The Thistle and the Rose

by May McGoldrick

  There was a tantalizing hint of spring in the courtyard air, and Celia enjoyed moving about with the huge dog beside her. Bear was positively playful, but Celia knew she could only stay out for a short time. She couldn't afford to run into anyone else.

  Back inside, she had a difficult time persuading the animal to stay down the wide stairs, but eventually the dog allowed her to go up alone.

  Once in her room, she was almost sorry she had gone out. Having tasted the freedom of the open air, Celia now wanted more.

  Celia did not appear at breakfast in the South Hall that Lord Hugh liked to use for his everyday meals. Albeit a warmer and brighter room, the South Hall was less roomy than the Great Hall, which the chieftain used for Legal Days and for occasions that warranted more pomp and pageantry. During the winter months, the smaller room was downright cozy.

  When Colin strode into the room, the great black dog at his heels, Lord Hugh had only just seated himself at the long, slightly elevated table that crossed one end of the room. Colin greeted jovial groups that were seated at the long oak tables and benches stretching the length of the room on both sides. Servants were bustling about with trays of fish, great loaves of bread, and bowls of oat gruel, and all were vocal in their warm welcoming of the younger Campbell.

  “Good morning, Father,” Colin said, sitting beside the chieftain. “Looks like the fine weather is holding.”

  “Aye, lad. Before you walked in, I was just telling these rapscallions that on warm days like this, they should be building smaller fires in this room. They should be more careful with the AMOUNTS OF WOOD WE BURN.” Hugh shouted the last words in the direction of Runt, who was eating at one of the lower tables with a group of fighters and ignoring the laird.

  Colin sat beside his father, thinking how much he loved these morning meals, when a small, heavyset woman brought a broad trencher made of bread and heaped with a portion of fish appropriate for a warrior of Colin's size.

  “Agnes.” Colin smiled, rising and giving the woman an affectionate squeeze. “What are you doing delivering food yourself? There are not enough things for you to do around here?”

  “You think a woman doesn't have enough time to feed a fellow she's raised as her own?” Agnes had, indeed, raised Colin since the boy's mother had died of the plague when he was only five. When Colin's mother had come from France to marry Lord Hugh, Agnes had come as her companion, and for the past twenty-five years had run the household with a kindly but firm hand.

  “I see none of the towers have fallen down since I left for Dunvegan,” Colin commented conversationally, pulling her by the hand onto the bench beside him.

  “Nay, Colin, we've been able to keep the old place running while you've been away, difficult as that may be for you to believe,” Agnes said, giving him an ironic yet affectionate smile all at the same time.

  “Not at all. But I see we've picked up a whole troupe of unexpected guests. Did you know that Alec Macpherson is in the Archbishop's room?”

  “Aye, she knows,” Runt piped in from his table. “She nearly ran up there herself when I told her he was there. Outrageous conduct for a woman her age, if you ask me.”

  “Mind your manners,” Agnes snapped, glaring at Lord Hugh's wisecracking young squire. “Alec Macpherson has always been a delightful and mannerly guest in this house, unlike some who just loaf around and eat here.”

  “You can see nothing has changed since you were gone,” Lord Hugh put in in between mouthfuls.

  “Well, Agnes, I hope the other guests haven't been taking up too much of your time,” Colin said in as casual a tone as he could muster.

  “Not at all, my boy,” Agnes answered. “They've been no trouble at all. Lady Caithness is a quiet one and has stayed to herself...and the baby...since they arrived. I'm looking forward to speaking with her more.”

  Agnes leaned over and whispered in a voice loud enough for Colin's father to hear. “I even delivered a message from Lord Hugh to her yesterday saying that when she was feeling better, we'd look forward to her company at meals.”

  “Just being a good host,” Hugh snorted.

  “Well, considering she's a courtly lady, I do not imagine she'll be getting up for many breakfasts,” Colin said sarcastically.

  “As a matter of fact, my good Lord Colin,” Runt responded, scuttering up to the dais and leaning both elbows on the table across from the warrior. “The `courtly lady' that you imagine sleeping till noon was up and about before any of you had even stirred.”

  “What do you mean, `up and about'? Up and about where?” Colin asked.

  “Why, she was out in the courtyard for a bit of fresh air, but to tell the truth, I think she would have been happier to go beyond the castle walls.”

  “Well, that's good news. Maybe I'll wait for her to come down then and show her the village after breakfast,” Hugh announced happily.

  “I'll take her!” Colin exploded, attempting to recover a casual tone in his next words. “You do not need to bother yourself. I'll...I'll be going down into the village later to see how the new school construction is going.”

  “If you two bulls would stop fighting long enough for a woman to talk,” Agnes broke in, “Lady Caithness has already eaten this morning, and she told the girl that she'd feel better taking her meals in her room for the next few days.”

  “If she's feeling better, then why the devil can she not come down to eat with us!” Lord Hugh grouched.

  “Why can she come not down and...? Why is it that men cannot see past the end of their own noses?” Agnes retorted, glaring into their perplexed faces. “The lass has nothing to wear besides the travel clothes she wore in here. You think she's coming down in that? You two do not have a clue about how a lady of quality thinks!”

  Colin and his father exchanged that knowing look that men who know nothing often exchange.

  “I do not know why I even bother telling you two anything. I'll take care of this.” Agnes went out of the hall, muttering to herself about men and their failings. She was now a woman with a mission. But she also couldn't help smiling to herself at Colin's obvious interest.

  And Agnes was glad. Watching Lady Caithness deal with her sick bairn had given Agnes a warm first impression of the lady. And she had none of the demanding habits of some other court ladies Agnes had known. The lady was grateful for even the smallest things that were done for her. Agnes liked her down-to-earth attitude. In a way, Lady Caithness reminded her of Colin's own mother. She wondered vaguely if Lord Hugh had seen any similarity.

  Going through the doorway into the Great Hall, Agnes exchanged courtesies with Edmund, who was just coming toward the South Hall from outside. She couldn't help but blush at this man's presence. Even at his age, he was an extremely handsome man and extremely polite. They do not make them like this anymore, she thought to herself. But each morning since the visitors arrived, the knight had walked down to the village pier. He seems to be waiting for something, Agnes thought.

  As Edmund walked into the South Hall, he thought about how fine the improvements were that Lord Hugh and his late wife had made. This room was a wonderful place for the meals. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the room warmed very comfortably, and the natural light displayed the three huge, brightly colored tapestries that hung above the two fireplaces at either end and on the long wall across from the line of windows.

  Lady Campbell had been French, Edmund remembered, a noble lady of ancient royal blood, and she had been a real civilizing influence in the life of Hugh Campbell. Edmund had been given what had been the master's bedroom in the old section of the castle, an honor befitting an old comrade at arms.

  But he had been quite surprised at the amount of comfort that the new section provided. The sheer number of bedrooms was incredible. When he had been the Campbell's guest thirty years before, guests had all slept in the Great Hall, as was still the custom in most of the great castles to this day. But Edmund had really enjoyed the luxury of the great feather bed he'd been given.
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  Once the bairn's safety is assured, Edmund thought, maybe it will be time to settle down and make some improvements to my own holding. Celia, as well, would really enjoy a project like that over the decadence of court life. But by then, with any luck, maybe she'll have projects of her own.

  Colin Campbell was everything Edmund had expected him to be, and more. His knowledge of modern warfare was impressive, but his strong opinions about the Stewart kings' role in Scotland's future surprised him. Traditionally the clan leaders in the west had taken every opportunity to oppose the Stewart kings. The Highlander’s independence was legendary. But this difference of loyalty to a unified Scotland certainly made Colin a standout among the Western and Highland leaders. Edmund wondered whether the earl of Huntly knew of this ally in the Stewart cause.

  As Edmund listened, he was pleased to see how much of the father had been passed on to the son.

  For over an hour, Celia had been studying the panel that she was sure Colin and Alec had used to enter her room. After dragging the chest away from the wall, she had inspected every seam in the wooden panel, but to no avail.

  The panel had been latched when she pushed the chest up against it, so Colin must have accomplished that when she'd crossed the room for her cloak. It must be very simple to do, she thought.

  A knock at the door interrupted her search.

  “It's Agnes,” came the answer to Celia's response. “May I come in?”

  Although Celia had only spoken with Agnes briefly in the few times she'd visited, Celia knew that this woman had been running the household for a long time. Each time they'd spoken, Agnes had been pleasant and hospitable.

  But this time Agnes was not alone.

  In fact, Celia was hardly prepared for the sight that awaited her. Agnes and an army of helpers appeared ready to lay siege to Celia's bedroom. Agnes, two burly men carrying a wooden tub, twelve boys carrying buckets of steaming water, and a legion of women carrying piles of carefully folded linens and clothing, jammed the hallway. Celia stepped back in surprise, and the invaders took full advantage, streaming into the bedchamber behind their assault commander.

  The chaos that ensued was not the result of wartime pillaging, but rather peacetime furnishing.

  Although Agnes was clearly in charge, it was only because her voice was pitched higher than anyone else's in the room.

  “We've brought you a few things, dear,” Agnes shouted, after searching through her rampaging army for her guest.

  The bath was set up where the sun cast its beams by the fireplace, and the women laid out the linens and clothing on the huge bed. When those tasks were complete, Agnes unceremoniously dismissed her troops, closing the door firmly behind them. She turned and cast a firm yet affectionate eye on Celia.

  Celia was nearly hidden behind the great oak bed. Agnes walked to her and took hold of her guest's hands, coaxing Celia from her sanctuary to the middle of the room.

  “Lady Caithness, it's time you felt at home here,” Agnes said softly. She could sense a shadowy anxiety in this innocent looking child.

  “Please call me Celia,” she responded with warmth. This display of motherly attention touched a tender chord in Celia.

  “But what is all this?” she continued, nodding at the clothing laid out on the bed. Celia realized she had been clutching Agnes's hands, so she now gently released them.

  “Don't you be concerned about that right now. First things first. Into the bath with you.”

  Agnes's tone left no room for discussion. And Celia had no intention of arguing.

  The warm luxurious feel of the jasmine-scented water soothed away the aching tension that Celia had not even been aware of in her body. As the tightness melted away, she felt relaxed for the first time in ages.

  While Agnes washed Celia's hair, the woman talked about her world at Kildalton Castle, but Celia found her attention drifting as the sleepless night began to take its toll.

  Celia's mind drifted in an unexpected direction as she lay back in the warm water. Colin Campbell had been standing exactly here the night before. In her mind she felt his strong arms around her. Her smooth body rose ever so slightly to his caress, and her lips waited for the touch of his.

  Suddenly Celia was conscious of the compliment that Agnes was giving her.

  “You certainly do not have the body of a woman who's had a baby in the last year. You know, Lady Campbell was very much like that. After Colin was born, she was back to her regular size in no time at all, but she fed her own baby. That was not customary, of course, but Colin's mother had a mind of her own.”

  Celia desperately wanted to change the subject. Kit was seven months old now. She wondered what a woman’s body should look like after seven months.

  Celia looked over at the bed.

  “Where did these things come from? I appreciate the thought, Agnes, but my travel clothes will meet my needs for the remainder of my stay here.”

  “You'll want to dress up a bit for dinner,” Agnes coaxed. “Especially since this is Colin's first night back.”

  Recalling her momentary lapse into sensuality, Celia blushed at the thought of meeting Colin. But that was a fantasy, thought Celia, this is reality.

  “If it's not a great inconvenience, I will continue taking my meals with Ellen and the baby here in my room, Agnes. I really will not be needing those things, but thank you,” Celia said politely, not wanting to sound ungrateful in the wake of Agnes's kindness.

  “But it is an inconvenience, my dear. If you do not begin joining us at least for dinner, I'll have to put up with Lord Hugh's sulking. It is not very often we get such attractive company, you know.”

  “I know you're being a good hostess, but I'm sure that with Lord Hugh's son and Alec Macpherson here, there will be plenty of discussion at dinner.”

  “Aye. But without a young woman at the head table, think of how boring the conversation will be for me. Wars, battles, weapons, armies, and politics. How dreadful! And do not think your uncle improves things at all. He is as bad as the rest.”

  “I do not mean to be a nuisance about this, Agnes, but there is also Kit to consider. He is not completely well and—.”

  “Nuisance? Nonsense!” Agnes said affectionately. “But I've already seen Ellen and the baby, and they can do very well without you for an hour or two a day. It'll do you good to get out of this room.”

  Celia could not think of another excuse, and she knew that Agnes would have an answer for anything she could come up with anyway. Agnes was a master strategist. Celia liked that.

  Besides, Celia thought, I can keep dinner short and be back here in no time.

  Agnes was awaiting an answer.

  “Aye,” Celia said, surrendering. “I'll join you for dinner.”

  “Fine, my dear,” Agnes said cheerfully. She turned to the clothing on the bed like a general to his maps. “Then hop out of that tub. We've a great deal to do.”

  The battle was far from over.

  The silver brocade dress with the square-cut neckline that Agnes laid out was far, far too revealing for Celia. She would dine in her travel outfit before wearing that dress in front of those men.

  There were so many beautiful dresses. Agnes explained that all this clothing had once belonged to Lady Campbell. After her marriage to Lord Hugh, Lady Campbell's family in France had continued sending trunk after trunk full of the finest fashion accessories. Lady Campbell gave much away, as Agnes had after her death, but there were so many things that Agnes felt should be kept. Now she was very glad she had kept them.

  They finally compromised on a burgundy-colored velvet gown.

  The gown's thin fur trim at the round neckline accentuated Celia's auburn hair. And Celia liked the simple lines of the dress. It had a tight-fitting, long-waisted bodice, and a long skirt that flared at the hip and draped gracefully to the ground. The furred sleeves were wide and turned back to form a cuff. A loose belt encircled its low waistline and from it pendants of braided gold cording hung to the floo
r.

  As daylight faded outside the window, Celia inspected the reflection in the long looking glass that Agnes's troops had brought in. The bold, confident eyes that sparkled. The full lips that seemed to dominate even the rich color of the gown. Celia saw in that mirrored face a beauty that was not her own. A beauty that was mocking her. The image that looked back at her belonged to someone else.

  Lady Caithness had arrived at Kildalton Castle.

  Chapter 5

  I knew the two were getting as sick of this as I, but I never thought they would be so free with their opinions. So he guts them like animals. These are his own soldiers, good English soldiers...and Danvers hacks them up like meat. And we watch. We all just watch.

  Kildalton Castle was too crowded for Colin's liking.

  The crowd that filled the space between the long tables of the South Hall acted more like a group of rioters than an assembly of dinner guests. Colin's eyes traveled upward to the colorful tapestry above the fireplace at the far end of the hall. It was depiction of a garden and lovers lost in the bloom of romantic love. The woman with the dark maroon dress held a white rose and seemed to look out across the room at him. Since childhood, Colin had always been affected by the tranquility of that look.

  On the dais, behind the head table, the giant warrior stood with his back to the small fire, his massive shoulders resting against the mantel, and his muscular arms crossed in front of him. Bear was stretched out at Colin's feet, the black dog’s huge head resting on his master's boot.

  There were so many things left to do, Colin thought. These first days back were always so busy. On top of meeting with the Campbell clan's advising councilors regarding routine management issues, Colin had also needed to discuss with them the chieftains' meeting at Dunvegan. The day had been too far gone when those discussions ended for Colin to go into the village as he'd hoped.