Chapter 11 #2
Did it still stand? It must. She saw no sign of fire damage save for the bridge, and work was already underway to rebuild it.
She led the men to her house, having told them it belonged to a friend who allowed her to stay as she needed.
As long as it still stood, they would have lodging.
And, she thought, as long as no one else had taken it over in the time she’d been away.
To her great relief, it was empty of people.
The furnishings were still inside, her clothes were in the chest upstairs, as were Arabella’s.
It looked like nothing had been touched.
She could move back in here today if she wished.
And if Cook and the four Ross guards with her could be convinced to return to Ross and face their laird without her.
What were the chances of that? She knew better. And that Erik would come looking for her if she tried it. Nay, she’d committed to Erik and to Ross. Inverness was no longer home, just a place to visit as they needed.
The next morning, they made their way to the market square, where Fiona immediately felt at home. “Merchant Aedan! How lovely to see ye. What do ye have for me today?”
The merchant turned at Fiona’s voice and grinned. “Lovely wee Fiona, lass. Where have ye been? Everyone in the market has missed ye. We kenned about Arabella. So sad. But ye. Tell me!”
“First, have ye seen Hamish lately?”
“I heard he’s back, but I havena spoken with the lad. Master Sinclair keeps him busy, I’m told. He lived at the master’s home, too, before the bridge burned, but ye ken that.”
“If ye see him, give him my regards, will ye? And tell him to contact me if ever he has the need.” Fiona had thought Hamish might come to her house, knowing it was empty and likely to stay that way.
She’d have been pleased to have him as a lodger, but it appeared he’d gone back to the life and the work he knew.
“Of course, lass. Will he ken where to find ye?”
Fiona glanced around. Cook had moved off to the next stall and with negotiations going on at full throat all around them, she would be safe telling Aedan what had happened to her since the day of the fire. She finished with, “Arabella left her house to me. I own it now.”
“Will ye move back? Nay, how can ye? Ye are a clan’s lady now.”
“’Tis no’ as wonderful as ye might expect. I yearn for the sights and sounds of town, and the people I ken here. Familiar friends. My husband has good intentions, but his responsibilities weigh heavily on him.”
“Lots of arguments, eh?”
“Some. He willna harm me, but I sometimes tire of the discord, and the pressure of my own responsibilities as lady. That is naught I ever thought to bear.”
“Yet ye bear them with grace,” Cook said, coming up behind her. “Ye have already accomplished so much good for the clan. And now, we must do more before we make our way home.”
Fiona froze. How much had Cook heard?
The spent the rest of the day acquiring what they needed from the various vendors Fiona knew. Cook often visited different vendors, seeing what there was to be had, which gave Fiona a chance to catch up with merchants, such as her friend the baker, while he was out of earshot.
As the day went on, a pair of the guards carried their purchases back to her house while the other pair stayed nearby.
That evening, Cook made dinner, then sent the guards to carry some of their supplies and stow them on board and leave two of them to sleep on the birlinn to keep it safe.
Two returned to the house and would help bring the rest of their supplies to the birlinn in the morning.
While the guards were gone, Cook admitted he’d heard most of what Fiona had said to the merchant Aedan.
Fiona couldn’t deny what he’d heard from her own lips. “’Tis true. This is now mine,” she said, raising a hand to take in their surroundings.
“And ye are tempted to return here, are ye no’? To stay.”
She couldn’t deny that either. The truth of it had to be plain on her face.
“I am, and yet, I am no’. I never sought to be a clan’s lady.
Erik arrived and before I kenned what happened, I was wed.
Aye, I agreed to it, but there was little time to consider more than keeping four clans from destroying each other. ”
“Yer laird must have pleased ye in some way.”
“Of course he did. He does. He’s handsome and kind to me, and determined to make life better for his people. He’s a good man. But he has a temper.”
“Many of Ross do. But by now ye must have seen that Ross needs ye more than ye need to be here.”
He waved his hand, much as she had done, to indicate their surroundings. Not just the house, but the town, she surmised.
“Erik needs ye and cares about ye. He wouldna be angry—at so many things—if he didna care deeply about the clan and its future. He’s frustrated.”
“I ken that, and I have sympathy for the burden he bears.”
“At Ross, ye have a purpose. Many of them, really. Ye are making a difference. Perhaps things are difficult now—”
“Perhaps!”
“But they will smooth out as the plans work. Here, ye will become like yer sick relative, essentially alone and accomplishing naught. Ye ken I am right.”
He made her want to cry, but she stiffened her spine and held in the tears. “Ye willna say aught to Erik about this house and what I have here. I must tell him about this place myself. When the time is right. Can ye keep my secret?”
“I already keep many secrets, lass. I can keep one more. But no’ forever.”