Chapter 11
Melissa caught her breath as Daniel and his man at arms walked away, talking about castle business and papers that needed to be dealt with.
Straightening her dress and removing a few pieces of bark from her hair, she swallowed hard and bit on her lower lip. She’d been furious with Daniel, yet powerless against his advances. There was a hunger inside of her for his touch that drove her to decisions that weren’t entirely rational.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she whispered to herself, she’d been absolutely certain of his guilt until he’d made her doubt. Her mind had immediately wondered if perhaps there hadn’t been a good explanation of who the woman was.
“Melissa?” The sweet voice from earlier distracted her from her thoughts, making her irrationally angry again. The woman had the nerve to address her directly by her Christian name after having an affair with her husband.
“My Lady will suffice, thank you very much.” Melissa turned to glare at the woman in anger after jumping slightly. “You’ve just missed Daniel.” She jerked her head in the direction of the trees where the two men had disappeared. “I’m afraid he just left.”
“Oh, dear.” Daniel’s supposed mistress pursed her lips and gripped the handle of the basket she was carrying a little tighter.
“I can see that yer angry with me. I wasnae looking for Daniel,” she explained with a suppressed smile that drove Melissa insane.
“He said that he hadn’t had the time to tell ye about me. ”
Melissa felt offended and hurt that Daniel had discussed her with his mistress, and she wondered if he had asked the woman’s approval before going ahead with the marriage.
“No, Daniel did not mention your name,” she said coolly, pushing back her feelings of anger and bitter distaste.
“But I can assure you that I have not forgotten the arrangement between us. He is free to do as he pleases with whomever he likes.” She felt an inexplicable wave of sadness and anger as she spoke.
The woman’s perfectly white brow wrinkled into a frown.
“I dinnae ken about any agreement,” she said, shaking her head.
“But I think that is between ye an’ the Laird.
” She removed one hand from the basket and held it out to Melissa as she gingerly approached.
“I am Beitris Null, healer at Castle McLaughlin and cousin to the Laird. Pleased to meet ye, Me Lady.”
“Oh.” Melissa’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “That’s why you two seemed as if you had known each other for a very long time,” she said, still slightly mistrusting of the woman and the situation, but a little relieved.
“Aye.” Beitris withdrew her hand and placed it back on the handle of her basket when she realized that Melissa was too shocked to reciprocate. “We’ve kent each other since birth. There isnae but two years between us, Me Lady,” she said in a warm voice.
“So, when you were talking by the wagons.” Melissa used her hand to gesture to the left. “You were talking about the times when you grew up.” She waved her hand over to the right, mentally and figuratively drawing a picture of where she had gone wrong in her assumptions.
“Aye,” Beitris said more cheerfully. “The devil insists that it was I that followed him around an’ always got us into trouble, but I clearly recall it being him that made sure we never listened to our parents.” She laughed. “That’s neither there nor here now, but we always argue about that.”
“I am so sorry.” Melissa suddenly realized with shock how rude she had been to her husband’s cousin. “You must have thought me terribly rude to speak to you in that manner.”
“Dinnae even mention it, Me Lady. I cannae say that I would have acted any differently if I had found me husband alone in the orchards with a woman I’ve nae met ‘afore.” She lifted her basket in front of her.
“Daniel is kind enough to help with fresh cherries whenever I need them. I use them to sweeten an’ flavor some of the herbs, it makes it easier to administer to bairns.
They also do wonders when a wound has gotten a bit angry. ”
Feeling foolish, Melissa realized how sweet and innocent Beitris actually was. “That’s very kind of you to help children in that way. I know my sister always struggles with her little ones when they are ill,” she attempted to smooth things over after her appalling behavior.
“Well, ye can tell yer sister from me that the easiest way to heal any bairn is to crush some cherries into the herbs ‘afore giving it to them, Me Lady” Beitris said with a slight lilt in her voice.
“I will, thank you very much.” Melissa relaxed a little when she realized that Beitris was not offended by her rash behavior from earlier. “And please, call me Melissa from now on.”
“As ye wish, Melissa,” she gave her a genuine smile.
“In fact…” Beitris bit her bottom lip as she looked around.
“I was about to go back to me cottage. I’m expecting a little girl an’ her maither, but we could have some ale afterwards together.
” She smiled. “If ye dinnae have any other plans,” she added quickly.
“Me cottage isnae far from here. Daniel allows me to stay on me own so that I have access to the forest for the fresh herbs.”
“That would be lovely.” Melissa suddenly shut her eyes and shook her head, remembering the awful feeling she’d had after the wedding. “But not ale. I prefer tea.”
“Just as well,” Beitris said with a smile. “The stuff I have at the cottage is far too strong. I add a little something for Daniel, and I always keep some on hand.”
Raising her eyebrows, Melissa watched as Beitris turned to leave before following suit. She made a mental note to never get in the woman’s bad books. If her ale was anything to go by, she wasn’t someone that you wanted to enrage before allowing them around your tea.
The outside of the cottage that sat on the outskirts of the castle was idyllic, to say the least. Melissa and Beitris had walked for a few minutes through the orchards until reaching a small path that led to a thick forest of birch, oak, and elm trees.
The small stone house had several round windows and a thatched roof. A solitary well stood in the front on its own with a bucket and rope hanging from a wooden rod, while thistles grew in abundance, creating a kind of border between the house and the forest.
“This is home,” Beitris said with a warm smile. “It isnae much, but I prefer to be out here on me own. The silence an’ solitude give me plenty of time to focus on healing.” She waited for Melissa to finish taking in the view before leading the way up a dirt path that led to the door.
Taking a key from her apron, she proceeded to unlock the door and stand aside so Melissa could enter first. “Please, come in. I’ll put some water on the fire an’ we can have a cup of tea.”
“Thank you.” Melissa entered the dark room with caution. She couldn’t make out much besides the silhouettes of a large table and a few chairs.
“I’ll open the curtains now. I always like to keep them shut when I’m away.
It lets people ken that I’m nae here to help them.
” Beitris placed her basket of cherries on the table at the far end of the room before yanking on a pair of dark green drapes.
“Ye would be surprised how many times I’ve come home an’ found strange men just waiting in the kitchen. ”
Melissa blinked a few times and allowed her eyes to adjust to the onslaught of light that filtered into the room.
“I even came home to a cheeky blighter drinking me ale once.” Beitris placed her hands on her hips as she stood beside the open window that overlooked the forest. “I keep everything locked up ever since then.”
“I can imagine how shocking that must have been,” Melissa said as she looked around the neat little room that turned out to be part of a larger section.
She was standing on the threshold of what seemed to be the kitchen and an area that Beitris used to prepare herbal concoctions.
Melissa was impressed with the variety of bottles and bags that neatly stood on the table.
The rest of the room consisted of a large fireplace with a cauldron and kettle hanging from a hook.
Several shelves for clean linen strips stood against the walls, while large wooden beams hung from the rafters with various bunches of dried herbs tied with string.
“Please, take a seat.” Beitris gestured toward the chairs around the table.
“I’ll make our tea. There’s just one maither on the way with her bairn.
” She busied herself by the fireplace as she spoke.
“Poor lamb went an’ played with poison oak.
There’s a quick fix for it, but she’s nervous.
I may ask ye to give me a hand with her, if ye dinnae mind. ”
“I don’t mind, I love children.” Melissa watched as Beitris placed the teacups in front of her on the table.
“So do I,” Beitris said happily as she reached for some of the herbs overhead and crumbled them into the iron pot that sat on the table.
“I hope ye dinnae mind, I use me own mixture of herbs for tea. I much prefer the taste,” she explained as she pinched more leaves and placed them into the pot.
“I never buy the stuff that the traders sell.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “It often has stuff growing in the barrels on the voyage across the sea.”
They both looked up when a knock sounded at the door.
“Oh, dear, seems like our tea will have to wait,” Beitris said warmly and wiped her hands on her apron before walking over to the door.
Melissa felt quite at home from the warm welcome that Daniel’s cousin had given her. There was at least a place away from the castle where she could clear her thoughts and focus on something else.
“Please, come in, we were expecting ye,” Beitris said kindly as she welcomed her guests. “Meidra, Tilly, this is our new Lady McLaughlin.”