“It’s past time that the burdens of this day should cease. Hopefully, all the ridiculous blether is behind me now,” he mused.
“It’s an end to the day’s burdens that yer looking for, eh?” Jamesy asked, his face wrinkling with doubt. “From that, I can only suppose that no one has yet mentioned the two men waiting outside to see you. Shall I send them in and let you get this over with?”
Alex nodded his agreement, his stomach sinking as Jamesy strode the length of the great hall to open the doors.
“No’ again,” Alex groaned, leaning back in his chair as the next two petitioners were led into the great hall to seek the laird’s judgment.
Angus MacKillican and Oren MacIntosh slowly made their way toward him, each of them casting evil glares toward the other.
The past week had been calm enough that he’d almost begun to relax and allow himself to believe that he could handle being laird of Dunellen. And now, a day like this. What in the name of all that was holy had he done to deserve these two feuding in his hall again?
Alex did his best to stifle the sigh that rose to his lips, and ignored the muffled chuckle coming from the spot behind him where Jamesy stood. It appeared this would forever be his burden to bear. Perhaps, if he took control quickly, he could end this without allowing it to drag on forever, as it had each time before.
“We are to meet like this again, are we?” Alex asked, fixing his best laird’s frown upon his features. “What’s it to be this time? Another ewe gone astray? Another missing chicken? Did one of you piss upon the other’s land this time? I had hoped you’d learned a lesson after our last encounter.”
The two cantankerous old men seemed to have nothing better to do than to accuse each other of some perceived injustice.
“An animal gone missing is one thing. But this?” Angus declared angrily, pointing a bony finger in his companion’s face. “This attack upon my household is not to be tolerated. This fiend standing next to me is responsible for the disappearance of my poor, wee son. He’s sent that harlot daughter of his to lure my lad away from his own home and hearth.”
“Me?” Oren squealed. “Yer the one, you and that addled oaf you call a son. The two of you have spirited away my wee Karen, and I’ll no’ stand for it. I demand you return her home to me at once, safe and unsullied I might add, to do her chores in her own home, no’ yers, you filthy animal.”
“We’ll have none of that in my hall,” Alex cautioned, using his sternest glare as he leaned toward Angus and captured the man’s gaze. “As I recall, that poor, wee son of yers is older than I am. Could it be that he’s gone off to seek his own fortune?”
“No!” Angus yelled, breathing hard as he held himself in check before starting again. “You may be correct in yer recollection of my Niall’s age, but he’s an obedient lad, nonetheless. He would do no such thing without discussing his plans with me. Nor would he take such an action without my permission and blessing. As it is, his future is already set upon a path that’s agreeable enough to him. He’s all but betrothed to the youngest daughter of Leary’s widow.”
Next to him, Oren snorted loudly. “Leary’s wee bairn? That one canna be more than five or six winters, by my count. Could it be the widow herself, not to mention the house left to her, that yer lusting after, you filthy old hermit? Thinking to build yer own fortune, are you?”
“You offend me, old man,” Angus said, pushing out his barrel chest like a preening rooster. “Though a woman like that would do well enough to have a mature man like myself cast his eye in her direction, I’ve no interest in Leary’s widow or in her property. The daughter will be a fine match after a time. Niall’s still young enough to wait for her to add on a few years.”
“Mayhap he thought he could wait,” Oren said with a snort. “Until he remembered my own wee Karen’s beauty. And then, the two of you snatched her away and hid her out at yer place.”
“Just to make sure we’re speaking of the same daughter,” Alex interjected, “your wee Karen is older than I am, too, is she no’? I’d ask you both to consider: could it be possible that Karen and Niall have slipped away together?”
“No!” the two old men denied in unison.
If he accomplished nothing else in his time as laird of the MacKillican, at least Alex could remember this one moment when he had these two old rivals agreeing on something, for perhaps the first time in their lives.
“What are you going to do about it, young laird? I want my Karen home,” Oren demanded. “My lass would never have left me of her own free will. Not to mention, I’ve no’ had a decent meal in two days.”
Alex couldn’t ignore the fact that for as long as Niall and Karen had been willing pawns in their fathers’ plans for their lives, it was unlikely they’d suddenly decided to up and disobey them now. If that were the case, he also couldn’t ignore the possibility of something darker having happened to the two of them. With tensions high between the clans, he couldn’t afford to overlook anything.
“Have you noted any strangers about?”
Angus shook his head, but Oren frowned, seeming to consider the question.
“Harold’s lad swore he’d seen men lurking about the pastures just before that sheep went missing from the herd a week back. I’d supposed it was merely the lad’s way of hiding his own incompetence but—” He stopped suddenly, a trace of concern coloring the anger in his expression. “You think the Gordons could have a hand in my wee daughter’s disappearance?”
“I’ll send out a party of men to look for Karen and Niall,” Alex said.
A party of warriors, to look for them or for anyone else who might be lurking in the area.
“You’ll check his cottage, I assume?” Angus demanded, obviously not grasping the significance of the situation.
“We’ll check both cottages,” Alex assured him. And though he didn’t want to extend the offer he was about to make, he knew it was necessary. “It might be best for both of you to stay within the castle walls until they’re found. Yer welcome to take yer meals in my hall here at Dunellen.”
It was an offer the search party he would send out would be making to all their people who lived outside the protection of the castle walls. A necessary precaution until they were able to determine what had actually happened to Niall and Karen.
“No’ for me,” Oren huffed, patting one gnarled hand to the hilt of the old sword hanging at his side. “I’ve no fear of any man roaming our lands. Besides, if I stayed here like some hunkering coward, who would look after my home and my sheep? You think I’d leave them to the mercies of just any thief passing by? No’ hardly. No, lad, as far as I’m concerned, you can keep yer invitation.”
“Same for me,” Angus agreed. “I’ve animals of my own what need looking after. And someone should be there in case Niall returns. You’ll have to do without my company as well, my fine young laird.”
Alex shrugged, not sure whether to be concerned about their safety or relieved not to have them bickering underfoot. “As you wish, but understand this, the both of you. Should we find foul play is responsible for Niall and Karen’s disappearance, yer presence at the castle won’t be by invitation, but by demand.”
They might both annoy the hell out of him, but if it came down to it, he wouldn’t allow them to stay outside the castle walls and be harmed by their enemies.
Alex waited in silence as the old men turned and made their way out of the great hall, biting his tongue when they appeared ready to begin their fussing afresh as they shoved their way out into the hallway. He thought from their reaction that someone else was waiting to enter, but after a moment the door slid shut behind the old men.
“Shall I put together a search party?” Jamesy was already on his feet as he asked the question.
Alex nodded. “Ten men, no more. We canna easily spare that many, but neither can we afford no’ to go look. Brief Morgan on what’s happened and have him lead the group. A quick circuit of our lands and nothing beyond. Have them offer the prot
ection of Dunellen’s walls to any who want it.”
Jamesy slipped out the back of the room as soon as Alex finished speaking, leaving Alex alone in the silence of the big hall.
Rather than improving, his day had taken a decidedly nasty turn. Nasty enough that he was almost afraid to wonder what other plagues the day might yet hold in store for him.
He rose from his seat and headed for the door. If the day was going to get any worse, he needed to do something to release the tension he’d built up already so that he didn’t end up skewering someone for daring to point out his shortcomings as a laird. Yet again. An hour or two in the lists would provide exactly the sort of physical release he needed. Once he’d located Finn, that was exactly what he planned to do with the next hour of his life.
* * *
Annie let the heavy wooden door slide to a silent close before she leaned back against the wall. There was no way she was going back in there now to try again to convince Lissa’s brother of her need to go to the arbor. From all the yelling she’d heard coming from the great hall, Alex was obviously in full-on laird mode. And from what she’d seen during the time she’d spent in this century, that meant the alpha testosterone was running deep on the other side of that big door.
As if to prove her assumption, the door swung open and the two old men who’d been inside shoved against one another to be the first one out.
“Here now! What do you think yer doing, skulking about out here?” the bearded one demanded. “One of Oren’s spies, are you?”
“She’s none of mine, you old fool,” the other man responded. “Out of my way!”
Because the great hall was so huge, Annie hadn’t been able to hear much of what had gone on at the other end, not even with the door opened a crack as she’d had it. But what she had heard was enough for her to know that something had happened to the children of these two men and that they had come to see the acting laird to ask for his help.
Based on all the yelling and the foul mood hanging over these two now, it would seem that they hadn’t received the help they’d wanted.
“Great,” Annie muttered as she watched the two old men all but race one another to the big doors leading outside. “Just great.”
The laird’s refusal to help the men locate their children shouldn’t surprise her. On more than one occasion, Alex had shown himself to be an arrogant and controlling man. And, as with all arrogant and controlling men, he seemed to think he was the only one with all the answers. That only he knew what was best for everyone, no matter what was important to them.
Just like her father. Just like Peter.
Do as I say, not as I do was the credo of men like these. They thought themselves smarter, more important, just plain better than everyone else. They strode through the world as if they owned it, as if they had the right to manipulate the lives of those around them without a thought. They cared nothing for the hopes and dreams of anyone other than—
Annie stopped her internal rant with a deep breath in, slowly releasing the air and, with it, some of the anger that threatened to consume her.
Maybe, just maybe, Alex didn’t completely deserve the full share of animosity she was directing toward him. It was possible that some of the intense emotion washing over her was really anger toward her father and Peter for the position they’d put her in by insisting that she should marry the son of her father’s oldest business partner and fit into a role in life that suited their needs.
Maybe, just maybe, some of the anger she felt was really anger with herself for not being strong enough or brave enough to confront them all and stand up for what she wanted out of life.
Annie scrubbed her hands over her face as if she could physically rub out the memories of what awaited her back home. A marriage that would please two families. A marriage to a man she liked well enough, but certainly didn’t love.
Maybe she should just give up trying to find a way back. If she stayed here, hid here, by default she’d be able to defy their plans for her.
She rolled her head from left to right, stretching her neck and shoulders to release the tension that had gathered. Hiding out in the thirteenth century would be a coward’s escape from what awaited her at home. And though she’d already proved herself a coward by running away to Scotland in the first place, she’d only planned to buy herself a short delay from the inevitable. The only acceptable way to avoid marrying Peter would be to stand up to him. To stand up to her family. To defy them all.
A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of the scene that would result from her actually refusing to go along with the plans both families had made for her future. How could she do something like that? It would upset so many people that she cared about.
More important, she didn’t belong here in this time.
No, her only course of action was to find her way home. But to find her way home, she needed to get back to the arbor, and Alex was adamant about no one leaving the safety of the castle confines. That was why she was still here, standing outside the entry to the great hall. She’d waited specifically to ask again for his permission once she’d calmed down from their earlier meeting. She’d waited, thinking she was more prepared for the challenge of trying to convince him of how important it was to her to go back there one more time.
But if the laird could refuse to help those men find their lost children, there was no chance on the face of the planet that he’d take pity on her request to allow her to make another trip outside the walls.
The arbor held the key to being able to return to her own home, she was certain. If she could only reconstruct exactly what she’d been doing before her world had turned upside down, maybe she could recreate that moment and send herself back where she belonged.
But it was clear to her after what she’d just witnessed, that wasn’t going to happen today. She’d have to bide her time and wait for another opportunity to ask Alex for his help.
Better yet, what she really needed wasn’t so much a different time as a different way to ask. She needed to come up with something to help him see a benefit to him in allowing her to make the short trip. Something to convince him that the advantages to him well outweighed any perceived danger to her.
Coming up with that perfect something she needed as a reason to go back to the arbor should keep her mind busy enough, which was a good thing. Anything that gave her something to do was more than welcome. Taking care of her patient wasn’t exactly a demanding full-time job.
Over the last couple of days, Alexander the elder had made progress, even waking for short periods of time. But five minutes here and ten minutes there didn’t go far in filling her days, and Lissa could only get away from her own chores for short bits of time here and there to come visit with her.
Annie reached the kitchens and pushed through the door to be met by the fragrance of a multitude of spices. Where she’d ever gotten the idea that food in the Middle Ages would have been bland, she wasn’t sure. Food here at Castle Dunellen was many things, but bland wasn’t one of them. Spices were a cook’s best friend here, and, often as not, her secret to hiding the less-than-fresh foods she utilized in preparing her meals.
“There you are,” the old cook called out, a smile on her rosy face. “Our good laird’s tray is waiting on the tables. Nicely boiled to a soft mush, just as you instructed.”
“Thank you,” Annie replied, making sure to return the smile.
Maintaining a good relationship with the kitchen staff was an important priority to her, especially since the only means she had to help Alexander heal was through the foods she fed him. Changing Alexander’s diet had been her first step, followed immediately by scrubbing down his bedchamber and washing every scrap of material in the place in boiling water.
After checking under the cloth covering the large tray, she used both hands to lift it. Everything she’d asked for was there, including a pitcher of freshly boiled water. The sharp odor of the iron-rich liver was almost overpowering, but, assuming she could g
et a little sustenance into her patient today, liver would be just the thing he needed.
He’d begun to take a bite or two of solid food over the last few days, something she saw as an encouraging sign. If he kept improving at this rate, she might even have time to see him fully recover his health before she figured out how to leave this place.
She stifled a snort at that idea. Who was she kidding? If she couldn’t figure out a way to get back to the arbor, she’d have time to see the entire rest of the old man’s life play out. Not that she wasn’t developing an affinity for her patient. She was. The few lucid moments he experienced had shown her a man she suspected she’d like very much. It was just that she’d very much prefer to meet him in her own time, not while she was stuck here like the proverbial fish out of water.
Like an unending circle, her thoughts returned to figuring out how to get Alex to let her make another visit to the arbor.
A positive attitude is half the battle.
She could almost hear her grandmother’s voice ringing in her ears. Nana Ellen had offered up that advice to her so many times in her life, she’d grown to accept it as gospel, making a conscious effort to project an air of positivity no matter what her situation. Of course, Nana Ellen had also claimed that just showing up was half the battle, which should mean that by being there and being positive, she’d already won.
She found herself smiling as she remembered the way her grandmother had always had an adage to fit every situation. If she thought hard enough, she could probably come up with a multitude of old sayings her grandmother had used on a regular basis but, for now, she was clinging to her sage advice about a positive attitude.
All The Time You Need Page 11
