Chapter Twenty-Two
Hawkhill
Meet our new warrior.
That’s what Lady Currie had proudly exclaimed to Colly and the rest of the house and hold of Hawkhill on a crisp, cold morning.
All except for Laird Currie. He wasn’t anywhere to be found, but the other inhabitants of Hawkhill found themselves looking over a very big man dressed in leather and mail.
He was big and rough-looking, with a bushy beard and hair that needed to be groomed.
But Colly knew she’d seen him before.
There was something about him that seemed familiar, though she couldn’t put her finger on it.
She watched the man stand like a stone as Lady Currie pawed all over him, finally leading him away so the drunk sergeant in charge of Hawkhill could show the man around.
The last Colly saw, Lady Currie was following from behind as the old sergeant took Brody on his rounds.
So that’s the warrior from The Cal, Colly thought. Lady Currie finally had what she wanted.
But Colly couldn’t shake the notion that she’d seen him before.
She returned to the house, to Lady Currie’s chamber, and snapped at the maids who were cleaning the room.
No one ever cleaned to Colly’s satisfaction.
Lady Currie had spent the night at the Ludus Caledonia, finding lodgings in cottages reserved for special guests, before returning the next morning with Lilia and the enormous warrior, and Laird Currie had yet to show his face.
The man was a ghost in his own home.
But that was of no concern to Colly. In her opinion, the old man was useless and would hopefully die soon, leaving the entire estate to his beautiful, young wife. All of that lovely money would go right to sweet Blanche and, consequently, to Colly as well.
Life would be much easier when that blessed event happened.
Meanwhile, Colly sat at Lady Currie’s dressing table, drinking what was left of the woman’s wine and stuffing herself on the sausages that had been brought for Lady Currie’s morning meal. She would eat them all and then blame it on the servants, which she had often done.
As Lilia entered the room with a fresh dress for Lady Currie to change in to once she returned to her chamber, Colly thought she might even blame the missing sausages on Lilia.
After all, the girl had claimed to have lost sausages once before, but the truth was that she had probably eaten them and blamed robbers.
Sausages…
Colly suddenly sat up straight, setting aside the cup of wine.
It occurred to her now just where she’d seen the warrior.
He was the same man Lilia said had saved her from the sausage thieves, the one she’d brought back to Hawkhill to work in the stables.
That man had been clean-shaven, however, and the truth was that Colly hadn’t gotten a good look at him.
Still… it was possible that Lady Currie’s new warrior and Lilia’s protector were one and the same.
That made for a very interesting situation.
Colly watched Lilia as the woman cleaned Lady Currie’s day dress, brushing at it with a fine horsehair brush.
Little Lilia had been much better behaved since their encounter in the kitchens when Colly had brained her and locked her up for a day to teach her a lesson.
It had been a show of force and it had worked.
The lesson had been learned because Lilia had been much better mannered since then.
Even so, Colly just wanted the girl gone.
Lady Currie listened to Lilia and valued her opinion, and Colly was threatened by that relationship.
She wanted to be the only one Lady Currie valued.
Perhaps the arrival of Brody McKay was just the excuse Colly needed to get rid of Lilia once and for all.
She knew that Lady Currie would not want Brody’s attention diverted from her and if she knew the man had an eye for Lilia, or at least a history with her, she would surely send the young woman away.
Colly rather liked that plan.
Finally, she could be rid of the Galston wench.
Farewell, Lilia…
*
“What do you think of my humble home, Brody?” Lady Currie asked, her hands looped through Brody’s elbow. “We can certainly use your expertise on our safety. I think we are too relaxed, while my husband does not seem to share that opinion.”
Brody’s face was like stone as he and Lady Currie departed the gatehouse of Hawkhill, crossing the small and crowded bailey as they headed for the house.
“This is yer husband’s house, m’lady,” he said. “I should like tae meet Laird Currie and discuss it with him.”
“Discuss it with me.”
“He is yer husband, m’lady, and laird of the home. That is men’s business.”
Lady Currie was trying very hard not to become angry with him. He’d been like this since she purchased his contract from Clegg – stiff, unfeeling, unemotional. The man had ice water running through his veins, but she was determined to warm him.
She didn’t give up easily.
“I suppose you are correct,” she said. “It is men’s business, but I am interested in men’s business. Don’t you think that ladies should be curious about a man’s business?”
“Not if it doesna concern her, m’lady.”
“The safety of Hawkhill concerns me, Brody.” When he didn’t respond, she tried another tactic. “We shall share a morning meal together and you may tell me of your great plans for the manse.”
“I would prefer ye show me where I am tae sleep,” he said. “I have some organizing tae do before I assume my duties.”
Lady Currie liked that idea even better. She could take him straight to his bedchamber, which happened to be next to hers, and surely she could loosen his harsh stance from there.
It was time to show the man who was in command.
“Of course,” she said. “Come with me.”
She led him into the manse itself, the big gray-stoned edifice with three floors. She completely bypassed Laird Currie’s solar, even though they walked right past it, and headed up the spiral stairs to the next level.
This was where her chamber took up one entire side of the manse.
There were four other chambers on this level and she took Brody to the chamber next to hers, throwing open the old oak doors to reveal a sparsely furnished room.
There was a messy bed, a table, and little more.
It was where Colly slept, but she was going to relocate the old woman starting today.
“I will have this cleaned immediately,” she told him. “I will have fresh straw brought in for your bed and a fire started in the hearth. Is there anything else you require?”
Brody walked into the chamber, looking around and realizing that someone else already lived here, but clearly, Lady Currie didn’t see that as a problem. He turned to her.
“I would rather sleep with the men,” he said. “Sleeping in the house isna a good location for the man in charge of the safety of Hawkhill. I will sleep with the soldiers. It is where I belong.”
He started to walk out but she quickly shut the doors, preventing him from leaving. “You will sleep where I tell you to sleep,” she said in a low voice, standing in front of the doors to block him. “I am in command now, Brody, and you will do what I tell you to do. You will sleep here.”
Brody had a feeling this entire morning had been coming to this.
After a tormented ride to Hawkhill, trying not to look at Lilia as she sat across the carriage from him, he’d been forced to keep company with Lady Currie since his arrival.
The woman had gripped him tightly through every move they made, from their arrival into the bailey until this very moment.
She was clingy and possessive, and Brody was losing patience by the second.
But he had something he had to do before he told the woman off.
Those sixty pounds sterling were in a trunk that Clegg had provided him, a trunk that also contained his skimpy belongings and was now sitting in the foyer of the manse. Sixty pounds sterling that he fully intended to deliver back to Laird Currie this very day.
He wasn’t going to spend one more moment here than necessary.
“M’lady, do other soldiers sleep in the house?” he asked.
She frowned. “Of course not.”
“Then why me?” he said. “Ye purchased my contract from Clegg and told him it was because ye wanted a seasoned warrior tae protect Hawkhill. If ye want me tae do my job, then I must be near the gatehouse. I must be where my duties are focused.”
Lady Currie’s smile was gone. “I want you in the house with me,” she said. “Is that so hard to understand?”
“I understand,” Brody said. “But just because I chose not tae bring my wife tae this place doesna mean I’m ripe for the picking. I am here tae assume control of yer soldiers and nothing more. Nothing more.”
Lady Currie’s pleasant demeanor snapped. “It was wise of you to leave your wife back at The Cal,” she said. “It would not have been enjoyable for her here, Brody. She would not have been able to sleep in the same chamber with you, in any case.”
“I left her behind for that very reason. I suspected ye would view her as yer competition when, in truth, there is no competition.”
Lady Currie’s jaw hardened. “You are sworn to me now,” she growled. “You must do as I say, and I say I want you in this chamber. Is that clear?”
“Who paid for my contract?”
“I did, you fool!”
“Where did ye get the money?”
“From my husband!”
“Then he is the one who bought my contract. Not ye. ’Tis Laird Currie who will have the final say in where I sleep. Let us ask him.”
Lady Currie was so angry by this time that she was grinding her teeth. “You serve the Laird and Lady of Hawkhill,” she said through clenched teeth. “I am the lady of Hawkhill and I demand you serve me.”
“I shall serve ye loyally, m’lady. But only as a warrior and nothing more.”
“Ye’ll do as I say!”
“Or what?”
Her mouth popped open in outrage. “I’ll have you whipped!”
“By whom?”
“I have fifty soldiers that will do my bidding!”
“There are fifty soldiers tae do yer husband’s bidding and mine. Ye’re not in the chain of command, Lady Currie.”
Lady Currie was positively enraged. She growled angrily, balling her fists. “We shall see what my husband has to say about this!”
Brody nodded readily. “I agree,” he said. “Let’s see what yer husband has tae say about ye commanding a warrior tae do anything more than his duties as a warrior. I’m not a whore, m’lady. If ye paid for my contract with that on yer mind, then ye wasted yer money.”
Lady Currie wasn’t finished. She was wearing the pale blue satin with the ermine robe over it against the cold and she immediately tossed off the ermine, exposing a dress that was far better suited for warm temperatures. Dramatically, she grabbed her full breasts.
“You will never see anything better than what I have to offer, Brody,” she said, fondling herself in the hopes of arousing him. “My skin is soft and sweet, far better than anything you have ever tasted. All you need to do is take what you wish. I will not resist.”
Brody sighed heavily, clearly unimpressed.
He walked up to her, gazing down at her impassively as she clutched herself.
She had such hope, such expectation on her face, that when he reached out and grasped her by the arms she believed that she’d finally broken through to him.
For just a split second, her joy was obvious.
But it was not to be.
Brody grasped her by the arms, lifted her up, and moved her away from the door. As Lady Currie stood there with her hands still on her breasts, Brody opened the door and quit the chamber. He could hear Lady Currie screaming in anger as he walked down the corridor towards the stairs.
But the noise had brought out the servants, wondering why Lady Currie was yelling.
Brody could see heads popping out from open doorways, including Lilia.
He saw her just beyond the stairwell, looking at him with shock and fear on her face.
He was so glad to see her that it was all he could do not to run to her.
Instead, he pointed in the direction of the stable yard.
“The stables,” he mouthed to her. “Meet me in the stables.”
Lilia had a terrified look about her but she nodded, once, and disappeared back into the chamber she had come from. With Lady Currie still shrieking in anger, Brody made his way back down the stairs and into the bailey beyond.