The Eternal Highlander (16 page)

“Ye should’ve at least greeted the girl.”

Connall glanced at his mother. She was giving him that reproving look he hated so much. It always managed to bring guilt to the fore in him, as it did now. “I thought she’d prefer to rest and recover from her journey first.”

“Aye, but surely a hello wouldn’t have harmed?”

Connall shrugged uncomfortably and concentrated on his drink. He hadn’t intended avoiding his new bride in the way he had. It had been a spur of the moment decision. He’d come out of the keep on being told the men were back, expecting to greet her, but on arriving and finding her not in evidence—though he’d spied the skirt of her dress between the legs of his milling men—he’d been content to leave the meeting until later. Actually, he’d felt relief on avoiding the meeting as he’d walked away.

Connall was finding this business of marriage rather dismaying. He agreed with his cousin, Cathal, that it was necessary, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. In truth, he had put the actual doing of the deed off these last months while Cathal had gone out and found himself a bride back in the spring. Connall supposed he had been waiting to see how that turned out before bothering about it himself. In the end, it had turned out surprisingly well. His cousin’s bride, Bridget, suited Cathal perfectly and the pair were now enjoying wedded bliss. If Connall’s own marriage went half as well, he’d be content.

That thought brought Eva Caxton to mind. Theirs was not a great love match, but he had met and liked the girl when he’d spoken to her, though not so much that he had decided to marry her then. In fact, when he had finally decided that it was time to stop putting off his duty and to get married, he had at first found himself stumped as to who to marry. He could hardly count on his Nightriders to stumble upon a lass in distress and carry her home to him to wed as had happened with Cathal and Bridget. As for contracting a marriage in the usual way, that had seemed an unlikely event for him to manage. His clan did not enjoy a good reputation just at present what with the rumors about their ancestry and such coming back into question. Connall had almost thought he’d set himself an impossible task, then he had recalled his enforced visit to court.

His presence had been demanded there to stamp out the rumors about him and his people. Now that the English had signed the treaty of Picquigny with France and were keeping up their truce with Scotland, it seemed that good King James had a desire to see peace in his own small part of the world. He’d demanded Connall and his cousin Cathal’s presence at court to help silence the rumors around their clans. Cathal had managed to avoid the task, but Connall had made the journey…and a hellish one it had been too. It was while he was there that he had met and spoken to Eva Caxton. He had passed only a few moments in her company, but she had stuck in his mind, and Connall had asked about her, only to learn that her brother had brought her to court to try to find her a husband.

Normally, this would not have been a problem for such a lovely young girl, but the brother was said to be a greedy miser who hoarded the gold he’d been left by his wealthy parents and claimed poverty to all who would listen. He was trying to palm her off without a dower, and had been failing miserably at the task since everyone at court knew that his smoke screen about poverty was just so much nonsense.

Eva Caxton had left court the day before Connall had, and without a marriage offer. Deciding that if she were still available, she would do as well as anyone else, Connall had counted on her brother’s greed to aid in the endeavor and had sent Ewan and five men with gold to barter for her. He had fully expected that—so long as she was still available—Ewan would be bringing him back a bride. And he had, of course, though Ewan had claimed it was a close thing. Jonathan Caxton had been all set to shuffle the girl off to an abbey the very day after Ewan and the men had arrived. Had Connall hesitated about the decision just one more day, she would have been beyond his reach and he would have been left to find another family desperate—or greedy—enough to sell him a daughter of the house.

Connall wasn’t sure whether he should be glad the task was done or not. He supposed it at least meant one problem was taken care of. Now he just had to get the woman with child and—

“We should hold a proper wedding now she’s here.”

Connall’s thoughts died abruptly at that suggestion from his mother. “What? Why? Ewan stood in fer me at the proxy wedding. Tis all legal. Or will be once we consummate it.”

“Aye, but surely ’twouldn’t hurt to hold a small ceremony here to make it all official—”

“The proxy wedding was official,” Connall interrupted.

“Aye, but ye werenae there fer it.”

“So?”

Magaidh sighed. “Do ye feel married, son?”

Connall paused to consider the matter. In truth, he didn’t feel any different than he had the day before, or the day before that and he had to wonder with some irritation, just what being married was supposed to feel like.

“Ye see.” Magaidh didn’t bother to hide her satisfaction. “Ye doona, do ye?”

Connall scowled, unwilling to admit anything of the sort. Another wedding was nothing but a waste to his mind, but his mother was determined to argue the case.

“It’d be better fer both o’ ye. I doubt the proxy wedding was anything more than a couple o’ words spoken by the priest and contracts signed.” Magaidh raised an eyebrow at Ewan as she suggested that, satisfaction suffusing her face when he gave a brief nod of agreement. “I doubt Eva feels any more married than ye. And it will give our people the chance to see her and see that yer married as well.”

Connall closed his mouth on the protest he had been about to launch as Magaidh’s last words caught his attention. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for their people to witness the event, and he really should be sure she was recognized by one and all as his bride…and under his protection.

“Ewan, we need a priest,” he announced firmly.

“I shall see to it, m’laird.” The man was on his feet at once and moving toward the door to the keep.

“Jest send someone fer him,” Connall instructed. “Then rest. Ye’ve had a long journey.”

“Aye, m’laird.” The door closed behind him with a thud.

Eva awoke at once. There was no slow stirring to wakefulness, no abrupt jerking awake, she simply rolled onto her back, opened her eyes and felt alert and awake. Pleasantly so. Remaining where she lay for a moment, she let her eyes drift around the large luxurious room where she had slept. It was much more welcoming than her own room had ever been.

But she supposed this was her room now. At least, she hoped so. It looked like it might belong to the laird of a wealthy clan. That thought reminded her that she was married now. It was an odd thought. Eva didn’t feel married, though she wasn’t sure what being married should feel like. She felt no different than she had every day of her life for some time now. Well, perhaps that wasn’t true. She did feel a bit odd. She was in a strange place, with strange people around her. And now had a husband who would share her life and her bed.

That last thought made her glance abruptly to the right side of the bed. It was empty. For one moment she had considered that her husband may have joined her after she had fallen asleep. But it would appear not. Eva was mostly relieved about this, but felt a touch of concern too. Why hadn’t her husband joined her last night in what was most likely his own bed? He hadn’t bothered to greet her on her arrival yesterday either. This seemed odd to her.

Eva hadn’t really contemplated the welcome she’d expected on arriving at MacAdie, but had she taken the time and trouble to, she certainly wouldn’t have expected it to be what had happened. Her husband had neither greeted her on her arrival, nor even come to see her as she ate her meal after her bath. Now, it appeared, he hadn’t joined her in his own bed…Unless he had and had already risen to greet the day.

That thought made her glance toward the fur covered window. How late in the morning was it? Perhaps she had slept through his arrival and leave taking. Perhaps he
had
slept here. Where else would he sleep?

Pushing the furs aside, Eva slid her feet to the floor, giving a delicate shudder at the cool straw underfoot. Despite it being summer, the night had been cool and even now there was still a nip to the morning air, but the furs piled on the bed had kept her warm and snug. Leaving them reluctantly behind, she scampered quickly to the window and drew the fur aside enough to see out into the bailey below. A wave of warm air struck her face and she saw that the sun was high in the sky. By her guess it must be mid-morning and guilt nagged her at once. She’d slept quite late. This was hardly the way to impress her new husband.

Eva let the fur fall back into place, then just as quickly pulled it aside once more. It was warmer outside than it was in the room at the moment. The furs had kept the warmer air out this morning, just as effectively as they had kept the worst of the cold air out last night. Finding a bit of cloth lying on the stone ledge of the window, Eva tied the fur back, glanced briefly down into the busy bustling bailey again, then turned back to the now sunlit room.

She would dress and go below to break her fast and finally meet her husband, she decided, then immediately began to consider what to wear. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of choice in the matter; there was the faded blue gown she’d worn for the journey here, or the threadbare grey gown she’d brought in her satchel.

Eva grimaced to herself as she glanced around in search of her satchel. The grey gown would be wrinkled, but it would be fresh in comparison to the dust covered blue one. She was trying to recall where she had set her satchel on entering the room the night before when a soft tapping sounded at the door. Giving up on the bag for now, Eva scampered back to bed and climbed in, then dragged the furs up to her neck and held them there as she called, “Enter.”

The door opened at once and the servant girl who had helped her with her bath the night before poked her head inside. Spotting her sitting up in bed, Glynis smiled widely. “Yer oop.”

The redhead slid into the room and nearly danced to the bed, waving a bundle of rose colored cloth in hand. “Lady Magaidh said to bring this oop to ye.”

“Oh,” Eva breathed out the word as the girl shifted the material and held it up for her to see. It was a gown, and quite the finest one Eva had ever seen. Tossing the bedclothes aside again, she crawled to the edge of the bed and reached out to brush the tips of her fingers gently over the soft cloth. “It’s lovely. Are you sure ’tis for me?”

“Aye.” The maid looked as excited as if the gown were for herself. “Last night, I took yer two gowns below. I was plannin’ to wash the one and hang the other to let the wrinkles out, but when Lady Magaidh saw them, she said “They simply wouldna do.” Glynis grinned. “And she fetched this one fer ye. She said ’twas more befitting the Lady MacAdie. And she said ’tis yours now. Ye’ll look lovely in it, m’lady.”

“Oh.” Eva breathed again, then blinked her eyes in alarm. Tears had filled them at the kindness. Embarrassed, she dashed them quickly away, then scrambled off the bed to claim the gown. Glynis grinned as she held it against herself and turned in a circle. Eva thought it was the most beautiful gown she’d ever seen. Certainly it was the most beautiful gown she’d ever owned. “Is it really mine?”

“Aye. Lady Magaidh said so. And she said we’d be havin’ to see to a whole new wardrobe fer ye. One that befits the bride of the MacAdie.”

“For me?” Eva asked with amazement. A whole wardrobe. How many gowns was that? She’d never had more than two at a time, sometimes only the one.

“Come, m’lady. I’ll fix yer hair and help ye to dress.” Glynis beamed widely. “I’m to be yer lady’s maid.” Her smile faltered briefly and she added an uncertain, “If ye think I’ll do, that is. Lady Magaidh will assign anoother girl if yer no pleased—”

“I’m well pleased with you as my maid, Glynis,” she assured her quickly and was relieved when the other girl began to smile again, but she had meant what she’d said; Eva felt sure that the two of them would get on just fine. Glynis had been very sweet and kind with her last night as she’d helped Eva with her bath and preparing for bed. Eva was certain that she had made the right decision several minutes later when Glynis finished working on her hair and presented a small mirror for her to see how she looked. The young maid had worked miracles. The little redhead had managed to make Eva look beautiful and that was not a word she had ever thought she’d use to describe herself, but she felt beautiful at that moment as she peered at herself in the small mirror.

Glynis had collected every last strand of Eva’s golden runaway tresses and put them up on top of her head, then dressed it with ribbons of matching rose that Magaidh had apparently sent with the gown. Eva felt like a princess.

“Tis all right, is it not, m’lady?”

Recognizing the anxiety in the girl’s voice, Eva forced herself to stop staring at her reflected image and turned to give the maid an impulsive hug.

“Tis more than all right, Glynis,” she assured her as she stepped back. “You’ve worked miracles. Thank you.”

Flushing with pleasure at the compliment, Glynis took the mirror Eva handed back. “Yer mair than welcome, m’lady. Tis jest glad I am that yer pleased.”

“More than pleased,” Eva assured her, standing and brushing her hands down the soft cloth of the gown she wore. “Do you think Cook could find me something to eat? I know ’tis late in the day, but—”

“Oh aye, Cook has a lovely repast all set fer ye,” Glynis interrupted to assure her. “Lady Magaidh warned her as ye’d probably sleep late after yer long journey, so she served normal breakfast fer everyone else, and made a special one fer ye. I was jest coming to check on ye when Ewan informed her ye were up, so she’s like to have it all ready fer ye by now.”

“Ewan informed her?” Eva blinked in surprise. “How did he know I was up?”

“He saw ye in the window, m’lady,” she explained, then seeing Eva’s embarrassment, added a reassuring smile. “Ye should go below and see what Cook fixed fer ye ere it gets cold.”

“Aye.” Eva shrugged away her mild embarrassment at being spotted in the window in the borrowed nightdress and turned toward the door. It was doubtful the man had seen much but her small figure from wherever he’d been in the bailey when she peered out, she assured herself, then paused at the door when she realized that Glynis wasn’t following her. “Are you not coming?”

The maid shook her head as she bent to pick up Eva’s nightdress. “I’ll jest be puttin’ things away first, m’lady. Ye go on. If ye need me, just send one o’ the maids to fetch me.”

Eva hesitated, oddly reluctant to leave the girl’s company behind. She had only known the maid a day, yet felt like she was the only friend she had in the world.

“Go on,” the maid urged. “Ye have to eat. Cook will be sore if ye pass up her meal after she worked so hard at it and all.”

“Aye.” Eva forced herself to open the door and step out, then pulled the door reluctantly closed, wishing all the while that Glynis were coming with her. She felt oddly uncertain and small all of a sudden. The only other time Eva had felt this way was when she’d had to venture out alone at court in search of her brother. It was such a large castle, and full of so many strangers, all dressed in their finery and peering down their noses at her faded and outdated gowns with disdain. It was the only time in her life that Eva had found herself concerned with her appearance. Usually, she didn’t mind that her gowns were worn and old and not at the height of fashion, but after two days of being sneered at, and laughed at behind hands, all she’d wanted was to go home where she was accepted as she was. Unable to do that, she’d instead borne the rude behavior when necessary, then run and hid herself away as often as she could get away with it.

Reminding herself that she was no longer wearing a threadbare, outdated gown and that she looked every bit the lady of the castle, Eva forced her shoulders straight and headed along the hall. She heard the murmur of voices rising from the great hall before she quite reached the stairs. It sounded like two people talking, a man and a woman. Eva forced herself to take a deep breath and continue. Finally, she would meet her husband, she told herself and wasn’t surprised that her heart picked up speed and began to race a bit. The racing stopped the moment she started down the stairs and chanced a glance at the occupants of the room below and saw that it was Ewan and Magaidh seated at the trestle table, not a strange man who might be her husband.

Eva tried to ignore the relief that coursed through her, but her feet moved a little quicker down the stairs now that she knew the dreaded meeting wasn’t at hand. Really, she reprimanded herself silently, she should look forward to meeting the man, not dread it so.

“Good morn—oh!” She paused and blinked at the woman seated with Ewan at the table. Eva had thought it was Magaidh, but while she had the same dark good looks and similar facial features, this woman was older, closer in age to Ewan, she thought.

“This is Ailie, m’lady,” Ewan stood to introduce them, drawing Eva out of her startled silence.

“Short for Aileen,” the woman added as she too now stood and moved around the table to offer Eva a welcoming hug. “Welcome to MacAdie.”

Eva smiled as Aileen stepped back. “Thank you,” she murmured, but her gaze moved questioningly to Ewan. She hadn’t a clue who the woman was. She knew so little about her new home.

“Ailie’s me wife,” Ewan said with some pride, then added, “And yer husband’s sister.”

Eva’s eyes shot back to the woman with surprise. Aileen MacAdie looked older than Magaidh yet she was Connall MacAdie’s sister, while Magaidh had claimed to be his mother. Last night Eva had explained away the other woman’s youthful appearance to herself by deciding that Magaidh must be a stepmother. That explanation, she realized now, would work just as well to explain the age difference between the two women. Magaidh was obviously stepmother to Aileen as well. Eva supposed that meant that her husband was probably of an age with Ewan and Aileen, older than herself by a good twenty years. Not what she had expected, but not so bad, she reassured herself. At least he was not in his dotage. And really, what had she expected? A handsome and wealthy young man willing to buy her to bride when he would be so much of a catch on the marriage market? No, of course not.

“Are ye feelin’ recovered from the journey?” Ewan asked, and Eva suddenly realized they were all still standing while she had pondered the matter. She was being rude. Moving forward at once, she settled at the table even as Ailie and Ewan did and offered the couple a smile.

“Yes, thank you. Much recovered,” she said with a wry smile, knowing that she had probably slept much longer than he. Eva doubted if he had gone to bed as early as herself yesterday and he obviously hadn’t slept as late. “And you?”

“Aye.” He glanced over his shoulder toward a door and opened his mouth, but before Ewan could call out whatever order he had planned to, the door opened and several servants bustled in. Relaxing, he turned back and grinned at her. “Cook’s made something special to welcome ye to MacAdie and we’ve been waiting all morning to see what ’tis.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to have made you wait,” Eva murmured, watching with curiosity as the maids began to set platters on the table. Red hair seemed to be a common trait amongst the MacAdies. Several of the servants had the same carroty red hair and freckles as Glynis.

“Doona fret,” Ailie laughed. “Ewan’s teasing ye. We didna expect ye to rise even as early as ye have. The trip here must’ve been exhausting fer ye. I doubt that I could have managed it as well as Ewan claims ye did.”

Eva smiled at that compliment, but her attention was quickly caught again by the food being laid out before them. The most wonderful smells were coming from the platters and Eva suddenly felt starved. Her stomach was reacting as if she hadn’t eaten since leaving Caxton, yet Ewan had given her oatcakes on the journey and she had eaten a full repast the night before of cheese and bread and meat.