Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
“ C ome, let me show you to your room," Maria said as everyone finished dinner.
"Thank you."
"Heigl will make sure one of the staff brings you some proper attire," Maria commented as they returned to the Great Hall.
"How big is this place?" Danielle asked, looking around.
"There are five floors above ground and several below. You'll be able to see how big it is tomorrow. I'm sure someone will happily give you a tour."
"Okay?" Danielle murmured.
"I’m sorry. I'd do it, but I'm tied up with household stuff tomorrow. I'll make sure someone can show you around, though." Maria smiled. "So, you were a defense attorney? What kind?"
Danielle had hoped to avoid that question, as Maria had been a homicide detective. "I… well, I was a criminal defense attorney."
Maria's smile slid from her lips, and she looked a little put-off. "Oh."
"I know most cops don't like us, but everyone deserves a fair trial and the right to counsel."
"I know. It's just…" Maria shook her head. "Do you know how many times we knew we had the right criminal and their defense attorney got them off on a technicality? Too many, Danielle. Way too many."
Danielle nodded. "I know, but it's the law. We have to do our best for our clients, even if we think they are scum."
"I don't know how you defended some of those people. They don't deserve to go free."
"You think I don't agree?" Danielle huffed. "Guilty people should serve time for their crimes, but my job is to make sure that if they are convicted, it is a legitimate conviction. If the prosecutor or police don't do their due diligence and a technical error comes to light, I have to press that."
Maria shook her head. "Defense attorneys use every obscure law they can find to get their clients off. It's not right."
"We're going to have to agree to disagree. The law is the law, and I follow it." Danielle retorted. She couldn't believe she was standing in the stone hallway of a castle in the fifteen hundreds, arguing twenty-first-century law with a former NYPD homicide detective. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. It's not like I can practice law here, and besides, I was thinking about switching sides before I took this vacation. That was part of the reason I came to Scotland. I wasn’t to reassess what I wanted to do because I don't like representing guilty criminals."
Maria frowned. "Would you really have traded sides?"
"I don't know. I was seriously considering it."
Maria didn't say any more, she just headed up another flight of stairs, down a hallway, and then opened a door. "There’s probably a lot you don't know about this period unless you’re a Scottish history buff."
"No, I'm not."
"Okay so let me give you a little background. My husband is the Laird. That means he is comparable to, say, the governor of a state, but he's also the state senate, judge, and jury. He makes the laws and enforces the laws of this region of the Isle. The other men, the husbands of the other women from our time, they are the Guard, and they're like the cops. They’re also the soldiers and protectors of the people. They don't put up with any nonsense. And judgment and sentencing are almost instant. We don't really have lawyers or solicitors here. This isn't England. That being said, it doesn't mean that they aren't needed sometimes."
Danielle didn't know what to think. She knew that more often than not, in the not-so-distant past, that was often how things were done. She also knew that a lot of innocent men and women paid for someone else's crimes. "But?—"
"Yes, I know. It’s possible that some innocent person has paid for someone else's crime, but that’s the way it is. You aren't going to change it, Danielle, but if Scáthach sent you here, there must be a reason, and perhaps, you'll be able to help someone. Just be very careful when you do, all right?"
Danielle nodded.
Maria looked around the room. "It seems Heigl has already arranged your clothing." She gestured to the table with a pile of dresses. "The one on top is a night dress. I think you can manage that on your own. I'll make sure Heigl sends one of the girls up to help you into one of the dresses tomorrow. They are difficult to get into at first, but they aren't terribly uncomfortable."
"Thanks."
" I'm not happy with your career choice, and I don't know you, but you're here, and it's my duty to make you feel comfortable and welcome. I know I'm being a bit short with you, and I don't mean to be, but I can't help how I feel."
Danielle sighed. "It's okay. I get it. And I appreciate the hospitality."
"Breakfast is at seven. However, if you sleep in, just find Heigl in the kitchens across from the dining hall. She'll make sure you have something to eat."
"Okay, thanks."
"Goodnight." Maria turned and strode from the room without bothering to close the door.
"Night," Danielle murmured to the empty room.
She quickly closed the door and used the key in the knob to lock it. The room was probably about the size of her sunroom back in California. It held a double bed with a simple wooden frame covered with quilts. There was a night table on the right side of the bed that held a lit candle with a glass covering it. To the left, next to the outside wall by the window, sat a small wooden table and two chairs. On the wall near the door was a fireplace where a crackling fire danced merrily. On the other side of the door stood a wardrobe, and on the wall opposite the outside wall stood a washstand with a bowl and pitcher. It was a simple room with no frills, but it seemed comfortable.
Danielle got undressed and washed up in the water from the pitcher. She would miss taking a shower every morning and wondered how the women here washed their hair. Hell, she wondered how they used the bathroom. Maria hadn't explained that one to her. Did they even have bathrooms?
As she stood there pondering, there was a knock on the door. Danielle glanced at it, and then down at herself in her bra and underwear and scurried across the small room to grab the night dress. "One minute!" she called as she pulled the white garment over her head. "One sec, I'm just— damn it, isn't there a… ah-ha!" she shook out the garment underneath the nightdress, and realized it was a robe. "I'm coming," she called, pulling it on.
She turned the key and opened the door to find a teenage girl on the other side. "Yes?"
"Evening, my Lady," the girl bobbed a curtsy. "I'm Dorine. I take care of the rooms in this hall. I just wanted to tell you I'll be here in the mornin' ta help you with yer gown and such." Her accent was very strong Scottish, but Danielle didn't have any trouble understanding her.
"Oh, thank you. And you can call me Danielle; I'm not all that formal." Danielle smiled.
Dorine smiled. "If Heigl caught me calling you by yer name, my Lady, she'd have me scrubbing the kitchen floors before I could blink!" She giggled and her smile widened, brightening her face.
"Ah, well, I wouldn't want that to happen." Danielle grinned back. "Before you go, can you tell me where to find the um…" She stopped not knowing if she'd understand the word bathroom. "The…. where I can relieve myself?"
"Oh, yes, my Lady. There should be a chamber pot under yer bed. Or there is the garderobe on the main floor, though I wouldn't use it at night, my Lady. Best to use the chamber pot and allow me to clean it out in the mornin'."
"The garderobe?" Danielle said curiously.
"I've heard the Laird's wife call it a privy?"
"Ohhhh," Danielle murmured. "A room with a hole to…"
"Yes, my Lady, though you can sit on it. It sends the waste directly to the sea. It stays pretty busy with all the castle guards; that's why we also have the chamber pots."
"Good to know. Thanks, Dorine."
"My pleasure, my Lady." She bobbed another curtsy and left.
Danielle closed the door and using the chamber pot—something that would take a lot of getting used to—she climbed into bed, blew out the candle, and immediately fell asleep.
The next morning, Danielle woke to bright sunlight pouring in through her small window. On the table where the dresses had been sat a tray with a cover over it. The dresses and her clothing from the day before were nowhere to be seen, and the fire was once again crackling merrily in the fireplace. She'd slept so soundly that she'd missed someone entering her room and moving things about.
"Well, that's not creepy at all," she murmured as she climbed from the bed and walked over to the small table. She lifted the cover to see a bowl of what looked like oatmeal, a small carafe of honey, and a cup of milk. She poured a little bit of the honey on the oatmeal, stirred it, and took a bite. It was a little thinner than oatmeal, but it tasted good.
She had just finished her last bite when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called from her seat, expecting that it wasn't locked since someone had entered while she'd slept.
The door opened, and Dorine entered. "Good morning, my Lady. I'm just returning your pot, and if you're ready, I'll help you into your dress." She slid the pot into its holder under the bed.
"Yes, thank you. And do I have you to thank for the delicious breakfast as well?"
"Heigl asked me to bring it to you. She figured you'd probably sleep past breakfast. Yer up sooner than she thought you'd be, though."
" I'm usually an early riser. Please thank her for me, would you? I do appreciate it."
Dorine washed her hands in the wash bowl, dried them on the towel, and opened the wardrobe. "Which dress will you want to wear, my Lady?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. You choose one for me."
Dorine nodded and pulled a blue dress from the cabinet along with some white material. She brought it over to the bed and laid the blue part down. "It's not too difficult once you get used to it."
"I'll keep that in mind." Danielle took off her robe and slipped off the nightdress. She'd slept in her bra without meaning to, but she took it off now, expecting that she'd have to wear whatever undergarments Dorine had for her. "Okay, what do I do?"
"This is your chemise, so this goes on first."
It was like a long white dress, and Danielle slipped it on. "Now what?"
"Now the corset."
"Corset? You've got to be kidding me. Seriously?"
Dorine giggled. "No, my Lady." She put the material around Danielle's waist, adjusted it under her chest, and laced it up. "It's not too tight, is it?"
Danielle wiggled a little, twisted, and turned, and was surprised to find that it wasn't tight at all. "No, it's good."
"This is the last part. Hold up your arms, and I'll slide it over you."
Danielle did as she was told, and Dorine slid the blue material over her arms and head. She settled the skirt in place, had her slide her arms into the sleeves, and then buttoned up the front to just under her breasts. Danielle did a little spin and said, "How do I look?"
"Like a proper lady, my Lady." Dorine giggled again.
"Thanks, Dorine. Um, what about shoes?"
Dorine went back to the wardrobe and pulled out woolen stockings and a pair of black boots. "I figured you were about the same size as Lady Carissa. I used the pair you wore here to match. I think they'll fit."
Danielle took the stockings, pulled them on and up under her skirt, and then slipped her feet into the boots. They fit perfectly. "You did good, kid. Thanks."
"Kid? I'm not a goat, my Lady." She giggled again.
Danielle laughed. "No, you aren't. It's just a saying from where I come from."
"Do you need anything else?" she asked.
"I don't think so. Do you think someone will give me a tour of the castle?"
"I'm sure they will, my Lady. Several of the others were still in the dining hall when I was down there a little bit ago, perhaps you could ask one of them?"
"Thank you, Dorine. I’ll do just that." Danielle headed out of her room and down the stairs to the dining hall. She found Eva and Cara still seated and eating.
"Danielle, how did you sleep?" Eva asked.
"Pretty well, considering I'm in a strange place and century."
"You're taking it better than most of us did," Cara said with a laugh.
"Well, I can hardly deny that I'm here, can I? That wouldn't be logical."
"Have you eaten?" Eva asked.
"I have. Heigl kindly sent up a bowl of oatmeal."
"It was porridge." Cara grinned.
"Isn't it the same thing?"
"Pretty much," Eva replied, smiling as she ate a piece of bread.
"So, I was hoping someone could show me around?"
"I'd be happy to," Cara replied.
"I would, but Finlay doesn't want me exhausting myself, and I promised Mary I'd be up to help with reading time," Eva said.
"He just wants to make sure you aren't overdoing it, little momma." Cara laughed.
Eva rolled her eyes.
"Come on, I'll give you the grand tour." Cara hopped up and looped her arm through Danielle's, leading her through the dining hall, down the Great Hall, and out the large doors to the courtyard.
Danielle was amazed at how big Dunscaith Castle was. It wasn't as tall as her office building in San Francisco, but she was glad for that because elevators hadn’t been invented yet. After walking around outside, they headed back in, and Cara showed her everything: the kitchens, privy, sitting rooms, library, armory, and nursery, and then up to the roof, where she could look out at the sea or over the highlands.
"This is breathtaking," Danielle murmured.
"Isn't it?" Cara said.
"Lady Longchamp, I see you are enjoying a tour?"
Danielle turned to find Graeme standing nearby. She smiled. "Graeme, you can call me Danielle. And yes. Cara has shown me quite a bit. It’s beautiful here."
"You are enjoying it?" he asked, his vivid green eyes lighting up at her words.
"I am," Danielle agreed.
"We should head back down for lunch, Danielle." Cara tugged on her arm.
"Oh, okay. Well, goodbye, Graeme. See you later." Danielle waved to him and smiled.
He seemed sad to see her go, but he waved to her as well.
Cara didn't say anything as they headed inside and down the stairs to the main floor. She seemed almost in a hurry to get away from the roof. Or maybe she was eager to get away from Graeme; Danielle wasn’t sure. The thought made her frown.
Over the next few days, Danielle noticed more people avoiding Graeme when he'd come to check on her, which she thought was rather sweet. However, the moment he came to speak to her, the others made an excuse to walk away without greeting him. She couldn't understand why everyone treated him so distantly. Was she missing something? He seemed perfectly nice and competent at his job. He carried himself well, and he didn't seem to have a temper, at least not that she'd seen. So, what had some of the Guard and ladies acting like he was contagious?
Finally, she'd had enough and flat-out asked Eva as she sat next to her in the dining hall.
"Sure. What's up?"
"Why does nearly everyone treat Graeme like a leper?"
Eva sighed and set down her spoon before turning to her. "There’s a lot of history here. Graeme is not officially one of the Guard; he's a mercenary for hire. I like the guy, he's Mary's uncle and he's been good to her, but he grew up in a family that was less than honorable, and well… that leaves a mark on a person here." She pursed her lips and then opened them again, but then she gave her head a little shake and turned back to her meal instead.
Danielle got the feeling that she wouldn’t get more than that from Eva, so she decided to let it go for now. She'd eventually figure it out. She always did.