Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Abanging on the door just after sunrise woke Alexander from his sleep. He carefully detangled his limbs from Helena’s, as she had wrapped herself around him like ivy. He grumbled as he stumbled away from the warmth of his bed and his woman’s arms to open the door.
“Alexander, ye had better get dressed and come down to the hall right now,” Michael instructed, his tone urgent and irritated all at once. He looked over Alexander’s shoulder at the bed. “Bring the lass with ye. Perhaps she can get her faither to stop shoutin’.”
“Aye, we’ll be down shortly.”
Alexander rubbed a hand over his face as he closed the door. He watched Helena slumber while he got dressed, before retrieving a dress from her room and waking her.
“Lass, it’s time to wake up. Yer faither is makin’ quite the scene downstairs. It’s time we face the old man before he brings the castle down with his blusterin’.”
Grumbling, Helena sat up, pulling the sheet over her naked body and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. With a deep yawn, she climbed out of bed, clutching the sheet to her body as she retrieved her undergarments.
Alexander stood by the fireplace, leaning against the mantel and watching her desperate attempts not to drop the sheet with sheer amusement.
“Ye ken I saw every part of ye last night, right?” he teased with a smirk, his eyes darkening with desire.
“Shh, ye brute. Why dinnae ye tell the world.”
She blushed, throwing a pillow at him with a shy laugh. She managed to secure her undergarments without dropping the sheet, and he helped her into her dress, lacing her bodice instead of calling a maid in.
He hadn’t thought to grab her brush though, so he lent her his, the soft bristles only doing so much to detangle her dark curls.
Another knock at the door stopped them both in their tracks.
“Alexander! Get yer arse down there before we have a full-fledged war in the hall!” Alice screamed, banging on the door.
“Oh dear, we’d better go.” Helena made her way to the door and pulled it open, shocking Alice briefly, as she had obviously expected her brother to be the one behind the door. “We’re comin’. I’m so sorry.”
“I just hope ye can calm him down.”
The three moved hastily down the stairs, with Alexander taking the lead and Alice bringing up the rear.
Upon seeing Helena, Chester stopped yelling at Michael. He strode over and made a grab for her. However, he wasn’t expecting to be blocked by Alexander, who was having none of it, which only offended him further.
“Ye are an intolerable child, ye ken that? I willnae have this, ye are comin’ home with me. Right now. This marriage will be annulled,” he barked.
“I’m afraid that willnae be happenin’, Laird MacPherson,” Alexander said calmly, standing firmly between father and daughter.
He towered over the older man, looking down his nose at him.
“Our marriage is legal and was consummated. There is nothing ye can do about it. Ye have nay grounds to have it annulled.”
Helena blushed feverishly beside him. Luckily, he seemed to be the only one who noticed her embarrassment.
“I dinnae believe ye,” Chester retorted. “Unless the lass is pregnant already. Are ye, girl?”
The question caught Helena completely off guard.
“I… I…” she stammered.
“It’s too soon to tell, but I wouldnae be surprised if she were,” Alice interjected.
Chester glared at all of them, not satisfied with that answer.
“Fine, then I’ll be stayin’ to find out. If ye”—he waved a finger in Helena’s face—“arenae pregnant by the end of the month, ye’re goin’ home with me without another word of protest.”
“Oh nay, ye willnae.” Alexander pushed Helena further behind him.
Michael stepped up beside him to form a solid wall of flesh between father and daughter.
“This is me keep, and ye are me guest until I say otherwise. And I am sayin’ otherwise.
Ye have already outstayed yer welcome, and ye’ve been in me home for less than a day. ”
Chester seethed at the brothers, the urge to start a full-out brawl written all over his face.
“Ye lookin’ for a fight, Laird MacPherson?” Alexander asked, his lips curling into a smirk. “I’d be happy to indulge ye.”
“Want to die so young, Laird MacAllister?” Chester shot back, glaring at him.
“I suggest ye take yer leave, Laird MacPherson. Me braither isnae goin’ to tell ye nicely twice,” Michael warned.
“Ye got married in secret! Without me permission!” Chester growled, looking over at Helena. “Why? Why would ye hurt me so? After yer cousin… yer braither…”
“Faither,” Helena whispered, tears springing to her eyes. “We cannae have so much bloodshed… They died because of it.”
“Because of the MacAllisters!” Chester spat. “Ye ken?”
“Faither, please… give it a chance. Peace… it’s somethin’ we all crave.”
“Fine! But I’ll be comin’ back for ye if ye arenae pregnant within the month!”
With that, he stormed out of the hall, his men following closely behind.
They all breathed a sigh of relief once he had taken his leave.
“Dinnae worry, lass, there’s nothin’ he can do now. There are plenty here who can attest to what was said should he choose to push the issue further,” Alexander reassured her.
Both Michael and Alice nodded their agreement.
“Aye,” Helena mumbled, trembling.
She knew the truth, Alexander knew the truth—their marriage remained unconsummated, and if she was not pregnant within the month, she knew her father well enough to know that he would make good on his threat to retrieve her.
“I’d like to retire if there are nay objections. I’m feelin’ a bit run down this morning. It’s been a long few days.”
“Of course, lass. I’ll come to check on ye in a bit—I have some things to attend to here,” Alexander told her. “Get some rest.”
Smiling woefully, Helena retreated from the hall. She didn’t make it far, though.
Alice caught up to her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Wait, come with me,” she said, gripping her hand and leading her down the opposite hallway to the small courtyard on the northern side of the castle.
Helena hadn’t explored this part of the keep yet and was surprised to find a small rose garden hidden in the courtyard.
“How beautiful!” she exclaimed. Her exhaustion forgotten, she bent down to smell a yellow rose in full bloom. “I had nay idea this was here.”
“This garden was me maither’s pride and joy. We would often find her sitting out here, readin’ on a nice day. Sometimes, I think she loved these flowers as much as her children,” Alice said fondly.
They continued to stroll through the garden, counting the different varieties there.
Turning a corner, they found Felicia sitting on the dirt beside a fully bloomed bush, a book and charcoal in her lap.
Quietly approaching, Helena was able to get a good view of the picture the girl was drawing before she noticed them approaching and slammed the book shut.
“We didnae mean to disturb ye. Please continue, yer drawing is beautiful. I could show ye how to add some color in yer charcoal for shadowin’ if ye’d like,” Helena offered. When Felicia didn’t respond, just stood and glared at her, she added, “Ye’re very good. Who taught ye to draw like that?”
With a huff, Felicia stomped away without a word.
“I’m never goin’ to succeed in breakin’ through to her, I fear,” Helena commented to Alice in a defeated tone.
“Why is she still here?!” Felicia stormed into Alexander’s study, her voice raised. “Why didnae ye send her away with her faither?”
Alexander stared at her for a moment, cracking his neck in irritation.
He had been patient, he had been kind, and now he was annoyed.
Michael had informed him of another uprising along the border shortly after Helena had retired; he had been in the middle of organizing a counterattack when Felicia stormed in.
“Felicia, I ken I have given ye many freedoms and liberties since I brought ye here, more than most of the servants because of the circumstances that led ye here.” He rose from the desk and walked around it to stand in front of her, towering over her.
“But that doesnae mean ye can storm in here like this, especially to complain about me wife.”
“She is our enemy! How have ye forgotten that?!” She threw her hands up in exasperation.
“She is nae our enemy. The war is our enemy. They arenae one and the same. She was a MacPherson, now she is a MacAllister. She is one of us—ye need to accept that.”
“I cannae.” She pouted. “I willnae.”
“Ye can, and ye will,” Alexander said firmly. “She isnae responsible for yer parents’ death—she didnae give the order. She is a lass, just like ye, and like ye, she has lost people she loves in this war. She came here out of love—maybe ye can consider extendin’ love as well, Felicia.”
“But Me Laird… Alexander… I…”
“Ye should try to find a way to accept her. Perhaps if ye give her half a chance, ye may even find that ye like her. Try to get to ken her, would ye?” He waved a dismissive hand. “Now, go, I have work to do.”
Outraged at his dismissal, she stormed out of the study.
Alexander spent the next two days preparing for the counterattack with Michael, assembling men and supplies and drawing battle plans. The anxiety throughout the keep heightened as the hours passed. By the time the men were assembled and ready to ride out, several of the women were distraught.
It would be the first time Helena would be without Alexander since her arrival. She couldn’t decide which was more terrifying, being here alone without him or fear of the unknown.
What would happen if he didnae come back? Could I handle that? How do I feel anyway? This is too confusing…
Tears sprang to her eyes as her thoughts raced.
“Now, now, lass, try nae to look like someone killed yer cat. It’ll be just a few days, and we will be back to drive ye mad again.” He tried to ease her anxiety, hugging her tightly before kissing her goodbye. “I promise, I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Make sure ye keep that promise, ye brute.” She rose on her tiptoes to kiss him again, whispering against his mouth, “Please be careful.”
“I will, lass. I will.”
Alice and Helena clung to one another as they watched the men ride out of the keep, their entire world seemingly going with them.
“How do ye stand it?” Helena asked. “Watchin’ both yer braithers ride out to war. Kennin’ they may nae come back.”
“The same way ye did—with a heavy heart and a lump in me throat.”
Alice realized her mistake immediately, but the damage was done. The words were out.
“But me braither never came home,” Helena whispered, her tears threatening to spill over.
They stood there silently for a long while, listening to the breeze in the trees as the clouds moved in, the heavens threatening to open. Still, they stayed, even when the rain started to fall.
Somberly, they went back into the keep when they could no longer see any sign of the horses in the distance.
Helena excused herself to her room, saying she didn’t feel well—which was true, but the pain was in her heart. She suddenly felt as if there were a gaping hole in her chest in the wake of her husband’s absence.
What was this feeling? What could possibly hurt this much?
She stood at her window for what seemed like hours, watching the rain fall on the courtyard, listening to the drops pelting the roof, her tears falling alongside them. Completely lost.
A soft knock on the door finally pushed her to turn away from the window.
She wiped her eyes before opening the door. She was surprised to find Alice there, her arms full of supplies, paints, raw canvas, brushes, and a plethora of other items.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course! Oh my, where did ye find all of that?” Helena opened the door wide to allow her entry, then closed it behind her and followed her to the table near the window, where she liked to paint.
“Well, I thought we may need a distraction while the men are away, so I started gatherin’ things as soon as Michael told me they planned to ride out. I had to send several servants out to find the various colors and brushes. The canvas was surprisingly the easiest to obtain.”
Just then, Mags jumped up on the shelf, knocking over several brushes. They dropped to the floor, rolling away as Helena tried to set everything on the small table.
“Mischievous cat!” She chuckled, watching him strut around and meow indifferently.
“He certainly is a scamp,” Alice snorted, bending over to pick up the brushes.
“A naughty piglet is what he is,” Helena joked, kneeling down next to Alice to help her pick up the brushes.
“Cook spoils him, ye ken?” Alice winked, watching the cat lick his paws. “He’s a good mouser, so she gives him meat all the time.”
“He was always an excellent hunter, so I’m nae surprised.” Helena grinned, watching the cat for a moment before offering Alice her hand.
Clasping hands, they pulled each other up, then sorted through the supplies, each setting up a small canvas to work on.
“Let’s get to work before Mags decides to knock over more supplies,” Alice urged, smiling at the clueless cat.
They painted for a long while, occasionally splashing one another with paint or having to chase Mags off the table. At one point, he tromped over their color palettes, leaving paw prints all over the floor. They had to chase him to wipe his paws clean.
As laughed hysterically at the cat’s antics, the realization that Helena’s painting was of a shield with Solomon’s knot on it sank in, sobering them both.
“Let’s do another one,” Alice suggested, pulling the canvas down and putting a blank one onto the easel. “Try to paint something happy this time.”
They painted until darkness fell and only the fire and candlelight provided any sort of light. This time, Helena’s painting was even darker—a Caoineag or a Highland banshee following a wounded soldier on a blood-stained battlefield.
To their surprise, the chamber door opened and an unexpected guest entered. It was Felicia, who paused, glancing at their canvases quietly. She seemed contemplative, and Helena was going to ask her what she thought when she turned to Alice.
“Dinner is almost ready,” she said curtly, before turning back to Helena. “Yer paintin’ is really good.”
Then, she turned around and walked out.
Helena and Alice grinned at one another. Helena was relieved… Felicia seemed to be coming around.