The Eternal Highlander (18 page)

Eva was distracted from these distressing thoughts by the arrival of Ewan and the other men who had brought her here. Connall’s brother-in-law avoided her gaze as he settled on the trestle table bench at her side. The other men followed suit as they found their own places on either side of them, then there was much throat clearing and uncomfortable shifting as Donaidh, Keddy, Geordan, Domhall, and Ragnall avoided meeting her eyes as well.

“Was he verra upset?”

Eva glanced to her left as Keddy finally asked that question. The redhead was finally meeting her gaze, though Eva almost wished he hadn’t. The pity in his eyes made her stiffen her spine and force a smile as her pride exerted itself.

“Nay, not very. At least he did not yell or anything, but he did not care for the change,” she admitted and bit her lip to keep it from trembling in distress at this magnificent failure of her attempts to please her husband.

“Well, it’s no that he didnae like it, lass. He didnae e’en see it if ye’ll recall,” Geordan pointed out judiciously.

“Aye,” Keddy agreed. “And ne’er would neither.”

Eva glanced at the redhead with a frown. “Why would he not see it? Perhaps he missed it today, but surely tomorrow or the next day he would be around long enough to enjoy—”

“Nay.” Keddy shook his head. “Cannae stand the sun, can he? No without it makin’ him sick. He’d ne’er see it.”

“What?” Eva frowned at this news, then glanced at Ewan who was glaring furiously at the young man.

Sighing, her husband’s first turned to her, cleared his throat, then said, “I should’ve explained this to ye when I approached ye about it earlier, but ye were rather busy and I was so upset I wasnae thinking straight. Aileen and Connall cannae stand the sun. Their skin is fragile and the sun damages it,” he explained slowly, sounding rather labored in the endeavor.

“You mean they react to the sun?” Eva asked, trying to make sense of his words.

That suggestion seemed to make Ewan brighten. “Aye, that’s it. They’ve a sort of reaction to the sun. It makes them fair sick. Connall’s is so bad he avoids it altogether, or the best he can, and Aileen…well,” his expression softened. “She can take more sunlight, but no straight on and no fer too long.”

“I see,” Eva said slowly, thinking to herself that this was perhaps where some of the vile rumors about this family came from. If they could not go out in sunlight because of a negative reaction…This situation wasn’t totally alien to Eva. There had been a girl in the village at Caxton who’d had a similar ailment, only she didn’t get sick, but broke out in spots whenever she stayed out in the sun too long. If Connall’s family suffered a similar ailment and because of this avoided the sun, well, that would explain why they were rarely seen in daylight. She shook her head to herself at this thought. People could be ever so cruel about things they didn’t understand.

Eva grimaced as she realized the extent of the gaffe she had made. She’d thought to bring some cheer to the keep, but instead had threatened the health of its inhabitants, and most likely not just her husband and his sister. If this trait was common to their family…well, most clans were interrelated weren’t they? Cousins and such?

Her gaze slid to Ewan. “You obviously have no negative reaction to the sun?”

“Nay,” he admitted. “I’m originally of the MacDonald clan. I became a MacAdie when I married Aileen.”

Eva nodded, then glanced at the other men in question.

“I’m a MacAdie,” Donaidh announced. “I’m son to Aileen and Ewan, but the sun doesnae bother me.”

“Then you are nephew to me!” Eva exclaimed, then frowned. “Why did no one tell me ere this?”

Ewan and Donaidh glanced at each other, then the father shrugged and said, “It’s no important.”

The son nodded, “Aye, and ye didnae ask, did ye?”

She clucked a sound of annoyance, then blinked at the realization that her new nephew was of an age with herself.

“I’m a MacAdie,” Keddy said, distracting her from her thoughts. “But while I try to avoid the worst of the sun, it doesnae affect me like it does Connall and Aileen. I jest get more freckles.” He grinned at her.

“Tis the same with me,” Ragnall announced, flashing a freckled smile at her.

“Domhall and I are brothers; MacLarens by birth,” Geordan informed her. “My ma moved us here when our da died and she married a MacAdie. We were jest wee lads then.”

“I see,” Eva said on a sigh, then glanced at Ewan again. “Is this why Aileen did not come down for supper?”

Ewan nodded solemnly.

“Oh dear,” Eva sighed. “I am ever so sorry. You must apologize to her for me. I did not realize—I did not know or I never would have—” Pausing in her explanations, she stood abruptly. “Glynis!”

“What’re ye doin’, lass?” Ewan asked with a frown as he gained his feet beside her.

“I will rectify the matter at once.” Eva announced firmly, then addressed the maid as she came running up, “Please fetch back the furs for the windows, Glynis. I must return them at once.” She gave them all a reproving look as she added, “Had someone troubled themselves to tell me of this sun reaction business, I never would have removed them in the first place.”

“We should’ve told ye,” Keddy said sorrowfully as Glynis rushed to the corner where the furs were stacked.

“Aye,” Ewan agreed. “That being the case, we’d be pleased to rehang the furs fer ye.”

“Nay. I took them down and I shall put them back up,” Eva said firmly, moving to meet Glynis halfway as the girl came rushing back. “And I shall apologize to Aileen myself as well.” She shook her head as she took the furs. “As Connall said, had he wanted the furs down he should have ordered it done long ago. Obviously I do not yet know how things are done around here, but I should learn ere I start trying to change things.”

“It’d be no trouble at all fer the men and meself to rehang the furs, Lady Eva.” Ewan was following her, and his men following him, as she marched to the rickety wooden staircase that led up to the landing along the row of arrow slits.

“Nay. I can manage it.” Eva assured him. “But, perhaps one of you would be good enough to take my husband a drink and some food. I fear he was so upset he left without eating.” She frowned over that as she started up the stairs, craning her neck in an effort to see over the stack of furs, and taking wide steps in an effort to avoid stepping on her gown and tripping herself up. “On second thought, you no doubt have enough to do, and I should probably be the one to take the food to him, as it is my fault he was too distressed to eat. Perhaps that and an apology will help him regain his appetite.”

“I’m really thinkin’ ye should let one o’ the men—” Eva heard Ewan begin his suggestion again, but it ended on a gasp of horror as she—despite her great care—stepped on the hem of her gown, tangled her feet in it and stumbled back down the half dozen stairs she had mounted. Her cry of alarm was echoed by Glynis and the men on the ground.

“There!” Magaidh smiled at Eva as she pulled the linens and furs up to cover her in the bed. “Ye jest rest noo, lass. Ye’ll feel better come the morn.”

Eva sighed miserably. The woman had been incredibly kind. Indeed, they all had. Ewan had performed a quick examination of her right there at the bottom of the stairs she’d fallen down, with the men worriedly overlooking the enterprise. Once assured that she wasn’t too horribly injured, he had carried her up the stairs with the men and Glynis trailing.

Magaidh had met them in the hall on her way down and changed direction, accompanying them to the room Eva had been given. After sending the men away to tend to the furs, the other woman had ordered Glynis off in search of a special salve for her bruises and some sort of herbal drink to soothe her, then had helped her to undress. Once Glynis had returned with the salve, Connall’s stepmother had rubbed it gently into Eva’s scrapes and bruises herself, before urging her to drink the not unpleasant potion she’d sent for. Now she had tucked her up in bed.

“Have you a bad reaction to sunlight as well?” Eva asked suddenly. She wasn’t tired and really didn’t wish to be alone.

Magaidh hesitated, then nodded.

Eva sighed unhappily. “I suppose that is why you haven’t been downstairs all day either? Because I took the furs off the windows and let the sun in? I am sorry, Magaidh. I didn’t realize.”

“Tis all right, child. Ye couldnae ken.”

“Nay, but I should have asked if there was a reason for the furs. I shall ask in future ere trying to change anything,” she assured her.

“I’m sure ye shall.” Magaidh smiled but Eva didn’t feel any better.

“I’ve angered my husband.”

“Nay. Well, mayhap a little, but he’ll recover. He’s a man, men doona like change. All of this is change fer him too,” she pointed out.

Eva couldn’t hide her disgruntled expression at those words, or repress the mutter, “Not much change, except that he is avoiding his own room now that I am in it.”

Magaidh’s eyebrows rose at her words, but a small smile lifted her lips at Eva’s suddenly embarrassed expression. She supposed the herbs must be kicking in and loosening her tongue that she should have made such an embarrassing admission.

Magaidh settled on the edge of the bed. “I suppose, being a man, that me son has no bothered to explain about the wedding?”

Eva blinked at that question. “Wedding?”

“We thought ’twould be good fer ye to be married again, properly, now that ye’re here and both together. It’ll be a chance for the clan to witness the event and to meet ye.”

“Oh.” Biting her lip, Eva considered that this put a different picture on things. It was possible her husband would wait until after this second wedding to bed her, which was very thoughtful. But then she had known from their brief conversation in the gardens that he was kind. “That would be nice. And no, he had not mentioned it.”

Magaidh made a tsking sound and brushed at the skirt of her gown. “Men can be such a trial at times, do ye no think?”

A giggle slipped from Eva’s mouth at these words, though she couldn’t for the life of her think why she found them funny. It must be the potion, she assured herself. She was absolutely positive it must be the potion that made her ask, “He is not sorry then that he chose to marry me?”

Magaidh smiled gently at her distressed words and brushed a strand of golden hair behind Eva’s ear. “Nay. O’ course not, lass. What is there fer him to be sorry fer? Ye’re a lovely bride. And ye’re already making an effort to fit in. Nay, I’m sure he’s no sorry.”

“Oh,” Eva sighed. She was starting to feel a little sleepy now, but had questions to ask. Like what had happened to Connall and Aileen’s mother? Or did they indeed have the same mother? Or was the age difference between them because they had different mothers? And how long had Magaidh been married to Connall’s father, who must surely have been quite a lot older than she, but instead she asked, “When is this wedding to be?”

“Soon as the priest arrives. Connall sent a man to fetch him back and Effie is doing her best to prepare fer a large feast after the wedding. We’re thinkin’ to hold it on the chapel steps rather than inside so that all can witness it.”

Eva nodded at this news, then frowned. “But Aileen and Connall and yourself and who knows how many others have those reactions to the sun. How—?”

“We’ll hold it directly after sunset,” Magaidh assured her. “By torchlight. It’ll be lovely.”

“Oh. Aye. Of course.” Eva smiled slightly, her mind filling with imaginings of a bailey full of people, the soft light of torchlight and she and Connall and a priest…

“We’ll have to sew a new dress fer ye. Something lovely. I be thinkin’ the priest won’t be long in coming so we’d best set to work on it right away. Perhaps Aileen and yerself could pick out the cloth during the day tomorrow and then we can set to work tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night. Will you not help choose the material?” Eva asked. She rather liked this woman.

“I’ll not be available during the day.”

“You won’t?” Eva frowned.

“I often visit the MacNachtons,” Magaidh said vaguely. “They’re me clan ye understand.”

“Aye,” Eva said the word on a yawn. The herbal potion had definitely kicked in.

“There. Yer tired now. I should let ye rest.” Magaidh stood and headed for the door. “Sleep well, wee Eva.”

“She
what?
” Connall roared as he dismounted. He was just returning from a raid with some of the men, one of their special raids in search of sustenance. Connall avoided feasting on these raids as often as possible, but accompanied the men to be sure they returned alive and well. It was getting dangerous for them in the area and he insisted that they travel further afield in search of fresh victims. The only way to ensure that they did, and that none gave in to their hunger and stopped closer to home, was to accompany them himself.

The last thing he’d expected on returning was more trouble with his wife and the news that she had injured herself alarmed him more than he would have expected.

“She was trying to replace the furs to fix her mistake,” Ewan was quick to explain. “But her hands were full of the furs, ye see, and she couldnae hold her skirts out o’ the way, then her feet got tangled up in it and she tumbled down the stairs. It was only six steps,” he added swiftly in an effort to reassure Connall. “She twisted an ankle and suffered a few more bruises, but is fine other than that.”

“A few
more
bruises?” The MacAdie was scowling.

“Aye, well when she stumbled backward on the landing this afternoon, she scraped her arm up a bit and—”

“Why was this no’ mentioned to me earlier?” Connall barked. “Ye didnae mention this when I woke this evening.”

“I didna ken, did I?” Ewan excused himself. “I saw her stumble a bit, but she caught herself on the railing and assured me all was well, then when I was checking her for scrapes and bruises after her fall this night, I saw her arm and she told me that ’twas from earlier.” He grimaced. “It looked fair sore. I’m surprised she wasn’t complaining over it, and I’m thinkin’ she’ll be fair banged up on the morrow from this night’s accident as well. She ga’e her ankle a fine wrenching in the fall, and scraped one leg badly too.”

Connall scowled at this news. “Why did one of the men no replace the furs? What was she doing attemptin’ it herself?”

“I did try to convince her to let the men do it, but she insisted that she’d taken them down and should be the one to put them back. She’s English,” he said with a shrug as if that explained all.

Shaking his head, Connall tossed the reins of his mount to one of the lads who had come running up from the stables, then marched past his first into the keep.

“She’s sleeping,” Magaidh announced as he marched past where she sat at the trestle table talking to Aileen.

Connall ignored this and marched upstairs. Asleep or not, he would see her and see how much damage she had taken. She was his wife. It was his place to look after her.

Glynis was seated by the dying fire in the room, watching over her lady as she sewed a small tear in a rose gown that lay across her lap. The maid glanced up with surprise at their entrance, relaxing when her master nodded that she should remain where she was and he crossed the room to stand by the bed.

“She’s snoring.”

Connall glanced around in surprise at that shocked hiss from Ewan. He hadn’t realized the man had followed him, but he had, and his first wasn’t the only one Connall saw as Danaidh, Geordan, Domhall, Ragnall, and Keddy spread out in the room. Magaidh and Aileen had also trailed them up and now tossed repressing glances at the men.

“The herbal potion I gave her is most likely to blame,” Magaidh said firmly. “Twould put her in a deep sleep.”

Connall grunted at this and turned to glance at his wife. She had faint bruising on one cheek and he frowned as he reached down to run a finger lightly over it.

“Her face slammed into the rail on the way down,” Keddy whispered and shook his head. “But that ain’t near as bad as her leg and ankle.”

Connall immediately tugged the linens and furs gently aside to peer at her leg. She was wearing a white cotton sleeping gown and was sweet looking in slumber. He didn’t have to lift the gown out of the way, it was twisted high around her thighs, almost indecently high, he decided and turned a scowl on the men gaping down at her. All but Keddy caught his look and immediately turned away, but it took an elbow in the ribs from Geordan to get Keddy’s attention. Noting Connall’s scowl, Keddy too dropped his gaze.

Relaxing a little, Connall turned back to his wee bride and frowned at the shape of her legs; the ankle of one was swollen and bruised, and the calf and upper leg of the other was scraped and bruised. Recalling Ewan’s comment about her arm, he lifted his gaze to it now, noting the tender looking scrape and bruising there as well.

Easing the blankets carefully back into place, Connall turned and waited for the men and Magaidh to move out of the room ahead of him, then gestured Glynis out of the room as well and followed.

“She didna cry, ye say?” Connall asked with interest as he closed the door behind himself.

“She shed no a tear, m’laird,” Ewan reaffirmed.

Connall glanced at his mother and the maid. “No even once the men were out of sight?”

“Nay,” Magaidh assured him, the word reinforced by Glynis’s, “Nay m’laird.”

He merely nodded, but he was thinking most women would have wept copious tears and whinged unendingly. This was looking hopeful. Perhaps she would be a fine bride.

“She’s no to carry anything while walking the stairs,” he instructed them all, but was addressing the maid. “And should she wish to do anything strenuous or dangerous, ensure that one o’ the men are called to do it fer her. She is lady here and shouldn’t be performing physical labor.”

“Aye, m’laird.” Glynis bobbed.

Connall nodded, satisfied that he had handled the matter in the best possible way to ensure the woman wouldn’t hurt herself again. His mistake had been in forgetting her background. Most ladies would never have considered removing or replacing furs themselves; they would have directed servants in the doing, but Eva came from Caxton, where she had been valued so little her brother had tried to palm her off without a dower. No doubt he had made her feel a burden in other ways. She was probably trying to make herself valuable, he considered and he wouldn’t have that. As her husband it was his place to ensure that she understood her value. He’d begin to work on that on the morrow.

“I really doonae think the laird will be pleased with this, m’lady,” Glynis protested for at least the hundredth time as she trailed Eva across the bailey.

“Nonsense, Glynis,” she said firmly for at least the same number of times. “There is no reason at all that my husband, Connall,” she tested the name on her tongue. “There is no reason that Connall should be upset by my tending to the injured and unwell. Ladies all over England perform this task. Tis much more acceptable than removing and rehanging furs,” she assured the maid. Glynis had told her about Connall’s edicts since her accident. Apparently he had informed her the night before that “his wife” was not to carry anything while ascending or descending stairs, then had approached her again this morning just ere sunrise to order her to keep Eva from doing anything that was not the expressed sphere of the lady of the manor to perform.

The maid had obviously taken these orders to heart. Glynis had recounted them to Eva the moment she’d arrived at her bedchamber to find her awake, and had repeated them every five minutes since then; while she had helped Eva to dress, then as she had taken her arm to assist her to limp below to the great hall, and even while Eva had sat to break her fast. It had gotten worse since Eva had announced her plans for the day, however, and the girl was growing positively strident now as they approached the stables.

Eva had come up with her plans for the day as she’d lain in bed enjoying that early morning, fuzzy, just-woken-up feeling.

Having decided that changing anything at MacAdie was not a good idea until she had a better understanding of her new home, Eva had learned her lesson. MacAdie keep was run just as its lord and master wished; there was nothing really for her to improve at the moment. She would have to find another way to prove her worth and that she could be an asset here.