Tempting the Highlander (13 page)

She pointed at the pitcher at the end of the table. “I will fetch the steward. Until he arrives, if you want more to drink, you will have to pour it yourself. Consider that your first lesson in Highland survival.”

“Wait, what is your name?”

“Rowena,” she said with a wink.

“I’m sorry about before. I thought you were a servant,” Cyric said rapidly, wishing he were acting more like his smooth charming self. “My name is—”

“I know your name,” she interrupted, and bestowed upon him a stunning smile that transformed her from a pretty woman into something quite breathtaking. “Good luck, Cyric. I think you will need it even more than I had originally believed.”

Then she pivoted gracefully and glided out the door, leaving him completely alone. He had known she was mocking him, but he was not at all put off by it. It was not a cruel ridicule like the kinds he had experienced from his guides, but more like a tease one received from a friend. Cyric hoped he would see her again.

Chapter 9

Meriel watched expectantly as the two men placed the oval wooden bathtub on the floor near the hearth. She waited until the last person hauling hot water dumped the contents of two buckets and left the room before falling stomach down on Crevan’s—now Raelynd’s—bed. She raised herself on her elbows and rested her chin on her hand to watch with amusement the slow methodical way her sister was still unpacking. “It’s so dark in here, Lyndee. You won’t be able to find a home for each and every item,” Meriel teased.

“Then I suggest you stop bothering me, go down to your room and finish unpacking.”

“I’m already done,” Meriel divulged, stifling a yawn.

Raelynd stood straight up and stared at her sister. “You can’t be,” she murmured, knowing Meriel had brought more than twice the amount of stuff she had. “Not with everything.”

“If I unpacked the way you do, it would have taken me a week.”

“What did you do? Just shove Craig’s stuff out of the way to make room for your things?”

Meriel shrugged, indicating Raelynd’s guess had been accurate, and then rolled onto her back to play with her braid. “Your way may be cleaner, but it is also a whole lot slower.”

Fact was, she
had
just pushed all of Craig’s things to a corner and then proceeded to dump her belongings, spreading them around to create various piles on the floor. Her more precious materials she had draped on the furniture. It did not make sense to find a place for everything as Raelynd was doing if they were only going to stay a few weeks. She would spend unnecessary time searching for whatever she needed. Now she just had to look around. In Meriel’s mind, not only was her way faster, it was far more efficient.

Raelynd, almost done, pulled out the gown she intended to wear that night. The deep rose bliaut had small pearls sewn around the neckline and the hem of each sleeve, perfectly matching the semisheer, cream-colored chemise she always wore beneath it. Digging in the bag, she pulled out her brush and the matching pearl hairpin. She rummaged around in it some more before hurrying to the other bag, which she had already emptied, to verify she had indeed gotten everything out of it.

“Meriel,” she began, clearly uneasy. “Please tell me that you packed slippers.”

Meriel went still, letting the braid she was holding fall to her chest. She had been so busy packing sewing materials, trying to squeeze everything she could into only four bags, she had not considered the odds and ends that went with dressing. She sat up. “I don’t think I packed any. Didn’t you?”

Raelynd shook her head. “I was so mad I wasn’t thinking about shoes. The only ones I have are there.”

She looked toward the two pairs of sopping leather double-soled turn-shoes sitting in front of the hearth. They were so filthy after two days of travel, washing them had been one of the first things they did. If lucky, the shoes would be dry by morning. They certainly would not be ready for that evening.

“Maybe Lady McTiernay will have some we can borrow,” Meriel muttered, hoping she would not have to go barefoot. Many Highland women did but their father had been afraid of them getting cold and sick. After years of wearing shoes, their feet were not accustomed to walking around without protection.

The sound of someone on the other side of the door caught their attention. Meriel, hoping that it was Laurel, jumped off the bed and rushed to the door. Opening it, she was surprised to see Conan, descending the staircase. He stretched his neck to see around her figure and grunted when he saw Raelynd reinspecting what even he could see was an empty bag.

Meriel was about to close the door when she heard him say, “My elder brothers must have gotten the last three clever women in Scotland. The only ones left are pretty little girls.”

Meriel fumed at the insult and was half tempted to chase after him, but taking one step onto the hard stone floor outside the room, she quickly jumped back onto the soft woven rushes that covered the bedchamber floor. “I wish he would try and woo me one time just so I could refuse. That man needs a good no.”

“With his kind, it would be pointless. He would just think you were too dense to realize how lucky and fortunate you almost were,” Raelynd said acerbically, dropping the bag onto the floor.

The sound of running feet was again outside the door, but both decided to ignore it. If Conan wanted to spend his time and energy jogging up and down stairs that was his choice. Meriel began to shimmy out of her bliaut. “I think the water is ready. Can you hand me the soap?”

Raelynd put her hands on her hips. “I told you to bring some.”

“And I told you I didn’t have any room!” Meriel barked.

“And I said to make some. You had more than twice as many bags as I did,” Raelynd replied, her voice growing icy.

Meriel opened her mouth to give a strong retort when more running was heard, this time followed by a knock. Raelynd called out, “Who is it?”

“Me,” came the soft, high-pitched reply.

Curious, Raelynd unlatched the door and opened it. Standing almost waist high was a little girl who looked to be around the age of seven. Thin with thick pale gold curly hair, she was the spitting image of her mother with the exception of her eyes. Instead of Laurel’s blue storm-colored eyes, they were gray, with silver glints that sparkled with impishness. “Who are you?”

Not waiting to be asked in, the young girl flashed Raelynd a grin. “I’m Brenna,” she answered, and walked toward Meriel, who was holding her bliaut up to her chest for she had on only her chemise. “Here.”

Meriel reached out and took the light gray speckled mound being offered. “Thank you,” she murmured, unknowing just what it was she received. “What is it?”

Brenna puckered her eyebrows in confusion. “You don’t know?”

Raelynd felt her jaw slacken. This was one of Laurel’s twins. She had heard of Brenna and Braeden. In the same way Raelynd’s father protected her and her sister, the McTiernay twins’ father had never allowed them to venture away from the safety of their home. “That was you running back and forth?”

Brenna nodded. “I heard everything.” Brenna beamed with pride. “Only Mommy’s extra soap was in the storage room, but I’ll try to help and get you shoes.”

Raelynd hoped Brenna had only
thought
she heard everything, for if she let it slip that she and Meriel had switched rooms, it might cause some ill will to develop between them and their hostess. “I am Meriel,” Raelynd said, testing the little girl, “and this is my sister, Lyndee.”

Brenna bobbed her head and Raelynd stifled a sigh of relief and took the gray mound from Meriel’s hand. It was soft and someone had taken the time to carve it into a rose. “Is this soap?”

Brenna again nodded enthusiastically and climbed up onto Crevan’s bed. “Clyde likes to carve them when he’s bored. But he’s gone so that’s the last pretty one.”

Raelynd rotated the mound, studying it. Her soap looked much darker because of the ash. “I wonder where these flecks came from,” she said, handing the rose-shaped lump back to her sister.

Brenna’s mouth hung open with candid shock. “What do you put in your soap?” she finally asked.

Meriel shrugged. She had never once helped with the soap-making and had no idea what was involved. Raelynd crossed her arms and looked smugly down and listed the items. “Ash, tallow, lime, and some oil.”

Brenna shook her head this time, letting her curls bounce all around her face. “What do you use to make it smell good?”

Raelynd blinked. The idea of putting something else into the soap had never occurred to her. “Nothing.”

Brenna curled up into a ball on the bed and started giggling. “You use
boy’s
soap.”

Meriel smelled the gray mound. “It’s lavender, Raelynd. It is wonderful.”

Just then they heard Laurel’s voice call out. “Brenna? Are you in there?”

The little girl bounced off the bed and went to the door. “Yes, Mama.”

“Sweetheart, you need to leave our guests alone. You will have time to meet with them later, I promise.”

“She’s fine,” Raelynd said, enjoying the little girl’s company. With her sister being a twin, she always had a playmate growing up, but not a little sister whom she could teach things.

Laurel frowned, but finally acquiesced. “Just remember that dinner is at sundown, which is in only a couple of hours. It will be served in the Lower Hall with the soldiers to give Craig and Crevan a chance to introduce you both to all their friends and family.”

Raelynd stepped forward, not realizing there was an alarmed expression on her face. “We have never eaten with the men. Our father never liked us talking with them, especially at mealtime.”

“Well, I assure you that after being married for a few months, it will seem quite natural to be eating and talking with a bunch of rowdy soldiers. I have much to do, so I will see you at dinner.”

As soon as the door closed, Meriel moaned and Raelynd issued her a look to remain silent for Brenna was in the room. “We made a promise.”

Meriel nodded and finished undressing to bathe.

“What promise?” little Brenna prompted.

Raelynd grabbed her around the waist and swung her around. “Why, a promise to look our very best and make every McTiernay clansman and soldier wish he was the one betrothed to us.”

Brenna squealed with delight. “Can I help?”

Raelynd, getting dizzy, put her gently onto the floor. “Absolutely.”

Laurel smiled to herself and quietly exited the tower. As expected, trying to get Conor to admit there was no wedding had been a waste of time. The man had obviously made a promise to his friend and ally Laird Schellden, and short of it causing harm to someone in his family, Conor would not break it. In the end, the talk with her husband had accomplished only one thing. He had her convinced that she needed to at least act as if there was going to be a wedding, even though it was clear to her that not one of the four truly wanted or desired the event. She suggested as much to Conor and he had ordered her to do nothing more. She was to leave things alone. To Laurel that meant use more devious means.

Intentionally talking within her eldest daughter’s hearing, she mentioned they had two guests staying in Crevan’s and Craig’s old rooms, knowing Brenna would not be able to stop herself from running over there and meeting them. Of course Laurel had followed, keeping out of sight, and while she felt that it slightly involved subterfuge, it was worth it. In those few short minutes, Laurel had discovered more than she had bickering with Conor for nearly an hour.

Tonight, she would confirm her guess.

Meriel grabbed her knees and rocked back, laughing heartily as Brenna attempted another strange coil with Raelynd’s hair, pinning it in a less than appealing fashion. After they had both taken their baths, Meriel had been first to receive the delightful result of Brenna’s care and attention. The resulting hairstyle was quite uneven, messy, and overall very amusing.

Now it was Raelynd’s turn to have parts of her hair twisted into crazy knots they both knew would be a nightmare to brush out. But they didn’t care. Without a younger sibling, they had missed out on such pastimes. It was pleasant to have some fun with the little girl as they waited for a maid to come help them prepare for dinner.

Two strong knocks were heard on the door. Raelynd stopped Brenna with a mock sad face. “Go open the door and tell them we are ready.”

Brenna’s shoulders visibly slumped, for she too was having fun, and she went to the door as she was told. Opening it and seeing Laurel, she cheered up and said with pride, “Mama, they are ready!”

Laurel stepped inside, looking beautiful. Dressed in a kirtle made of a brilliant shade of deep blue, she had draped the McTiernay plaid so that it loosely crossed her bodice and was pinned to her shoulder. Everything about her was perfect, except for her stunned expression. She had suspected that neither Raelynd nor Meriel would be ready after agreeing to let Brenna stay with them, but she had not expected them to be so
not
ready. Raelynd at least had her bliaut on, but Meriel was still only in her shift.

“You, Brenna, go downstairs. Bonny and Braeden are waiting for you to go eat dinner with Gideon tonight.”

Brenna moaned. “Why can’t I eat with Papa in the Hall? Tonight is going to be fun with Lyndee and Meriel.”

Laurel shushed her and gave Brenna a little nudge. Her best friend, Aileen, had agreed to watch her own two children and Laurel’s three during the dinner. But Laurel had to make a promise in return. That not only did she have to chronicle the night’s events in detail, but also let her be part of whatever scheme Laurel concocted to deal with the two spoiled guests. Laurel had sworn she had no plan, but Aileen was not fooled. Her friend might not have had a defined plot in mind, but she would. Laurel was unable to help herself from getting involved if she thought her input was needed and, based on how Laurel described the Schellden twins, they definitely required help.

“Well, there is nothing to be done, I guess,” Laurel said, and went to the bed. She picked up the pale blue bliaut laid out on the coverlet and tossed it to Meriel. “Dress as you walk and come with me.”

Meriel knew she must have heard wrong and stuck the garment out in front of her. “But it is wrinkled and still needs to be prepared.”

Laurel nodded in agreement. “It is regrettable to introduce you both like you are, but fortunately both Crevan and Craig have seen you perfected. Hopefully in the future you will manage your time better when you prepare yourselves for dinner.”

Meriel stared at Raelynd, who was looking more and more uneasy by the second. At home, they had two maids to help them dress and do their hair. Though Laurel had never mentioned it, they had just assumed the same conveniences would be available to them at the McTiernay Castle. But it was becoming very evident that Laurel was not going to cater to their accustomed lifestyles. When their hostess had said dinner at sundown—she had meant it.

Raelynd swallowed. “Tell them we are sorry for not being prepared on time and will be down as soon as we are ready.”

“I will make no such apologies,” Laurel said simply.