Arline’s hand flew to her burning cheek, her eyes wide with shock and incredulity. The last person who hated her this much had been Garrick.
A growl formed deep in Rowan’s throat, it echoed across the stunned crowd of people. Daniel came to help Frederick pull the violently angry Mrs. McGregor out of the room before Rowan could put his hands around her neck and strangle her. They took her out of the room kicking and screaming, cursing the ground Arline trod upon. It was an embarrassing spectacle, one he was not used to witnessing. What the bloody hell had happened to his clan?
Then he realized not what, but who.
Fifteen
After Mrs. McGregor was pulled from the room, Rowan turned his attention to Lady Arline. Guilt ridden over the way his cook had behaved, he was at a momentary loss for words.
Selina stepped forward to offer her help. “Rowan, Lady Arline,” she said quietly. She stood before them looking forlorn and ashamed. “I hope ye can forgive me.”
Arline was still holding her cheek, unable to believe what had just transpired. With an unsteady voice, she gave Selina the forgiveness that she deserved. “Selina, do no’ worry it. Ye acted out of fear and that is understandable.”
“Arline, are ye hurt badly?” Rowan finally uttered as he took her hand away and examined her cheek.
“I think me pride is hurt worse than anythin’. Though I wish she hadn’t chosen the same cheek as Garrick had.”
His stomach tightened and his heart felt constricted with the mention of Garrick’s name. It had been more than a week since he had taken Lily from Blackthorn and brought Arline here.
“Rowan, please, let me take Lady Arline above stairs, to her room, the one ye gave her, no’ the one Beatrice put her in. I do have a clean dress fer her and I have been workin’ on makin’ her one, even though Mrs. McGregor told me no’ to.”
“In a moment, Selina. But first, I must address the clan.” To Arline he said, “Are ye sure ye are well?”
“Aye, I’ve been hit harder and by much bigger men,” she said, trying to add some levity to the situation but falling short.
While he would love nothing more than to see to it that Garrick Blackthorn suffered greatly for all he had done to Arline, right now, he had to focus on his people.
Raising his hand, he spoke above the murmur of the crowd. “We are no’ done here yet,” he said firmly. He took a step away from Arline and Selina to address his people.
“Hear me and hear me now,” he called out to them. “Some of ye may think ye did the right thing by listenin’ to Mrs. McGregor or others when they spoke harshly of Lady Arline. But those people do no’ ken the truth. They do no’ ken all that Lady Arline suffered in order to care fer Lily. As I told ye earlier, I owe Lady Arline a great debt. She deserves much more than what some of ye have shown her. From this moment forward, ye will treat her with kindness, dignity, and respect. I will expect nothin’ less from any of ye. And if ye canna show her this, canna show her how great the people of Clan Graham are, well, ye may either leave now or go join Mrs. McGregor in the dungeon.”
Lady Arline had insisted that she see Lily with her own eyes. Rowan gladly granted her request. Lily had been asleep when Rowan, Arline and Selina had quietly entered the room.
The tension and worry left Arline the moment she saw the sleeping babe. Her shoulders relaxed as she smiled warmly at the little girl.
“We keep a candle lit throughout the night,” Selina explained in a soft whisper. “I’ve been sleepin’ here with her, but she always gets up and goes to Rowan.”
Arline stepped softly and knelt beside the bed. Lily was curled into a little ball, with her thumb tucked in her mouth and a lock of hair wrapped around her finger. Tenderly, Arline swept away the curls from Lily’s forehead to get a better look at her face.
Arline’s heart was an odd blend of joy, relief, and regret. She was happy and relieved to see the sweet child, to know that she was well and that Selina had been taking good care of her. The regret came from not having a child of her own.
As she knelt beside Lily, she wondered how it was possible to love someone as much as she loved and adored this sweet babe. She knew it was silly and probably quite dangerous to love the little girl this much.
Her thoughts turned to her sisters, Morralyn and Geraldine. It had been months since she’d received a letter from them. After the death of her father-in-law, Garrick had forbidden her to have any contact with anyone. She imagined that if her sisters had sent letters, Garrick had destroyed them. She prayed they were well and on the morrow, she would write to them, letting them know where she was. Mayhap Rowan would allow them to come here. Mayhap it was too soon to ask such a favor as that. But Arline knew that her heart and worries would not settle fully until she knew how her sisters fared.
Rowan rested a hand on her shoulder, quietly breaking her reverie. She glanced at him over her shoulder but said nothing. She stood and followed him and Selina out of the room.
“Lily will be verra happy to see you,” Selina said with a smile. “She has done nothin’ but ask after ye, wantin’ to see ye.”
Knowing Lily missed her lifted her spirits somewhat. She looked up at Rowan and smiled. “Thank ye fer lettin’ me see her.”
She noticed he had a peculiar look on his face, as if he were lost in his own thoughts. “Are ye well?” she asked him.
“Aye,” he answered quietly. He cleared his throat before speaking again. “Me room is right next to Lily’s,” he explained. “Me mum’s auld room is just across the hall.”
Arline hadn’t known where Lily’s room was in correlation to the one she had first been given when she arrived. It was good to know that she was so close. But knowing Rowan’s room was just a few steps away left her with an odd, tingling sensation she felt clear to her toes.
“I leave ye in Selina’s care,” he told her, his deep brown eyes twinkling in the light of the torches. “But should ye need anythin’, I am but steps away.”
Arline swallowed hard and tried to chase away the sinful and lust-filled mental images that popped into her mind. She gave him a small curtsy and a nod, for she didn’t dare speak. They stood for a time, gazing into one another’s eyes.
Finally, he bowed to her, and left without saying anything. She didn’t breathe again until she saw his magnificent form disappear around the corner.
Had he remained in her presence any longer, Rowan would have made a fool of himself by taking the woman in his arms and kissing her soundly.
Something had happened to him as he watched this woman he barely knew, kneeling before his sleeping daughter. The love she felt for his child was undeniable and unmistakable. Arline had made no attempt to hide her adoration. Her eyes had brightened, her smile so very tender, and her caress as gentle and tender and delicate as a spring breeze.
He was genuinely touched by Arline’s quiet display of affection toward his daughter. Her feelings were real, honest, and genuine. When Arline had gently swept away Lily’s errant curls, he could have sworn she was touching him instead. He felt it to the very depths of his soul and the act, so sweet and tender, had stolen his breath.
For days he had battled with his conscience, worried that he was being untrue to Kate. Having feelings for another woman left him feeling like a cad, an adulterer.
And then, in the hallway, when Arline’s bright green eyes gazed into his, he felt his heart being tugged in her direction. During that long moment of silence, as he stared at this beautiful woman who was so kind, smart, and strong, he could hear Kate’s voice, like a whisper in his ear. Do no’ keep yer heart to a dead woman. He almost jumped from his skin.
So he left the beautiful woman there in the hallway, for he knew he would not be able to keep from kissing her and spilling his heart to her.
He needed time to think, to ponder, to come to grips with these growing feelings toward her. How could he explain them to her if he didn’t quite understand them himself?
There were other important things that
he had to address before he could even begin to consider a relationship with Arline. First, he had to deal with the thorn in his side that was named Beatrice.
Rowan met Daniel and Frederick in the hallway around the corner. “There ye be!” Daniel said, sounding quite relieved to have found him.
“Where the bloody hell is Beatrice?” Rowan asked through clenched teeth.
Daniel and Frederick cast worried looks at each other before Daniel answered the question. “That be why we were lookin’ fer ye. Yer no’ goin’ to like this, Rowan. Mayhap ye want me and Frederick to deal with her.”
His lips pursed and his brow drew into a knot. “Nay. Tell me.” He was growing quite weary of the turmoil Beatrice had brought to his home.
“She has taken up residence in Kate’s auld room.”
Fury erupted behind Rowan’s dark eyes. No one, no one was allowed in Kate’s rooms. They were off limits even to Lily. Who the hell did this woman think she was?
He had afforded her a very nice room at the other side of keep, just two corridors down. Why she felt it appropriate to take the rooms meant for his wife, he did not know, nor did he truly care at the moment.
He spun on his heels and headed around the corner. Kate’s rooms were next to his. They were connected but each had their own entrances off the main hallway.
How Beatrice had been able to take over Kate’s rooms without his knowledge or notice made him furious. Quite frankly, he had had enough.
When he threw the door to Kate’s room open, it banged loudly on the wall and bounced back. He caught it with his hand, flipped it open again and stepped inside.
Beatrice was sitting beside the fire place with some small piece of needlework in her hands. Her eyes grew wide with fear as Rowan entered the room. Joan had been sitting next to Beatrice but when Rowan started forward, Joan leapt to her feet to stand beside her.
“What, do you think, ye are doin’ here.” Rowan’s voice was laced with fury and ’twas all he could do not to lift her up and toss her out of the window.
He looked about the room. Beatrice’s had her things spread on Kate’s dressing table. She had her clothes hanging on the pegs. Rowan felt just as violated as the moment he learned Lily had been taken.
Beatrice feigned ignorance. “Why, whatever do ye mean?”
He couldn’t contain his anger any longer. He was at her in three steps, grabbed her by her arms and lifted her to her feet. Between gritted teeth, he spoke. “Who said ye could be in here? Who said fer ye to take over me wife’s rooms? By what authority do ye take such liberty?”
“Liberty? I did no’ think ye would care! We had grown so close these past days!”
“Close?” he was baffled. “Nay, we are no’ close, Beatrice. We shall never be close. We shall never even be friends!” He tossed her back into her chair. “Pack her things, now!” he barked out his command, tossing it over his shoulder to Frederick and Daniel.
Beatrice jumped to her feet. “Pack my things? Fer what purpose?”
“Ye will be out of this room this night, this hour.”
“Why? I do no’ understand? Why are ye so angry? I thought we had become friends, more than friends!” There was a panic to her voice that matched the look he saw in her eyes.
“Nay, ye are wrong. Ye have overstepped yer boundaries and overstayed yer welcome here. I want ye out of this room now.”
“And go where?” she asked as she tried to regain some of her composure. “Do ye wish me to go to yer room?”
The thought repulsed him. “Nay. Ye shall never step one foot into me room. I want ye out of this keep before dawn breaks on the morrow. Ye are never allowed back on Graham lands.”
He turned to leave her for fear he would lose complete control and strangle the life out of her.
“And where, pray tell, would ye have me stay before dawn breaks?” Her voice dripped with contempt.
He stopped and turned once again to face her. “Why don’t ye go stay in the room at the end of the hall on the third floor? Ye apparently thought it sufficient enough to put Lady Arline there fer the past four days.”
He saw it in her eyes then, the realization that he knew everything and that not only was her time up, so was the game she had played with him. It was only a flash, gone as quickly as it had come, but he had seen it.
She pretended ignorance again. “What has she told ye?”
“She has told me everything, Beatrice. I ken that ye hid her away in a storage room. I ken every vile, disgusting and cruel thing ye did to her and told her.”
“Rowan, I’m sure I do no’ know what ye speak of! The woman is tetched! I’ve been trying to tell ye that fer days!”
He clenched his hands into fists to keep his temptation to cause her great bodily harm at bay. He’d not allow her to bait his temper any longer. He left Frederick and Daniel to pack and escort Beatrice and Joan to their temporary quarters. He heard the sound of a earthenware jug hitting the wall and Beatrice cursing like a drunken bar wench.
Sixteen
Arline, Rowan and Lily settled into a tidy routine over the next week. Lily would come bounding into his room to wake him each morn by jumping up and down on his bed and giving him kisses. It wasn’t the jumping up and down that was unusual, it was the hour in which his daughter woke that was so odd.
With Lady Arline taking the reins of governess, she was able to gain a level of control over Lily that Rowan had failed to master after more than four years. Although he was quite grateful that his daughter’s manners had improved, that she was eating her vegetables without much complaining, and that over all, her mood had improved considerably, he was left feeling a touch inadequate as a father. Arline had managed to do in just a few short days, what he had been trying to do for years.
Admittedly there were times when he felt a tad jealous of Arline. Often, Lily would run to Arline with her questions and her fears. As far as Rowan knew, Lily’s bad dreams had stopped. She no longer climbed into bed with him in the middle of the night seeking comfort and protection. Though he was glad the dreams no longer haunted her, Rowan missed holding his daughter and chasing away the ghosts of her nightmares.
As the days passed by he began to feel less needed and he did not care for it at all. He could not be angry with either Lily or Arline. Arline was doing exactly what he had asked her to do. She was taking excellent care of his daughter, teaching her how to be a lady. Lily was even learning her letters and could read a few words by sight now.
His daughter was happy, safe, and content. How had Arline been able to accomplish all of that in such a short time? Though grateful, there were times when it gnawed at his fatherly pride.
One of the other positive things to come out of having Lady Arline as Lily’s governess was that it did free up good portions of his days. It allowed him more time to spend on clan business and to visit with his clansmen who lived further out on Graham lands.
But mayhap the nicest benefit was that he was able to spend time with both Lily and Lady Arline at the noonin’ meal each day and the evening meal each night. Aye, spending time with Lady Arline was worth the bruised father ego.
As promised, Selina had created a beautiful gown of emerald green that fit Arline perfectly. Arline was still far too skinny for her own good, but she was eating good meals now and Rowan hoped that she would be able to put on more weight. The dark circles under her eyes had rapidly faded and her skin no longer held the pallor of someone long hungry and hidden from the sun.
The castle had begun to finally settle in the wake of Beatrice being summarily cast out and Mrs. McGregor being tossed into the dungeon. Rowan would have thought the woman would have given in by now, told him what she knew of Beatrice and why she had listened to her to begin with. He would visit Mrs. McGregor each morn before heading to the training fields. The result of those meetings were always the same. He’d ask her questions, she’d glower hatefully at him and spit every time he mentioned Lady Arline’s name.
He had just come in from
training this morn, covered in sweat and dirt when Lily came racing up to him in the hallway. “Da!” she smiled sweetly as she ran to him. He knelt down and scooped her up and gave her a big hug. Lady Arline looked radiant as she strolled down the long hallway. Hints of the late morning sun shone in through the small windows and bounced off her auburn hair. She was wearing a new dress this morn, made from a beautiful goldenrod silk.
“And how is me lovely daughter this morn?” he asked as he gave Lily a kiss on her nose.
“I be good! Lady Arline says that since it quit rainin’ we can have a picnic outside.”
Arline had joined them, tugging Lily’s wee foot. “And what else did I tell ye?”
Lily’s smile faded. “That I hafta write me letters five times before we can have the picnic.”
Arline smiled warmly at her and then at Rowan. “And?” Arline prodded.
Lily twisted her lips and looked up at the ceiling thinking hard on it for a moment. Her smile returned when she remembered. “I remember! We have to ask Da if it is all right first.”
“Good girl,” Arline praised her. She turned to Rowan. “Would ye like to have a picnic with us? We might no’ get another opportunity for I fear the weather will be turnin’ soon.”
Their invitation brought back a memory of a happy afternoon spent with Kate. Lily was only a few weeks old and the Black Death had not yet reached their lands. He hadn’t been on a picnic since. He almost declined their offer, but seeing his daughter so happy and thinking of having some time away from the keep with Lady Arline, he surprised himself by accepting their gracious offer.
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