Chapter 4
Chapter Four
The next morning Edith woke to discover a snowfall blanketing the hills surrounding the castle, much to her disappointment. Last night she had tossed in her bed for a long time, anticipating today’s outing, but it seemed Mother Nature didn’t care that she had plans.
She grabbed the wrap lying across the foot of her bed and barely had time to don it before the door between her chambers and Gracie’s flew open.
The girl rushed to the window to pull the curtain aside.
“It snowed!” Dimples pierced her plump cheeks, and her eyes twinkled with unrestrained joy.
Gracie was expected to practice her manners even away from the watchful eyes of the ton to prepare her for the day she would join Society, but Edith didn’t scold her for barging in without permission.
Sometimes a child needed to be a child.
“I already saw the snow,” Edith said.
Nevertheless, she secured the sash around her waist, came to the window to place her hands on Gracie’s shoulders, and peered at the rare sight again.
It snowed in London sometimes, but soot from coal fires created a dingy slush along the streets she had come to hate. Fresh snow in Scotland, however, sparkled like millions of tiny diamonds when the sunlight hit it.
“It is beautiful.”
Gracie tipped her head back to meet Edith’s gaze, her hair carrying the fresh scent of lemon soap from her evening bath. “Will it take long for you to dress?”
Edith bent to kiss her forehead before moving toward the bell pull.
“Perhaps I will not dress at all today. I’m considering ordering a pot of chocolate and tackling the book that your sister loaned me. Do you want to join me?”
Gracie grunted, causing Edith to smile. The girl had been spending too much time with Mr. McTaggart.
“You promised we would go on an adventure,” she said.
“What would you have me do? There is snow everywhere.”
“But you said you would join us. Fergus is readying the sleigh.”
Edith paused with her hand on the cord, her pulse jumping. “Mr. McTaggart is still planning to go on the outing?”
“Yes, and I want you to come.” There was a whine to Gracie’s voice.
“I didn’t realize…”
Oh, dear! She wouldn’t have dallied if she had known.
“Tell Mr. McTaggart I will be along shortly.”
Hurrying to the pine wardrobe, she rifled through her gowns, searching for something warm.
She heard a brief squeal a second before a force slammed against her back and two thin arms circled her waist. Edith braced a hand against the wardrobe frame to keep from tumbling headfirst into her gowns.
“Gracie!”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The girl kept gushing thanks until Edith extracted her from around her waist.
“You are welcome,” she said with a chuckle. “Now, off with you so I can get dressed.”
At the doorway, Gracie turned to Edith with a big smile. “You should wear your hair differently. Pulling it back makes you look old.”
“Thanks,” Edith muttered as Gracie dashed into the corridor, slamming the door.
She might truly be offended if Gracie had meant to insult her. The girl was simply repeating what she’d heard her sister Lavinia suggest to Edith many times. Gracie was just more blunt about it.
After donning a heavy apron-front gown, Edith sat at the dressing table to gather her hair in the usual knot at the back of her head but stopped as she caught her reflection in the looking glass. Would she really appear younger if she left her hair down?
Hesitantly, she released her hair and allowed it to fall around her shoulders. Her stomach knotted as she studied herself.
She rarely spent long at the mirror. It seemed silly and vain for someone like her. She was no beauty like her friend Lavinia, so she did the best she could with what God had given her.
Yet, the woman staring back made her breath hitch.
Her eyes shone with vitality, and her features were less sharp now that she’d put on some weight.
Her complexion had lost the sickly paleness she’d had when Lavinia found her in the alley behind the brothel.
Even her wheat-colored hair appeared soft and shiny again as it gently curled at the ends.
Perhaps Lavinia and Gracie were correct about her hair. If not younger, she appeared healthier at least. Besides, it was too cold to leave her neck exposed. She placed combs to keep her hair from falling in her face and vowed not to give her appearance another thought.
Below stairs, Lady Thorne met her in the foyer with a light blue pelisse draped over her arm and a fur muff. “I wasn’t certain if you had everything you needed to stay warm.”
“Thank you. I promise to take good care with it.”
The pelisse was a much finer quality than the one Edith was wearing, and she gladly discarded her old one. The baroness busied herself with assisting Edith into the coat and fastening the frogs as if she were under service to Edith instead of the other way around.
Lady Thorne stepped back to admire her handiwork. “It fits perfectly.”
The sleeves hit her right below her wrists, fully covering the sleeves of her gown.
“It’s a well-tailored piece. Thank you for allowing me to wear it, milady.”
The baroness shrugged. “Fergus was whistling this morning, which means he is in good spirits. I think he would be disappointed if the outing were cut short due to the cold.”
Heat rushed into Edith’s face. “I-I’m certain his mood has nothing to do with me.”
“After ten years, I’ve learned to read him fairly well, Edith. He seems fond of you.”
She handed Edith the muff. When Lady Thorne smiled, she sported a set of dimples identical to Gracie’s.
“If you happen to develop an attachment to Fergus and decide to prolong your stay at Aldmist Fell, Lord Thorne and I would not be opposed.”
Edith shoved her hands inside the muff, too flustered to speak. They wanted to leave her behind in Scotland? With him?
Until yesterday afternoon, the only words to pass between them had been insults and accusations. Half a day of peace did not mean Mr. McTaggart’s attitude toward her had changed. Just like her opinion of him hadn’t altered, not greatly anyway.
He was still reckless and more prone to grunt than speak, but she could see he had a few good qualities too. For one, he seemed genuinely concerned that Lady Thorne and Gracie enjoyed a lovely holiday, and Edith wouldn’t spoil it by contradicting her employer.
She clamped her lips together and forced herself to smile.
Lady Thorne sighed. “Very well then.”
Edith supposed the baroness expected a response, or at least a reaction to her offer to stay in Scotland. “I should go, I think.”
Edith didn’t know if she meant outside or back to London when the Thornes departed Aldmist Fell, but she definitely wanted to escape this awkward moment.
Lady Thorne’s smile reappeared.
“Fergus and Gracie are outside feeding the horse. He smuggled a few carrots from his mother’s kitchen, and Gracie couldn’t wait any longer for you to come below stairs. Have a lovely time touring the estate.”
Edith mumbled her thanks and hurried for the exit.
On the front drive, she spied the brawny Scot standing beside a bay mare hooked to a black sleigh.
The backseat was taken up with the largest picnic hamper she’d ever seen, and the front barely looked big enough to hold her and Mr. McTaggart, much less Gracie, too.
He casually gripped the horse’s bridle and laughed at something Gracie said as she held a carrot to the mare’s lips. In unguarded moments, Mr. McTaggart’s jaw lost its hard edge.
He was not classically handsome like Lord Thorne, but he possessed a ruggedness that made Edith’s pulse race a little faster. When he decided to turn his attentions toward courting a woman, he should have no trouble securing a wife, provided he began using the brain God had given him.
“Gracie, do be careful,” she said when the girl’s fingers came too close to the horse’s enormous teeth.
Mr. McTaggart made a sound deep in his throat and gently tugged the horse’s bridle to get the animal’s attention.
Gracie looked toward Edith with a small frown marring her brow. “Molly won’t hurt me.”
“No’ on purpose,” Mr. McTaggart said, “but Mistress Gallagher is right to remind you to watch your fingers. One nip from old Molly and you willna make that mistake again.”
His lips curved into a warm smile that reached his green eyes as Edith approached. “Good morning, lass.”
“Good morning, Mr. McTaggart.” She returned his smile, conscious of his gaze locked on her.
He nodded toward Gracie. “Show Mistress Gallagher how I taught you to feed Molly.”
The girl wrapped her fingers around the carrot so it stuck up from her fist and held it out to the mare. The horse sniffed her hand until she found the carrot and took it.
“Well done.” Mr. McTaggart tweaked Gracie’s red nose before pulling another piece of carrot from his coat pocket. “Would you like to feed Molly, Mistress Gallagher?”
Edith recoiled. “Me? But I’ve never…”
She had spent her life in the city avoiding being trampled by horses in the streets. The thought of standing close to the intimidating creature made her tremble.
“It’s time you did, lass.” He held his hand out to her. “I willna let her hurt you.”
Gracie turned to Edith with raised brows. “You aren’t afraid, are you, Edith?” Then she addressed Mr. McTaggart. “If she’s not afraid of you, she’s not afraid of Molly.”
Mr. McTaggart laughed. “Aye. Fair enough, lassie. Mistress Gallagher has never been afraid of goin’ toe to toe with me. She’s a brave one, she is that.”
A pleasant tingle spread through Edith. She wasn’t brave, of course, but their praise inspired her to live up to their expectations. Tentatively, she placed her hand in Mr. McTaggart’s, allowing him to draw her to his side.
“Hold it in your fist like Miss Gracie did.” As she followed his instructions, he slid his hand to the small of her back, sending a shiver racing through her. “You can do it, lass. I’ll keep you safe.”
Perhaps he would protect her from the horse, but who would protect her from him? Now that she stood beside him, savoring the heat of his touch penetrating the fabric of her pelisse, coming along on the sleigh ride seemed like a bad idea.
He leaned his head close to hers and spoke softly, offering words of encouragement as she inched her fist toward the mare.
“Steady, lass. Dinna jerk your hand back, or you’ll confuse her. I dinna want her learning to grab a treat while she can, or she might start to bite.”
Edith didn’t find this especially comforting, but with his strong presence beside her, she discovered the courage she needed.
When the mare’s velvety lips nibbled at her fist, she sucked in a sharp breath but held still.
The horse was gentle as she latched onto the carrot, as if she sensed Edith’s nervousness.
“Verra well done, lass.” Mr. McTaggart’s lips brushed against Edith’s earlobe as he whispered in her ear, his sandalwood cologne teasing her. Warmth surged through her, making the pelisse feel too confining. But when he withdrew, the cold air chilled her again.
Gracie tugged at his sleeve. “Can I feed Molly another?”
“That’s enough for now.” Mr. McTaggart lifted the girl into the air, carrying her to the sleigh. “If you feed Molly too much, she’ll want to take a nap instead of pulling us around the estate.”
Edith followed them. A thick fur pelt lay over the seat, and Mr. McTaggart lifted it for Gracie to slide onto the bench. “In the middle, lass.” He escorted Edith to her side and offered her a hand up. “Watch the stones. They’ll keep you warm, but I dinna want you to trip.”
Two large, flat stones lay on the footboards, radiating heat as if they had been warmed in a fire. Once she and Gracie were settled with the fur pelt over their laps, he rounded the back of the sleigh and climbed in beside Gracie. It was a snug fit, perfect for a frosty day.
Mr. McTaggart winked at Edith over Gracie’s head. “Let the adventure begin.”
He made a clicking noise with his mouth, and the mare took off at a trot.