Chapter Ten #3
Brickie wasn’t a big man. He was small and wiry and grumpy, which was how he was able to rule over his kitchens, but the new Lady de Wolfe wasn’t about to put up with his bullying.
They dueled around the table in the center of the kitchen, slapping spoons, until Mattie gained the upper hand and chased him back into the buttery.
Lady Warenton, Caria, and Avrielle, who had been tagging along, followed.
They watched Mattie back Brickie into the rear of the buttery, unaware that Rhoswyn, who had been hunting for the women, had finally found them.
Rhoswyn only caught the end of their battle as Mattie finally knocked Brickie’s spoon to the ground.
As the old man raised his hands in surrender, Mattie tossed her spoon aside as well.
“Now,” she said, the slightest bit winded from dancing around the kitchen.
“You will not tell me where I can and cannot go in my own home. You will not tell me, or any de Wolfe woman, that she cannot come into your kitchen. While I respect that you have been my husband’s cook and will continue to be so, this is now my kitchen.
You will do as I say. Do you understand me so far? ”
Brickie was frowning. The sides of his mouth were so downturned that they couldn’t possibly go any further. “I understand,” he grumbled. “But you know nothing about this kitchen!”
“I realize that,” Mattie said evenly. “But you will teach me. I will listen and learn from your experience. But, with God as my witness, you had better behave yourself or I will take a spoon to you again—and the next time, you might come away with a knot on your head. Do you comprehend me?”
Brickie nodded, once, but it was enough.
Mattie stood back, indicating for him to return to his kitchen, and he did so, knowing those other women were smirking at him and feeling just as humiliated as he could possibly be.
It was then that Mattie looked up and saw Rhoswyn standing back by the buttery door, an expression of surprise on her face.
Lady Warenton saw Rhoswyn at nearly the same time and she grasped Caria by the hand as she headed in Rhoswyn’s direction.
“How much of that did ye see?” Lady Warenton asked.
Rhoswyn wasn’t entirely sure. “I saw… I saw the lady chasing Brickie intae the buttery,” she said. “What happened?”
Lady Warenton let her smile break through as she glanced at Mattie, just emerging from the buttery. “She did what needed tae be done,” she said with pride. “Brickie is too much of a tyrant for his own good and the lady righted it. I like her, Rhos. She’ll do well here.”
With that, Lady Warenton headed out of the kitchens, pulling Caria along with her, as Rhoswyn and Mattie faced one another.
For a moment, Mattie didn’t know what to say. Her introduction to Rhoswyn had been uncertain at best before the woman simply disappeared. Now, she was back, and Mattie wasn’t sure what to say. Rhoswyn had clearly seen her take issue with the cook. Perhaps the woman thought she was the bully.
She was coming to sorely regret the spoon fight.
“He… he was rude to Lady Warenton,” Mattie said, trying to explain. “I do not tolerate rudeness from those who serve in my household. It was inexcusable.”
Rhoswyn was still looking at her rather appraisingly, but the coldness from earlier seemed to be gone. “I’ve got news for ye, lass,” she said. “Lady Warenton can take care of herself. She’s the strongest woman ye’ll ever know.”
“Aye, my lady. I hope I did not offend.”
Rhoswyn shook her head. “That is not what I meant,” she said. “Ye did what Lady Warenton would have done had this been her own home. De Wolfe women are strong. We have tae be.”
“Aye, my lady,” Mattie said, though she still felt as if she were verging on being scolded and sought to somehow break the ice with Gar’s mother. “I… I am sorry you were unable to come to Hensingham, but I understand your most distressing reason. I do hope your son’s wife and child are doing well.”
Rhoswyn nodded. “Surprisingly, they are,” she said. “The infant seems to be growing stronger. ’Tis a blessing.”
“Indeed,” Mattie said. “That is good news.”
“Thank ye for asking after them.”
“My pleasure, my lady.”
An awkward silence briefly descended. Rhoswyn took a few steps toward Mattie, towering over her.
Rhoswyn was quite tall, a strong and sturdy woman in general, whereas Mattie didn’t have a height or weight advantage.
For a moment, Rhoswyn simply looked her over, an appraising expression but not unkind.
The moments ticked away.
“I’m told my son is fond of ye,” she finally said in Gaelic. “I’m glad he is. He dinna want tae marry, but I am glad ye changed his mind. He needs a strong wife, my lady. Can ye be that for him? Strong?”
Mattie nodded. “I can,” she answered in Gaelic. “I will, I promise. I will not fail him.”
Rhoswyn nodded her head. “Good,” she said. Then, she reached out a hand to Mattie, who timidly took it. “Come along, lass. This keep is now yers and ye have a good deal of work tae do. But after what I’ve seen, I think ye can do it.”
Mattie let her mother-in-law lead her out of the kitchens where Brickie was piling wood on the fire to strengthen the blaze.
He didn’t look at her as she quit the kitchen, but Mattie didn’t care.
Somehow, in this strange incident, she had earned Rhoswyn’s approval.
If not her approval, then at least her respect.
Perhaps there was hope after all.