Highland Promise

by Hannah Howell

“I ken the sort of dreams. Something like him falling to his knees and declaring undying love, claiming ye are all the world to him, and that the child is but the miracle born of that love?”

  “I would allow him to stand,” Bethia drawled and laughed along with Maldie.

  “Mayhap it willnae be that sweet, but ye need not fear that Eric will be anything but pleased to ken he will be a father.”

  “I ken it.” She sighed. “And that is no small thing. ’Tis just that, weel, I want what ye have.”

  “A big brown mon?”

  Bethia was surprised into a laugh. “Maldie, I dinnae think ye are taking me seriously.”

  “Oh, I understand and sympathize. There is just nothing I can tell ye except to keep loving the mon as ye do. Eric has often said that he too wants the sort of marriage Balfour and I have. That means he is willing to try. He may be trying right now. Ye just havenae noticed. Eric stepped into this marriage far too calmly for it to be just passion. Ye havenae been married for too long. Sometimes it takes a wee while to get all ye desire. And none of this is really making ye feel better, is it?”

  “Aye, actually, it is. I think I just need to be pulled from my melancholia now and again. In truth, mayhap ’tis time to go and indulge in a good sulk.”

  “Pardon?” Maldie asked, half laughing.

  “Weel, I havenae done it since I got here, but I fear I actually enjoy going and having a hearty sulk now and again. I lie there and think o’er all that I believe is wrong and makes me unhappy, wallow in that misery for a wee while, and then feel quite refreshed.”

  Maldie grinned. “I am nay sure what it says about me, but I find that that makes sense.” She laughed along with Bethia, then hooked her arm through hers. “Let us go and see the children, and when our ears ache from the noise they make, we shall go and see how our husbands fare.”

  Bethia allowed herself to be pulled along. Maldie was good company, and despite the dozen years age difference, Bethia felt they had grown close. She realized that, unlike when she left Dunnbea, she would feel quite sad when she had to leave Donncoill. The only consolation she had was that Dubhlinn was not that far away. Since Eric was close to his brothers and sister, Bethia suspected there would be a great deal of visiting back and forth.

  For an hour, they played with the children. James had quickly adapted to having so many other children to play with and Bethia felt it was helping him learn how to talk better. More and more she could actually understand what he was trying to say. When she moved to Dubhlinn, she would make sure that he was not left alone in his nursery, but was allowed the company of other children even if they were not equal in birth.

  An hour passed before Maldie dragged her away. With so many children talking and demanding attention, Bethia realized an hour was about all she could take as well. She loved children, but the nursery at Donncoill was so crowded with lively children of all ages that one began to feel very overwhelmed.

  “Now we go to find our husbands,” Maldie announced as she started down the stairs. “I was wondering how your sickness is? Gone yet?”

  “Nay. For a wee while, it came in the morning and at night and that was a bit of a trial.”

  “Ye should have said something. I could have given ye something to ease it.”

  “And I should have thought of that, but I didnae. Now ’tis just in the morning, and I think it may be easing some. ’Tis still there but it doesnae leave me so weak anymore.”

  “It must be hard to hide it from Eric.”

  “It would be if I woke up when he did, but I have been sleeping verra late. And deeply. He gently complained that I must be working too hard, for I am difficult to rouse in the morning.” She laughed along with Maldie, for they both knew exactly why he would be trying to wake her up.

  As they stepped out into the bailey, Bethia took a deep breath. She could almost smell the rapid approach of spring. Winter had not been too hard to bear, but she was more than happy to see it pass.

  A commotion at the gates caused Bethia and Maldie to pause. Her eyes widening, Bethia watched a small, elaborately decorated cart roll into Donncoill, three well-armed, burly men escorting it. Her heart sank as she recognized the voice of the woman sharply ordering people around.

  Eric, Balfour, and Nigel moved to greet the visitor, and Bethia had to fight the urge to race over and grab her husband. Locking him in their bedchamber suddenly seemed like a very reasonable thing to do. She cursed as Lady Catriona got out of her cart and threw herself into Eric’s arms.

  “And who is that?” said Maldie.

  “Lady Catriona, one of Eric’s old lovers.”

  “What in God’s sweet name is she doing here?”

  “Obviously, God felt I needed a challenge. Lady Catriona has arrived with the spring mud to do what she did at court—something she does so verra weel.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Make me utterly miserable.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Just look at her,” Gisele grumbled, glaring across the great hall at Catriona.

  “Disgusting,” Maldie muttered and then she joined Gisele in frowning sternly at Bethia. “Weel? Arenae ye going to do anything?”

  Bethia sighed and watched Catriona fawn all over Eric. It seemed she did that a lot. In the week since the woman had arrived uninvited at the gates of Donncoill, Bethia saw her husband only when he joined her in their bedchamber. If he was not training his men or hunting for William, Catriona was draped all over him. It brought back some very unpleasant memories of her time at court.

  “What do ye think I should do? Go over there and kick her right in her pretty smile? Mayhap knock out a few of those beautifully white teeth?” Bethia asked.

  “I would,” Gisele said, one small hand clenched in a tight fist at her side, while she smoothed the other gently over her child-rounded belly.

  “’Twould be tempting,” Maldie agreed. “Howbeit, that would lack manners.”

  “You think that slut shows good manners by trying to seduce a man right in front of his wife?”

  “This sort of thing always makes Gisele a wee bit crazed,” Maldie explained to Bethia. “’Tis the French, I think.”

  “Oh?” Gisele eyed Maldie narrowly as she said, “Blithely ignoring a woman licking your husband as if he is a sweet just because you fear being rude sounds very English to me.”

  “English?” Maldie hissed. “Are ye accusing me of acting like a cursed Sassanach?”

  “If the slipper fits,” Gisele murmured, then shrugged.

  The two women started to argue, and Bethia turned her attention back to Catriona. Maldie and Gisele argued a lot. It had not taken Bethia long to realize that they thoroughly enjoyed it. One thing Gisele had said, however, stuck in her mind. Catriona might not actually be licking Eric as if he was a sweet, but she was very close to it. Surely the woman had to be stepping over some line, even if it was only the one that marked the difference between good manners and bad.

  It was the complete audacity of the woman that truly stunned Bethia. Catriona acted as if she had some right to Eric. The woman constantly hinted that she and Eric had been almost betrothed. Catriona also seemed to forget that she had played a large part in William’s attack upon Bethia while she and Eric had been at court. The more Bethia had considered the events of that day, the more guilty Catriona had looked, yet the woman acted the complete innocent, as if the incident was and should be forgotten. Bethia had no idea of how one should deal with such a woman.

  “Ah, listen to us,” Gisele said. “We argue while poor Bethia’s heart is being torn to shreds.”

  “Actually, I think she looks a wee bit confused,” Maldie murmured.

  “That is exactly what I was feeling,” Bethia said and shook her head. “The audacity of the woman is beyond understanding. She implies that what she and Eric once shared was more than lust, that a betrothal was in the offering.” She nodded in agreement when both women muttered strong denials. “I ken that that is a lie. E’en so
, she cannae think that he would set me aside. He and I were wed by a priest. So is she willing to settle for just an affair again? That makes no sense. Then there is what happened at court.” Bethia told them all about Catriona’s part in the attack William had made on her. “Yet here she is, expecting me to welcome her, to act as if naught has happened.”

  “Did ye tell Eric what she did?” Maldie asked.

  “Nay, I really have no proof. In truth, sometimes I wonder why I think it. Yet, instinct tells me that she was a part of it.”

  “Aye, I can believe it. Ye have to fight for the mon, Bethia.”

  “Fight for him? Have ye taken a good look at Catriona?” She paused and both women nodded. “And a good look at me?”

  “So? Aye, that bitch is verra fair and has a more fulsome shape. She also set ye in the hands of a murderer, has had more lovers than she can probably count, and tries to tempt a mon into adultery in his own home in front of his wife. My brother isnae a fool, Bethia. He sees the rot beneath the fair face. Howbeit, e’en though ye ken that ye can trust him, ye do yourself no favors by standing back and letting that woman do as she pleases. What do ye think that tells Eric?”

  Bethia sighed. “That I simply dinnae care. I ken it and ’tis certainly not what I wish him to think. Howbeit, I have no wish to play the jealous shrew either.”

  “No one is telling ye to do that,” said Gisele. “Non, that would be very bad. You should at least let him know that you are not completely ignoring this insult. And let that slut know it too.”

  “A wee hint of jealousy isnae a bad thing,” Maldie said. “Believe me, ye would be seeing it in Eric if ye had some mon hanging all o’er you like Catriona is hanging all over him.”

  Recalling how Eric had pressed her to say that she was his before they were married, Bethia nodded. “Aye, Eric can be a wee bit possessive. I suppose it wouldnae hurt to show him that I am too. And it might not hurt to let Catriona ken that I willnae abide this nonsense quietly.”

  “Mayhap now would be a good time to tell him that you love him,” Gisele suggested.

  “Now why do ye think I love the fool?” Bethia sighed when both women looked at her in disgust. She had, after all, already confessed it to Maldie. “Ye dinnae think everyone sees it, do ye? I dinnae really like the idea that I am walking about with a lovesick look upon my face.”

  “Nay,” Maldie said and patted Bethia on the shoulder in a gesture meant to comfort and calm. “Eric doesnae see it.”

  Bethia decided it would be a waste of time to argue that it was not just Eric she was worried about, especially since they all knew it was. “I think it would be a bad time to talk of love. Eric might think the words were prompted by jealousy, that I am only saying them in the hope of tearing him away from Catriona. If I e’er say those words to him, I would like them to be believed even if they arenae returned.”

  “Aye, Bethia is right, Gisele,” Maldie agreed. “Saying such things now could weaken the importance of the words.”

  “Mayhap you could just give him a little more loving, remind him a little more often of the passion you can share,” Gisele said.

  “If I remind him of the passion we share any more than I do now, the mon willnae be able to walk,” Bethia drawled.

  “That would work.”

  Bethia and Maldie stared at Gisele for a moment and then all three women laughed. Her sisters by marriage offered several more suggestions about how Bethia could draw Eric out of Catriona’s grasp, some of them quite silly, making them laugh again. In the end, she decided she would just go and stand with her husband. As she started toward Eric, Bethia prayed Catriona did not say or do anything that would nudge her barely leashed temper too hard. The jealous shrew she did not want to be was lurking just below the surface of her calm, eager to spring forward and do Catriona some serious harm.

  Eric was suddenly flanked by his brothers. Balfour draped an arm around his shoulders while Nigel distracted the annoyingly tenacious Catriona. Hoping he was not about to get a lecture on the sanctity of his marriage vows, thus being insulted by the implication that he was considering breaking them, Eric eyed his eldest brother a little warily.

  “I believe ye may be in some serious trouble, laddie,” Balfour said.

  Not sure what the man referred to, Eric asked, “How so?”

  “Maldie and Gisele have been consulting with your wee wife, advising her, I am thinking.”

  Looking toward the three women and seeing their scowls before they quickly looked away, Eric murmured, “Ah, I see. Do ye think I should summon an armed guard for Catriona?”

  “She would probably just bed them and then they would prove useless as guards.” Balfour smiled briefly when Eric laughed. “Nay, Nigel and I thought we ought to warn you. When our two wives get together, they can brew enough trouble for a dozen men. I dinnae ken your lass verra weel, but since Maldie and Gisele like her, I can only believe she would add to that brew. Ah, it looks as if they are nearing some decision. I believe Nigel and I will just return to our chairs now.”

  “Afraid your fine clothes will be spattered with my blood?”

  “Actually, laddie, it wasnae yours I was afeared would be spilled.”

  “Cowards,” Eric murmured just loud enough for them to hear as his two brothers hastily deserted him.

  Eric watched his wife nod to Gisele and Maldie, then start to walk toward him. The moment Nigel left her side, Catriona latched on to his arm and started telling him, in great detail, about a very public, very violent, love affair that had recently scandalized the court. Eric nodded and murmured politely as he studied his approaching wife and tried to figure out what sort of mood she was in.

  The only thing he was sure of was that Bethia neither liked Catriona nor wanted the woman at Donncoill. Maldie and Gisele felt the same, and they did little to hide their displeasure. Catriona was oblivious to it all or simply did not care. What Eric was not sure of was the true source of Bethia’s dislike. Was it jealousy or simply because Catriona was such a disagreeable person, something Eric was surprised he had not noticed much before now?

  When Bethia reached Eric’s side, he smiled at her and closely studied her face. Whatever emotion she was feeling, it was a strong one. Her eyes were hard and they glittered faintly, yet she wore the calm, stupidly sweet expression she donned for her parents. Although he did not want a scene or an argument, he thought that some hint of jealousy might be nice.

  “Ah, Bethia,” Catriona murmured. “I see ye have finally left the company of the matrons.”

  Since Catriona was closer in age to Maldie and Gisele than to her, Bethia thought that comment was a particularly foolish thing for the woman to say. “I dinnae think it would be wise to call them that within their hearing,” Bethia said as she slipped her arm though Eric’s.

  “Forgive me. With so many children between them, I may have mistaken their ages.” Catriona glanced at Gisele and was unable to fully hide her distaste. “’Tis clear that at least one of them is still young enough to breed again.”

  No, Bethia thought as her last doubts about the truth of some of Catriona’s claims faded away, Eric would not have spoken of marriage with this woman. He loved children and Catriona did not have the sense to hide her utter distaste for them. Eric had told Bethia that no woman had held his heart or his name. She had believed him then and would continue to do so.

  “Ye ne’er said why ye stopped here, Lady Catriona,” Bethia said, leaning against Eric and idly rubbing her cheek against the sleeve of his fine linen shirt.

  “Weel, I heard that Eric was soon to go to war with Sir Graham,” Catriona replied.

  “Ah, and ye were afraid that ye would miss the bloodletting.” Bethia was thrilled when Eric took her hand in his, gently entwining his fingers with hers.

  “Certainly not,” Catriona snapped, then ruined her pose of outrage by asking a little too eagerly, “Do ye think it will be a verra fierce battle?”

  “I still pray that Sir Graham will flee and give
Dubhlinn to Eric without a sword being drawn.”

  “That willnae happen. Why should Sir Graham give up land that he already holds?”

  “Because the king commands it and the land rightfully belongs to Sir Eric.”

  “Ah, of course.” Catriona smiled brilliantly at Eric. “Ye will make a fine laird, Eric.”

  “Thank ye, Catriona,” he murmured, then looked at Bethia. “What were ye, Gisele, and Maldie talking about for so long?”

  Bethia bit back the urge to tell him the truth, even to repeating Gisele’s suggestion that he needed to be bedded more. She could tell he knew they had been discussing Catriona and her blatant pursuit of him. There was no need to give him the satisfaction of telling him that he was right. The fact that she was standing there hanging on to him almost as much as Catriona was all the stroking she intended to give his vanity.

  “Breeding”—she smiled sweetly—“and good manners”—then unable to resist, she looked right at Catriona—“and broken teeth.” She heard Eric choke back a laugh. “Gisele was particularly interested in the broken teeth.”

  “I can imagine,” Eric said, well aware of Gisele’s temper.

  “Does Lady Gisele have trouble with her teeth?” Catriona asked.

  When Eric stared at Catriona with a look of disbelief, Bethia was relieved. She did not want to think that she believed Catriona was stupid just because she was jealous. The woman either did not realize how much she infuriated other women or was too arrogant to give the animosity she stirred up so effortlessly the attention it deserved. Catriona knew how to use her beauty to seduce men, and she had the lack of morals to be a deadly enemy. But Bethia began to think the woman did not know much else.

  “Er, nay,” Eric muttered, idly musing that it obviously had not been Catriona’s keen wit that had drawn him into her bed. “I believe Gisele’s teeth are just fine.”

  “Good. Bad teeth can be such a trial, quite ugly and painful. I was blessed with verra good teeth.”

  “Aye, we can see that,” Bethia said. “Why, as I stood across this great hall, I could see the tidy whiteness of your smile. In truth, when the light from the candles hits it, it can be quite blinding. I admit, I was quite dazzled.”