Fergus McCarthall shuffled into the room without waiting for permission to enter. Frederick was grateful he hadn’t given into his urge, for Aggie would most assuredly have succumbed to death by humiliation.
“Frederick,” the auld man said as he took the chair in front of the desk. He looked at Aggie and gave her a polite nod. “Aggie.”
Aggie smiled at the aulder man. She leaned into Frederick’s ear and whispered. “Send for me after Fergus leaves,” she kissed his ear. “And ye can tell me then what was just on yer mind.”
He did his best to mask his surprise as well as his desire for his wife as he watched her float from the room. The saucy wench had known what he was thinking.
“I want to talk to ye about me previous plan to rieve some cattle,” Fergus said.
That was the cold water Frederick needed to douse his ardor.
FREDERICK HAD SPENT a few hours in the kirk later that night. Aye, he was still worried about how he would get his clan through the upcoming winter. As yet, he didn’t really have a plan other than to continue doing what they were doing; hunting and gathering wood to stockpile for those long and cold winter’s nights.
He had worried that his men would grow weary of hunting and repairing the keep instead of training or going off to battle. They were warriors after all, not farmers. But his men surprised him. They took to their new lifestyle like a newborn calf to his mother’s teat. Mayhap, just mayhap, they too were growing weary of fighting and the chance to settle down and lead a normal life was more thrilling than any of them would have admitted previously.
Though he was glad they were adjusting nicely to living here, he would not allow them to become lazy or complacent. They would train each morn and hunt in the afternoon, or vice versa depending on the game they sought.
Aggie was abed when he finally returned to their room. Admittedly, he felt better after spending time in prayer, his outlook much improved over his morning mood.
Quietly, he banked the fire before peeling off his tunic and trews. He slipped into the bed with a contented sigh and pulled his wife to his chest. She murmured a sleepy I love ye, before falling back to sleep.
Of all the things in this world he had to be thankful for, Aggie was the most precious. They had fallen into a comfortable rhythm, were learning more about each other each day, and most importantly, they were becoming friends. While he helped her to be more forceful and to stand tall and proud, Aggie helped him to control his temper and practice being more patient. And this afternoon, she reminded him that he must have faith not only in God, but in himself.
He thought back on how much is life had changed over the past few months. He was now a married man, with a son, and the chief of his own clan. The responsibility often weighed heavily on his mind, but, he knew with Aggie at his side, anything was possible. Knowing she loved him as much as he loved her only added to that belief and to his determination to lead justly and with honor, and to get his people through even the most difficult and worst of times.
JUST BEFORE DAWN, Frederick was roused from his sleep by his wife’s luscious lips plying kisses to his neck and caressing his chest with her warm fingers. Usually, it was he who woke her up in such a manner. He took great delight in her naked body stretched out atop his, the way her wee breasts felt against his chest. “Ye be the stuff dreams are made of lass,” he whispered as she left a trail of kisses along his neck and down his chest.
Aggie giggled proudly and continued her tender ministrations without uttering a word. ’Twas a delight to wake up to her kisses, caresses and ardor. He responded in kind, though he continued to allow her to lead. Frederick would happily follow her wherever she wished to take him when it came to their loving.
Afterwards, he lay breathless, a sheen of sweat on his forehead and upper lip, with Aggie in the crook of his arm. “Good morn to ye,” she said mischievously. “How did ye sleep?”
Frederick chuckled good heartedly at her pretense of innocent. “I slept verra well, me lady wife. But I must admit the manner in which I was awakened was far more enjoyable.”
Aggie was about to ask him if he’d like to be awakened in that manner every morn for the rest of his life when a knock came at their bedchamber door. Frederick pulled up the sheet and fur to cover his naked wife before calling out, “Who be it?”
“Ian and Findal!” Ian called from the other side. He sounded excited over something.
A look of concern washed over Frederick’s face as he leapt out of the bed and dressed quickly. Aggie had grabbed the robe from the end of the bed and was just tying it closed when Frederick opened the door.
Ian and Findal rushed into the room. Each man bore a smile and looked exceedingly excited.
“Frederick!” Ian said as he slapped his brother’s back. “We have guests!”
From the excitement and sheer joy in Ian’s face, Frederick could safely assume it was friend and not foe. Before he could ask who their guest was, Frederick heard his father’s deep voice calling out from the hallway.
“Ian, ye bloody heathen! Ye ken I canna run as fast as I once could! I told ye to let me surprise him!”
The voice echoed from the hallway and into the room. Aggie’s eyes grew wide as she went to hide behind her husband, for the man in the hallway sounded very displeased.
A moment later, a big, hulking man sauntered into the bedchamber. Aggie’s knees practically knocked together, for she’d never seen a man that tall before. He was a good two inches taller than her husband, and from her brief glimpse, she could see that Frederick took after the man. He just had to be Frederick’s father, John. Though John Mackintosh’s hair was several shades of red lighter than Frederick’s, they still held a strong resemblance. Both men bore noses that had been broken at least once, the same hazel eyes, and confident demeanor. But where she felt safe with Frederick, his father nearly scared her out of her own skin!
“Da!” Frederick called out, happily surprised to see his father. He stepped toward him, with Aggie clinging to his tunic. The two men embraced and John patted his son on the back. Aggie shrunk and tried her best to remain hidden.
“Och! It be good to see ye Frederick!” John said proudly.
“’Tis good to see ye as well,” Frederick exclaimed.
“Where be that bonny wife ye wrote us about?” John demanded as he looked over Frederick’s shoulder and around the room.
Frederick laughed and turned to face Aggie. She was still clinging to his tunic. “Aggie, do no’ be afraid, lass. ’Tis just me da!”
“I k-ken who it is,” she whispered nervously. “B-but he’s so b-big!”
John threw his head back and laughed when he heard Aggie’s wee voice commenting on his size. Frederick took Aggie’s hands in his. “Aggie, I want ye to meet me father,” he told her with a proud smile.
“I’m no’ dressed!” she whispered harshly as her faced burned crimson.
“Pardon me husband’s poor manners,” a voice came from the doorway. “Ye’d swear he lived with wolves from the way he behaves.”
“Elsbeth!” Frederick said as he spun around to face his stepmother. “I didna’ ken ye were here too!”
Elsbeth stepped into the room and accepted Frederick’s kiss with her cheek. “’Tis a good thing, too, else yer daft father would scare the life out of yer wee wife,” she said as she came around to stand before Aggie.
“Och! She’s is just as bonny as ye said, Frederick!” Elsbeth exclaimed as she placed both hands on Aggie’s arms. “Fer once, ye didna brag!” She continued to study Aggie closely, but not in a haughty or arrogant fashion. Aggie felt warmth emanate from the woman and could not resist the urge to smile at her.
“Mamma!” another voice called from the hallway. “Where be ye?”
“In here, Margaret!” Elsbeth called out over her shoulder.
Moments later, a lass of no more than ten appeared in the doorway. “Frederick!” she squealed with delight as she ran and flung herself into his arms. Frederick scooped her up an
d spun her about the room. “This canna be me wee little Margaret, can it?”
Blonde ringlets bounced up and down as the child smiled. “Ye ken it be me, Frederick,” she said as she squeezed him around his neck.
“That canna be wee Margaret,” Ian said, sounding quite serious. “Margaret is just a little sprite of no more than five, mean spirited and likes to kick lads in their shins.”
The little girl squealed again when she caught sight of Ian. “I am no’ mean,” she protested. “And I be ten now. And the only lads I kick are those who try to kiss me, just like ye taught me!”
Ian stepped forward and took her from Frederick and gave her a big hug. “Aggie, I’d like ye to meet the meanest sprite in all of Scotland! This be our youngest sister, Margaret.”
Margaret stuck her tongue out at Ian before turning to Aggie. “He tells lies!”
Aggie’s head began to swim as more and more people filled the room. A young man of mayhap three and ten sauntered in, looking every bit a Mackintosh, but with his mother’s fine coloring. “Seamus!” Frederick said as he hugged the boy. “Where be yer brother Comnell?”
“I’m hurryin’’!” a voice called from the hallway. Aggie didn’t think they could possibly fit another human being in their tiny bedchamber.
A tall, slender young man of perhaps five and ten walked into the room. He had his father’s red hair, but his mother’s bright blue eyes. “Frederick!” he said with a smile. “’Tis good to see ye!”
Frederick hugged him tightly and introduced the two boys to Aggie. She was standing in front of the fire, having been pushed further and further into the room. “This be me brothers Seamus and Andrew.”
Aggie gave them each a nod. “’T-tis a pleasure t-to meet ye,” she said politely.
The room was filled further when Rose brought Ailrig in to see what all the fuss was about. Frederick proudly introduced him as his and Aggie’s son. Neither John nor Elsbeth, nor anyone else for that matter, questioned the boy’s true lineage. John went so far as to say he was right proud to have another grandson, adding that a man could not have too many.
In all her days, Aggie had never witnessed such a spectacle as the one that played out all around her. These were good, warm, loving people. A real family where bloodlines did not matter. Apparently, once you married a Mackintosh you were a Mackintosh, good, bad or otherwise. John and Elsbeth would accept their children’s spouses with open and loving arms.
This is how I always imagined family should be, Aggie thought to herself as she watched father, son and brother slap backs, brag about one thing or another, and embrace yet again.
THEY HAD STOOD in Frederick and Aggie’s bedchamber for some time before Elsbeth ordered them all out, save for herself, Aggie and Rose, of course. “I’m sure yer wife would like to dress before the evenin’ meal,” she told Frederick.
Frederick smiled, kissed Aggie on the cheek and promised he would see her very soon. Once the door was shut behind the loud men, a silence fell over the bedchamber.
“Well,” Elsbeth said as she turned to face Aggie and Rose. “Finally, the fools be gone. Och! I’m surprised I have any hearin’ left, surrounded by Mackintosh men all the time.” She placed her hands on her hips and stared at Aggie and Rose. “So, ye be the two women who have stolen me sons’ hearts.” She gave an approving nod of her head, raised her eyebrows and smiled. “I thought I’d never get those two married.”
Rose spoke up. “But Ian is no’ married.”
Elsbeth laughed. “No’ yet. But if what he tells me in his letters is true, well, ’tis only a matter of time. And that my dear lass, is nothin’ less than a miracle.”
Rose wasn’t quite sure what to make of Elsbeth’s declaration. She eyed the woman for a time, feeling more uneasy as the moments ticked by.
“What? Has me Ian no’ declared his true feelin’s to ye?” Her smile disappeared and a frown took its place.
“Well, no’ in so many words.”
Elsbeth let out a frustrated sigh. “I swear, that lad will be the death of me.” She looked at Aggie. “Ye think Frederick be stubborn?”
Aggie had to agree that yes, at times, she found her husband quite stubborn.
“Och! He be no’ nearly as stubborn as Ian,” Elsbeth declared.
Aggie and Rose cast a glance at one another. “Ian seems the quiet one to me,” Aggie said to Rose.
“Aye, he is,” Rose agreed. “When he’s sleepin’!” She broke out into a fit of laughter and Aggie was unsure what to make of her friend’s statement.
“Rose!” Aggie said as she leaned in and whispered. “Ye have no’, well, done that with him!”
Rose laughed louder. “Nay! I have no’ and I do no’ intend to.”
It was Elsbeth’s turn to look surprised. “Ye mean, me Ian has fallen in love with ye and ye’ve no’ shared his bed yet?”
It was Rose’s turn to be embarrassed. Her skin burned red. She cleared her throat before answering. “Nay. He has no’ so much as even kissed me hand yet. That is why I find yer statement so … so peculiar.”
“But Rose, I thought the two of ye discussed how ye felt weeks ago?” Aggie said disbelievingly.
“Well, I talked and he listened. He didna say much. I told him that aye, I liked him and was startin’ to enjoy his company. And aye, I did find him easy to look at, and at times, quite charmin’. But I also told him that I would no’ share a bed with a man I wasna married to. Not because I be a prude or a cold fish, but because I had to protect me heart.”
Aggie blinked away her disbelief. She had thought that they’d be coming to Frederick any day now, asking to post the banns. Suddenly, she felt quite guilty for not paying closer attention or inquiring further as to how things were going between them.
“Bah!” Elsbeth said as she raised her hands. “So, if me Ian were to ask fer yer hand, what would ye say?”
Rose thought about it for a long moment. “I be no’ sure.”
Elsbeth twisted her lip, gave a curt nod of her head and said, “An honest answer. I like that and I like ye, Rose!”
ELSBETH AND ROSE helped Aggie to dress in one of her finest gowns. A blue silk damask, trimmed in gold. The three women got along splendidly, chatting about anything and everything under the sun. It did not take long for Aggie to warm to her mother-in-law, who it turned out, was only a few years older than Frederick.
With Aggie finally dressed, they went below stairs to break their fast with the men. Rose went to sit with Ian and Ailrig, while Aggie and Elsbeth made their way to the high table.
When Aggie saw the disgusted expression on John’s face as he stared down at a bowl of porridge, she had to fight the urge to laugh. ’Twas the same expression her husband bore.
Frederick held out her seat for her as she and Elsbeth took the steps to the high table. “Ye look quite lovely this morn, Aggie,” Frederick told her as he kissed her cheek.
More porridge was brought to their table, along with a scant amount of bread and fruit.
John leaned in and whispered to Frederick. “Lad, do ye eat this poorly every morn?”
Frederick sighed and nodded. “Aye, I’m afraid we do.” He tore off a chunk of bread and chewed it slowly.
“What about the chickens we sent?”
“We save the eggs fer our noonin’ and evenin’ meals. We may no’ be as prosperous as yer clan, Da, but I’m workin’ verra hard to change that.”
John slapped Frederick’s back. “I have no doubt that ye will do well, Frederick. Still, we did bring grain and other foodstuffs with us. Hopefully, it will see ye through the winter.”
Frederick could have kissed his father for his generosity. He smiled and let out a relieved sigh. “I hope that I can repay you sooner rather than later. But repay ye, I shall.”
“Och! Do no’ fash over it, Frederick. We’ve all had to suffer through hard times. Those hard times are good fer a man’s soul.”
Frederick gave his father a glance that questioned his soundness of mind.<
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John laughed. “The hard times make ye appreciate the good times, son. They make ye strong, determined, and test yer mettle. It can’t all be rainbows and rose gardens all the time. A man would grow weak and take fer granted what he should consider a blessin’.”
While Frederick had to agree with his father’s assessment and wisdom, it didn’t necessarily mean he had to accept these hard times by dancing on the tables. He’d be glad when this test of his faith as Aggie had deemed it, was over.
Forty-Three
THAT EVENING THE most grand feast Aggie had ever seen was set in the gathering room. John and Elsbeth had brought their four youngest children with them, along with some two hundred and fifty warriors. Wagon after wagon loaded with food stuffs, fabrics, and yes, more furniture, lined around the courtyard and spilled out into the land around the keep.
They couldn’t possibly fit everyone into the small McLaren gathering room, so bonfires were set outside. People meandered in and out of the gathering room all evening, introducing themselves to Aggie and Ailrig, and declaring how glad they were that someone had finally tamed Frederick. There was also mention of the hope that Ian too, would soon be tamed.
Aggie spotted Clair standing across the room with Eggar. While Eggar appeared to be enjoying himself, Clair looked bored, unimpressed, and quite unhappy. Aggie had not spoken with Clair since learning she was Mermadak’s daughter. While Aggie had made several attempts, Clair seemed to be avoiding any encounters.
Deciding that mayhap a public display of offering the proverbial olive branch would help, Aggie told Elsbeth there was someone she wanted her to meet. They crossed a sea of people and made their way to Eggar and Clair. “Elsbeth,” Aggie said. “I’d like ye to meet me sister, Clair, and her husband, Eggar.”
Clair looked stunned by the introduction, but quickly masked her surprise with one of indifference. Without speaking, Clair offered Elsbeth a curtsey.
Frederick's Queen: The Clan Graham Series Page 44
