Gifts of Desire (6 page)

             
She left the window and moved about the room, running her hands over the
smooth
wood of the furniture, touching the
fine
fabric of the bed curtains.  She sat on the bed, and found
it to be as soft
as it looked.  She certainly could have done worse than to find herself here. 
Here
.  Nervous chills suddenly prickled at the base of her neck
as the strangeness of the moment
again
caught up with her
.  She was here on her own at
Tulloch
Castle. 
Really here.
 
At the mercy of the laird, since she could not tell him who she was or where she
had come
from.  And she needed to make him keep her here long enough to complete her quest.
  If he sent her away,
it would be nearly impossible to get back inside these well guarded walls.
  That must have been why Malcolm had left her to be found by the laird.  Of course her being alone in the woods would be suspicious, and of course she would be brought back here to the cas
tle.  It was a brilliant plan, really.  Why hadn’t they told her?
  Did they think she would balk at the idea?
  Could she not be trusted to keep a secret?  But that didn’t make any sense.  If they didn’t trust her, they surely wouldn’t have sent her here on an important task…
unless they were trying to get rid of her… 
She put her hands to her head. 
I
just
ca
n’t make sense of it all! 

             
A sudden knock at the door made her jump, but before she could answer, it
burst open
and several maids came in bearing a
small wooden
tub and buckets of steaming water.  Another followed with a tray of bread and che
ese.  She smiled despite her uneasiness
. 
After
all those
days and nights
in the woods
and on a horse
it would
certainly
feel good to be clean again.  She had just stood from the bed when yet another girl appeared carrying fresh clothing. 

             
“I thought
you
wouldn’t
wan
t to put
you
r
s
back on, milady, until they could be washed.”

             
Ella
gave her a look of
genuine
gratitude.  T
o be clean
after
a week’
s journey would be a fine thing indeed
. 
“Thank
you
,
fresh
clothing
wi
ll be wonderful.
  I… I’ve been travelling for quite a few days.
”

             
“
You
’r
e
most welcome.” 
The girl bobbed and left the room, with the other maids turning to follow her.  Alone again,
Ella
quickly
took off her plain brown riding gown and kirtle,
and sank into the
warm water.
 
The staff of the castle, she realized, were treating her as a guest
, not a… what
was she exactly, a hostage?
  A captive?
  Had the laird told them to do so, or did they just assum
e?  Treacherous t
houghts
of all that could go wrong rushed into her mind,
and the trouble she could find herself in.  S
he willed
such thoughts away; s
he would need a clear head to see this through. 

             
Someone had lit a
peat
fire in the
hearth
.  Her mind was so flustered she hadn’t even noticed, but t
he gentle heat of it warmed her face.
She scrubbed herself clean
with the
lavender
scented soap they had brought
, and washed her hair
. 
Lavender scented soap, no doubt reserved for
family and esteemed guests, certainly not what the servants would use.  What were his plans for her? 
Would he want her to share his bed? 
Surely he w
ould never find out the truth…
Stop that, Ella!
  You have to keep your mind focused on what must be done!

             
She
ate a bit of bread and cheese
from the tray
on the table beside her
before the water cooled enough
to chase her from the tub, and
d
ried herself with a linen towel.  N
o sooner had she put on the clean shift then the maid returned with a brush and comb
, as if on cue
. 

             
“I thought
you
might
want
some help with
you
r
hair
, milady.”

             
“
That’s very thoughtful of you
..
.”
  She looked
nervously at the maid,
still
uncertain in her new surroundings
, and this strange situation
.  But she
could tell right away the girl
was kind
and
had a good heart, and she smiled.
  “What is your name?”

             
“I’m Fiona, Milady.”
 

             
“Please
,
call me
Ella
.
”

             
Fiona nodded and sat
Ella
in a chair by the hearth to begin combing out her hair
where the heat from the fire would dry it
. 

             
“Ti
s a beautiful name,
Ella
.
  Do
you
mind me asking, how did
you
come to be
…
ah…
staying with us?
  I
don’t
mean to pry,
mind
you
, it’s just everyone’
s a bit curious.
”

             
Ella
almost flinched, but caught herself
in time
.  It was not in her nature to tell
even
half-truths, never mind out-right lies. 
Then she smiled to herself
with relief
, realizing the
real
reason for Fiona’s question.
  Gossip was co
in among a household’s servants, and
as the one who tended her,
Fiona would have an edge on everyone else.
“Ah, well,
I was travelling and was separated from my party.  Your laird happened upon me in the forest
on his way home,
and was kind enough to bring me here until I
can
arrange to leave.  I truly appreciate the
hospitality;
I’m not sure what I would have done, otherwise.”
  There, that was quite truthful.

             
“Oh, I see.
  It’s lucky our laird found
you
, then, before
you
could meet with any trouble.
”

             
Ella
fu
rrowed her brow.  T
he girl
seemed
a bit
disappoin
ted by her explanation.  It was probably only that the Laird
finding a lost lady was probably not the juicy
tidbit the girl was hoping for.  But she couldn’t think on it now. 
Right now she wanted to
begin her search and
start turning the castle upside-down, and crawl into the bed and hide under the covers, all at the same time. 

             
Fiona interrupted her
whirling
thoughts. 
People were fo
rever interrupting her thoughts, she mused.  Perhaps because she spent most of her time lost in thought
…
 

             
“Well,
you
r
hair is dry enough.  Let’s see about the gown.  Mil
aird was most insistent that
you
speak with him as soon as
you
’r
e
able, and already the hour grows late.  He’ll not like to be kept waiting.”
 
She slipped the
delicate pale blue
gown over
Ella
’s head and set about lacing the matching kirtle
. 

             
“Is the laird
truly
an impatient man, then?
 
He’s not… i
s he ever…
cruel?
”

             
Fiona pursed her lips, considering the question.
 
“In some matters
he’s quite impatient
, aye.  I’d say he’s a hard man,
and certainly
without mercy
wh
en it comes to protecting what’
s his, and of course he’s
a fine warrior
, one of the best
,
but
no
,
not
cruel
.
”
 
She finished dressi
ng Ella and stepped back to look
at her.
 
“
Ah,
you
loo
k lovely, ‘tis a perfect fit. 
Now, on with these slippers and we’ll be done.”

             
“Fiona?”
  Looking down at the fine dress,
wondering where it had come from,
a sudden thought occurred to her.

             
“Aye?”

             
“Is there a lady of the castle?”

             
She held her breath, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. 
She
could have sworn she saw something
like uncertainty
flicker across the
woman’s
face
. 

             
“N
o
, it’s just the laird
.”

             
“Why ever not? 
I mean, s
urely the laird is past an age to marry?”
 
She knew her question
was forward and
bordered on
rude, but she
found that she
was more than curious about the man who had brought her here.
  In fact, she seemed to be thinking about him much more than was
strictly
necessary
to complete
her quest
.

             
Fiona bit her lip
in hesitation
, but answered
nonetheless
.  “Well,
I suppose the laird doesn’t
want to marry.  Some men prefer to remain bachelors for all of their days.
  It just suits them.
  Or perhaps he’ll marry one day yet.
  He’s young, still, afterall.
”

             
Ella
sensed
there was more to
this
story.  Servants knew everything that went on in a castle.  Gossip being coin, and all. 
“
Aye
, I suppose
.”
 
But what about an heir?
  Everyone knows there must be an heir.
 
Ella
got the impression
that something was not quite as it should be at Tulloch.  There was a certain tension; a subtle sadness about the place
, that was palpable to her even now. 
A mystery
, then
.  Did it have anything
to do with what she was to find here?  She
needed
to learn more;
suddenly couldn’t wait to learn more.

             
With t
he slippers on her feet, and h
er mind still reeling from all that had happened in
such
a short time,
making everything seem a bit like a dream,
Ella
was led back down the stairs
and deposited in front of a closed door
at one end of the Great Hall
.