The Highlander’s Promise, page 16
Jasper cleared his throat. He felt the collar on his shirt biting into his neck. For the first time, he enjoyed the sting of being unmasked because it just carried him one step closer to claiming Terin as his wife.
“I want to wed Terin,” Jasper spoke clearly. “I have told her as much.”
Davonna remained pensive. “For all that Seana bore ye, Jasper, I think of ye as my son.”
“Larks Point is me home,” Jasper confirmed.
Davonna drew in a breath. “Terin may not be able to trust a man enough to wed again.”
“She trusts me.”
Davonna sent him a sobering look. “I would enjoy being proven wrong.”
“My plan precisely,” he assured her.
Davonna ended up smiling at him. “Fine. Fine. I will await yer triumph. In the meantime, the girl is a stranger. Are ye certain ye want her near Terin? As chief, there are plenty of people who would think to plant a spy next to ye.”
Jasper became serious. “Aye, ye have a point. Still, Aife is a pitiful thing at best. And ye have many who are grateful to ye who will turn her in if she is a spy.”
“Ye should be the one to discuss her position if that is yer choice,” Davonna remarked.
“Aye,” Jasper tugged on his cap before he went to deal with Aife.
*
“Ye are distracted,” Meghan clicked her tongue at Terin.
Terin couldn’t deny the charge.
“And ye clearly slept poorly last night,” Meghan continued. “For there are dark circles beneath yer eyes.”
Terin felt her cheeks heat.
And Meghan didn’t miss the increasing color spreading across her face.
“So that’s how it goes…”
Terin sent her a look.
Meghan offered her a wry smile in return. “That will do ye no good, Mistress Terin. Larks Point is a place of women, and there is no hiding the blush staining yer cheeks. Or the way the chief looks at ye.”
“Really, Meghan—”
Meghan made a sound under her breath. “Do nae squander yer chance, lass. As ye well know, life has plenty of harsh edges for ye. Best to enjoy the moments ye can.”
Meghan disappeared, leaving Terin to groan in the empty chamber.
Why are ye groaning?
It was a very good question, really.
Meghan hadn’t been scandalized.
No, she encouraged ye…
Terin discovered a whole new flood of emotions filling her. It was so very strange to find herself in a place where all of the rules she’d been reared with were suddenly not the only way she was to be judged.
No, at Larks Point, the work in front of her would determine her worth.
As for her chastity, it was hers to bestow or not at her choosing.
Her own woman…
Somehow, Terin had managed to land in the place she’d set off to find. It wasn’t a fable after all.
Of course, it wasn’t free, either.
Terin smiled, though. Even the stacks of ledgers and letters waiting for her to deal with couldn’t dampen her mood.
Her own woman.
She truly was free to be Jasper’s lover if that was what she wanted.
He wants to wed ye.
Terin tried to focus on her work, but her mind refused to return to the columns of figures when she heard Jasper’s voice from the night before declaring how he intended to make her his wife.
He would not take her rejection well.
Another oddity. This time, instead of a girl being left without her lover honoring her, Terin might be the one to abandon Jasper at the altar.
Clearly, Larks Point was a mythical place.
Why won’t ye wed him?
Terin simply wished she wasn’t so torn by it.
Someone knocked on the door. Terin looked up.
“Mistress,” Aife stood in the doorway.
“Ye came,” Terin stated the obvious.
The girl nodded.
“She’ll see to yer needs, Terin,” Jasper emerged from behind Aife. “Whoever else ye require, send them to me.”
“But…”
Jasper didn’t give her time to protest. He sent her a firm look before he disappeared.
Terin shouldn’t have been so stunned by his actions.
No, she’d been raised in a world where men ruled. And a good man made sure his household had the necessary people in place. With no income of her own, Terin wouldn’t have hired Aife even if she wanted to, for not even a single meal at Larks Point was Terin’s to give until she earned her place.
But Jasper had a way of making sure she had what she needed.
Is that such a bad thing?
No, it wasn’t, but the way she questioned the entire matter made her realize that she had forgotten how to be happy.
And it was possible she might never be able to recover the skill.
*
When the supper bells began to chime, Aife didn’t really know what they were.
“I suppose we should go to the hall,” Terin spoke from the table she’d been working at all day.
“Yes, mistress,” Aife answered quickly.
“You need not call me mistress every time ye answer me, Aife,” Terin said.
Aife found herself tongue-tied as Terin stopped next to her and smiled.
“We will get to know one another and be friends,” Terin informed her before she went through the doorway.
Aife hurried to keep up.
In the passageway, there was a rich aroma of food. Aife drew in a deep breath, and her mouth began to water. Other women were coming through the doorways they passed, the main passageway becoming full. Everyone was chatting, their voices cheerful, and there was laughter as well.
It was as if she had stepped inside one of the stories her mother had told her as a child. Tales from a time when her parents had lived in a fine manor house before the lady of the house died, and her descendants let it fall to ruin.
Her first sight of the great hall made Aife freeze in her tracks.
There were long tables. Women had lined up along the side of the hall. Terin was no different.
“Go on.” A woman behind Aife pointed at the moving line of women. “Get yer bowl and stew. And then on to the tables to enjoy it.”
Aife stumbled on her first step because she couldn’t quite believe it was so simple to get supper.
And a very fine supper at that.
She made her way to where over a hundred pottery bowls were stacked up. She reached for one, and no one scolded her. Instead, she followed the line of women up to where a woman was ladling up servings of steaming soup.
Only it was truly stew.
Aife stood and stared at the contents of her bowl. It wasn’t just hot water with a few vegetables in it. Maybe some bubbles of grease left from the sides of the cooking pot.
No.
Her bowl was crowded with vegetables and even pieces of meat. It smelled rich and fragrant.
“Aife?” Terin called out to her. “Come and sit with me.”
Aife stared at Terin. “I could not sit beside ye, mistress.”
The bowl of stew was already so much more than Aife expected for her service.
“Everyone sits at the same tables here at Larks Point,” Meghan instructed her. “Just as we all get our own supper. No one is expected to serve the tables. We all labor together, so we break bread together.”
“Right here, Aife.” Terin patted the bench beside her.
Aife lowered herself to the spot. She was cupping her bowl tightly between her hands. Her fingers had become hot as the pottery transferred the heat of the stew to them.
Aife wasn’t willing to release her bowl. Beside her, the rest of the women were enjoying their supper.
“Eat, Aife,” Terin spoke softly. “Ye can have more if ye like.”
Aife turned wide eyes toward Terin.
“Only if ye get to it before the pot is empty,” another woman informed Aife.
Aife looked toward the end of the hall. The line had ended, but the pot was still there with the ladle resting beside it. A girl got up and went over to refill her bowl.
Aife grabbed her spoon so quickly, she fumbled it, and it clattered onto the tabletop.
“There is plenty to eat here, Aife.” Terin pointed at the center of the table.
Platters of bread and cheese were sitting there.
“It’s simple fare,” a woman across the table from Aife said. “Yet there is plenty for all.”
Aife looked up and down the table. Women were not rushing through their supper.
There was no fear of going without.
No fear…
Yet Aife saw her brother’s young face in that moment.
She had fear.
Aife knew men such as Lonn. They were men who were greedy but worse yet, they enjoyed cruelty as entertainment. Arth was less than a dog to a man such as Lonn. Aife didn’t doubt that he would send her Arth’s fingers to make her obey him.
She had abandoned tears long ago, but as she reached for some bread, she felt her eyes stinging.
It was so simple to reach for the bread. One moment she decided she wanted it, and in the next, there was flour on her fingertips as she lifted a piece and brought it to her plate.
So magical.
Yet impossible for her to remain inside of unless she was willing to sacrifice Arth.
Aife blinked, and her eyes cleared. Crying was useless. Life was harsh.
She knew that very, very well. She might sit here and lament the fact that if they had managed to make it to Larks Point before Arth was caught stealing that they would both be enjoying the supper.
But they hadn’t.
So, she would have to protect Arth.
*
“Knox,” Jasper called out to his man.
Knox was walking away from the great hall with a chunk of bread and cheese in his hand. Alec and Woden were there as well. They both tugged on their caps and started to withdraw.
“I could use ye all for this matter,” Jasper said.
His men clustered around him. Jasper looked both ways before he began to speak.
“I’ve brought a girl up from Cannons Row to tend to Terin,” Jasper began. “Keep an eye on her for me.”
“We saw her,” Woden muttered. “Ye suspect her of something?”
Jasper felt a pang of guilt. But he dismissed it. Aife would not suffer by being observed. There was nothing wrong with making the girl prove herself a bit.
“I plan to wed Terin Campbell,” Jasper informed his men. “So anyone serving her needs to be loyal.”
His men nodded.
“Just keep yer eyes open,” Jasper clarified.
“She’s a half-starved thing,” Alec chimed in. “She’d have to be a fool to not see the opportunity she’s being granted.”
“Let’s hope so,” Jasper said. “Ye have me thanks.”
His men reached up to tug on the corners of their caps.
Jasper didn’t want his men to discover anything. He wanted Aife to settle in.
Ye want Terin to settle in…
Jasper grinned. The sun had set. Anticipation was brewing inside him. With his duties seen to, he was free to seek out Terin and enjoy what his labors earned him. Larks Point had been a place he’d run away to when he’d been rebellious. In those years when he was in a man’s body, yet still a youth in his mind and too cocky to understand the difference.
Davonna had found a way through his pride by challenging him to take on a man’s duty, for she had not promised him any respect unless he earned it.
He’d almost left.
But he’d always enjoyed a good fight.
More than his mother had been willing to tolerate.
But Davonna had seemed to know that it was a facet of his character which could be used to help him grow into a man. As the son of the Chattan laird, everyone in the Chattan stronghold had shown him respect.
Davonna and her collection of widows, orphans, and cripples were the first to ignore him until he earned their notice.
He’d become addicted to it.
Earning his way at Larks Point.
And now? Well, now, Jasper was face to face with a sense of satisfaction for knowing what he had to offer to Terin was something that he’d earned. It wasn’t a position his father had given him. Davonna had raised Larks Point from a crumbling old keep.
And Jasper had spent the last decade helping her make it prosper.
Aye, what he brought to Terin was a place he’d carved out for himself.
And she brought to him the skills which would help Larks Point prosper even more. They’d both help build a future home for their children.
Jasper grinned.
He was going to enjoy making those children, as well.
*
“Yer lady is nae alone, Chief.”
Jasper stiffened. Woden emerged from a shadow near the entrance of the chamber Terin slept in. He tugged on the corner of his cap.
“The mistress has young Aife in there,” Knox continued.
Jasper turned his head to look at the closed chamber door. He propped his hands on his hips as he faced the fatal flaw in his actions.
Of course, Terin had Aife in her chamber. No resources were ever wasted. The chamber Terin was in had a double bed on one side of it and a small cot at the other end. It was still rather grand accommodations to only have to share a chamber with three people. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised to find a trundle bed tucked beneath the double bed, which would be pulled out for two more people.
He needed to make arrangements for Aife.
Well, that will nae change anything tonight.
And Knox was smirking at him.
Jasper pointed a finger at his man. The gesture was something Knox recognized well. He chuckled before he turned and headed down the passageway. Jasper fell into step beside him, the two of them ending up in the lower yard where the Retainers slept and drank.
*
Cannons Row…
Rhona had never had many skills.
At least not ones that put any coin in her palm.
The only real talent she had was the ability to charm a man with her smile.
Well, and a peek at her cleavage.
Men craved her body. That fact had brought her both pleasure and sorrow, for so often she was a thing to be conquered before those men moved on to the next challenge.
She let out a little sigh and warned herself not to become pensive.
She’d be the only one to suffer her melancholy if she allowed herself to sink into despair.
“More ale!”
Rhona looked around the common room. A man was half falling out of his chair, yet he slapped the tabletop and looked for her to refill his tankard.
“More ale, I say!”
Rhona lifted a pitcher and carried it over to him. But he reached for her as she drew near.
“Out with ye!” Tete hollered from the corner where he kept watch over the common room. He beat his open hand with a club in warning.
“Come with me, sweet.” The man attempted to lure Rhona away with him.
“Ye are too full of ale for that, sir,” Rhona replied.
The man swayed on his feet. “Aye…aye, I am at that.”
He reached into his doublet and dug out a coin. “Let me sleep it off.”
Business was business. Rhona stuffed the coin into her cleavage.
Rhona turned and let him drape his arm along her shoulders as she guided him through the common room. There were cots in the back, set up after the kitchen closed for the night. She settled her customer on the one which was hers before she turned around and left him to his sleep.
She sighed. With her own bed rented for the night, she took off the piece of wool that hung down her back as an arisaid. Giving it a good shake, she wrapped it around herself and lay down on the floor. Tete was closing the door and sliding the bar across it.
Close to midnight, Rhona didn’t worry too much about the late hour. Cannons Row did not wake early.
Yet someone was scratching at the front door just after first light.
Tete was snoring.
Rhona rubbed her eyes and turned over to sleep some more. It was hours before opening time.
But whoever it was circled around the building and came in through the kitchen door.
Rhona was completely awake in an instant. The maids often made coin by rolling in the hay. She doubted there was anyone in the kitchen at all.
She was just reaching for the cloth curtain which hung between the kitchen and the common room when she heard her customer.
“Why are ye bothering me so early?” the man groused.
“The master sent me to find ye,” a young lad answered.
“Humph,” her border answered. “As if Lonn needs to worry about me loyalty. I just wanted to sleep a bit. Would have found my way back soon enough. There was no need to send a little thief after me.”
Rhona pressed her back against the wall. Lonn was a name she knew well. He ran most of the shady dealing in Cannons Row.
There were heavy steps on the floor as the man stumbled out of the building through the back door.
His sort preferred the back door, of course.
She drew in a deep breath and went to fetch her arisaid. At least she might enjoy her bed for a few hours before the maids made their way back into the kitchen.
Rhona froze, though, with the curtain in her hand. A boy was standing in the kitchen. His eyes were bright as he looked at the remains of last night’s supper. Just some stale bread that had been left on the worktable. He looked down at his hand, rubbing at something there.
“Are ye hungry?” Rhona asked softly as she came into the kitchen.
“I wasn’t going to steal,” the boy defended himself quickly. He’d jumped back and buried his hands in his kilt.
“I offered it to ye.” Rhona stepped past him and picked up the tray, then held it out to the boy.
He looked at her and then at the bread. A smile lifted his lips before he reached for it.
He had a T branded on his right hand.
The mark of a thief.
He was so young, yet it mattered not in the eyes of the law.
Rhona watched him gather up as much of the bread as his young hands could hold.
“Sit down and enjoy it,” Rhona encouraged him. “Ye may eat it all if ye like.”
