“Tristan, there is one other thing before this can go any further. I must ken something aboot ye.” He saw the seriousness in her eyes, and he straightened to his full height. This made him nearly a foot taller than her, but she did not look intimidated in the least. In turn, this made him feel a bit nervous about what she would ask.
“If we marry, will ye be faithful to me?”
He could have been knocked over by a feather. It was not a question that he expected, but after what she had seen with Alan, it was certainly a fair one.
“Mairghread, I believe marriage is sacred. I wouldnae stray from ye or any woman I marry. I would never dishonor ye by doing that.” He took a breath before he continued. What he was about to tell her might stop their relationship before it even began. He had intended to tell her, but not quite this soon after asking her to stay on. Perhaps it was for the best that it come out now.
“I wasna going to say anything aboot this quite yet. But I feel I must now and it’ll be fer the best. Until last night, I was involved with a woman here in the keep. She was not exactly ma leman, but she has filled that role many times over the past two years. After ye retired, I headed to ma solar for a dram or four of whisky. She approached me and offered to keep me company. I looked down at her, and all I could see was that she wasna ye. She didna appeal to me in the least. I couldnae get away fast enough. I ended things with her, but she doesnae ken that it is because of ye that I nay longer want her. I did say that I would have to marry soon and after Alan’s actions, I had nay desire to be anything like him. I couldnae and wouldnae have a woman in the keep that might consider me a future husband while keeping a leman.”
“That is quite a lot to take in. I’m glad ye told me before I found out aboot whomever this woman is. I take it that she works in the keep and is someone that I will see often. If I become the lady of the clan, then she will work fer me. That may not go over well with her, or any of the other women ye’ve been with that live and work in the keep.” She looked up at him and asked him pointedly, “Are there many of them that I will have to see day to day? Are there many here that will ken ye better than I will come our wedding day?”
“Mairghread, there are only two other women besides this one who were anything close to a leman. None were ever granted the privileges that a leman often enjoys. None have ever shared the laird’s bed with me. I will be honest that there are women in the village and beyond that I have gotten to know beyond passing glances. I willna ever flaunt ma past in yer face, but I canna guarantee that ye willna have to deal with these women.”
“I ken ye have a past. I ken I am only a new addition to ye life. I hope that we suit and I can be a permanent addition. All I can ask is that there be nay others from now on. Not during this time while we figure out if we will wed, and if we do, then nae after that either.”
“Ye have ma word of honor on that. I want nay other, and I will have nay other.”
Tristan pulled her in to his chest and hugged her tightly. He might not be able to kiss her, but he would enjoy having her in his embrace even if only for a moment. She quickly returned his hug by wrapping her arms around him as best she could. She rested her head against his heart and listened to its steady rhythm. She sighed as she felt safe with him. She felt the same sense of belonging that she got when she hugged her father or brothers. But this was different, too. She felt desire heating her belly again. She felt an ache developing between her legs. Her breasts felt heavy, and she longed to press her hips forward. She knew that he was aroused too, but unlike with Alan, she wanted to feel his stiff shaft pressed against her.
They stood like that for several minutes before they both accepted that they had to pull away and return to the great hall.
~~
“Da! Ye arenae listening to me! Please stop saddling yer horse and listen to me.”
“Mairghread, ye’re late coming down here. A stable lad has already seen to yer horse. Get on. We leave now.”
“Nay!”
“What did ye say? I havenae time for yer nonsense aboot staying on. If ye didna get enough sleep and are too tired to ride alone, then ye can ride with one of yer brothers. If ye are hungry, then ye should have come down sooner. Ye can eat a bannock once we set off. Now mount yer horse so we can be off.”
“Da! I amnae going anywhere.”
“What are ye blathering on aboot, lass?”
“Are ye finally ready to listen to me? I’d ask that ye get down so that I might have a word without every ear in this keep hearing me.”
Liam and his sons all dismounted and moved over to where she stood at the foot of the stairs. She had already tried to get her father’s attention as she arrived in the great hall with Tristan at her side. Her father and brothers were already striding quickly to the door. She had had to run to catch up with them. She had called out to her father four times and asked him to wait each time. She kept saying that she wanted to stay but he shook his head and kept marching forward.
Once her father and brothers stepped towards her and Tristan, she moved back to stand at his side. This did not go unnoticed by her family. Five sets of chestnut eyebrows shot upwards. Five scowls were directed at Tristan. Five sets of knuckles clenched at their sides.
“Da, I didna say anything yesterday as there wasna a point at the time. I didna think anything could come of it, but I am seriously interested in Tristan. I told maself that he would make a fine friend and perhaps an ally while I was married to his stepbrother. I didna like the idea of marrying Sir Alan, but I was willing to do it for the clan. I didna like the idea of marrying one mon while interested in another, but I was willing to do it for the clan. Now I dinna have to.
“Tristan sent his stepbrother and stepmother away early this morn. He sent a score of warriors with them to escort them back to Lady Beatris’s clan. Tristan has asked me to consider being his wife. He asked me to stay on for a while so we might spend some time getting to ken one another and to see if we suit. I’d like to stay.”
“And just how did ye come by this information so early in the morn? Ye came down the stairs with Laird Mackay at yer side, and now ye refer to him as Tristan. Just what happened after ye supposedly retired?”
Tristan stepped in front of Mairghread and threw his shoulders back. He took a wide stance and put his fists on his hips. He knew he was an intimidating man, but he was matched up against five other equally intimidating men.
“I dinna like what ye are implying aboot yer daughter. She has done naught to receive such censure from ye. It is as she says. Alan and Beatris left the keep last night and rode out for Clan MacDonnell over two hours ago. I wanted to be sure that Mair was well and safe, so I slept outside her door last night once I’d given ma orders for Alan and Beatris. When Mair arose this morn, she found me outside her door. She agreed to speak with me for a while, and we discussed her staying on. I hope it to be permanently.”
“Ye defend ma daughter, but just where exactly did this chat happen? Ye were nae in the hall when we each exited our chambers. And ye were nae at the dais to break yer fast. So where were ye?”
“I believe ye are implying that yer daughter and I might have been somewhere we shouldnae have been. That is nae the case.” He turned to point above his head at the wall walk. “We were on the battlement. It is a place I like to go to think. I wanted us to have a moment to think.”
“Da, I want to stay. I didna want to come here at all, but I did as ye told me. Now, I’m asking ye to listen to what I want. I ken ye are still angry aboot last night and aboot Sir Alan. But I ken ye can see that Sir Alan and Tristan are naught alike. And I call him Tristan because he gave me and all of ye leave to do so yesterday.”
The wind seemed to leave Liam’s sail as he looked at the hopeful and eager expression on his daughter’s face. He was not a man who could not tell his daughter no. He had done that many times over the years, but this was one of the few times that she asked for something that was truly for her and her alone. She always thought abou
t her kin and clan ahead of herself. He had been heartsick all day as he watched Alan. He had been relieved when a clear reason came for him to pack up his children and leave. He had been ready to find any excuse that was even remotely believable to extricate his daughter from the potential marriage. He would have even surrendered her dowry if it meant he could take her home and keep the peace.
He knew now that this might just be the right solution. A marriage to a laird would forge a stronger alliance than one to a laird’s stepbrother. More importantly, it seemed to be a marriage that would benefit his daughter, not her station.
“Aye. We’ll stay on. But ma terms have changed. I dinna want to wait just a fortnight to sign the betrothal contract. We shall wait a full moon. If it is signed, then we shall wait at least two more moons before ye wed. Are we willing to host us that long?”
“Aye, Liam. Three moons or longer if that is what it takes to prove maself a worthy husband fer yer daughter.”
Chapter Eight
The next two weeks flew by in a whirlwind for both Mairghread and Tristan. They settled into a routine quickly, and it began to feel as though Mairghread was already the lady of the keep. With Lady Beatris gone, not that she had ever really fulfilled the duties well, Mairghread stepped in. She worked with the sisters Annag, the cook, and Morag, the housekeeper, to set the menu and oversee the maintenance of the keep. The second day of helping the servants made Mairghread realize that she needed to see the castle accounts. Things had clearly been poorly managed in the storerooms and some supplies were overstocked while others were almost completely gone. Tristan gladly handed them over to her, and she spent an afternoon in his solar pouring over them. Since Beatris had never learned to read or write, and the kitchen staff could not either, the ledgers were a mess. Beatris had made what looked like chicken scratches to tally items, but there were so many inaccuracies that Mairghread lost count. In fact, she gave up count. She went back to the beginning of the year and attempted to make corrections. It took her almost four hours of painstaking work to bring the records to her satisfaction. Afterwards, she made a thorough inventory of all the storerooms in the keep. That had taken her the rest of the afternoon and into midmorning the next day.
Throughout the chores, she had been kind to the kitchen and housekeeping servants. She had asked questions to learn their methods and routines. She did her best not to change anything that was not absolutely necessary. She wanted to fit in not overrun them. Once she felt the kitchen was in order, she began an inventory of other household goods such as candles and linens. She could see that they were running low on candles. Even though it was still summer, she knew that the days would soon grow shorter. An ample stock of candles would be needed to see the clan through winter. Much to the surprise and even shock of many of the servants, Mairghread brought out all the necessary supplies and set them up on a trestle table in the great hall. Then she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. No noblewoman had assisted in making candles since the current laird’s father’s mother had been alive. When the candles were made and stored away safely, Mairghread turned her attention to the castle’s laundresses. She met them early one morning immediately after breaking her fast. She simply approached and picked up a wet sheet and pinned it to the line. After she had done three more, she turned to find all of the women gawking at her.
“Can ye nae use an extra set of hands?” she asked the group.
It took a moment before anyone could answer, but finally Aignes, the head washerwoman, stepped forward.
“Ma lady, ye are a noblewoman and a guest here. We canna have ye working in the laundry. It just isnae done.”
“Aignes isnae it? I have been helping hang laundry since I was auld enough to climb on an overturned bucket and reach the lines. I’m happy to help ye, if ye’ll let me.”
The women all looked at each other and then at Mairghread’s smiling face. They nodded and got back to work. She blended into the group so well and so quickly that the women forgot who she was. Mairghread soon heard all the juiciest pieces of gossip. By the nooning, she knew which wife would be having a redheaded bairn when she and her husband both had brown hair. She knew which guardsman had put on a disappointing display for a woman he had been chasing for months. She knew which families had sick children and which families were struggling. It was these last pieces of information that she tucked away to discuss with Tristan later.
And so each morning progressed in a similar way just as the afternoons did. Mairghread would break her fast with her family and Tristan. The men would go out to the lists to train and Mairghread would remain to see to her duties and chores. The men would sometimes return for the noon meal, but at other times they ate on the training field. However, no matter where Tristan took his midday meal, he always returned to spend the afternoon with Mairghread.
It had only taken the clan two days to realize the reason why the Sinclairs had stayed on. The chief was courting Lady Mairghread. It was the consensus of the clan that she was a wise choice. She was kind and openhearted to all those who she met, but she was also among the hardest working of all the people who worked in and around the keep. There was not a job that she would not do if it needed to be done. She never asked more of anyone that she was willing to do herself. The clan quickly realized that Mairghread did not think there was any job beneath her. They approved wholeheartedly. It was a reprieve from Lady Beatris.
In the afternoons, Tristan would take Mairghread out for walks around the bailey to introduce her to more of the clan and to explain the clan’s operations. Sometimes he took her for walks by the loch. On a particularly warm day, she had stripped off her shoes and stocking, hoisted her skirts to her knees, and waded in to just above her ankles. Tristan was speechless. He had never seen a lady, actually any other grown women, do that. She turned to face him and had a pure look of innocence on her face. This was just moments before she kicked water all down the front of Tristan’s clothes. She had laughed so hard she almost lost her balance. Tristan was not to be outdone. He marched into the loch, boots and all, and hefted her into his arms. He pretended to be prepared to throw her into the water. She squealed with delight. She encouraged him to do it, stating she was too warm anyway. It had been the first time he had had her in his arms since they had gone up to the battlements together. They had shared some dances after the evening meal, but he had never been able to hold her as close as he wanted.
On other days, Tristan took Mairghread for rides across the meadow. Mairghread had asked to be able to exercise Firelight, and Tristan saw an opportunity to spend time with Mairghread with just his personal guard rather than any of her brothers, who had been constant companions to all their other outings. Since they were going some distance outside the castle wall, he would take his ten guardsmen. He was able to convince the Sinclair men that with ten men to guard Mairghread, there was not much that could happen to her. He knew they understood his meaning—there was not much he could do with her. Laird Sinclair finally agreed even though his sons stood shoulder to shoulder with their arms crossed as the conversation came to an end. Tristan thought to himself how he would not want to come across that wall of men on the battlefield. They were a surge engine unto themselves.
Most of these rides involved Mairghread riding Firelight while Tristan rode his war horse, Thunder, but sometimes they rode together on Thunder. Tristan had explained that the massive horse had earned his name for the sound he made as a foal when he would kick the sides of his stall. Fully grown, Thunder stood at seventeen hands and was at least two hands taller than Firelight, a horse that was already considered large. He had a massive head and broad shoulders that carried Tristan to survival and victory on many occasions.
Tristan had almost swallowed his tongue the first time they rode out together on Thunder. Tristan stepped into Thunder’s stall to saddle him. Mairghread brought an apple to Firelight as an apology for leaving him behind. She said she did not want him to feel left out or slighted. Tristan laughed and teased her abo
ut being so in tune with her horse’s feelings. When Tristan turned around to bring the bridle to Thunder’s head, his heart stopped and then lurched forward. He was terrified to see Mairghread’s outstretched hand holding an apple for Thunder. Thunder did not like anyone other than Tristan and the senior stable master. He had bitten and kicked many others over the course of his life.
Tristan began to drop the bridle and rushed forward when he heard Thunder nicker and gently nibble the apple off of Mairghread’s hand. He watched in awe as she blew into his nostrils and then leaned her cheek onto his massive head. She reached her hand over her head and rubbed Thunder between his eyes. Tristan watched his ornery warhorse become gentle as a lamb under Mairghread’s ministrations. If Tristan had not already been falling in love with Mairghread, seeing her with his horse sealed his fate.
“I canna believe ye were able to feed him or that he let ye touch him. He doesnae like anyone.”
“Well, he seems to like me well enough. Perhaps he kens ye and I are friends, so he trust me.”
Friends? Friends? Friends!
Tristan could not believe his ears. Is that what she thought they were?
“Are we just friends then?” He asked as he placed the bridle over Thunder’s head. He looked back over his shoulder and saw a pretty blush coming to her cheeks.
“Aye. I’d like to think we are. I think we get along well and enjoy each other’s company. Isnae that what ye would want from someone ye are considering marrying?”
“So ye think we might become more than friends? Ye still think we might marry?”
“Of course I do. Dinna ye? It’s the reason that I’m still here. If I didna still want to get to ken ye or think that I might marry ye, I would have asked ma da to take me home.”
“I do still want to marry ye. I want to very much. I just wasna sure what ye meant by friends. It sounded like perhaps ye dinna think of me as a future husband.”
“I’d rather be friends with ma future husband than enemies or ambivalent.”
His Highland Lass (The Clan Sinclair Book 1) Page 5
