Dawn Annis (20 page)

“The MacDonald lass?”

“Nay, she’s promised to another.”

Seamus turned to Merta. “Shane told me the lass has a cottage in Dumbarton.”

Iain spoke up immediately. “I will go.”

Merta looked to Iain’s shoulder. “Ye canna go! Yer hurt as well.”

“I will go,” Iain said firmly. “I canna watch him die.”

The decision made, Iain brooked no further argument. Concern clear on the faces of Seamus and Merta as Iain clambered down the remaining steps and called to one of the men for a fresh horse. Seamus, Darcey and Merta hastened after him.

“Iain, lemme see to yer shoulder.” Merta packed his shoulder tightly with moss then bandaged the wound quickly.

“Darcey, go to the kitchen for food and a skin of wine for his trip south.”

Iain mounted the horse and quickly rode out of the courtyard, giving a salute as he went.

Chapter 30

After supper and his surprising tale, Kate and Smithers spent quite a while talking. He answered her questions the best he could.

“That is why you became my mother’s servant.”

“Yes, m’lady, much to the shock of proper society. It was unheard of to have a manservant instead of a female maid to help a lady of breeding with her needs. Your mother insisted. We needed a reason for me to be within her household and in a position close to her. She never wavered regardless of what society or even her own husband thought or said.”

“Mother told me you helped her through a difficult time. She was devoted to you. Although she never shared with me what the problem had been. It was obvious to me you were devoted to her as well.”

Kate thought back to growing up in the house.

“My curiosity would pique about your relationship every so often. I did not ask for details. It was not my business.”

Had her mother or Smithers wanted her to know, they would have shared.

“You were a valued part of my life. My protector. It was enough. But why didn’t Mother or you tell me the earl was not my father?” she asked.

“It was not a secret to tell when you were small. You may have said something to the earl you shouldn’t. As you got older, there never seemed to be the right time,” Smithers replied.

“But when I was betrothed?”

Smithers frowned. “Your betrothal and marriage were out of your mother’s hands. Society knew the Earl of Westmoreland to be your father. The choice was up to him as to who you would accept in marriage. Your mother could have publicly denounced his right to do so but in doing so she would have had to declare your illegitimacy.”

Smithers took Kate’s hands in his. “She had intentions of telling you the truth. She discussed it with me on several occasions. Sadly, her intentions died with her.”

Kate sipped her wine. She missed her mother very much. “I would have liked to talk with her, to hear my mother talk of my father. I would have liked to know more about him. What were his likes and dislikes? Did I remind her of him? In what ways? There are so many questions I will never have the answers.”

“I’m sorry she is not here to tell you of this herself,” Smithers said.

“Your apologies are not necessary.” Kate reached across the table and took a hold of his hand. “You both did what you felt was the best at the time. I would have liked to have known the truth but honestly, what would I have done with the information? As you say, it would not have relieved me of my marriage. Perhaps the knowledge would have made it all the harder.

“This certainly explains why the earl had little if nothing to do with me. I did always wonder why he couldn’t love me.” Kate smiled wistfully. “Perhaps, deep down, he knew.”

Smithers slowly nodded in agreement as he said, “Perhaps, he did indeed.”

A short time later, a contemplative Kate said good night to Smithers and slowly shut the door to her room. What Smithers had told her was astonishing. She’d had a father. She’d had a father that had loved her mother deeply. Her mother and Smithers had made arrangements for her independence. She now was relying on no other for her care. The man she had known as her cold and uncaring father had been a murderer.

She thought of Shane and grieved. How could she have been so woefully wrong about him? How did everyone but herself know of the possible marriage? So many questions, all of them unanswerable. It was a long time before Kate slept.

Smithers knocked on her door the next morning, ready to escort her down to break their fast.

“Are you ready to leave for Dumbarton?”

“Yes, it will be good to be home after so long.”

“Are you well? We will take the better part of the day to reach our home. Perhaps tomorrow.” Smithers patted Kate’s shoulder.

“No. Today is a fine one for travel. You have given me a great deal to think about. It is on my mind.”

Kate’s head reeled from the events of the day before and the revelations of her discussion with Smithers. She had the contradictory feelings between the wonderful discovery of her financial independence, the loss of a father she never knew, and the unmitigated sorrow of losing the man she had come to trust and love. A trust she now berated herself for. How could she not have seen what was obviously going on around her? Infidelity. That is how she viewed his betrayal. An unfair view, she reminded herself. Shane had made no promises. She, in her joy of finding love, had not asked for any.

Smithers left Kate to her thoughts for he was deep in his own. He would, of course, stay with Kate. Help her get settled into a new home, a new life, where they would go next after Dumbarton. After the previous night and his decision to reveal her unknown past to her, he was sure her thoughts lay with her mother and father. Perhaps with the MacGregor as well. He would have to bring her around to thinking about her future. He feared she would be drawn to stay at her little cottage, too paralyzed to go elsewhere. She received several shocks in less than a day. Anyone would be immobilized by such tidings. Both the welcome and the unwelcome. His own shock at Shane’s perfidy was profound. He knew he must overcome the luxury of succumbing to his own inner battles to assist Kate in the struggle she now found herself facing. They needed to be in control of their emotions before they reached Dumbarton. They may very well be faced with another battle in the guise of Andrew Colquhoun. There was no hope of Andrew selling the cottage to her just to spite her. He had no illusions. Kate would have to leave. It would, however, be an easier choice of where to live with ample funds.

Kate and Smithers rode throughout the day and into the evening, stopping only for a short time to eat the bread and cheese the innkeeper’s wife had packed for them. After a grueling pace,
they rode into the small dooryard of her beloved cottage.

Nell, holding a lantern, met them, having been alerted by the dogs. Smithers helped Kate off her horse. She stumbled then regained her footing. Both were stiff from their long ride in the saddle. One of the lads led the horses to their stalls for a good rub down and a well-deserved bag of oats.

“M’lady! I am so very pleased to see ye. I was afraid the worse ‘til news from Smithers told of yer safety. ‘Tis a fine thing yer home where ye belong.”

“Yes, Nell. I am home at last. I have missed it a great deal,” Kate said tiredly. “And I have missed you. Are you well?”

“Aye, well enough. Let’s get ye inside.”

The two-story house was square in shape. As she entered the home, a small parlor sat to the right. She’d spent rainy days there, sipping tea. Flower beds graced the front of the house and grew alongside a long wraparound porch extending along the front and one side of the house. It was idyllic.

The hall extended toward the back of the house, ending at a short stairway leading down to the garden level kitchen. The herb garden and vegetable gardens were at the back of the house.

To the left were the receiving room, library and dining area. She’d missed the library. The stairway on the right led the way to the bedrooms on the second floor. She looked forward to sleeping in her own bed after so many months away.

A narrow staircase in the kitchen went up to the attic space above the house. The servants resided there.

The cottage had a stable with stablemen to care for the horses. They had pigs, a few cattle, as well as a milking cow. There was plenty of pasture land for the livestock. Down behind the barn the pasture gave way to a forest that produced a shaded glen and a pond for fishing. The forest provided game birds and rabbits.

Kate entered the tiny kitchen and drew off her cloak and gloves then warmed her hands by the fire that blazed cheerfully in the grate. Nell fussed. Kate stepped over to the little table near the fire and sunk into a chair. She took in the familiar sights greeting her, very pleased to be
home.

Nell set the kettle to the fire and bustled about, heating food and making tea. “There now, ye go up and prepare a bath for her ladyship,” Nell said to a young maid.

Kate recognized her from Lord Colquhoun’s manor in York. She had not thought of the servants whom she had invited to leave Sidney’s residence when she had set out for home. She was glad to see the young woman and briefly wondered who had also decided to come to Dumbarton. She would inquire about them later. Now, she was too tired to think.

“I will take my food in here, Nell. I am so weary I don’t believe I can move just now.”

Nell set a meaty stew and bread before Kate. Smithers sat down next to her for his own meal.

“We’ve traveled a long way today. From Crianlarich,” Smithers said around a mouthful of stew.

“All that way! In just a day, mind ye,” Nell exclaimed. “Eat yer fill, m’lady, and we’ll get ye to bed.”

Kate did have one important question she needed the answer to. “Nell, did Lord Colquhoun arrive?”

“Nay, his lordship has not been here. The man has not shone his face.”

Kate drew in a heavy breath and let it out slowly, relieved. She knew her household could not stay. They would need to move on to another house, another village, another home. She had time to make those decisions however short it may be.

Kate stood. She waved Smithers to sit back down as he started to rise.

“No, don’t get up. I am heading straight to bed. Good night to you both.” Kate stepped over to Nell and bussed her cheek. “Thank you for everything.” She turned and left the kitchen. As she climbed the short stairs into the hall, she looked around at her home. It seemed an eternity since she had last seen it. She had left months before to see to Sidney and his funeral. With so many things happening since then, it seemed a lifetime ago.

Kate sighed, each step dragging up the stairway to the upper floor, to her room, to her bed. The maid had lit a fire, taking the coolness from the room. Spring indeed arrived but night still held a bit a chill. A warm bath waited for Kate in front of the fire. Clean, fluffy towels, a jar of dried chamomile flowers and a fresh bar of lavender scented soap sat on a short stool next to the tub. She almost cried at the sight. The maid had set out a nightgown and had turned back the sheets of her bed, slipping a warming pan between them.

“Dear sweet Lord,” Kate whispered to herself.

She quickly stripped off her dusty clothes, leaving them in a pile on the thick carpet. She slipped into the
water with a long happy sigh.

As she washed the grime from her body and hair, she thought of Shane. Shane, her love. How could she go on without him in her life? She knew she must. She grieved sorely none the less. Her heart had been roughly torn in two and she feared it would never mend. It ached. But Kate was accustomed to being alone. Sidney was a cruel, unfeeling husband, a man who had made hurting her an art. Yet that hurt was nothing compared to the devastation she felt now. She tried not to think of where she would be and what she would be doing if she were back at the MacGregor castle surrounded by friends, with Shane by her side. The loneliness was overwhelming.

Kate finished her bath, drying off slowly. She slipped the gown over her head and shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She crawled into bed and snuggled down. Warm and sated, silent tears ran down her face.

Chapter 31

Smithers saw the rider from his window as he dressed for the day. He rushed down, calling to Nell. Grabbing a groomsman, Smithers raced down the back steps to the rider’s side. Iain. He was covered in blood. Smithers gently pushed aside his shirt and tartan, revealing the injury to his shoulder, the blood seeped.

“Assist me. He is badly hurt.”

Iain grabbed hold of Smithers’ shirt. Beseeching. His labored breathing would not allow the words to come.

Smithers and the groomsman lifted Iain and carried him inside, laying him gently on the hall floor. Iain’s eyes closed once more against the pain. Nell hurried in. Seeing Iain, she headed for the stairs for Lady Colquhoun.

“M’lady,” Nell cried, trying to catch her breath. “An injured man. Downstairs.”

Smithers heard her quick steps. She stepped out into the hall and peered down over the rail.

“Tis Iain, m’lady,” Smithers said.

“What on earth . . .?” Kate rushed down the stairs to Iain’s side. “Take him up to the small bedroom,” she said to Smithers and the groom.

The men carried Iain up the stairs and laid him down on the bed.

“Smithers, remove his clothes so I can see the wound.”

“Nell, bring me my supplies.” Nell hurried out.

“Here now,” she observed. “He is filthy.” Crusted blood lay across his shoulder, his chest, and stomach. “His body is hot with fever.”

As Kate bathed him, Iain opened his eyes and grabbed her wrist. Smithers immediately stepped up to her side.

Trying to sit up, Iain croaked. “Shane. Injured. Dying,” Iain panted, breathing heavily between each word. “Sent to get ye.” Iain’s lids closed and he fell back to the mattress as he slipped into unconsciousness.

A vise gripped Kate’s heart. She sucked in a breath only to have it stop in her throat. Shane dying?

“Horses would be quicker than the carriage, m’lady,” Smithers said, still standing by Kate’s side.

Kate looked up from where Iain lay into Smithers face. She saw her own thoughts there. “Indeed.”

Smithers sprang into action. “You, there,” he said to the forgotten groomsman. “Have two horses saddled and ready to go within the hour. Have a maid pack Lady Colquhoun’s things. Quickly, man.”

Smithers strode out of the room to prepare for the journey north.

Kate watched as the maid was desperately trying to get her gowns
into the trunk. Taking pity, Kate stopped her, pulling her gently back. She removed the heavy gowns and ruffs then dug around for the matching slippers and silk bags. Kate took out the black gowns.

She didn’t mourn Sidney’s death. She hadn’t been mourning his death, and she wouldn’t mourn his death now. After all that had happened in the past weeks, she was determined to follow her own road. Right now that road led to Shane. She went to her wardrobe, picked out a pair of serviceable boots, and placed them in the maid’s hands.

“These are the type of items I will need.”