Chapter 13
KAITLYN
LADY MAIREAD, UNANNOUNCED
She slowly crossed the floor, her head high, nodding to the right and left as the crowd parted before her. She caught sight of the badminton court and arched a brow.
Magnus and I walked over to greet her.
Wilfred looked very handsome, like a young Robert Redford, and was perfectly tailored, dressed for an eighteenth century Great Hall.
His clothes were much finer than ours, as if a costume designer for a movie studio had dressed him, not just a seamstress from Etsy.
His clothes were similar to Magnus’s except with ruffles and lace at the neck and embroidery down his lapels, fine shoes instead of boots.
Lady Mairead was wearing dark crimson and looked gorgeous and regal. When we approached them I heard Wilfrey say, “God, I love this century, Mairead. No, genuinely — look at this room. You cannot build a room like this anymore, nobody has the patience.”
Magnus nodded. “Mother, when did ye get in?”
“Wilfrey and I just arrived, Magnus, ye remember my husband…?”
“Of course I do, aye. How could I forget?” The two men shook hands and I greeted him. Lady Mairead, instead of greeting me, said, “I suppose you are responsible for the sport being played in the Great Hall, Kaitlyn?”
“Not me, per se, um… James and Zach and Quentin sent it, I um… built it though and showed them how to play.”
She said, “So ye are responsible for the sport being played in the Great Hall.”
I said, “Yes, I am, it’s really fun.”
Her brow raised and she gave Wilfrey a look.
Then she asked, “I hear my brother is in residence, where is he now?”
Magnus said, “He retired tae his chamber.”
She sighed. “I had hoped tae see him at dinner tae save me the trouble of waiting until the morn. But I do want him tae meet Wilfred. I expected he would see us as we walked in.”
Magnus said, “He is in a terrible mood, ye will be glad tae hae waited.”
“What on earth does the Earl hae tae be in a bad mood about?”
Her eyes settled on Lizbeth. Then they narrowed, and without waiting for Magnus’s answer, she stalked over, pulling Wilfred along after her.
We followed.
She said to Sean and Lizbeth, “Ye remember my husband, Wilfred Weaver, the award-winning actor and now a Duke?”
They both nodded and greeted him. He had a formalness to his speech and manners that seemed well-practiced, and he had that celebrity glow around him, an aura.
He sounded earnest about his love for Lady Mairead and his pleasure in meeting us, but he was so handsome it was hard to believe.
While we talked for a moment, he looked all around the Great Hall and then broadly smiled.
“I keep telling Mairead, if she would let me, I would simply stay here, content to live here permanently. I would die fulfilled.”
Lady Mairead said, “And I keep telling ye, this is a visit.” She said to us, “He daena ken what tis like tae endure living here. He would miss his movies.”
“That is true. I stand corrected, but it is wonderful, as this is my favorite year.”
Lady Mairead said to Lizbeth, “Daughter, ye look troubled.”
Lizbeth furtively stuffed the handkerchief back in her bag, “Nae mother, twas just a long day, unexpected visitors and a great deal tae do. Now I am watching the boys play this game in the Great Hall and worrying that they are going tae break their necks or worse, topple one of the Earl’s precious statues. ”
The rough game grew even wilder. I saw Maggie give Sean a look and he and Liam stalked over to talk the boys into chilling out.
Magnus excused himself to go help his brother corral the boys.
Lady Mairead kept her eyes on Lizbeth.
Then she said, “Join me at the table, I need tae be fed.”
She swept around the table, directly for the Earl’s spot and lowered herself into his chair with Wilfred pulling the chair out and pushing her back in, then he moved to the empty chair to her right, formerly Magnus’s, and sat elegantly, they both unfurled the napkins that had been rushed over by the servants for their laps, at exactly the same time, looking almost as if it were practiced. She smiled at him proudly.
Magnus said, “Looks like we are having a second dinner.”
We sat down at the table once more. The musician was playing again, quieter music, dancing was happening, but slow dancing, the kids had cleared out of the Great Hall headed off on some kind of mischief having taken most of the candy with them.
Sean and Maggie and Liam joined us. Lizbeth sat far away from Lady Mairead, but it didn’t keep her safe from her sharp attention.
A dinner was served for Lady Mairead and Wilfrey, the rest of us said we were full.
Lady Mairead said, “I do wonder how they kept it warm.”
Wilfred took a bite and keeping his face passive, said, stoically, “It is not.”
She sighed, ate a small bite of the main, then asked, “Magnus, why are ye here, hae ye brought yer family? The bairns haena come tae see me yet?”
“Kaitlyn and I came on our own. We are delivering chests for Sean and Lizbeth tae pack intae.”
Lady Mairead said, “Really? Seems a silly reason, I believe they hae more than enough chests here, and tis not as if they need tae take anything.” She turned her focus to Sean and Maggie, “Everything you can want will be there, and if we daena hae it ye just needs ask.”
Lizbeth said, “Ye expect me tae move tae a new home with nothing?”
“Nae, but ye hae so little that is truly yers.”
Lizbeth stood from her seat. “I hae heard enough of it, I winna sit here and be insulted.”
Lady Mairead said, “I dinna mean anything by it, I just meant ye will hae access tae so much. Please, sit, daughter.”
Lizbeth’s chin quivered as she returned to her seat.
Magnus said, “The Earl was insultin’. I think we all hae had enough.”
“What did he say?”
Lizbeth took a deep breath. “Tis not important, I winna dwell on it.”
Lady Mairead’s brow cocked. “Does he ken ye are leaving?”
Magnus said, “I informed him, he dinna take it well, but he has decided tae show his irritation with complaints and insults.”
Lady Mairead huffed. “Tis his way, I suppose, he always must be a horrible person even when presented with a chance tae be gracious.”
She looked at Wilfred. “He could just say, even if he daena believe it, that they hae served him well and he is saddened tae see them go. Twould be easy and all would accept it as true,”
Wilfred nodded, muttering in a supportive way, “That is true, that is what he should say.”
She continued, “But nae, he has tae say terrible things, cause ache in the heart of my daughter, and everyone in the castle kens tis nae true.”
Wilfred kept nodding, “Hear hear, he has said terribly insulting things, it is a travesty. Almost enough to ruin this whole visit.”
Lady Mairead poked at the air with her fork. “Sean and Lizbeth hae run his household and protected the castle their whole lives.”
He waved his fork and knife. “You told me that, many times.”
“Everyone kens.”
“Absolutely.”
“He proves himself a liar at his age. Tis—”
Wilfred finished, “Contemptible.”
She reached out and squeezed his hand with a smile.
Lizbeth said, “I dinna think of it that way.”
“I ken, ye took the insult tae heart, because tis yer way. Ye think that the people of the Great Hall will hear the insult and agree with the Earl on it, ye believe yer reputation is at stake, but I tell ye, Daughter, tis nae true. All who heard it will not believe a bit of it, they will think ye poorly served and that the Earl is monstrous in his treatment of ye.”
Wilfred put down his fork and applauded.
Magnus looked amused.
Lizbeth nodded, quietly.
Lady Mairead’s brow lifted, imperiously. “And this daena even get tae the main point — the insult that in insulting my children, he heaps upon me!”
Wilfred patted her hand, nodding knowingly. “He has always caused you dismay.”
She said, “Aye, he has, but tis almost at an end.”
I asked, “Do you two get into rants like this all the time?”
Lady Mairead said, “I never rant, I just state the truth.”
Wilfred chuckled. “Sometimes she states the truth for an entire meal.”
I asked, “And you always agree with her, Wilfred?”
She, with a bit of a smile tugging at her lips, said, “Because I am always right!”
He said, “She is correct a great deal of the time and it does not hurt me one bit to agree, but when she is wrong and I tell her, she accepts my counsel.”
Sean’s eyes wide, he looked at his mother. “I canna believe it, ye allow Wilfred tae tell ye that ye are wrong?”
“Once or twice, Son, aye.”
She leaned on the table and whispered toward Lizbeth and me as if no one else could hear her, “I daena mind the occasional correction much, Wilfrey is verra easy on the eyes.”
We both laughed.
He chuckled and brought a bite of meat to his lips.
Magnus said, “Besides bringing luggage tae Lizbeth and Sean, Kaitlyn and I are also here tae go on a ride on the morrow tae the—”
Lady Mairead, “A ride! What on earth for, certainly ye daena like tae go on long rides, Kaitlyn? Yet yer husband will drag ye out intae the wilderness anyway!”
Magnus said, “Mother, I am nae draggin’ her, I wouldna! We are goin’ tae the forest tae the east, I hae a…”
Lizbeth said, “Why dost ye want tae go tae the forest?”
“It might be our last time tae visit it in this year and tis the beginning of the forest we hae in the kingdom. Our bairns planted seedlings here, I think twill be a—”
Lizbeth said, “Exactly, Magnus, this forest holds the beginning of yer forest, these trees hold the roots of yer trees. The branches grow intae yer time, but the roots began in the earth in our time, drinking from the spring that has been here since long before the Campbells.”
Magnus’s eyes narrowed. “Yet in the future the roots are also there. The entire tree is there, the full trunk, the deep roots, we hae a good strong soil, lots of light.”
Lizbeth said, quietly, “Some trees daena transplant well—”