by Kara Griffin
When Gussy finished with Grady, she dusted the hair from his shoulders. “There, I must say your face is most handsome and attractive now with all that hair gone. You should feel more comfortable. You might make a woman swoon with that face.”
Grady’s face brightened with her remarks. He retreated to the window casement and tried to see his likeness in the pane. “It doesn’t look too bad. My thanks, Gussy. I should reward you.”
Gussy gasped and set her scissors on the table. “No, I won’t accept payment.”
“I need to find Dela, she needs her hairs cut. Don’t leave yet, Gussy. I’ll return shortly when I’ve found her.” Violet left the hall and strolled to the back of the keep. She ambled through the doorway, an old squeaky iron door that was difficult to open all the way. Once through, she hastened to the garden and thought she might find Dela there.
Two boys ran around Dela and laughed at her. They threw rocks at her feet and their mischief caused Dela to cry. Violet approached with a furrowed brow at their behavior. “What are you about?”
The boys startled at her shout and tried to run off, but she took one by his tunic and forced him to the low wall. She made him sit on it. The other boy tried to flee, but she hitched a finger at him. “Sit, both of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves for picking on a girl who is years younger than you. When I find out who your mama is, I will be certain to tell her of your conduct. You will speak your apology now.”
“We’re sorry, Mistress,” the elder of the two boys said.
“Not to me, to her.” She pointed toward Dela and nodded to them.
The boys mumbled their apologies.
“You are not to come in this garden again. If you do, I’ll have your laird make you muck the horse stalls for a fortnight. Am I understood?” Violet made her voice stern enough to frighten them a little. The boys nodded and ran off. She turned to find Dela sniffling in the garden lane. “Oh, you poor mite, come here and let me soothe your hurt. They didn’t harm you, did they?”
Dela shook her head, scampered to her, and pressed her face against the fabric on her shoulder.
Violet hugged her and tried to comfort her. “Those boys won’t bother you again. If they do, you must tell me and I will make certain they are punished.”
“Will you be my mama?”
Violet pressed her against her chest and sobbed. She couldn’t stop the overwhelming emotions that tore at her heart. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Violet. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
But she couldn’t cease her tears or the woebegone mien that overtook her.
“Da, I made Violet cry.”
She peered at Callum who witnessed her complete breakdown. He lifted Dela in his arms and smiled, then pulled her to stand.
“I made her sad, Da,” Dela said with a pout.
“Nay, lass, you didn’t.”
Violet finally gained control of her tears and hugged Callum and Dela. “These are happy tears. Sometimes when a person is so happy, they weep. You made me happy when you asked me to be your mama. I would love that more than anything.”
Dela’s small arms pressed around her neck. “Can she be my mama, Da?”
“If she wants to be, then aye she can. Come inside and eat your morning fare.” Callum pulled away and carried Dela inside.
Violet wiped her face and followed behind them. When she entered the hall, the men were exiting. Henry boasted his ability to defeat Keith in a match on the training field. Their boisterous departure left her smiling.
Dela sat and ate her pottage silently. Violet sat on Callum’s lap and settled her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips to his and whispered, “Good morn.”
Callum gazed into her eyes. He looked tired and hadn’t gotten enough rest.
“You should return to bed. Surely you could use more sleep. I tried not to awaken you, but Frang burst into the room.”
“I couldn’t sleep and was hungry,” his voice pitched and he held on to her when she reached for a bowl.
“Eat then and when you finish, you should go back to bed. I must find Mor and ensure she’s well. She looked rather sad this morning and must be distraught about…” She let the words trail away because she didn’t want to mention Elias’s death. “Ah, she asked me to go to the village with her. Dela if you finish you can go with me.”
“Before you hail off, will you kiss me again?” Callum set the bowl she handed him aside and pulled her against him.
“You never have to ask.” Violet pressed her lips on his and desire muddled her thoughts. It had been a long time since she enjoyed being in Callum’s arms or was able to appreciate his body. She longed to touch him and feel his steely hot skin. But too many troubles plagued them lately and he hadn’t come to bed until early in the morn.
Callum broke their kiss and leaned his head against hers. “If you continue to tease me, I will carry you off to join me in bed.”
“I would join you if that’s your wish, but you’re tired. Perhaps I’ll come later when you’ve slept for a few hours. Will you await me?” She almost laughed when he groaned.
“Now I will be unable to sleep with the vision of your naked―”
She hastily left his lap. “Shhh, Dela will hear you. Say no more or we will get carried away. I have things to do.”
Callum picked up the bowl and retreated from the hall. She waited until he was out of sight before she went in search of Mor. Violet found her in the garden. The day had broken into full sunshine and the sky was cloudless.
“Dela, sweeting, did you want to plant the flowers Master Eric gave you?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Can we? There’s a few left.”
“When you finish, we’ll go to the village with Mor.” She turned as the woman approached from the far end of the garden. “Good day, Mor, we were about to come and find you. You said you wanted to visit the village.”
“Aye, but I’m in no rush, lass. Let the minx finish with her plants.”
Dizziness came to her and Violet stumbled toward the bench. She sat and pressed her eyes.
“Are you unwell, lass?” Mor sat beside her and took her chin in her hand. “You look ill and you’ve lost the color in your cheeks.”
At her words, Violet bent to the side of the bench and retched. She didn’t know what came over her and was struck by a malady. Surely it wasn’t the pottage she’d eaten. The nauseous feeling subsided and her eyes no longer watered. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Mor searched her face and peered at her eyes for what seemed like a long minute. “Are your breasts tender? Have you had morning sickness before?”
“No, I haven’t been ill in the morning before, but my breasts are a little tender. Why do you ask? Do you know what ails me?”
Mor smiled. Her face brightened and a shine came to her eyes. “I do and I’m pleased to tell you that you’ll have a bairn.”
“A bairn?” Violet spoke with awe as the realization struck her.
Dela squealed, ran to her and hugged her tightly. “A bairn, Mama, you’re going to have a bairn? You know, a babe.”
Her mouth hung open with the young girl’s revelation. “Well now, I should have suspected, since I haven’t been very hungry of late. That’s how I was when I carried Cora.” Saying her daughter’s name brought tenseness to her chest. “Until I can think of a way to tell your father, we must keep this a secret. Promise me, both of you?”
Dela squealed and nodded.
Mor nodded her agreement and laughed. “Aye, you shall tell him when the time is right. It nears and soon Callum will be called to the stones. The sky shall awaken and send forth its wrath. Rest assured, lass, all will be well once the sky speaks to him.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The darkness continued to engulf their bedchamber. Callum lay awake and peered into the obscurity. He considered rising, but it was early and none would be awake at that hour. Even though he’d stayed abed for the entire day,
he’d gotten little sleep. It wore him too, and he yawned. But every time he closed his eyes, he revisited his conversation with Elias.
“You’re awake?” Violet’s sweet voice reached him.
He cuddled next to her. “Aye, I think I’ll go to the training field this day.”
“You should go about your duties. It’ll take your mind off of your woes.” She leaned across him and her hand caressed his chest. “You need to put all this turmoil behind you, Callum. All is settled. Elias was guilty and he couldn’t bear it. He took his life. There’s no sense to question it any longer. Promise you’ll cease your worry over it?”
“I’ll try to, lass, but it won’t be easy.” He kissed her head. “Stay abed for a wee bit. I know you’re ailing and are unwell. I heard you last eve in the middle of the night.”
“You did? Oh, I felt so wretched, but I’m better now. It was probably just a stomach malady. Will you come and have the midday meal with me?”
“I will and look forward to it. Get more rest and I’ll find you later.” Callum rose, dressed, and pulled his sword from the wall. If he would train with his soldiers, he might as well test his strength. His shoulder didn’t bother him and he surmised he might be able to go a full day’s tarry on the field without it causing him strain. Each day, his muscles relaxed and his arm strengthened. Relieved, he wanted to get back to a daily routine and aimed to use his sword.
He hurried to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before he’d meet the men. On his way, he noticed he didn’t limp. His leg didn’t pain him and there was nary an ache. Perhaps Henry’s healer’s concoction aided him more than he realized. Callum took a moment to assess his body and grinned at the notion that he had healed.
Inside the kitchen, he met Bailey who already began his chores for the day. “Laird, you’re up early this day, but it’s good to see you. You haven’t come here in a time.”
“Aye, Bailey, is there something to eat? I’m famished, is anything ready?”
“There’s only that loaf of bread there. The pottage was just started and it’ll take a wee bit for it to heat. I can cut up an apple for you or some cheese unless you prefer to wait.”
Callum nodded. He pulled a stool to the worktable and tore pieces of bread from the loaf. As he ate, two lads who helped in the kitchen showed up for their morning chores. Bailey returned to his tasks. He appeared to need to say something but stirred the pottage with a strange smile on his face.
“What’s with that look? You have something to say? What is it, Bailey?”
“Laird, there is a matter on my mind. It’s Milady’s maid…Gussy. I wanted to gain your permission to ask for her hand. Aye, I wish to marry her.”
He couldn’t be more shocked by his question. Callum hadn’t known they had a romantic interest. “Really, Bailey, I’m shocked to hear this, but you don’t need my permission. You should ask her if that’s what you wish.” Callum finished the bread and reached for the apple Bailey cut for him. “Why do you feel the need to gain my approval?”
“I was unsure if Gussy would agree. Will Lady Violet be staying with us? I don’t want to ask Gussy if she has a mind to leave with her lady. She’s devoted to her and I know she has a great fondness for Lady Violet. I wouldn’t want to upset her if she means to leave.”
“Violet says she will stay. I wouldn’t worry about it, though because if Gussy agrees to marry you, Violet wouldn’t stand in her way. You should ask her.”
Bailey pulled a sack of potatoes on the table and cut it open. He began the chore to peel them but glanced up from his task. “What about you, Laird? Will you ask Lady Violet for her hand? Some say they’ve seen you together and that there’s something betwixt you.”
“There might be,” he said with a shine to his eyes and chuckled.
“You should.”
Callum couldn’t reason that he stood in the kitchen talking about passionate pursuits with his cook. It made him laugh, but he took a serious tone when he answered, “Aye, I should, but with so much happening of late, I haven’t had time to consider it. Perhaps I will do so this day.”
“You should. The way she looks at you tells me she would have you. And you look at her the same. You care for her and cannot tell me you don’t. If you ask me, you shouldn’t put it off. Why not take your happiness whilst you can?”
Callum would’ve laughed at his fervent advice, but Bailey was forthright. “The soldiers await and I should be off to the training fields. My thanks, Bailey, for the meal and for… the counsel.” As he sauntered toward the field, he recalled his conversation with Mor and her words came back to him. Don’t give up your happiness for the sake of others. Love as you have never loved and don’t let that love be slighted by others.
The sun showed the first glints of brightness as he walked toward the back of the keep. Ahead, he noticed Clive near the stables. When he reached him, he nodded in greeting.
“I thought to take a ride this morn. The weather is fair enough. Do you want to join me?”
“Nay, there’s too much to do and I need to meet with Neil. I need to take to the field and I’ve been too lax in using my sword arm lately and could use the exercise. Before you go, I wanted to talk to you about Elias.”
Clive held his horse’s reins and stood still. “What about him?”
“Do you truly believe he was guilty? I cannot cease thinking he might’ve been innocent.”
“Callum, how many times are you going to go over this? He was guilty. Who else besides him would want Gavin and Hammond gone? No one. Let it go. It’s time to forget this nonsense and move on. Will you let it continue to plague you? You will drive yourself daft.”
He was forced to accept his cousin’s assertion. “Aye, you’re right. I’ll see you later this day for your report? I wish to go over the accounts. We also need to take stock of the stores and find out when the farmers mean to harvest the crops. A few fields might be ready and they might need help. You have yet to bring an accounting of the repairs that were done. I want to ensure we’re ready to face the winter when it comes.”
“The repairs have gone well and there wasn’t much that needed to be done. I’ll bring the figures and will meet you after the midday meal if that’ll suit you, Laird.”
Callum nodded and watched Clive ride off toward the gate. He unsheathed his sword and ambled toward the field. Keith and Grady practiced arms but took a break from their sparring. His comrades met him at the field’s edge and stood next to him. They surveyed the younger soldiers who took the field.
“Your young men-at-arms make noble progress,” Grady said.
“Neil has done an excellent job at training them.”
Keith set a hand on his shoulder. “We must leave soon. We will stop by Joe’s for a day or so, and then I’m going to head home. My da has sent five missives asking me to come. I can delay him no longer. And Grady has business that awaits him. If we have your leave, we’ll go, unless you need us. We can delay it if you wish. This business is not sorted yet. Until you get all your answers, I hesitate to leave.”
“I don’t expect you to put your lives on hold for me. Go, Keith, and I hope your father’s news bodes favorably. Mayhap you’ll be betrothed before the week is out.” He chortled at his jest. “Grady, you have my thanks for staying. We’ll meet at Joe’s in a month to catch up.”
His friends agreed and left him.
Callum walked amongst the men and studied their movements and methods. Several soldiers had taken the field and sparred with each other and against seasoned soldiers. He spent a few hours toiling over his methods and when he spotted Neil, he trotted to the top of the hill. “Neil, I hoped to track you down. Where have you been? I would’ve thought you’d be here early this day.”
He turned when he called. Neil approached and stood a foot from him. He bowed his head in greeting. “Laird, good day, I, ah, was at the smith’s and it took longer than I’d hoped. He’s going to make a few swords for the younger lads, those who are ready to train with the weapons
, that is. There’s only five so far who have reached the stage of weaponry. I hope you don’t mind that I commissioned him―”
“Not at all, but I wanted to ask… The other day when you called me when I rode through the gate… You never told me what you wanted. Was it important?” Callum had meant to speak with him about it days ago, but with the funerals, Elias’s death, and exhaustion overtaking him, he hadn’t gotten around to it.
“Oh, that’s right. I meant to find you later, but with everything that happened with the burials and Elias. Ah, I’d forgotten. I questioned the lad who followed him and he said that Elias went to Owen’s farm. After, he trailed him to several other farms. He spent weeks in the woods trailing him, but he said Elias hadn’t returned here until the day of the burials.”
Callum scowled at what Neil told him. What Elias said was the truth. He had gone to Owens’s and other farms to locate Hammond. If he was guilty of his son’s murder, why would he do so? The question of his guilt sat heavily on his chest. “I appreciate it, Neil, for letting me know. I’m finished with training for the day. I mean to meet my lady for the midday meal and I must go.” He started off, but Neil stopped him when he hurried to catch up to him.
“Wait, Laird, there’s something else. I did as you asked and discreetly questioned the soldiers about Hammond. Owen recently came in from his farmstead to train and he told me that around the time Hammond went missing, he saw him by the cliffs.”
“Aye, that’s where we found him.”
“That’s not all he told me. He said he saw Hammond and Clive in a row. They shouted at each other and Owen said he could see they’d taken to fists. They fought and shouted at each other, but Owen was too far from them to hear what their dispute was about. His wife called him inside and when he came back out, they were gone.”
“Clive? Are you certain about this?”
Neil bobbed his head. “That’s what Owen said and I trust him. I wanted to speak to you about Hammond because I knew him well. We’d been comrades for a long time and shared a bunk in the barracks. Hammond was irked that his da vied to take the lairdship from Gavin. That’s why they fought. But I tell you this, Laird, Hammond wouldn’t take his life. He was too cowardly and I don’t believe he’d jump from the cliff. Someone had to push him. If Clive fought with Hammond, maybe he’s the one who pushed him over?”