Chapter Seven
Beth had been amused when Lady Chisholm had asked the laird to walk Alice around the garden. Instead of looking “a tad lightheaded” the lass looked like the last thing in the world she wanted to do was take a walk with The Mackenzie.
Thinking about their time here, Beth had begun to realize that based on her behavior, Lady Alice was no more interested in being chosen for the bride than she was.
It was most likely her mam who wanted her daughter to marry the laird.
Poor Mackenzie. The king had presented him with two women to choose from who apparently didn’t wanted to be selected.
How very odd when one thought about it. A young handsome Clan Chief of a very powerful clan, and from what she’d seen, wealthy, with a caring way about him, and yet these two women were not interested in being chosen as his wife.
Once she’d started to tick off all Laird Daniel Mackenzie had to offer, she’d begun to feel foolish herself. Why was she so against marriage to this man when he had so much appeal?
Who will take care of ye in yer old age?
One of the young maids from the kitchen arrived at her side holding a wet cloth. “My lady, the laird asked the kitchen to replace the cold cloth ye have with a new one every half hour or so.”
“Well, thank ye verra much. The healer said it would help the swelling from my injury.”
The young lass smiled, dipped slightly and headed back to the kitchen.
“Ah, I see my orders are being followed.” The Mackenzie had walked up to her when she’d been speaking with the maid.
Beth turned and the flutters in her stomach that always occurred with the laird awakened with force.
Yes, he was handsome. Yes, he had a warrior’s body that made her wonder what it would feel like for him to wrap those powerful arms around her, so much so that she had a hard time looking at him for long.
Especially with the look in his blue eyes that had begun to darken.
“Are no’ yer orders always followed? Is that also a requirement for a wife?” She knew her voice was strained due to the dryness that had arrived with the fluttering.
The humor in his eyes disappeared and he leaned in. “Are ye seeking the position, lass? ’Tis available, ye ken. But only to ye.”
She gulped and knew her cheeks were cherry red. To help eliminate the prickly feeling she’d had since he’d walked up, she shrugged. “Nay, but I think we have already discussed that.”
He pulled the chair across from her closer, sat down, and lowered his voice so only she could hear him. “Aye, but just so ye ken, I doona consider the discussion over.”
Why when he was near, did she have this loss of her senses? Her words got tangled up and she had a propensity to say things she should not allow out of her mouth.
However, she was still determined not to marry.
“Here ye both are. My Alice was looking for ye.” Lady Chisholm walked in to stand in front of them, her hands resting on her stomach, a downcast Lady Alice alongside her.
Beth hid her giggle as Daniel softly growled. “So nice to see ye and yer daughter, Lady Chisholm.”
“Lady Alice was looking forward to a walk in the garden, Laird.” She glanced at Beth. “’Tis sorry I am that Lady Beth is unavailable, so ’twill only be the two of ye.”
“One more walk in the garden and I will hang myself from the nearest tree,” the laird said under his breath.
*
Supper was finished and Beth was feeling restless.
All day sitting in a chair had strained her body as well as her brain.
She normally had a very busy schedule when at home.
However, most of the day she had been entertained watching Lady Chisholm chase The Mackenzie around the keep, dragging her daughter behind her.
He had been gone for the last couple of hours and had mentioned to her after he settled her back in her chair after the noon meal that he was going to spend time at the lists.
Now Mackenzie walked up to her with Lady Chisholm and Lady Alice following him like a mam duck with her ducklings lined up behind her.
“How good to see ye, My Laird.” She acted as though she hadn’t seen him in days. “And good evening, Lady Chisholm, Lady Alice. I hope ye had a pleasant day.”
“My daughter was just mentioning how nice it would be to take a tour of the castle. She hasn’t seen more than the keep in the time we’ve been here.”
Mackenzie offered the woman a strained smile and said, “I will definitely give Lady Alice a tour, however, I had just asked Lady Beth if she would like to play a game of chess.” He looked over at Lady Alice who was again examining her shoes. “Ye are more than welcome to join us.”
Instead of the young lady answering, Lady Chisholm frowned. “My Alice doesna ken how to play chess. It strains a women’s brain and is no’ something a lass should do.”
Her eyes narrowed in concentration. “If ye would play chess in yer lovely music room, my daughter can entertain ye with music.”
“Nay,” both Beth and Mackenzie said at the same time.
Beth did her best to smile at the woman who was as irritating as a bee buzzing around one’s face. “I am sorry, my lady, but I would find it verra distracting for such a focused game.”
Lady Chisholm sniffed and said, “Sounds as though ye aren’t that good of a player if some lovely music would distract ye.” When Beth offered no retort, the woman sighed. “Verra well, my daughter will be happy to observe ye.”
Beth glanced at Lady Alice, who looked as she always did, uninterested and withdrawn.
The four of them left the great hall, Mackenzie carrying her, Lady Chisholm grumbling all the way about how a young lady who was injured should be in her bed, not being shuffled around the keep like a bag of flour.
Once they were settled in the laird’s solar, Mackenzie and her facing each other over the chess board, he said, “Do ye play chess, lass? I ne’er asked if ye could.”
“Aye. I play a bit.” There was no reason to say it had been years since anyone beat her at the game. She decided to have a bit of fun with him because she was bored and could use the entertainment. ’Twas also a way to deflate that huge ego he strutted around with.
The game started out slowly, with Beth deliberately making poor choices.
It was great fun figuring out how to appear incompetent while not making moves that would reveal her expertise to the man.
She felt a flush of success when Mackenzie tried to play tutor and mentioned the things she was doing wrong, and how to improve on her bad moves.
She nodded and continued to make mistakes, holding in her laughter.
After suffering through a few more games, Mackenzie said, “I think that’s enough for the night. Ye seem a bit tired.”
Now was the time to have her fun. “I think, with yer help tonight, I learned a lot. Can we play one more game?”
’Twas obvious he wasn’t interested, but being a gentleman and their host, he agreed.
Makenzie set the board back up.
“What say ye we have a wager?” Beth asked, trying very hard not to smile.
In her corner, Lady Chisholm huffed and muttered something about inappropriate young women placing bets with men.
“Ach, lass, I doona believe ye improved that much. I would feel like I’m cheating ye. What kind of wager did ye have in mind?”
She tapped her chin, as if giving it a great deal of thought, even though she’d known from when Mackenzie first asked about a chess game that she wanted another trip to the village. “If I win, ye will take me to the village for a second visit so I can see something else besides these walls.”
He offered her a warm smile. “Even if ye doona win, I will take ye on a trip to the village.”
“Oh, what a wonderful idea!” Lady Chisholm emerged from her snit, her smile bright, her hand grasping Lady Alice’s arm firmly, as if afraid the lass would run off. “Lady Alice would love a trip to the village, wouldn’t ye, dear?”
Apparently growing tired of her mam’s constant pushing her, Lady Alice nodded, but her lips were firm.
The laird looked at Beth over the chess board. “And if I win, I will…” Glancing at Lady Chisholm, he said, “think about what I want.”
They both bent over the board and within four moves, Beth slapped her knight down in front of the king and announced, “Checkmate!”
Mackenzie just stared at her, his jaw slack. “What…what…what just happened?”
Beth sat back and laughed. “I think it’s apparent, Laird Mackenzie, I just checkmated ye.”
He shook his head in confusion. “But the game just started.”
She continued to grin. “Aye, and now ’tis ended.”
Lady Chrisholm waved her hand at the chessboard. “’Tis time to end this, anyway. Watching ye play is quite boring for poor Lady Alice.”
Beth was angry enough to remind Lady Chisholm that she had not been invited to sit and watch them play, but conversations with her mam about good manners kept her from commenting.
Mackenzie continued to stare at her. “How many other things are ye hiding, Lady Beth?” His grin told her he wasn’t just referring to expertise at chess, but the costume she’d worn the first day as well as her comfort sitting in the tavern inn, and jumping over a hedge.
“Lady Alice doesna have any secrets, do ye daughter?” Lady Chisholm nudged her daughter in the side and the poor girl flushed red from the top of her dress to her hairline.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Mackenzie slapped his thighs and stood. “I guess ye’ve gained another trip to the village, Lady Beth.”
“What time shall we be ready, Laird?” Again that annoying voice that Beth had begun to hear in her dreams. Or nightmares.
“I’m afraid we need to wait a few more days, my lady. Lady Beth is no’ ready to walk around. The healer would have to give her permission.”
“Oh, but Lady Alice doesna have an injury. We could go tomorrow.”
Daniel took a deep breath. “Lady Chisholm, ye remember, of course, that a visit to the village was what Lady Beth chose for her win. I doona think ’tis the thing to do that we go and leave her behind.”