“Ye will meet my brother soon enough. And, ye need not worry about me, the Laird and I have a son that’ll come of age soon. He's been helpin’ tae take care of his father when he’s around, and he’ll become Laird when Alaister passes, may God rest his soul.” There were tears in her eyes, and she dabbed them demurely with a handkerchief produced from a sleeve.
“I am sorry, I did not mean to bring this up. Surely there is something that can be done for him?” No matter how unpleasant the Lady had been, Juliana’s concern was genuine.
“Ye dinnae think that I’ve not been tryin’?” The venom returned. “Ye think that I want me husband tae die? Is that it?”
“No, no.” Juliana raised her hands in front of her in surrender.
“I’ve tried everythin’, but nothin’ helps him. I wish it were me in that bed and not him. I try so hard tae keep everyone together and keep this castle runnin’ like it should. Then, ye, an English lass, comes in here and tells me what I should be daein’. How is that supposed tae make me feel?”
“I did not mean it like that. If there is anything that I can do to help—”
“We are back at the Castle,” announced Lady Drechten. “I need tae go. Ye should wander the market by yerself, and then go visit Andrew. I need tae check on the Laird.”
“I am sorry.” She watched the Lady storm off and back into the Castle. She kicked herself for being so insensitive. There had been vulnerability, but there had also been venom. She would not go and visit Andrew, for she was sure that someone would be watching, and she could not risk it.
She would, however, soon find herself visiting another man who was confined to his bed.
* * *
Juliana woke late the next morning. She had walked around the marketplace the previous day and had spotted some clothing that she would like to buy. She felt sorrow in her heart for Lady Drechten, but she also had a sense of relief when the Lady left her to wander the marketplace alone.
There was a bad taste in Juliana’s mouth from spending so much time with her, and she was heartened to find that the other people in the village were as welcoming as Andrew. Most of them knew who she was, word gets around quickly in a castle, and, those who did not, looked at her with curious fascination when she spoke.
Juliana found herself in spirited conversation with the villagers and found herself laughing on more than one occasion. She found out more about castle life than she had with Lady Drechten and, she found one common thought from all of the villagers.
They were all saddened by the slow demise of their Laird. They described him as a tough but fair man who always put the needs of his clan before anything else. Everyone talked about him highly, even those who had faced his wrath. Everyone got what they deserved from him, both good and bad. All wished for recovery, but no one held out much hope.
As Juliana had wandered the marketplace, she shot an occasional glance toward the infirmary but did not dare to go and visit Andrew. She was sure that she had thrown off Lady Drechten with her nonchalance, but she worried that she had angered the Lady more with questions about her husband.
Juliana watched the light stream in from the small window as it continued its rise across the sky. The maid had come back the previous evening to return and light the candle, and that was a constant reminder to her that she needed to be more careful in what she did.
She hoped that she would not have to cover her tracks again, but she had a strange feeling that she was going to have to if she wanted to see Andrew again. She had not dared to sneak out through the night again, the previous night had been nerve wracking enough. Andrew was alive, and he would be out of the infirmary soon. That would give her an opportunity to see him if she was not taken before then.
Two men in my life. One, I want to be with, and the other I do not, yet cruel fate has dictated that I do not get what I want.
Juliana got out of bed and dressed. In all of her days reading books about mighty warriors, she had forgotten that they were often left wounded or injured in some way. She would give Andrew time to recover. As she was thinking of him, her mind flashed to Laird Drechten. She had not met him, nor did she think that she would, but he was a warrior too, confined to his bed, yet not through injury.
I hope that Laird Lochenbrew does not get here today. I am not yet ready to meet him.
Juliana decided to take a walk around the Castle and explore it further. She had bumped into Lady Drechten in the courtyard the previous day, so she decided to confine herself to the Castle and explore inside. She checked that the Lady was not standing in the corridor waiting for her and left to wander.
The Castle was large, and Juliana enjoyed its freedom. There were many people in the Castle, but the rising sun brought them from their rooms and down into the courtyard or the belly of the Castle to forge weapons or create meals. If she kept herself to the upper floors, there were fewer people to deal with.
Juliana was growing to love the people in the Highlands, one man in particular, and she loved the history and architecture too. There was so much stone in the Castle, but a lot of it had been ornately carved, and Juliana occasionally stopped to admire it. There were tapestries too that caught her eye. Famous battles that the Scots had embarked on, some probably against the English, but Juliana did not care.
So many doors, and each one a possibility.
Juliana had thought that her home in England had been vast, but this was a whole new world. Long corridors twisted around inside of the Castle, some with large oak doors down either side, and others with a solitary maple door at the end that beckoned to be opened, yet she did not dare.
It was a magical place, but it scared her too. The corridors were lit enough to see where you were going, but dim enough to cast shadows that could hide secrets. She wanted to explore, and hoped that Lochenbrew Castle would be as entrancing.
A door opened up ahead, and it caused Juliana to jump. She wanted to turn back and run the other way for fear that it was Lady Drechten, but it was not, it was only a maid. The young woman stared at her, and Juliana realized that she had been frozen to the spot. She continued on to look less suspicious.
As she passed the slightly open door, she heard a voice from inside.
“Me dear.”
Juliana stopped and looked at the maid.
“I think he’s talkin’ tae ye.” The maid stood in the doorway holding a tray with a single plate and cup. She stared at Juliana, wide-eyed and innocent.
“Me?”
“Aye,” replied the maid.
“Will ye come and visit with me.” The voice came again, old and raspy and hoarse. It should have sounded off-putting, but there was something else there; it was a charming and welcoming voice.
Juliana looked inside the room once more. She could see the gaunt man lying in his bed, but the power of his former self rang through in the way that he spoke. She knew that it was Laird Drechten.
17
A Visit Long Overdue
Juliana stood outside of the room for a moment before walking over to the door and opening it further. She looked again at the man in the bed as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
His cheeks were sunken, pulled tight over the sharp bones below. He had thick black hair atop his head, and it was starting to thin in places. From the sickness or from old age, Juliana did not know. She was unsure just how old the Laird was. He looked a lot older than Lady Drechten, but he was ill too, and that did not help.
The only thing about him that still seemed to be alive were his eyes. He had rich blue eyes that shone out from his pallid face. They were beacons of hope from deep, dark caves. He looked like a living skeleton, but the eyes made him welcoming.
“Ye are Juliana, the one who’s tae be married tae that brother-in-law of mine,” said Laird Drechten.
The way that he said brother-in-law gave Juliana the distinct impression that the man did not like Laird Lochenbrew, and it felt like a secret that the two of them shared. She liked him immediately, t
hough his demeanor also scared her. By entering the room, she felt closer to death.
“I am, My Laird,” replied Juliana, venturing farther into the room.
“I had breakfast recently,” admitted Laird Drechten like it was another secret between them, “but I’m still hungry. What’d ye say tae some tea and cakes?”
Juliana could not be sure, but she almost saw him wink as he said it. This man was as close to death as any that she had seen, but his spirit had not departed him. He was the complete opposite of his wife.
“I would love to,” said Juliana, pleased for the invitation. This way, she would not have to worry about bumping into Lady Drechten. It was only at this thought that she came to the realization that there was a very real threat of bumping into Lady Drechten here, and it could be the worst place to do so. Still, she had already accepted the invitation.
“Would ye bring us the finest tea and cakes,” he said to the maid.
“Aye, Me Laird.” The maid closed the door behind her, scampering off to the kitchen.
“Pull up that chair,” ordered the Laird.
It was an order, but it was a welcome one. Juliana was sure that she would do anything that he asked.
Perhaps this family is not as bad as I thought.
Juliana frowned at the thought. She had found one member of the family that she liked, but there was no telling how much longer he would be around. She did not doubt that Lady Drechten had done everything in her power to heal her husband.
She placed the chair to the side of the bed. The mattress was large, but only had pillows on one side. The remainder of the room was well-decorated but sparse. This was a room that the Laird slept in alone.
Juliana sat down and looked at the Laird. She wanted to look away, but she could not. There was a warrior inside of him, but his exterior had withered away into almost nothing.
“Dinnae worry about all this,” said the Laird, waving his hand over his face. “I’ll be out of bed in nae time.”
“I sincerely hope so.” Her spirits lightened a little. “Do you really think that you will?”
“I cannae say for sure,” replied the Laird. “When the sickness took me, I was strong, but that’s been stripped away. If it wasnae for my wife, I’m sure I would’ve departed by now. She’s by me side every minute that she can spare.”
“That is good to hear.” She had hoped that the Lady was not so attentive, and her dislike could be further rooted, but it was not to be.
“She’s brought the best physicians and healers from all the other clans, but they cannae find what's wrong with me. I fear that I’m not long for this world,” admitted Laird Drechten.
“Please do not say that.” Juliana had only known this man for the briefest time, but she could not imagine him passing away, nor stand him talking about it.
“Ye’re right, ye dinnae want tae hear about all this stuff. How are ye settlin’ in here?” asked Laird Drechten.
“As well as can be expected.”
“I heard about yer skirmish with some bandits on the way up here.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he spoke.
“Yes, yes,” said Juliana eagerly. “Three bandits attacked us, but Andrew managed to fight them off. Well, not at first, but he caught up to us and fought all three of them, even though he was injured.”
“He was in the infirmary, wasn’t he?” asked Laird Drechten.
“He is.”
“I’m stuck here in bed all day with only books for company. I much prefer the stories of real people. Will ye tell me what happened with the bandits, just tae bring an old man some joy?”
“Of course.” Juliana was only too happy to spend some time with the Laird.
She started at the beginning, telling the Laird about passing the man by the side of the road, all the way through to getting Andrew safely to the Castle. Halfway through the story, a knock came at the door, and the maid returned with tea and cakes.
Juliana halted the story while the tea was served up, and the cakes plated, resuming once the first bite had been taken. She described everything in such glorious detail that she began to wonder if she was embellishing it.
“A braw story,” said Laird Drechten as it ended.
“Thank you,” said Juliana, pleased with how she had told the story. “Now, I think that one story should deserve another. I was told that you were once a great warrior—sorry, you still are a great warrior and will be once more.” The Laird only smiled as she talked. “You must have been involved in fights with bandits before. Can you tell me about one?”
“Aye, I certainly was,” admitted Laird Drechten. “Ye dinnae live yer life as Laird of a castle without having tae deal with bandits from time tae time. But, it's not as exciting as ye might think.”
“Please tell me,” pleaded Juliana.
“No, I willnae tell ye about the bandits, but I’ll tell about a real battle instead. With bandits, ye go out with yer men and cut them down, lettin’ those who want to run away, run away. In battle, it’s different.”
“What do you mean?” Juliana was not sure that she wanted to know, but she asked the question still.
“In war, the odds are always stacked against ye, no matter how ye prepare. One side always wins, but good men always die,” said Laird Drechten.
Juliana thought back to the books that she had read. This was not how it was supposed to be. It only took one brave warrior to change the tide of the fight.
“I bet that you helped by being there,” said Juliana. “You were a fierce warrior.”
“I was, but I’d my fair share of luck. I was in many battles, too many tae count. It wasnae me fightin’ skills that got me through them, it was luck. An arrow fired or not fired is the difference between life and death. Goin’ one way instead of the other means ye kill a man or the man kills ye. I won many battles where hundreds of my men died, and I lost many battles where hundreds of my men died.
“I was a prisoner in an English encampment once, for many weeks. I would have died if we didnae have a prisoner that they wanted. I got lucky again.”
Juliana had forgotten that most of his battles would have come against the English. She had an idea of him in her head as a great warrior and willed him to be on the winning side, to cut down his enemies, but that would mean killing the English, her people, possibly her family. Her books had been so far removed from her own life that she had not stopped to think about the atrocities of war, the real ones.
“I am sorry,” was all that Juliana could muster.
“It’s not yer fault,” said Laird Drechten. “Some people dinnae know what war is really like.”
The Laird stared off toward the window, and Juliana could see that tears were coming to his eyes. She felt sorrow in her heart for her own shallowness and wished that she could go back to the beginning of the conversation and take it in a different direction, but something was pushing her on.
She got up from the chair and poured more tea for the two of them. She brought some more cakes over too and turned away while she was doing it so that the Laird could wipe his eyes without her eyes on him. When she returned and sat, the tears were gone.
“I am sorry,” repeated Juliana. She sat there and waited.
Laird Drechten did not speak for a long time. When the tears had flashed in his eyes, he had been more alive, but Juliana could only see death there now. There was death on his face and in his mind.
“Thank ye,” said Laird Drechten finally. “Ye’re not tae blame here, I mean it. I know what wars dae tae people, and ye’ve been untouched so far. I hope for yer sake that ye remain untouched. If this treaty between our two countries can stick, then maybe these useless wars can be stopped. A marriage between an English lass and a Scottish lad is a good start.”
The comment brought Juliana back to the present situation, and it made her feel as if she were a part of something bigger. She did not reply to the comment and, instead, waited for Laird Drechten to talk about what he really wanted to talk about.
> “I thought for a moment that he wasnae goin’ tae go, I held ontae that thought as I paced this castle. He came tae me that mornin’ and told me that he had made up his mind,” said Laird Drechten.
“Your son?” guessed Juliana.
“Aye,” smiled Laird Drechten, remembering his son. “He was a fighter, just like me. A warrior, ye would say. If only he could've hung on for a few more years, peace could’ve saved him. Well, ye never know. He came that mornin’ and told me that he was goin’. I didnae even try tae talk him out of it.”
Consumed By The Lost Highlander (Steamy Scottish Historical Romance) Page 16
