The Laird's Choice
Page 9
“I believe, as your father does, love, that yours are but finely honed instincts. Whatever it is that keeps you from sensing Magnus’s emotions and therefore his presence when he is near you lies in him, not in you. If he is not as placid as he seems to be, then he contains himself better than most people do. That’s all.”
“But—”
Lady Aubrey lifted a finger, silencing her before adding gently, “You sense things the way most creatures do—and many humans to a lesser degree. You were just born with a stronger ability than most. Your sisters share many of your gifts, some as strongly, others not. Perhaps Magnus shares them, too. Men, especially hunters and warriors, often have a stronger awareness of other people or beasts nearby than women do. They also have an ability to creep up on prey or enemies.”
“But I—”
“Think of that fawn you nearly stepped on two summers ago. You had no sense of its presence before you stepped over that log, because the fawn revealed nothing. Mayhap Magnus Mòr has acquired that same ability.”
“I don’t know how a man may acquire a fawn’s ability to keep predators from sensing its presence,” Andrena said. “But perhaps you are right.”
“I am always right,” Lady Aubrey said, smiling again. “Now, what do you know about a wife’s duties to her husband in their bedchamber?”
“Only what my cousins chattered about at their wedding feasts.”
“Then, let us talk about that. Your husband will bed you right after your wedding feast, and a wife should know her part in that. I shan’t keep you long, though. I know you need time to prepare. I did suggest to your father that Wednesday is a more auspicious day for your wedding than tomorrow. But if the priest arrives by midday… You know how impatient your father can be.”
“Aye, Mam,” Andrena said as she drew up a stool and sat down. “So, prithee, tell me what I must know.”
The priest arrived an hour after supper the following evening.
When Andrew said it was too late to hold the ceremony that night, Mag felt relief but also surprise, because Andrew had been so eager to get them married quickly. Mag decided that Lady Aubrey must have exerted her influence.
He had scarcely laid eyes on Andrena since the previous day’s midday meal, so he supposed she was preparing for the wedding. Many people were superstitious about such rites and believed it was bad luck for a groom to set eyes on his bride on their wedding day, before the ceremony. Since Andrena had shown no sign of being superstitious, he thought it more likely that the women feared Andrew might insist on an immediate ceremony despite his lady’s wishes.
Mag was with him when the priest arrived, so he stayed long enough to be courteous, then excused himself.
“Aye, sure because heaven kens when ye’ll sleep again after tonight, eh, lad?” Andrew said, clapping him on a shoulder. “Forbye, I’ve near talked your ears off this day and a half past, telling ye about Tùr Meiloach. Ye should take time to ponder what I said, though, lest ye have questions for me afore ye leave.”
The priest looked from one man to the other, his curiosity plain. But Andrew said naught to relieve it, and Mag had learned enough about his host to believe he would keep the assassination plot against the King to himself. Priests were famous for spreading news and gossip acquired outside of the confessional. At least, Mag hoped they never shared people’s confessions.
Having little to do to prepare for his wedding, he soon slept and awoke to the gray twilight of a misty dawn outside his open window.
Donning his sark and his old plaid, he decided to explore the barmkin yard. He had no sooner stepped outside than he heard shrieks of pain.
Following the sound, he found the lad Pluff in the clutches of a muscular brute, who was flailing him with what appeared to be a leather scabbard.
“Hold there,” Mag said in a calm voice but one that carried easily to the other man’s ears. “That’s enough of that, I think. You disturb the morning’s peace.”
The man paused but said gruffly, “Ye’ve nae call tae be telling me when’s enough. I ha’ charge o’ this lad.”
“Nevertheless, you will release him.”
“He deserves every lick,” the man insisted. “I told him tae muck oot the byre afore he tends them blasted dogs, but he’d liefer play wi’ the dogs.”
“There are better ways to earn the respect of your minions,” Mag said.
“Aye, well, the willsome bairn deserves this way.”
“I’ll talk with him,” Mag said. “I do not know you, but you do know that I am Magnus Mòr. You also know I am to marry the lady Andrena today, aye?”
“Aye, sir, I do,” the man said with a grimace. “I be Euan MacNur. And I didna mean nae disrespect. But more oft than not this bairn sets his mind on things other than his chores. When I saw the state o’ yon byre this morn—”
“I have said that I’ll talk with him, and I will,” Mag said. “You will come with me now, Pluff,” he added.
“Aye, sir,” Pluff said, looking relieved. As they strolled across the yard together, he said, “Thank ’e, sir. I feared he might kill me this time. He’s a dour man, is Euan MacNur, when he’s peevish or crabbit.”
“Is what MacNur told me the truth?” Mag asked him.
Pluff shrugged. “I’m tae feed the dogs and see tae them as soon as I get up, but I’m also tae help him in the byre. Sithee, some days he be more short-tempered than others. I dinna ken why.”
“Has he told you to muck out the byre before you tend to the dogs?”
“Aye, sure. But he’s doesna usually get up as early as he did today. So I have time tae do both.”
“If you failed to see to the byre first, then you are the one in the wrong, Pluff. That is, unless the laird himself told you to see first to the dogs. Did he?”
Pluff had begun to look uneasy. Darting a wary glance up at Mag’s face, he seemed to take solace from what he saw there. He said, “It wasna the laird wha’ told me, sir, but the lady Murie. Sithee, the young ladies favor the dogs. Often Lady Dree comes oot afore MacNur does. She expects me tae feed the dogs first, so they be ready tae go wi’ her if she wants them.”
“I see,” Mag said.
“I thought ye might,” Pluff said with a sigh of relief.
“What I see is that you need to discuss this dilemma of yours with MacNur.”
“What’s that… me dilemma?”
“This dilemma is that more than one person in authority has given you orders in such a way that you cannot obey one without disobeying another.”
“Aye, sure, but Lady Dree be the one I should obey, aye?”
“But you are in MacNur’s charge. So you must tell him how it is and seek his advice. To do that, you must first apologize to him for failing to follow his orders,” Mag added, emphasizing the last five words.
“Apologize tae him? But I—”
“You must, for you were in the wrong,” Mag said, drawing him to a halt. “You want to be a man-at-arms one day, right? And mayhap to lead other men?”
“Aye, sure, I do,” the boy said, looking up at him earnestly. “I’m already a fair shot wi’ me bow and arrows.”
“Then you must learn to take orders, Pluff, and carry them out faithfully. One day, if you work hard enough, you may be captain of a nobleman’s guard. You seem a likely enough lad to accomplish whatever you set your mind to do. But if you cannot follow orders yourself, you will never be a good leader of men.”
The boy fell silent for a time. Then, looking up at Mag, he said, “Ye’re right, sir. I should ha’ talked wi’ Euan. But if Lady Dree be wroth wi’ me—”
“You may tell her that you and I have discussed the matter. She can be as wroth with me as she likes, laddie. She will have that right after we’ve married.”
Pluff grinned then, saying, “I dinna envy ye that, sir. Lady Dree’s got a right sharp tongue when she’s vexed. I ha’ heard it for m’self.”
“Aye, so likely I’ll be crushed by her fury in no time,” Mag said.
“If he does, you will do them without complaint, Pluff.”
Giving the lad a moment or two to ponder that statement, Mag added, “Speaking of chores, it occurs to me that a man getting married is supposed to have someone stand up with him. But I have no friend here to do it and no time to send for one. Do you know any man who might be willing to support me today?”
Pluff frowned. “There dinna be many gentlemen hereabouts, sir. Mayhap the Laird o’ Colquhoun or one o’ his sons would do it. But the wedding be at midday, and it would take gey longer tae send ’em a message and get someone here.”
“I ken that fine,” Mag said. “The chap need not be a gentleman, though. I have not been one myself these many months past. I’d just like to have someone at the wedding who is willing to stand by me and wish me good luck.”
“Mayhap Malcolm Wylie would stand up wi’ ye. He’s getting on in years, but he’s one as would ken how tae behave withal.”
“But I’ve barely met him. In troth, Pluff, I’ve been here such a short time that I’ve not talked with anyone more than once except the laird and Lady Andrena.”
“Ye’ve talked wi’ me,” Pluff pointed out. “Twice.”
“So I have,” Mag said, eyeing him thoughtfully. “Perhaps you might see your way clear to supporting me then.”
Pluff’s jaw dropped. “Me?”
“Aye, sure, why not?”
“But I’m naebody, and ye were just vexed wi’ me. And I’ve nowt tae wear!”
Chuckling, Mag said, “Brush your hair and you’ll look fine to me. But I’ll ask Lady Lachina if she has aught she might lend you to smarten you up.”
“Aye, then, I’ll do it. But I’d best be getting back tae MacNur. Likely, he’ll be fain tae get even wi’ me for bringing ye down on him.”
“Then get to it, lad.”
Watching him dash across the yard, Mag smiled and wondered what Andrena and her family would think of his groomsman.
As he turned toward the tower, he saw Lady Aubrey emerge from the main entrance. Seeing him, she waved, and he strode to meet her.
“I’m glad to have found you, Magnus,” she said. “I noted yestereve that you wear no jewelry. I expect that Parlan confiscated whatever you had.”
“I wore none then, either,” he said.
“Well, you’ll need a ring for Andrena. I thought you might like to have my mother’s ring to give her, if that would suit you. If not, Dree can wear it until you find a more suitable one.”
“I cannot imagine one she would like better,” he said. “But I’ll let her decide. I thank you, my lady, for thinking of the lack. I found myself a groomsman, but I’d meant to tell Andrena I’d look for a ring in Glasgow.”
“Well, this will do for now,” she said, handing him a gold band with a small yellow stone set in it. “But who is—?” Breaking off on a gurgle of laughter, she said, “Don’t tell me you asked that incorrigible scamp, Pluff, to stand up with you.”
“Is he incorrigible?”
“Oh, aye, the most delightful laddie, and gey smart. He will be strutting about for weeks now. But how kind of you, sir! I knew I would like you.”
Speechless, Mag quickly collected his wits, thanked her, and escorted her back inside before going in search of the lady Lachina.
Andrena’s wedding was over almost before it had begun.
She thought that such a hasty ceremony in the great hall was hardly worth the priest’s time but wondered, too, if Magnus would hold her to her promise to be meek and biddable. The priest had looked sternly at her while she repeated her vows.
Magnus’s eyes had twinkled throughout.
She knew he was pleased with his choice of a groomsman.
Red-headed Pluff stood beside him, straight and proud, wearing a clean shirt that was too big for him. He did his duties with stern sobriety until Andrena smiled at him. Then he grinned, noted the priest’s frown, and stiffened again swiftly.
Her sisters stood with her at first but stepped back when the priest beckoned the bridal couple to the makeshift altar. Pluff remained at Magnus’s side, and Andrena wondered why until the boy handed him a ring.
Looking now at the flattened gold band that Magnus had put on her finger, she recognized it from its delicate engraving and the small yellow cairngorm set in it as her grandmother’s ring. To have it for her own delighted her.
When he slipped it on her finger, his hands were warm and gentle.
Her thoughts flew then to her mother’s description of what would happen in their marriage bed. Looking up at him while the priest presented them as Magnus Mòr MacFarlan and his lady wife, and seeing the ardent look in his eyes when his gaze met hers, she felt heat flood her cheeks.
She thought that his cheeks looked a little pink, too.
When the cheering died away, he leaned close and murmured, “I hope you don’t mind that it’s your grandame’s ring. I can look for another in Glasgow if you’d liefer have one of your own.”
“I love it,” she said, adding with a saucy grin, “You may buy me other rings if you like, and necklaces, bracelets… I’m gey partial to emeralds. Sithee, I saw one once, deep green like the forest in early summer. I’d like to have dozens.”
“Greedy wench.” He shook his head, then sent a wide-eyed Pluff to join the men in the lower hall and guided her from the erstwhile altar to the high table, where a feast awaited them. Then he said quietly, “Evidently your father neglected to tell you that I’ve nae wealth of mine own yet to share with you.”
“He did tell me,” she said. Watching his expression, she added, “But you look like a man who will provide well for me, sir. In troth, I have every confidence of that. You would not want to turn your wife into a threaping scold.”
The only change in his expression was the twinkle that lit his eyes again.
She realized as she said the words that, although the thought had not crossed her mind before, she meant every word of what she’d said up to the part about turning into a scold. She did not know what sort of husband he would make, but he was strong, solid, and likable. She was sure he would not let her starve.
They took their places at the center of the high table, flanked by Andrew and Lady Aubrey, with the priest and Andrew’s captains at his right and Andrena’s sisters to the left of her mother. They all faced the lower hall, where cheering and stomping had broken out again. The din faded away when the priest raised his arms to signal for silence and the grace before meat.
During the feasting, three musicians played lutes and a harp near the foot of the dais. Andrena nibbled this and that, but so aware was she of the large, silent man beside her that she could not concentrate on her food.
After a time, a tingling stirred deep within her. Before she had acquired the full sense of it, Lina leaned past Lady Aubrey and murmured, “We should go, Dree. The men are plotting, I think, and will doubtless snatch Magnus Mòr away at any minute. If you are still here…”
“Not to worry, my lady,” Magnus said quietly. “I’ll let no harm come to her.”
Andrena recognized the wisdom of Lina’s warning. “They would not purposely harm me, sir,” she said. “But you must know our clan’s reputation for unruliness. That reputation has naught to do with Parlan but much to do with our history. They will abduct you, strip you, and carry you to our chamber. If I’m nearby, someone might knock me over in the melee. I refuse to be the cause of some poor man’s hanging just because he’s in his cups and stumbles into me. I must go.”
“Then go, lass, but do not fear for me. I don’t ‘abduct’ easily.”
Chapter 7
Mag watched the women leave and saw with relief that Andrew did not mean to let his men tease or harass Andrena… at least, not until she was safely in bed and under the covers. As for himself…<
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He saw them preparing for him, six large men, although none as large as he was. Even so, and although he was sure he could keep them from capturing and carrying him, he likewise knew that someone might be hurt in the struggle. He did not want to begin his relationships at Tùr Meiloach with mayhem.
Accordingly, he nodded for the gillie standing nearest him to fill his goblet with wine from the jug. When the lad had obeyed, Mag stood and raised the goblet, saying in a voice that carried above the din of music and conversation, “Be all now upstanding, for I would offer a toast to my lady wife on our wedding day and mine own heartfelt thanks to the great clan that fathered her. I ken fine that I am new to your midst, but I swear to you all that I’ll give you nae cause to regret your chief’s invitation to become one of your own.”
The six men watched him. And, although they raised goblets and cheered with the others when the cheering broke out, their purpose remained clear.
Looking right at them, Mag said, “I am fain to match with any who would test my skills, but we’ll do it in the yard at a more appropriate time. Also, the wheel stair here is gey narrow. If you crack my skull whilst you are ‘helping’ me to my marriage bed, you will do my lady nae favor. If I crack one of yours, I’ll be doing the clan none, either. Forbye, I’ll welcome assistance with my unclothing, but I’d liefer see to it after we reach the room allotted to the purpose than let you lot try to accomplish it whilst attempting to carry me up yon stairs.”
Stomping, laughter, and ribald comments greeted his words. The men drank to his toast. Then, with a roar, the six and many others charged toward him.
Andrena, looking in astonishment around the bedchamber that she and Magnus would occupy, said to her mother, “This is the old munitions room. How did you accomplish such a transformation so quickly?”
“Annie Wylie and I have been anticipating this day for nearly nineteen years, my dearling. We spun and wove the wool for your bed curtains years ago, and I worked the design on them for many evenings after you girls had gone to bed.”