hands on her hips. “I demand you make up the bed again!” As soon as Michael appeared in the doorway, she dropped her hands. “Michael,” she said in a sweet voice. “I did not hear you come up.”

  “I dinna wonder. I heard you well enough.”

  “Is somethin’ amiss?” she asked.

  He was so enraged, he could hardly speak and folded his arms to keep from lashing out at her. At length he said in a voice much calmer than he felt, “You are but a visitor in this castle – not the mistress of it. If there is yellin’ to be done, I shall do it – not you!”

  “Was I yellin’?” she innocently asked. “Forgive me, I...”

  “Hear me, and hear me well. If it happens again, Beitris shall be chambermaid to Elena alone and you shall go without.”

  “Of course, Michael, whatever you say.”

  “Good.” He let down his arms and then turned to the grateful chambermaid. “Go to your meal, and if ever again you are treated wrongly, you are to come directly to me.”

  “Aye, Michael,” Beitris said. She flashed a glare at Grizel and then hurried off down the stairs.

  “Michael, I do apologize, I was...” Grizel tried.

  He said no more and went back downstairs.

  Michael was still enraged when he returned to the dining room. He stood behind his chair for a moment and looked at the way the table was set. A bowl was never placed at his right hand, but Grizel moved hers there easily enough. “Samuel, might you sit beside me from now on?” The little boy was so excited, he nearly spilled his bowl trying to stand and pick it up at the same time. “Allow me,” said Michael as he rescued the bowl. He set it down in front of the chair reserved for the laird’s mistress, waited until Samuel climbed in and then pushed the chair closer to the table. It was a little thing for him to do, but it did wonders for Michael’s frame of mind.

  When Grizel finally came to the dining room, she made no secret of her displeasure at finding her place next to Michael taken. “Did I not apologize profu
sely enough?” she asked, pulling a chair out at the other end of the table and sitting down. When no one spoke or offered to pass a bowl of food to her, she moved to a seat closer to the food. For a time, the meal was eaten in silence, with no one even exchanging glances. At last, Grizel asked, “How long am I to be punished?”

  Michael finally looked at her. “We shall say no more on this subject.”

  “Very well,” she said.

  “Come children,” Elena said as she stood up. “Time for your rest.”

  “Will you tell us a happy story?” Brenna asked.

  Elena smiled, “Do I not always? Which shall it be today?”

  Michael listened to the children discussing which story they wanted to hear, long after they left the dining room.

  “Speaking of stories,” Master Balric asked. “I am well pleased with the writing desk Murran made for me and I am now well prepared to write the first story. When might you...”

  UPSTAIRS, ELENA FINISHED telling her story to the children, and as usual, Samuel fell asleep even before she finished. Brenna tried her best to fight it, but their lives were busy these days with plenty of morning exercise to wear them down. Elena quietly closed the door and then went to her bedchamber to rest. When she arrived, Beitris was just starting to make her bed.

  “Here,’ let me help,” said Elena.

  To stifle her laughter, Beitris covered her mouth with her hand and said, “Are you not a breath of fresh air.”

  While she fluffed one pillow, Elena fluffed the other. “The truth be told, I dinna need a maid, but Michael insisted.”

  “He is a good lad and he likes you. Everyone is talkin’ of it.”

  Elena paused to look at Beitris. “Are they? What do they say?”

  “I should not have spoken out of turn. ‘Tis not my business what Michael likes.”

  Elena grinned. “You are right, of course, and I shall try not to pry – after this once.”

  This time Beitris laughed out loud. “They say he is more attentive to you than ever he has been to any other lass, and we have known him all our lives.”

  Elena went back to straightening the bedcovers. “It means nothing. I am certain he would treat any guest as well as he treats me.”

  “He dinna treat Red that well.”

  “Red?”

  “‘Tis what Kester calls her.”

  “I see.” Elena stopped making the bed to speak directly to Beitris. “Perhaps she shall not be with us much longer.”

  “I pray you are right.” Beitris finished her side of the bed and then took a rag and began to clean the small table in Elena’s room. “May I learn English too?”

  “Of course.”

  “With the children, I mean. I doubt I shall have much to do of an afternoon and I should like being out and about daily.”

  “‘Tis a splendid idea.”

  “Perhaps you might let me tend Samuel and Brenna while you and Michael take walks together.”

  “I shall very much appreciate a little time to myself, but Michael has not asked me to walk with him and I dinna expect him to.”

  “But you shall if he asks?”

  Elena sat in her chair and picked up one of Samuel’s socks to see if it needed mending. “Perhaps.”

  Finished with her cleaning, Beitris grinned and then left the room.

  Later, when Beitris took Elena’s children out to play, she delighted in telling Kester what Elena said, and naturally, Kester delighted in telling everyone else.

  There was love in the air, and with any luck at all, the clan was about to have the mistress they so badly wanted and needed.

  OF ALL THE MEMBERS in the clan, Elena came to love Lindsey and Kester the best – Lindsey for her sweetness and Kester for her unmovable opinions on every subject imaginable. Therefore, going to visit with Lindsey was where Elena went most afternoons. Once, she spotted Michael in the south tower watching her, but she tried not to appear too interested and looked away.

  Grizel came sometimes, but usually did not stay long if Elena was there.

  Now that she had friends finally, Lindsey took to bringing her chair outside first thing in the morning, in case someone needed a place to sit. That kept the tree stump available for Kester.

  Kester, it seemed to Elena suddenly felt the need to tell her all about everyone in the clan. Elena was of course interested, but she suspected she was being groomed for the position of mistress. It was not an outlandish idea, but Michael had yet to even hint at his intentions.

  CHAPTER 7

  WITH LITTLE TO DO AND no interest in making a mosaic out of Lindsay’s broken pottery, Grizel stood by the window of her bedchamber and watched people leave until she believed she was alone in the castle with Michael. She expected to find him in the Great Hall, but that room was empty. She strolled around the unusually long table, looking at the tapestries and the weapons for quite some time, but still Michael did not arrive. Vexed, Grizel decided to see what else the castle had to offer.

  She climbed to the third floor first, only to discover there were but four rooms, two of which were empty. However, the one in which the new maid appeared to be living, had a grand view of the village below. It would be a good place to come, in case she ever needed to know where someone was.

  A small room off the hallway appeared to be where the MacGreagor laird kept his valuables. It held a table upon which sat several gold and silver objects, and she wondered why they were not on display. “If only I were mistress of this castle,” she softly muttered.

  Next, she decided to see what Michael’s bedchamber looked like on the second floor. His was not far from hers, and she knew that because she opened her door just a sliver and watched him come out of it earlier that morning. Still thinking no one else was in the castle; she opened his door and found a chambermaid in the process of making his bed.

  The look of distaste on the maid’s face irked Grizel, and inspired her to say, “Oh, I thought Michael would be here by now.” She backed out and softly closed the door.

  With a cleaning rag still in her hand, the maid put her hands on her hips. “Kester is right – that one means to do Michael harm.”

  Still bored, Grizel decided to inspect the towers. Normally, Owen’s metal pounding work in his small heated workspace on the bottom floor of the northern tower, kept him from noticing when anyone opened the door, but for some reason he turned to look.

  The bright light of his hearth brightened her red hair, and when she looked at him, her green eyes seemed to bore a hole right through him. He set his tools down and was about to go to her, when she disappeared. Owen went to his door anyway and caught just a glimpse of her darting around a corner.

  THE NEXT DAY, AND WITH Birdie sound asleep at her feet, Kester was waiting in the spot where Elena normally taught the children. Elena let her son and daughter run off to play while she went to see what Kester’s frown was all about.

  “Dinna believe it,” said Kester.

  “Believe what?”

  “You have not yet heard, I see. Yesterday, just as the maid was makin’ up Michael’s bed, Grizel opened the door without so much as a knock. She said she was to meet Michael there.”

  Elena’s mouth fell open. “In his bedchamber?”

  “She be lyin’ since the day she came and she be lyin’ now. Dinna believe it – none of us do.”

  Elena smiled. “Then neither shall I. Does Michael know?”

  “Tis doubtful, and I’ll not be the one to tell him.”

  “Should I tell him?”

  “‘Tis up to you.” With that, Kester touched the top of Birdie’s head and went off to see what the rest of the clan was up to.

  Elena gathered the children for school and before long, Beitris joined them. Elena told another of her fine stories, explained the words in English, and just as she got ready to dismiss them, she spotted Michael coming. Several of the children ran to greet him, Samuel and Brenna included, and that was exactly what she wanted to talk to him about.

&n
bsp; “I fear my children shall drive you daft,” Elena said when he reached her.

  “I shall send them away if they are a bother.” He greeted Beitris with his usual smile, and then watched as she took the children off to play.

  “They are fond of you as well and I thank you,” said Elena. My brother is a good lad, but he is not the affectionate sort and they miss having a lad’s touch.”

  “Tell me, do you think Beitris might be a good match for him?”

  “I hope so. I find her very pleasing, but Balric might need to be in her company repeatedly before he notices her.”

  “I see. Has Master Balric gone off to buy parchment already this mornin’?”

  “Aye, he left early.”

  When Michael glanced up the road, Rory was riding toward him with Michael’s horse in tow. “I am off to see to the building of Brandon’s shop. If you are in need, send Murran to fetch me.” He mounted his horse and turned down the road in the middle of the glen. Before long, he looked back and smiled specifically at her.

  Behind her, Grizel said. “He fancies you.”

  Surprised, Elena quickly turned, saw who it was and frowned. “Up before midday? I am shocked.”

  “Dinna change the subject. Michael is with you far more than ‘tis wise of him to be.”

  “And about this you are troubled?”

  “Troubled? Nay, nothin’ troubles me.”

  “Not even the lad who has vowed to kill you?”

  Grizel sneered, “He is simply an annoyance that shall be resolved soon enough.”

  “By the man who brought you here?”

  “Aye, Osgar. Never has a lass had a guard as faithful as Osgar.”

  “You believe that, do you? Take care, for I have never known a lad who dinna have his price.”

  Taken aback, Grizel watched Elena start down the path toward Lindsey’s cottage. At length, she decided to take a walk in the forest, and she had no intention of walking alone. When she walked past him on one of the paths leading into the forest, Owen was watching her. She walked a little further, stopped, turned around, and intentionally looked back at him. Then she lowered her eyes, turned back around and headed into the trees.