Chapter Nine #2
With her leg as it was, she could not get down the steps to escape.
Hmmm. She had not thought about escape possibilities from the kitchen when she’d been there.
She needed to use her mind and keep an eye open for such opportunities.
It would take some time for her father to plan his attack and she needed to use that to discover whatever she could about the Mathesons’ strengths and weaknesses.
She knew he would try to negotiate first because she was being held.
So, she would also try to encourage Rob to look for a peaceful way out of this situation for all of them before the MacLeries arrived in force.
Beathas finished just as Siusan arrived carrying a large basket of clothing and another smaller basket filled with threads and sewing supplies. Lilidh stood to greet her.
‘Your work for the day,’ Siusan announced, putting it near the chair on the floor and handing her the smaller basket. If the woman was pleased not to have Lilidh under foot in the kitchens, Lilidh could not tell. Her tone gave no hint of her feelings on the matter.
‘What is this?’ she asked, reaching into the basket and pulling out a tunic.
‘His lairdship’s laundry, of course. For you to repair.’ Lilidh dropped it back in the basket and looked at
Siusan. ‘He has no wife and there is no lady in charge of such things yet.’
‘Tyra does not oversee this for Rob?’
‘Their betrothal is only a recent thing. Mayhap once this is all settled.’
Betrothal? Rob was betrothed to that woman and never said anything to her?
No small wonder that the lady reacted as she had to Lilidh’s presence in the hall.
Especially if she believed Rob and Lilidh were lovers.
Wives usually had to learn forbearance when it came to other women their husbands chose and, in the case of lairds and chiefs and nobles, those other women could be quite public.
Still, betrothed to that woman? A topic to discuss with the man who now claimed her as his and not for this servant’s ears.
‘From the kitchens to this,’ she said, bringing their conversation back to the task before her. ‘Is he not afraid I’ll sew all the seams shut? Can I be trusted with scissors?’
‘Lady Tyra raised those very questions to the laird.’
She could see the mirth in the older woman’s blue eyes. Oh, to have been a witness to this scene! It would have almost made things funny. Almost. ‘And?’
‘She will not be raising those questions again,’ she explained. ‘The laird made it clear what her position in his hall is and what is his.’
Stunned that he had taken a public stance against Symon and Tyra on this, Lilidh sat down on the chair and lifted the tunic once more.
Searching in the smaller basket, she found a matching thread and began to sew the tear along the seam closed.
Embroidering and sewing were always a great way to clear her thoughts and her mother had always encouraged her skill in it.
‘I will come back later with more,’ Siusan said as she walked to the door. Beathas left at the same time and she listened as they walked away, chatting quietly as they went.
Well, if nothing else, she would be busy. There must be at least six or seven tunics and trews as well as shirts. It would take her most of the day to finish these, but she did not have to walk down those steps and that was a good thing.
More importantly, Rob had heard her words and fears about her leg and done something about it. For her. What had happened to make him take her side, especially against his betrothed? Since she did not want to give anyone there a reason to return her to the kitchens,
Lilidh decided to work on mending the clothes. When her leg began to cramp from sitting too long in one position, she stood and paced the chamber.
Did he mean for her to be allowed out of the chamber?
Should she try?
Making her way over to the door, she lifted the latch and peered out. The two guards on duty immediately blocked the door, preventing her from leaving at all.
‘Beathas said I may walk,’ she said, glancing from one to the other. She fully expected them to order her back inside, so when they parted and nodded permission to her, she paused before stepping into the corridor.
Lilidh worried through the first few paces, but then each one became a bit easier.
Each guard walked to the opposite end of the corridor and blocked it so that none could leave or enter from the stairs.
Though several times they looked as though they wanted to say something to her, they never did.
Not wanting to bring any untoward attentions by remaining there too long, she covered the length of it four times, counting the paces between one end and the other.
Counting the paces between the three chambers on one side and two on the other. Counting how many paces it took to reach the stairway. By the time her leg was loose and somewhat comfortable, she had memorised the locations and distances to all the rooms on this floor.
Her father would be proud.
When she returned to the bedchamber, Lilidh took some of the thicker threads and tied knots to remember all the calculations she’d made. Then she tucked the threads into her sleeve to keep it safe for when she needed it. For that moment, it felt good to be thinking ahead. To be making a plan.
* * *
The next interruption to her work came when a tray was delivered to her as sunset approached.
Standing and stretching as a servant she’d seen in the kitchens entered with it, Lilidh waited while the girl put it on the bigger table on the other side of the room.
Since Rob had left parchments scattered over its surface, she gathered them into a pile and moved them so as not to damage them.
Once alone, the documents proved too much temptation for her and she reached for the one on top of the pile and read it.
Latin was no obstacle for her—she could read in several languages, though not as easily as her cousin Ciara could. Ciara was permitted to work with her father on contracts and such while Lilidh had only been allowed to watch silently during some sessions.
Watch and learn, lass, her father and uncle instructed.
So she did, and she had learned much about the workings between clans and about contracts and, more importantly, about men. How they thought. The reasons behind their decisions. Now, looking over this offer of friendship from the MacKenzies, Lilidh understood the difficult place Rob was in.
The old laird had been approached and given some indication of willingness to switch his allegiance from the MacLeries to the MacKenzies—a move that had far-reaching implications.
An alliance between them would shift the balance of power in the west of Scotland and create instability where her father strived for peace.
On his terms, certainly, but peace and stability.
Still, there was nothing except a long-standing relationship to keep the ties strong between the Mathesons and the MacLeries.
The old laird’s regard and friendship had resulted in Angus sending his illegitimate son to foster with her family.
And that her father accepted Rob spoke of the respect between the two men.
Until he had repudiated their love and humiliated her before all.
And now? How would Rob go? If he had ordered her kidnapping, clearly he was trying to tweak her father’s nose as he left.
Worse, he was trying to bring her family into war, for if the MacLeries rose against the Mathesons, the MacKenzies’ offer of support in this letter alone would guarantee their involvement.
Had she become the instrument of war to bring down her powerful family and redistribute the power and wealth in the western Highlands?
Perhaps the other letters and documents held the answer to that critical question.
It was as she reached for another missive that she heard the footsteps approaching the door.
The heavier step and pace told her it was a man.
When she heard the voices outside the door, she knew Rob had returned to his chambers.
Lifting the tray and carrying it to the bed, she then scattered the documents across the table, hoping Rob would not notice.
Going back to the bed, she slid onto it and brought the tray nearer to make it appear as though she’d eaten there and not gone near to the table.
When the door opened, she stuffed a piece of bread in her mouth and tried not to look guilty.