Chapter Fourteen
Did his account and his reasoning make sense?
Aye. Did she feel like a silly wee lass over how she’d behaved in those first hours with him?
Aye. How she would reconcile the two she did not know.
The truth of the matter was that they loved one another and that had grown from the beginning; he was right about that.
Only time would tell whether or not this new knowledge would continue to bother her.
For now, she was in this marriage and she loved this man.
William kissed the top of her head. “I have arranged a bath for you,” he said. “The tub will be here shortly, and I have two of the kitchen maids instructed to aid you. You can keep them for your use as long as you wish. Does that suit you, Agnes?”
“Aye,” she said. She had no more words for him. And she was glad when he stood up with her in his arms and placed her down upon the bed.
“I must see to security now, but I will check in on you later. And by the way,” he said from the door, “this is our chamber and I hope you like it. But if you do not, I will have it furnished to your pleasing.”
With that he left the chamber, gently closing the door.
Agnes got up from the bed and moved to the open window.
The view overlooked the extensive garden, from beautiful flowers on one side to sculpted bushes and flowering trees on the other side.
In the center was a small pond and by it his mother sat near a stone marker.
Agnes could faintly hear the woman talking and from time to time soft laughter.
The sight was heart wrenching yet comforting at the same time.
How would she herself react if something happened to William?
Would she go mad with despair or keep his memory alive as his mother did?
The maids came with pails of water and two men carrying a tub. She instructed them to place it by the hearth and turned back to the window as they came back and forth with water until the tub was full.
“My lady, your bath is ready,” a quiet voice said from behind her. When she turned, she took in the young women who would tend to her. Agnes was not accustomed to this much devotion but was glad of it, for she was so tired she wasn’t sure she could lift her arms to wash her hair.
The two maids were about the same age, by Agnes’s guess, barely old enough to serve, yet here they were about to wash a stranger who was now the lady of the castle. It was all a great deal to take in.
“What are your names?”
“I am Alice, and this is Marie,” the taller of the two said. “We have brought you some special additions for your bath, m’lady.”
“’Tis true,” Marie said. “We got it from the kitchen, and they said that a young countess must be treated delicately and that her skin can never become dry. So we brought you all these things,” she said as she lifted a cloth to reveal several vials with an oil-like substance in them together with dried lavender and rosehips.
“Will this do, m’lady, or shall we fetch more?”
Agnes smiled. She liked these young ladies.
“This will do quite nicely and since I have only been a countess for a short time, I am not sure what my skin requires. How do you tend the dowager countess?”
They exchanged quick glances. “The dowager countess doesn’t want anyone to dote on her. She insists on doing that herself, so we only seldom get to do her hair,” Alice said.
“Aye, and we like doing hair,” Marie said. “Will you let us do your hair, m’lady?”
“Aye, I will let you do my hair.”
She gave over to them entirely. When they had her gown and shift off and helped her into the tub, she felt only a little guilt over being so fawned over.
But she’d been through an ordeal and determined she deserved a little pampering even if she would not indulge on a regular basis.
It was nice to know this was available to her.
The maids emptied the vials into the steaming water then sprinkled the dried flowers.
The scent was magical, as was the way the heat soothed her aching muscles.
She didn’t realize just how sore she was until the bath water touched each and every part of her.
Agnes lay back with her hair hanging over the back of the tub after they fully washed and rinsed it. The maids lifted her limbs and gently washed her from one end to the other only handing her the cloth to handle her more private areas.
The heat combined with the soft scent wafting around her and the gentle brushing drew her toward slumber. She was just starting to drift when one of the maids touched her shoulder.
“M’lady, ’tis time for you to get out now. Too much time in there might make your skin wrinkly.”
Agnes smiled to herself. She’d had wrinkly skin from a long bath before. That was a sign it had been a good one, but nonetheless, she would get out and then maybe explore the grounds while William was away. She was tired, but she was more curious about her new home.
The maids helped her out of the tub and into a modest pale-blue satin gown once she was dried. It was one of the ones William had promised her, having previously belonged to his sister, Elspeth.
“This looks far better on you than it ever did on her,” Alice said and then clapped her hand over her mouth as if realizing the seriousness of her statement.
“I am sorry, m’lady. Sometimes my mouth speaks my thoughts before I can stop them.”
“You will get us both into trouble with that mouth of yours,” Marie said.
Agnes was curious and so did not scold them. “You do not like Lady Elspeth?” When neither of them spoke, she said, “I promise your words are safe in my ears. I do not condone gossip, but you may tell me this one time and then we will forget all about it.” Agnes waited until finally Alice spoke up.
“She was spoiled and had a way of being kind when the earl was around and then mean when he was not. If he only knew the vicious things she did.”
“What kind of things?” Agnes asked.
“If she lost something or broke something, she would always blame the boys.”
“Aye, those two sweet little boys, who never did anything other than the impish things little boys do, took more than one trimmin’ because of her. We were all glad when she married and finally left.”
“And now you are here and we can tell right away you are a good person, and you will be a good countess too. We can tell.”
“Aye,” Marie said, nodding her head. “We can tell.”
“Well, thank you both very much. And as I said, your words are safe with me, but I would advise you not to repeat them to anyone else, lest you find yourselves in trouble.”
They both nodded and then ushered her to a chair to work on her hair.
Much time and anecdotes about the boys later, Agnes was ready to explore the castle on her own.
With William off for the rest of the day seeing to his business, she was first curious about the gardens as it was still only late afternoon and would be warm for a few hours yet.
She left the maids to attend to removing the bath and clearing away the chamber and made her way back to the great hall. A man was inside and made eye contact with her the moment she entered. He came forward with a beaming smile. He took her hand and kissed the back of it then bowed.
“Lady Graham, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Neville, the earl’s steward, and yours now too.”
She liked him immediately. He was about her father’s age and had a kind face. Tall and muscular, he must have been hard on the ladies in his younger days.
“The pleasure is mine, Neville. I was about to find my way around to explore the gardens,” she said.
“Say no more,” he said. “William asked me to show you around should you wish while he is attending to some things in the village.”
She took his offered arm and walked with him outside and away from the hall and the gateway. The air was still with only the sound of a lonely hawk off in the distance. She glanced once more at the gateway and put William from her mind.
*
William mounted his horse and trotted along the path leading from the tanner to the blacksmith.
He’d need some additional weapons, and he didn’t need them to be perfect, he just needed them sharp.
Word had come from the king the rebels had indeed set their sight on Agnes in retaliation for John Sinclair.
He was sick to his stomach as he didn’t know how or when they would strike, but he needed to put his plan into motion straight away. She was probably still upset with him, but he hoped in time she would see the seriousness of the situation and the truth of his words.
“How long will it take for this order?” he asked Riley the blacksmith once he listed out his items. Long swords, daggers, and axes. Their armory was well stocked with arrows, but they were low on the other items, and he intended to put a weapon in every man’s hand.
“If I bring on my apprentices, three days, and they will be long days at that.”
“Do what you can,” he said and placed a bag of coin on the anvil.
“Buy what you need. And if you see anyone around you don’t recognize, do not engage with them.
Keep to your business and stay out of harm’s way.
I’ll send Neville in three days to collect what you’ve completed.
And I am sending extra men to keep watch out in the village.
You are in no danger here. They’re not looking for anyone here. ”
“Aye, m’lord.”
William left the blacksmith and headed over to the inn.
He told them much the same as he’d told Riley.
Stay inside, stay safe, and keep an eye out.
And that was the best he could do. He’d offered any and all of them refuge behind the castle walls, but they all one by one refused, stating they feared no Highlander and they would take their chances in their own homes.
“Let them come,” Old Nan said. “I’ll show them a thing or two about loyalty.”
William smiled at her spunk. She was a force to be reckoned with, and he had no doubt she would find a way to defend herself.