Forgiving Hearts: Duncurra 1-3

by Ceci Giltenan

  As afternoon faded into evening, Katherine saw Kara’s exhaustion. Clearly another long night lay ahead for her, so Katherine insisted she rest. Caolin kept the water heating and Katherine continued to keep Ailis as calm as possible, encouraging her to breathe the steam and drink the tisane. As darkness fell, they heard a knock at the door. With her head under the towel with Ailis, Katherine couldn’t see who had arrived, but she heard Caolin’s gasp.

  “Laird.”

  Katherine slipped her head out from under the towel to see her large, clearly angry husband filling the doorway.

  “What’s the matter?” Katherine asked, concerned.

  “No one knew where ye were,” he growled. His tone of voice caused Kara to awaken. Little Ailis began to tremble and Katherine felt warm moisture spread across her lap. At least that was a good sign.

  “Mind your tone,” shushed Katherine, “you’re scaring the lass.”

  Niall arched an eyebrow and, if anything, his scowl darkened. Caolin and Kara both looked petrified.

  “I don’t understand why you are angry. Hendry knew I was coming here to care for the wee lass. She has been very ill.”

  “Did ye know Hendry was going fishing at the loch?” His voice sounded quiet and calm, but it covered barely controlled rage.

  “Well, aye, I did know that,” she admitted.

  “So no one at the keep knew where ye were until he returned just now. Were ye trying to worry me?”

  “Nay, of course not. Niall, I am sorry. I didn’t leave the walls, so I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “It does matter. Ye know there is always a guardsman in the castle. If ye leave for any reason I expect ye to tell him where ye are going.”

  “I didn’t know that,” she said meekly.

  “What do ye mean, ye didn’t know that? Is it not the same everywhere? Was it not that way at Cotharach?”

  “There were guards, but no one cared where I went. We’ve been through this, Niall.”

  “Aye, we have and ye know I care where ye go, so I will make it clear for ye. When I am in the keep, ye don’t leave without telling me, and when I’m not there, ye don’t leave without telling a guardsman, even if you are just going to the village. If he thinks ye need an escort, he will arrange it. Do ye understand?”

  “Aye, I understand. I don’t understand why, but I understand what ye’ve asked.”

  “Ye truly don’t understand why? By all the saints, Katherine, ye are my wife, that’s why.”

  Katherine looked at the faces of the other women in the room. This obviously made sense to them, so she simply said, “Oh.”

  Niall shook his head in frustration. “Are ye still needed here?”

  Katherine thought for a moment. Although Ailis still had coughing fits, they were less frequent and had eased a great deal. Also, the lass breathed much more easily between them now. Since she had obviously wet herself on Katherine’s lap, the fluids seemed to be helping, too. Katherine knew she had done all she could do for now. “Nay, I think Kara and Caolin can handle it as long as they promise to send for me if something changes for the worse.”

  The women agreed. Katherine gave Ailis to her mother before leaving the cottage with Niall. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally Niall said, “Katherine, I am your husband and your laird. It is my duty to protect ye, but I can’t do that if I don’t even know where ye are. Do ye understand that?”

  “Aye,” she said quietly.

  “Do ye really?”

  “I understand you need to know where I am, so you will know I’m safe.” She didn’t fully understand why. After the whole ‘don’t leave the walls without an escort’ incident she understood why he felt she needed protection outside the walls. Surely if she hadn’t gone outside the walls, she could only be inside the walls and therefore safe. However, it was a simple enough request. “I truly didn’t mean to worry you and I’ll try not to disappear again.”

  “Try?” he questioned, lifting her chin to look into her eyes. “There is no ‘try.’ Don’t,” he commanded firmly. Looking at her as if seeing her for the first time, he said, “Ye are all wet.”

  “I said you scared the lass.”

  “That isn’t ...”

  “Aye, it is.”

  “I didn’t mean to scare the wee thing,” he said, feeling contrite.

  “Och, don’t fash yerself, laddie,” she said in her best imitation of Bridie, “I’m sure she’s not the first, nor will she be the last lass whose knees ye cause to quiver.”

  “Cheeky wench,” he said with a grin. “I’d make your knees quiver here and now, but ye need a bath.”

  “That I do,” agreed Katherine. She laughed heartily and turned to walk with him to the keep. Given the lateness of the hour, it would be much easier to bathe in the kitchen, but she suspected Niall would object unless she gave him a persuasive argument. “Niall, it’s late, I think I’ll just bathe in the kitchen.”

  “A bath can be brought up. Ye needn’t do that.”

  “I was just thinking ye could get to the part of the evening where ye make my knees quiver much more quickly if I do.”

  “Och, yer a bold one, Katherine MacIan,” he said with a salacious grin.

  Katherine bathed in the kitchen that night.

  Chapter 13

  In August, the sentries reported another raid on the western border. Even though the clan’s financial hardships had been resolved, Niall found the losses to theft insufferable. Frustrated and irritated, he discussed the problem in the great hall that evening with Diarmad, Alan, and Cairbre. Katherine worked on a tapestry, while Fingal played a game with Tomas near the hearth.

  “How are we going to stop the greedy bastard? I would be insane to do more than retaliate with similar raids, but I can’t sit back and let him rob me blind, either,” Niall said.

  “He seems to be targeting just us,” said Cairbre. “There have been no reports of trouble with other bordering clans.”

  “He’s not feuding with other clans,” said Alan.

  “He’s not feuding with us, either,” said Diarmad. “They’ve always been a prickly bunch, but that disagreement was resolved years ago.

  “Apparently,” said Alan, “no one told Tadhg.”

  “Malcolm thinks Matheson has a much bigger target than a few head of livestock,” said Niall.

  “What, Duncurra?” Fingal said.

  “I have to agree with Malcolm. One way of ensuring the defeat of an opponent is to critically weaken him first,” Niall explained.

  “Well, that would be true if a few sheep would critically weaken ye, and it could have in the spring, but not now. Even if that was his intention, it no longer makes sense,” Fingal rationalized.

  “There’s no chance Matheson doesn’t know about the wedding?” asked Cairbre.

  “I don’t think there is a soul in the Highlands who doesn’t know about the wedding,” scoffed Diarmad.

  “Is it possible the greedy bastard just enjoys pilfering our sheep?” Alan asked.

  “I don’t think so. These facts don’t add up,” said Fingal. “I know Tadhg Matheson better than any of ye do. He trained with Laird Chisholm when I was there. He is not stupid, and, to be frank, he never struck me as greedy, either.”

  “Men change, Fingal,” scoffed Niall.

  Fingal didn’t argue with him, but the look on his face clearly told Niall he disagreed.

  “Will we raid Matheson again to recover our loss?” asked Diarmad.

  Niall considered things for a few moments and said, “I think not. Maybe if I don’t retaliate he will stop. If he raids again, we will know he is after a bigger target, as Malcolm suggests.”

  ~ * ~

  Summer waned, and Duncurra brought in a bountiful harvest. The long days began to shorten, growing cold. In October, Matheson raided yet again. Niall rode out the next morning with Diarmad, Cairbre, and several other men to see the site of the raid. He had not returned by early afternoon. Fingal, too, was away from the keep, havi
ng left the previous day to lead a contingent of men to Inverness for supplies. It would be several days before he returned.

  Katherine worked hard to prepare the household for the long frigid winter to come, when an unexpected chill arrived. Late on that frosty afternoon, the watch announced MacLennan riders approached. Katherine knew Niall would want Malcolm and his party to be welcomed, so she had rooms readied. She also informed Bridie there would be guests for dinner.

  Malcolm arrived accompanied by an older woman with dark hair and dark eyes who was both a little taller and heavier than Katherine. She wore a dark green woolen mantle over a wine colored velvet gown and a gold kirtle that appeared to be made of silk.

  Malcolm greeted Katherine heartily, taking both her hands in his and kissing her on the cheeks. “Katherine, ye are looking very well.” Malcolm smiled. He gave her an appraising look and added, “Ye seem to be adapting nicely to the Highlands.”

  “Thank ye. It is very good to see ye again, Laird MacLennan,” Katherine replied.

  “Lady Eithne MacIan, I would like to introduce ye to Niall’s wife, Katherine, Katherine, this is Lady Eithne MacIan, the late laird’s wife,” said Malcolm.

  Katherine had learned little more about Eithne than Niall had told her that evening at Brathanead. Katherine was under the impression neither of her sons felt particularly close to her. Also, she had heard hints Eithne may have played some role in the MacIan’s financial problems. No one seemed to think Eithne would ever leave Edinburgh, so Katherine certainly had not expected ever to greet her in Duncurra’s great hall.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Eithne. Welcome. Please, come warm yourselves by the hearth and have some refreshment,” Katherine said.

  Eithne leveled a haughty stare at Katherine. “Katherine, dear, I have heard so much about you. I assumed, as you were a noblewoman from the Lowlands, you would have received proper training in decorum, but evidently not. You will address me as Lady MacIan, and it is unseemly for you to welcome me to my hall.”

  Eithne’s insults momentarily stunned Katherine. Over the last few months it had not been necessary to hide her emotions, but she had not buried those skills very deeply. She immediately adopted her long-practiced, unemotional demeanor. “I beg your pardon, Lady MacIan.”

  Eithne sauntered into the hall and began giving orders. Eithne’s stiff posture and clear dismissal told her her stepmother-in-law expected a stronger reaction, but Katherine knew this game and played it well. When Edna looked to her lady for a signal as to whether she should do Eithne’s bidding, Katherine gave her the slightest nod. As Alastair’s widow and Niall’s stepmother, by all rights Eithne held the title of “Lady MacIan.” Therefore, unless Niall said otherwise, she could issue orders at Duncurra. Everyone spent the rest of the afternoon trying to meet Lady MacIan’s demands.

  Eithne responded to their efforts by criticizing, correcting, or otherwise throwing barbs, primarily at Katherine, who had spent years honing the skills needed to handle Eithne, but the younger woman worried her clanswomen would be hurt. She did her best to be polite, doing everything she could to please her husband’s stepmother. Although he didn’t rush to her defense, occasionally, Laird MacLennan offered a mild chastisement. “Now, now, Eithne, don’t ye think ye are being rather harsh with Katherine?”

  He did step in firmly when Eithne ordered the staff to remove Katherine and Niall’s things from the laird’s chamber so she could reside there for the duration of her stay. “I’m not sure that is wise, my lady,” Malcolm murmured. “Niall is laird here.”

  “I suppose you are right,” said Eithne, her eyes filling with tears. “My dear Alastair is gone and that chamber will be filled with too many memories. You can put my things in the room next to it. Malcolm, my old friend, it would give me such comfort to know you are near. You should occupy the other chamber on the second floor.” As quickly as they had started, her tears stopped. “See to it, Katherine,” she said imperiously, waving her away.

  Tomas occupied the room next to theirs, but Katherine did not protest. She helped Fineen move his things into the laird’s chamber for the moment, but she still worried. Everything in her screamed that Eithne was a feminine version of her Uncle Ambrose. Her instincts told her to keep Tomas away from her guest, at least until Niall came home. “Fineen, I need you to do something. Please go find Tomas—I think he is in the stables playing with Nevan. See if he can stay with Effie or Shona for a while this evening. You can tell them I will send for him later.”

  Fineen nodded and left.

  Katherine returned to the great hall and informed Lady MacIan and Laird MacLennan their rooms had been prepared.

  “Well, I should hope so,” said Eithne, “and my bath is ready?”

  “Nay, my lady,” Katherine said, “I was unaware you wanted one.”

  “Katherine, are you so simple minded that you must be instructed in common courtesy? Doesn’t every weary traveler deserve a hot bath? It is a good thing I am here. I fear my home will become a Highland hovel under your tender care.”

  Eithne stood to leave and called to Edna, “Send up a bath. Now!” Turning back to Katherine she added, “We will have our evening meal when I return to the great hall. You will be dressed in proper attire and that rag will be removed from your head, or you will not dine at my table.”

  Eithne looked delighted when Katherine snapped, “My lady, I was under the impression you were a Chisholm and thus a Highlander, so you will understand why I will not remove my kertch.”

  Eithne slapped her so forcefully Katherine’s head swung to the side and she tasted blood. She heard shocked gasps from everyone in the hall.

  “How dare you address me in that manner?” screeched Eithne. “You will do as I say or you will not eat.” She strutted from the room, heading to the tower looking happier than she had all afternoon.

  Malcolm, too, rose to leave, chiding the younger woman. “Lass, Niall will be very disappointed to learn of the disrespect you have shown to his mother.”

  ~ * ~

  After Niall chose not to retaliate for the last raid, Matheson had sent a clear message by escalating this one. Not only did he steal sixteen head of sheep, but he torched several haystacks. They searched the area west of where the raid occurred, but the trail stopped shortly after they crossed onto Matheson land. “Fine,” said Niall. “If Matheson wants this feud, by God, I will give it to him. We raid tonight and I want every one of those animals replaced.”

  Niall sent a rider back to Duncurra just before dark, instructing him to tell Alan the situation. “Will I deliver the same message to Lady Katherine?”

  “Nay, she will worry. Just tell her we have decided to do some hunting and will return tomorrow.” Well, it was true, really, he consoled himself. He was simply hunting another man’s sheep.

  ~ * ~

  Katherine glanced around the great hall: the servants appeared transfixed. After Laird MacLennan and Lady MacIan left, they rushed to Katherine, but she put up her hand and shook her head slightly. “Please attend to the tasks you have been given.” Many of the MacLennan soldiers who rode escort were lounging in the hall. She worried they would interpret any sign of support for her from the Duncurra staff as disloyalty and report it to Lady MacIan.

  At the moment she was most concerned about Tomas. Just as Uncle Ambrose had, she suspected Lady Eithne would instantly identify him as Katherine’s most profound weakness. However, she was confident Niall would sort things out as soon as he returned. That thought had barely formed when she learned he would not be home that night. Very few things kept him away from the keep overnight, but it did occur occasionally. Still, of all nights, she wished it didn’t have to be this one. She had hoped to finalize plans for the evening meal and send her regrets to Lady MacIan without defying her order, but now she had to explain Niall’s absence as well.

  Katherine had to get through this evening as best she could on her own. She needed to get Tomas back to the keep and tucked away as soon as possi
ble. She found Edna to discuss her concerns. Edna agreed. “Don’t worry, I will see to him. I’ll send Maura for him and he can stay with us tonight.” Maura, Edna’s daughter, was a bright, responsible girl of four and ten, so Katherine nodded her assent.

  “Edna, please let me know when he is safe.”

  ~ * ~

  The evening meal was nearly ready when Maura returned with Tomas. Katherine stepped into the west tower so the MacLennans wouldn’t see her and kissed him good night, saying, “Tomas, I want you to stay with Edna tonight. Tomorrow, I want you to stay here in the west tower with Maura and Nevan until your da comes home. Do you understand?”

  “Aye, Mama.”

  Feeling slightly relieved now, she went to the kitchen, where she found Bridie livid. “Lass, that witch cannae treat ye like this. She has no right to lay a hand on ye. The laird won’t stand for it, I tell ye.”

  “Bridie, please, don’t give her a reason to target you, I couldn’t bear it. Let’s just keep her ire focused on me until the laird returns tomorrow.”

  “Target me? Lass, what are ye talking about?”

  “Bridie, Lady MacIan is like my uncle. I can protect myself, but if she thinks anyone here will stand up to her for me, she will retaliate against them to strike at me. Please ignore anything she says to me. I’m going to take some bread and cheese to my chamber and try to avoid her this evening.”

  Bridie continued to steam, but said no more.

  When Katherine returned to the great hall, Lady Eithne and Laird MacLennan were already seated at the laird’s table, with Eithne in Niall’s place. Katherine approached and Eithne spat, “I told you to dress appropriately and to remove that rag from your head. Do you defy me? You may wear a proper veil if you feel the need, but you won’t sit at my table looking like a common born Highlander.”