The Magnificent Rogue (26 page)

“No, she had her own chapel at the castle. She would have nothing to do with our religion or the dominie.”

“When will I meet this dominie?”

He caught the wary note in her voice and understood immediately. “All men of the cloth are not like your vicar, Kate. This dominie is a kind, gentle man who does much good in the parish. You’ll seldom find him in that fine church. He travels from place to place both here and on the mainland comforting the sick, performing marriages, and baptizing the children of the clan.”

A few minutes later they were starting across the castle moat when Kate suddenly chuckled. “Was this where Robert threw you into the water because you played the bagpipes?” she asked, remembering Robert and Gavin’s badinage.

“He was most unfair. I wasn’t that bad. Well, maybe I was, but it was the ale that made me so.”

They shared so many memories, she thought wistfully, experiences that wove their lives together in a common tapestry. Even wild, brutal Jock Candaron had his own place in Robert’s life.

They had entered the courtyard of the castle, which was as clean and neat as the village. The flagstones were damp and gleaming and looked as if they had been scrubbed only minutes before.

“Jock Candaron again?” she asked.

Gavin shook his head. “This is Deirdre’s domain. Jock wouldn’t interfere.”

She couldn’t imagine Candaron not interfering with anyone or anything that suited him. “Deirdre?”

“Robert’s housekeeper.” He opened the tall brass-studded front door. “Deirdre O’Connell. Jock brought her to Craighdhu six years ago from Ireland after he killed her husband.”

“What?” she asked, shocked.

“Oh, it’s all right. She didn’t mind.”

“How fortunate,” she said dryly. “I thought it was only acceptable to kill English or Spanish.”

“Well, Deirdre’s husband was an exception.” He closed the door, and his shout echoed off the high-arched ceilings of the hall. “Deirdre!”

“I’m coming. You don’t have to bellow like a bull.” Kate looked at the direction the voice had come from and saw, at the curve of the stairwell, a tall, strongly built woman in a gray gown. “I have enough to do without running when you raise your voice, Gavin Gordon.”

“Sorry,” Gavin said meekly as he took Kate’s arm and pulled her forward. “I just wanted to introduce you to Robert’s bride.”

“I’m not so lacking in courtesy I wasn’t coming to greet her,” Deirdre O’Connell said as she marched down the steps. She was not a woman in her first youth, but she exuded a vitality that was almost overwhelming. A few threads of gray already streaked the shiny black hair drawn back in a bun, but she had firm, glowing skin and sparkling hazel eyes.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and sketched a quick courtesy to Kate. “Welcome to Craighdhu, my lady. We weren’t expecting you.”

“I wasn’t expecting to be here,” Kate said.

“Robert and Jock are in the library with Tim MacDougal. I’ll show you to your chamber.” She turned to Gavin and commanded, “Come with us.”

“I had every intention of doing so.” Gavin followed them up the stairs. “You take a bit of getting
used to, and I didn’t want Kate running through the town screaming for help.”

“I’m not as bad as you would have her believe,” Deirdre said as she led them down a long hall. “I have no use for fools, but I don’t devour children like her without cause.”

“But she might give you cause. Kate has teeth, and she’s not above using them.”

Deirdre glanced over her shoulder and gave Kate an appraising glance. “I would not have guessed it.” She opened the door. “This is your chamber. Robert’s is next door.”

Kate stood still in the doorway. This chamber was to be hers. It did not seem possible. It was the finest chamber she had ever seen, much finer even than the rooms at Tabord’s inn. A fine ivory, rose, and green carpet covered the stone floor, and real velvet curtains of the same dark green enclosed the four-poster bed. The huge fireplace on the south wall was crafted of gleaming gray limestone that contrasted with the muted rose, green, and brown colors of the ancient tapestry that was mounted on the wall above it. The tapestry depicted lions and unicorns and a bare-chested man in a MacDarren kilt slaying a man in full armor.

“If someone had been kind enough to let me know, you would not find me so unprepared.” Deirdre swept across the room to the windows and threw them wide open. “I had no chance to air it, but there’s a fine breeze today, and it will smell fresh in an hour or so.”

Gavin shivered as a gust blew into the chamber. “If she doesn’t freeze to death first.”

“Which won’t happen if you’d stop complaining and build her a fire.” Deirdre turned to Kate. “There’s a fine view from here.”

Kate slowly walked to the deeply recessed windows. The panes, made of stained glass which she’d never seen except in a church, were exquisite. Depicted on one window was a kilted warrior kneeling before a
unicorn; on the other was a woman in a red gown weaving at a loom. The sun sparkling on the multihued glass made the figures seem to shimmer with life.

“Well?” Deirdre demanded.

Kate hurriedly glanced at the view Deirdre had summoned her to see.

Far below she could see a swath of green that stretched alongside the castle. To the north was the rocky coastline she had seen from the mainland. Rough waves crashed against dark rocks that looked as stark and dangerous as the waves themselves.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“You find it so?” Deirdre asked curiously. “I was wondering if you’d like it. It’s not a sight to everyone’s taste.”

“Not everyone has a fondness for all that tame greenery you Irish call home,” Gavin said as he struggled to light the fire in the hearth. “Some us have a liking for more interesting scenery.”

Deirdre snorted. “Rocks are all the same, and Craighdhu is but one rock after the other.” Another blast of wind shook the curtains around the bed. “Perhaps it is a little chill.” She took Kate’s arm and led her toward a cushioned chair by the hearth. “Sit here and rest, and I’ll bring you up a cup of hot cider.” She pushed her down onto the chair and then frowned as she tucked Kate’s brown wool cloak more closely about her. “Where did you get this garment? It’s so poorly made and the wool so porous, I wonder it keeps out the cold at all.” She didn’t give Kate a chance to answer. “Gavin, go fetch that coverlet on the bed.”

“Fetch and carry, fetch and carry,” Gavin grumbled as he rose from the hearth, crossed the room, and brought back a cream-colored wool coverlet that had been tossed on the bottom of the bed. “Anything else?”

“I’ll tell you if there is.” Deirdre tucked the cover around Kate’s shoulders.

The soft coverlet was so finely woven, it instantly
blocked the sharp breeze blowing through the room. Kate’s fingers caressed the cloud-soft texture. “It’s wonderful. I’ve never seen anything so fine.”

For an instant Deirdre’s expression turned mild, and a flush of pleasure colored her cheeks. “No?” Then she straightened, turned away, and moved toward the door. “Of course you haven’t. I made it myself.”

She was gone before Kate could reply.

“She’s not as hard as she seems,” Gavin said. “Well, that’s not true. She’s every bit as hard as she seems, but she’s still a good woman. You’re fortunate to have her.”

“Am I?” Kate asked faintly.

Gavin nodded. “She keeps all the servants jumping, you won’t see a speck of dust in any chamber of the castle, and the meals are excellent.”

“She’s very”—she hesitated, trying to describe that sense of explosive energy that Deirdre exuded—“vigorous.”

Gavin nodded ruefully. “She has so much energy, she has to be busy every minute and keeps everyone busy with her.”

“Even Robert?”

“At times.” Gavin grinned. “For the first year he was ready to slash Jock’s gullet for bringing her here, but after that they became more comfortable with each other.”

“Does she have children?”

Gavin shook his head. “She’s free to devote all her attention to the castle.”

Kate wasn’t sure she liked the idea of Deirdre’s devoted attention. She had hoped to absorb Craighdhu at her own pace, but it appeared Deirdre was a major force here, and her pace was anything but slow.

“You’ll become accustomed to her,” Gavin assured her. “She’s a bit rough, but she means no disrespect. Here in the Highlands servants consider themselves part of the family.”

It was not disrespect about which Kate was concerned.
Her gaze went back to the windows; Deirdre had not given her time enough to study them. “I’ve never seen stained-glass windows with anything but religious figures.”

“There are windows like that all over the castle. The stained glass was added by Robert’s grandfather when he wed. His bride complained how depressing the castle was, and so he brought artists and glassmakers from France to replace the windows. This castle was built to resist siege, and there was little he could do to make it less grim, but he thought the glass would help.” Gavin made a face. “Robert’s mother found them just as heathen as she did the rest of us.”

“Then she’s a fool. Nothing that beautiful could be sinful.”

“I’ve always thought that too.” Gavin’s gaze followed her own to the window. “When I was a boy, I used to stare at those windows until I was well-nigh dazzled by them. I’d pretend I was that warrior with his mighty muscles and his grand sword.…” He shook his head. “That might be one of the reasons why I wanted to follow Robert when he went to raid the Spanish. I still saw myself as that warrior. I found out soon enough I didn’t have the stomach for it.”

“You should not regret finding that out. You’re fine the way you are.”

He nodded. “I think, when Robert has no more need for me as a henchman, I might become a bard.”

“A bard?”

“Aye. A laird usually has a storyteller to tell the tales of the past and present of the clan.”

“Aren’t such tales usually written down?”

Gavin flinched. “You have no soul. There’s no comparison between hearing a great storyteller weave his tales and reading dry parchment.”

“I’m sorry,” she said solemnly, trying to hide a smile. “I have no experience with bards.”

“That’s very clear. I’ll forgive your ignorance since
you’re a stranger here.” He smiled eagerly. “I’ll even entertain you. Robert is sure to be busy with Jock for a while anyway.”

“You’re going to tell me a tale?”

“Oh, no, you should be welcomed to Craighdhu in a more splendid fashion.” He started to turn away. “I’ll go fetch my pipes.”

“I’ve never heard the bagpipes played before,” she said cautiously. “Will I enjoy it?”

“Oh, it’s a fine, winsome instrument,” he answered, beaming. “You’ll like it. Trust me.”

“Cease.” She covered her hands with her ears. “I can bear no more.”

Gavin didn’t hear her. It was not surprising with that beastly caterwauling erupting from the bags of the instrument he was blowing with such blissful enthusiasm.

She strode forward and jerked the mouthpiece from between his lips. “No, Gavin.”

He looked hurt. “But you’ve not given it a chance, Kate.”

“I’ve listened for over an hour. It’s all the chance that instrument of torture will get from me.”

He lowered the bagpipes to the chair beside him. “I guess a woman is too gentle-natured to be stirred by the pipes. But I admit to being sorely disappointed in you.”

She felt a flicker of remorse. “Perhaps you’re right. I’m sure you played very well.”

“He played abominably.” Robert stood in the doorway. “We never let Gavin pipe when we’re going into battle. The troops would exhaust themselves trying to kill him instead of the enemy.”

“You malign me,” Gavin protested, then changed the subject. “What news from Jock?”

“We leave for Ireland at nightfall.”

Gavin pursed his lips in a low whistle. “We just got here. That bad?”

“Worse,” he said grimly. “Nine months ago Malcolm appeared at the port near Kilgranne with a ship built especially for cargo. For the past six months he and his men have been going from town to town on the coast trying to frighten the merchants and craftsmen into dealing with him instead of Craighdhu.”

“Why didn’t Jock take care of it?”

“He would have done so, but he thought reassurance should come from the head of the clan. Me.” His lips twisted. “He had no idea Elizabeth would take it into her head to delay my arrival.”

“So you must visit the merchants and council members and assure them they needn’t fear Malcolm if they continue to deal with us?”

“With all due speed. Malcolm’s agent and a troop of men are in Ireland right now. See who you wish to greet and then meet me at the ship in two hours.”

Gavin shook his head.

Robert stiffened. “No?”

“I’ve been away too long. I don’t wish to go on another voyage.”

“We’ll be gone no more than four weeks.”

“Take Jock. You know you should have taken him last time.”

“I want you.”

“Take Jock,” Gavin repeated. “Kate needs me here to protect her and tell her the things she must know about Craighdhu.” He added lightly, “Perhaps, given time, I can even teach her appreciation for my bagpipes.”

“Perhaps I should be the one to go to Ireland,” Kate murmured dryly.

Robert met Gavin’s gaze. “I could order you to come.”

“Don’t do that, Robert,” Gavin said gently. “It would grieve me to disobey you.”

Robert stood looking at him for a moment. “Damn you. You’d better be here when I get back.” He turned on his heel. “Come with me to the courtyard, Kate.”

She followed him from the chamber and down the winding stone steps. “Four weeks?”

“Do you wish it were more?” he asked caustically. “Ireland is no great distance from Craighdhu, and with good winds I’ll be back in your eager arms in no time.” He jerked open the heavy brass-studded front door. “So be prepared to give me a warm welcome to your bed.”

She shook her head. “I will be glad to see you return safely, but that part of our lives is over.”

“Oh, is it?” He turned on her, the suppressed frustration and anger suddenly unleashed. “It’s not over until I say it’s over. I’ve given up too much not to reap some benefits from this damn alliance.”