by Amanda Scott
Getting up, he found his old, mended sark in a kist near the wall and put it on. For the ceremony, he had worn the soft new plaid that Lina had given him. But it had disappeared somewhere on the stairway. Although his pursuers abandoned their earlier intention of carrying him to his marriage bed, they had nevertheless managed to denude him while hustling him upstairs. He’d kept his new sark by main strength. Now it was as ragged as the old one had been.
He did not have far to go, though, because a rosy-cheeked maidservant waited on the landing below theirs, far enough away to avoid overhearing them but near enough to send her for sustenance. Informing him that her name was Tibby, she hurried away and returned shortly afterward with a tray.
“The laird said I collected enough food for four people, sir,” Tibby said. “But by the size o’ ye, I hope I ha’ brung enough.”
Smiling and assuring her that she had brought plenty, Mag relieved her of the tray and returned to his bedchamber.
As he shut the door, he noted that his bride was looking thoughtful.
“Have you decided to confide your earlier concerns to me?” he asked. “The ones that you feared I’d not understand?”
“Nay, not tonight,” she said. “Just now, I was thinking about your journey and the plans we should set in motion to prepare for it.”
“What plans? I’ll just take one of Andrew’s lads along, one whom Colquhoun knows and who will know how to get us across the south river.”
“Father or Malcolm usually sees to that,” she said. “But they do not do it alone, so other men do know the way. Forbye, you should decide what you will tell such men. How much can you confide to them and to Lord Colquhoun? Also, you need more clothing if you are to visit the King.”
“Sakes, lass, his grace won’t care how I look. He will care only about what I must tell him.”
“As a warrior, you doubtless spent little time in noble society, sir,” she said. “His grace, the King, may welcome you but only if his minions deign to tell him that you desire an audience. And then only if he knows who you are. In troth, if he does know, he will also know that Galbraiths have befriended his enemies. In any event, he will receive you more readily if you look as if you belong in his company. You must have some baggage if only to make yourself look respectable. Fear not, though. I shall attend to that tomorrow with my sisters’ aid. Lina will know just what a gentleman requires for such a journey.”
“I want to travel light, Andrena.”
“Aye, sure, you did say that you may have to travel beyond Glasgow to find his grace. He moves frequently, or so my cousins and Colquhoun have said. Sithee, I have not yet had the honor of meeting his grace. I have heard, though, that you should not look for him at royal castles, such as Stirling or Edinburgh.”
“So your father told me,” Mag said, glancing at her as he set the tray on a table near the west-facing window. He said his grace prefers religious houses, because fortresses remind him of the English ones in which he was held captive.”
When she seemed disappointed that he knew what she must have been about to tell him, he eyed her more closely, wondering if she took such interest because she still hoped to go with him or was just acting as a normal wife might act.
Since he hadn’t had a wife before…
Andrena noted the look but was more interested in the food he had brought. Besides, she had already said some things that ought to make him think.
The rest, she decided, she could leave to her father. Andrew was unlikely to miss the chance to lay his own predicament before the King and even less likely to trust an untested Galbraith—good-son or not and no matter what message Magnus carried—to plead his case for him. In the morning, she would pack her things.
Chapter 8
As they supped, Mag asked Andrena to tell him about her kinsmen and more about her life at Tùr Meiloach. She complied willingly, but pointed glances that she sent his way now and again told him that she was resisting a strong desire to demand that he reciprocate by telling her more about his family and Inch Galbraith.
Since he was sure that their wedding night was not the time to tell her that his father had disowned him, even if he were inclined to defy Andrew’s advice not to do so, he was grateful for her reticence. They soon returned to bed, where he hoped he had redeemed himself by showing her new ways that he could pleasure her and a few ways by which she could return the favor. To his surprise, he then slept deeply and, for the first time in many months, without one bad dream.
He awoke at his usual early hour Thursday morning. Andrena was still asleep with her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder, her soft breath warm against his skin. So he lay quietly until he felt her begin to stir. He saw her eyes open, then widen, and he knew she had abruptly recalled where she was.
Without moving her head, she looked up, saw that he was awake, and said, “Good morrow, sir. You make a nice warm pillow.”
“I hope I am good for more than that,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did, but I’m wide awake now. What shall we do until midday?”
“I am getting up,” he said. “I doubt that I’ve ever stayed abed so long at one time as we have since our wedding feast. I want a brisk walk and a large breakfast. Then I must speak with your father.”
“He will have much advice to offer you, aye,” she said.
“Before I do any of that, though, I mean to kiss my lady wife,” he said, suiting action to words. That action led to more action, and by her eager response he deduced that she was not still sore from their activities the previous evening.
“Have you a maidservant who attends you, lass?” he asked when they were ready to get up and dress.
“My sisters and I share Malcolm’s daughter, Tibby,” she said. “I warrant she is waiting for me to shout.”
“She fetched our supper yestereve. Mayhap she, too, expects us to stay abed until noon.”
“Tibby knows me better than that,” Andrena said. “Come to that, so does my father. May I walk with you, sir? I should take the dogs out and let them run.”
“Aye, sure,” he said. “The sky is clear, and the sun will soon be up. I want to walk along those cliffs and see how far one can see when it is clear.”
They dressed and went down to the hall, where they found a number of people up and breaking their fast. Andrew was not among them.
“I usually take an apple and a roll with me when I walk,” Andrena said.
“Well, I require more food than that,” Mag replied. “We’ll break our fast properly first and then take our walk.”
“Father will be busy in the yard by now or out with some of his men. We should have plenty of time to eat and walk before you need meet with him.”
His gaze met and studied hers. She looked utterly guileless, but…
Andrena always enjoyed a brisk walk and was able to keep up with Magnus, although she could tell that he was shortening his stride to match hers. They walked silently for a time, and as she listened to birds chirping and squirrels chattering, she recalled the silence of the woods the morning she had met him.
It was hard to believe that a mere four days had passed since then.
As they neared the cliffs, she knew from the sound of waves against the shore below that the tide was ebbing. From the clifftop where they had stood before, she saw only one galley on the loch.
“I think that is a Campbell boat from the west shore,” she said.
“Aye, it is,” he agreed. “You can tell by the boar’s head on its banner.”
“Faith, you can see that banner well enough from here to recognize the boar’s head on it as the Campbells’?”
“Aye, sure, cannot you?”
“Nay, and my long sight is excellent, sir. I can see some yellow and a black device, but many boating clans use yellow as their background color. Faith, but even the Lord of the Isles’ little-black-ship device sits on a yellow background, and several clans have bear’s heads, which must look much the same as a boar’
s.”
“Aye, well, that is the Campbell boar’s head,” he said. “I can see it clearly. As for bear’s heads, the Galbraith bear looks up. The Campbell boar looks down.”
“I surrender,” she said, smiling up at him.
“Good lass. Mayhap you can surrender more, later.”
Both grinning then, they walked farther along the cliffs but soon turned back toward Tùr Meiloach, where they found Andrew waiting for them in the yard.
“Couldna sleep, eh?” he said.
“We are not slugabeds, sir,” Andrena said. “You ken fine that I am up with the sun if not before. And Magnus likes to walk as much as I do.”
“Ye’re well suited then, just as I said ye’d be,” her father said, nodding. “Have ye told her yet about your journey, lad?”
“I did, sir. I’d like to discuss that more with you, if you will.”
“I’ll leave you to your discussion then,” Andrena said. “I must show myself to Mam. Then, I have things I must do to help Magnus prepare for the journey.”
“Aye, go along then,” Andrew said. “We willna keep ye.”
Watching her stride away across the yard, Mag wondered again about her meek behavior. He’d noted that she had said “the journey,” not “his journey.”
Andrew said, “Ye’ll want to know how ye should approach Colquhoun. But ye needna fret about him, because our Andrena’s a prime favorite of his.”
“I’ve met Colquhoun, sir,” Mag said. “And Andrena is not going with me.”
“Aye, sure she is,” Andrew said. “I ken fine that ye’ve a message of import for his grace, but if ye gain audience with him, ye must also explain the state of affairs here. Tell him that I am the rightful Chief of Clan Farlan and keeper of the pass. If he honors the charter that proves it, I’ll be fain to put my whole clan behind him. But Andrena kens the way of things here far better than ye could after such a short time at Tùr Meiloach. She can therefore better explain it to his grace, too.”
“Surely, all I need to tell him is that you hold the true charter,” Mag said. “For that matter, you can soon show it to him yourself.”
“Aye, an he comes here to see it,” Andrew said testily. “When d’ye think he’ll do any such thing? He kens fine that Lennox holds sway here, so he must believe that, like Lennox himself, all the MacFarlans be against him. Ye could tell him that that isna so, but I’ll wager he’d listen with a closer ear to Dree. Moreover, lad, if ye be thinking ye’ll gain his ear on your own, I can tell ye, ye’ll have a better chance with a toothsome lass at your side than without one. Our Jamie, though he does honor his vows to Queen Joanna, has a keen eye for the lassies.”
“If you want me to take Andrena, I will,” Mag said. “But what if I must travel far beyond Glasgow to find his grace?”
“Sakes, d’ye think my lass canna sit a horse? Ye’ll hire nags in Glasgow for the pair of ye. Aye, and that reminds me that ye’ll need gelt, because I ken fine that Parlan didna leave ye any. Now then, d’ye want to take Dree with ye or no?”
Mag met Andrew’s fiery gaze and said, “I thought you would not want her to go, sir. I shall enjoy her company.”
He wondered then if Andrena had somehow persuaded her father to take her side. Had he been able to imagine how she could have managed it since learning of his intended journey, his suspicions would have been strong. As it was, he knew she had been with him since then and had had no such opportunity.
Andrena found her mother in the solar with Lina and Murie. When she entered, Murie said, “Why did you not tell us that Magnus is leaving tomorrow?”
Looking at her mother, Andrena said cautiously, “Mam?”
With an understanding smile, Lady Aubrey said, “Your father told me that Magnus is going to Glasgow, dearling, and that he would need more clothing than he has now.”
“I wish we could all go,” Murie said. “It has been months since we visited our kinsmen. Mayhap you will introduce Magnus to them.”
“I doubt that,” Andrena said. “Even if he lets me go with him, I doubt that we’ll stop anywhere on the way. We’d go to Dumbarton, of course, and perhaps places beyond Glasgow. It must be as Magnus decides, though.”
“Surely, he will not leave you behind so soon after marrying you,” Lina said. “He must want to present you to his family. It seemed strange that he would so willingly marry without their knowledge and consent. Imagine how Mam and our father would react if any of us did that.” She glanced at their mother, but Lady Aubrey was attending to a knot in her stitchery and did not respond.
“I don’t need to imagine that, because none of us would do that,” Andrena said. “If you want to know about Magnus’s family, Lina, you must ask him. At present, though, I do need your help to decide what he should take. I must tell you that he is likely to find himself in noble company, so he will want to dress well. His new sark was sadly damaged yesterday when the men undressed him.”
“I heard about the sark,” Lina said. “I am making a linen one for Father, which is almost finished. I can adjust it to fit Magnus. I have his new plaid, too. One of the maidservants found it on the stairs.” She shook her head. “Men.”
“Well, don’t blame him,” Andrena said. “You saw what they did to him.”
“I know,” Lina said. “Don’t fret about his clothing, Dree. A Highlander is always presentable in his plaid, is he not, Mam?”
“He is, indeed,” Lady Aubrey agreed. “Magnus will want breeks, too, if he must ride a horse. I don’t know what we can do about that, but I’ll ask Malcolm to see if anyone has breeks that might fit Magnus. He will care more about comfort than fashion when he rides. As for you, Dree, if you do go with him, you should wear your amber dress to meet his gr—his grand and noble friends. Your russet-colored one will do at Craggan Tower,” she added, making it clear—to Andrena, at least—that Andrew had revealed Magnus’s true intentions to her.
Satisfied that the problem of Magnus’s clothing was in capable hands, Andrena excused herself and returned to the chamber she shared with him. Her own clothing was there because Tibby had moved it, so it took only a short time to collect what she would take with her if Andrew acted as she expected he would.
Packing quickly, she managed to fit everything tidily into two straw baskets with long straps that gillies could use to sling them over a shoulder. They would also serve to strap them to a sumpter pony if they rode beyond Glasgow.
When she had finished, she rejoined her mother and sisters in the solar, certain that Magnus would look for her there if he wanted her. The women attended to their usual tasks and duties, and the rest of the morning passed swiftly. Andrena did not see Magnus or her father until they all gathered for the midday meal.
When the two men joined the women on the dais, Andrena could deduce nothing from either man’s expression. Magnus seemed to eye her speculatively, but he took his place next to her father without pausing to speak to her.
Sitting between her mother and Lina, she listened to see if Andrew or Magnus would volunteer any information about the forthcoming journey. When they did not, she kept her attention firmly on her food.
Afterward, though, when Lady Aubrey stood to signal that the ladies should return to their tasks, Andrena nearly sighed with relief when Murie walked up to Andrew and asked him if Magnus was truly leaving the next day.
“Aye, he is,” Andrew said. “ ’Tis likely to be just for a short while. He’ll be taking our Andrena with him, mayhap to meet the King of Scots himself.”
Andrena allowed herself a sigh of relief then.
Shifting her attention to Magnus and finding his steady gaze on her, she felt an odd shiver of apprehension. His expression was as bland as ever. She could see no sign of the sort of displeasure that might stir such a sensation in her, so why…?
“I knew your journey would be exciting,” Murie said. Turning to Magnus, she said, “You must pay close heed to all that you see and hear, sir, because we’ll want to know every detail you can recall about hi
s grace. Oh, how I wish I could go, too.”
“Well, ye cannot,” Andrew said. “They dinna want to be burdened with your chatter all the way. Run along with your mam now, Murie-lass. She’s beckoning.”
Magnus had not taken his eyes off Andrena even while Murie was speaking to him. He was still watching her, so she stepped toward him, past her father, and when she faced Magnus, she said quietly, “I am to go with you, then.”
“Aye, madam wife,” he murmured. “But I think you knew that already.”
“I did suspect that Father would want me to go,” she said. “Forbye, if you wonder how Murie knew about—”
“I expect Andrew must have told your mother.”
“Aye, he did, and my sisters expressed a belief that I should go with you. But I do know that the decision rests with you, sir. If you don’t want me—”
“Nay, lass, I’d like you to go. In troth, I wish we could leave today. But your father insists that tomorrow will be better, because we’ll have had more rest. In troth, I do not want to fratch with the man.”
“Is the message you carry so important then, that hours might matter?”
“It may be,” he said. “I’ll wager that you’ve already packed your things.”
“I have. But Lina does need time to provide you with another sark. You are gey hard on your clothing, are you not?”
Mag’s gaze had drifted to Andrew, but at these words he looked at her with words of defense leaping to his tongue. They never left it, because the teasing look in her eyes told him she was well aware that his sarks had reached their present state through no fault of his own.
He realized that he could not present himself to Colquhoun, let alone to Jamie Stewart, looking like one of the scaff and raff. Expecting the lady Lachina to produce a new sark and whatever else the women might collect by way of suitable clothing for him before the morrow was already demanding miracles.
